Municipal campus proposal delayed

POULSBO — Little Norway’s proposed municipal campus remains on track despite not making the scheduled Oct. 19 final presentation date. No date has been announced yet.

After the Sept. 27 open house, during which the initial site plan for the 10th Avenue location was presented, the municipal campus planning committee was expected to have any issues raised during that presentation resolved in time for tonight’s city council meeting.

That didn’t happen.

However, Councilwoman Connie Lord said that’s not necessarily a bad thing.

“I didn’t feel comfortable with all the information I had from a decision-making standpoint,” Lord said, noting that as a member of the municipal campus planning committee, she had expressed some concerns about the proposal.

The delay should allow the architects from BLRB Architects in Tacoma more time to address the issues, so the council can make a better decision, she said.

“It’s not stopped at all, it’s just delayed so we can get more information,” she said.

Even though it’s not exactly on schedule, the opportunity to purchase the land that will house the municipal campus from Olympic Resource Management has not been affected by the delay, she said, confirming that the opportunity still exists.

Among the issues being addressed during the postponement are the cost-model analysis, potential district court needs and further geotechnical study on the site, Lord said.

Mayor Donna Jean Bruce said while she didn’t know the exact reason for the delay, the municipal campus project is still moving forward.

Councilwoman Kathryn Quade said she was heartened to hear about the delay of the final presentation on the municipal campus.

“I don’t think we need to rush this process and we need to make sure we’re doing the right thing at the right time,” Quade said.

Councilman Ed Stern, who asked fellow council members on Aug. 17 to decide what direction they wanted to go with the municipal campus, said he felt the fact the council had a definite direction it was moving in was more important than the delay.

“We know what we’re going to do and where and how soon, not when — that I can live with,” Stern said.

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