Commissioner Gelder to host Walk & Talk events througout North Kitsap

POULSBO — Kitsap County Commissioner Rob Gelder recently announced that he will be holding a series of 15 “Walk & Talk” community conversations throughout Kitsap starting at the Port Gamble Forest Heritage Park on August 4.

The purpose of the talks, Gelder said, was to have the opportunity to hear the voices of folks around North Kitsap, in their own communities.

“I’ve been doing the walk and talks for probably about seven years,” Gelder explained. “They’ve always been based out of Kingston. We would kind of meet there and walk around the community. I just thought it was time for a refresh and there’s a lot of other communities, neighborhoods in the north end that I just kind of wanted to touch base with.”

Gelder’s Walk & Talk events will be part of an ongoing series of community conversations held throughout the area. Each of the talks are set to occur on the first Saturday of each month at 9:30 a.m.

“I thought I would mix it up a little bit and kind of create a rotation around my district,” Gelder said. “I’m always available by appointments but I really wanted to say, ‘OK, as opposed to just sitting, let’s do something.’ I sit a lot at meetings and the inspiration was to say, ‘OK, we’ve got a lot of great stuff in this community. Let’s get moving and explore the community while we’re talking about whatever issues might be on someone’s mind.”

The commissioner said that the events would be structured primarily as a question and answer period and depending on attendance and conditions, usually last about an hour and a half.

“I just want to hear what other issues or concerns that folks might have and if they have questions about topics, I can bring them up to speed on what’s happening,” Gelder said. “I am totally open to whatever is on people’s minds.”

Other scheduled Walk & Talk’s:

September 1, 2018, Hansville – Hansgrill – 7532 NE Twin Spits Rd
No October Event
November 3, 2018 – Kingston – Kingston office – 26076 Illinois Ave
December 1, 2018 – Poulsbo – Coffee Oasis – 780 NE Iverson St
January 5, 2019 – Bainbridge Island – BI Senior Center – 370 Brien Dr SE
February 2, 2019 – Kingston – Kingston office – 26076 Illinois Ave
No March Event
April 6, 2019 – Keyport – Keyport Mercantile – 15499 Washington Ave
May 4, 2019 – Indianola – General Store – 9175 NE Shore Dr
June 1, 2019 – Kingston – Kingston office – 26076 Illinois Ave
July 6, 2019 – Suquamish – Suquamish Pier
August 3, 2019
Port Gamble – Port Gamble Forest Heritage Park parking lot (main lot, west side of highway 104) – September 7, 2019
Hansville – Hansgrill – 7532 NE Twin Spits Rd – October 5, 2019
Kingston – Kingston office – 26076 Illinois Ave – November 2, 2019
Poulsbo – Coffee Oasis – 780 NE Iverson St – December 7, 2019
Kingston – Kingston office – 26076 Illinois Ave