No applicants yet for Poulsbo City Council vacancy

Poulsbo City Council member Linda Berry-Maraist said on Dec. 10 that her last day on the council would be Jan. 21. After she made that announcement, the council set an application period for residents who might be interested in completing Berry-Maraist’s term. But as of the last day of 2014, there were no applicants.

By Richard Walker • December 31, 2014 3:42 pm

Tags: North Kitsap

POULSBO — Poulsbo City Council member Linda Berry-Maraist said on Dec. 10 that her last day on the council would be Jan. 21.

After she made that announcement, the council set an application period for residents who might be interested in completing Berry-Maraist’s term.

But as of the last day of 2014, there were no applicants.

“We have not received any applications,” City Clerk Nicole Stephens said Dec. 31. “We’re very surprised. We’re thinking [potential applicants] are waiting until after the holidays to apply.”

The application deadline is Jan. 15. The City Council will interview applicants on Jan. 24. The term will begin upon appointment by the council and will expire upon certification of the results of the Nov. 3 election.

City Council members are elected to four-year terms and receive $6,000 a year.

According to the City Council’s legislative mission statement on www.cityofpoulsbo.com: The City Council “endeavors to balance residents’ concerns and opinions with the law. The Council establishes the priorities of the City along with setting policies and a budget to allow the Mayor and Department Heads to run day-to-day business effectively and efficiently.”

The City Council meets the first, second and third Wednesday of the month, but council members also provide a voice for the city on other committees. Berry-Maraist served on committees that addressed parking and speed control, the Noll Road corridor, and the South Fork Dogfish Creek Master Plan. She was council liaison to the Poulsbo Parks and Recreation Commission and the North Kitsap School District.

She worked on transportation policy with the Kitsap Regional Coordinating Council and the Puget Sound Regional Council, and served on the executive board of the Peninsula Regional Transportation Planning Organization, which reports to the state Department of Transportation.

In the area of environment and planning, she served on the Puget Sound Partnership’s Ecosystem Coordination Board, the Puget Sound Regional Council’s Growth Management Policy Board, and the West Sound Watershed Council.