Does Poulsbo need to look toward the future or learn its lessons from history? That was the primary question mulled over after members of the North Kitsap Herald Advisory Board met with Poulsbo City Council incumbent Mike Regis and Position 1 challenger Linda Berry-Maraist.

In the end, and on a 3-1 vote, the board determined Monday night that Berry-Maraist’s forward thinking would better serve the residents of Poulsbo.

While the board agreed Regis’ knowledge of the city’s past — from its codes to projects both failed and successful — was thorough and noteworthy, the majority felt he had trouble moving beyond such thinking.

“Historical perspective is important, but he’s stuck there,” one member remarked.

Regis did impress the board with his attention to detail, nonetheless. But the consensus was his views that the issues facing the city today haven’t changed from those of years gone by and rather it was the regulatory landscape that was shifting, didn’t sit well with the majority.

As one board member began to ask a question, “Parking is a problem downtown …” Regis interrupted, stating, “No, it is not.”

“There is no parking problem downtown right now,” he continued, adding that the issue was the problem of the downtown property owners. Most times of the day, he said, parking is not an issue on Front Street.

The board wondered later, if this is the case, why no one can ever seem to find a spot in any short span of time. It also questioned if, just because downtown property owners should be assisting with the parking situation to assist their renters/business owners, the city should wash its hands of the long-standing matter.

As far as parking downtown went, Berry-Maraist said she agreed with new development providing parking and thought the city had been much too hands off on the “problem” for too long.

“The reality is what we’ve been doing is nothing, and that’s not working,” she said. “I’ve been here for 20 years and parking has always been a problem.”

What would work in Berry-Maraist’s assessment? The architect, who was a proponent for the downtown city hall site, said the proposed two-lot location on 3rd Avenue and Moe Street would allow underground parking which would remove a good number of cars from Poulsbo’s downtown streets. Berry-Maraist pointed out the city’s street standards were much too rigid and far too wide, but also noted one-waying 3rd Avenue to create more parking was “impractically expensive” due to steep banks and other construction roadblocks.

The board liked Berry-Maraist’s professional background, her consistent push to improve Poulsbo for children, and her ideas on improving how the city handles certain issues by getting outside feedback from professionals.

Berry-Maraist appears not only to be a team player, but possess the skills needed to take a knowing stand alone as needed while keeping Poulsbo active on instead of reactive to issues.

Regis has put in his time on council and knows how certain aspects of the city work better than most, the group agreed, but the city needs to look forward now — not back.

“He’s a great resource for history, but not so great for the future,” one member said.

The majority agreed with this assessment.