Roundtable Wrap-Up

Nov 22, 2011 by Shelly

Yesterday’s “Sustainability Roundtables” provided a satisfying wrap-up to my involvement with Local 20/20‘s sustainability outreach to our local Chamber of Commerce.

It was particularly gratifying to have a number of electeds and appointed officials in attendance:  Mike Glenn, CEO of our hospital, sat in on the Healthcare discussion; Port Townsend Mayor Michelle Sandoval was at the Local Investing table; Public Utility District (PUD) Commissioner Barney Burke was at the Energy table. (The PUD will soon be Jefferson County’s very local electrical utility provider, when the sale of our grid from Puget Sound Energy is finalized). City councilor-elect Robert Gray joined the Transportation table.

In addition to the Chamber‘s core of small-business entrepreneurs, also attending were  bankers, farmers, retirees, a policeman, and the county’s brand-new-on-the-job environmental health specialist. Two members of Economic Development Council Team Jefferson were there (well, three if you count Chamber Executive Director Teresa Verraes).

Questions answered

I sat at the Local Food Resiliency Table and got some of my questions answered about joining or starting a community garden. The conversation naturally led to preserving the bounty, and I was inspired to hear that one of my peers—also the mother of a toddler—is gung-ho about re-teaching the “domestic arts” of canning, sewing, etc. In fact, she sees a business opportunity in it.

The beauty of having a Local 20/20 table host (in the form of Judy Alexander) was that Judy was able to provide background on ongoing local discussions to host a “reskilling” fair or festival here in Jefferson County. The groundwork is laid, the idea just needs someone to pick it up and run with it! she said.

Judy mentioned the work that Sustainable NE Seattle has done in this area, and I was easily able to find a citation online to their 2011 “Hands On” skills fair. Maybe the event will be repeated this February and my mama friend and I can go do some research…

Director was ‘floored’

I chatted with Chamber Executive Director Teresa Verraes after the roundtable event and she said she was “floored” by the level of participation and by the respect accorded to those who shared their ideas.

She, like I, felt it was very valuable to brainstorm solutions to today’s pressing problems with people in your community you might not otherwise converse with, but who share an interest in the same topic.

“It felt like two different sectors of our community coming together that don’t necessarily travel in the same circles,” Teresa said, referring to business and sustainability leaders.

“I had several people who were new to Chamber come up to me afterwards and say, ‘Wow, this is what the Chamber does all the time?’ And I said, ‘No, but I think we’ll do more of it!’”

Judy e-mailed me after the roundtables to say, “Thanks again, Shelly, for all you did with getting the Chamber on board. I think we may have forged a new partnership today, a big one!”

Roundtable Shout-Out ‘Best Ideas’

•  Local Food Resiliency:  Put on a Reskilling Fair to demonstrate and promote teaching and sharing of “old fashioned” skills like food preservation, beekeeping, leatherworking, etc.

•  Transportation:  Would like to see (1) a ferry connection from Port Townsend to Bainbridge Island, (2) an ORCA-style regional transportation card system for all buses and ferries, and (3) free Jefferson Transit service from the Port Townsend Park & Ride to downtown and uptown (a fare is currently charged, but this route has been free in the past).

•  Local Investing:  Need to provide additional education to our community about investment modalities—what is available, how do they work?

•  Emergency Preparedness:  Every business needs to conduct a disaster preparedness assessment and put a plan in place so that in an emergency, we can rely on ourselves, not on government.

•  Water:  Align the farmer and their land and the available water with the optimal crops.

•  Energy:  Focus on residential energy efficiency upgrades.

•  Waste Reduction:  Work to reduce paper and plastic waste in our community.

•  Healthcare:  Simply a question… How can we have a for-profit entity standing between people who need healthcare and healthcare providers?

So there you have it!

Click to view a PDF file of the notes from all the table scribes:  RoundtableReport_1121_11.

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• VIDEO: Transportation (Presentation to Chamber of Commerce, 11/14/11)

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• VIDEO: Energy (Presentation to Chamber of Commerce, 11/14/11)

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• VIDEO: Local Investing (Presentation to Chamber of Commerce, 11/14/11)

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Tags

• Chamber of Commerce
• Local 20/20

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