Something wonderful is taking form in Port Townsend: the city’s new Community Services Department. Under the guidance of its new director, current (and continuing) Port Townsend Library …
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Something wonderful is taking form in Port Townsend: the city’s new Community Services Department. Under the guidance of its new director, current (and continuing) Port Townsend Library Director Melody Sky Weaver, the Community Services Department promises to integrate the library, all parks currently managed by Park and Facilities, and a new Arts and Culture Department into a unified whole that will oversee the Port Townsend Creative District.
In the works is the appointment of a new Arts and Culture Coordinator to steward our state-designated Creative District and its five aspects: visual, literary, performing, culinary, and makers (artisan) arts. As Weaver explained during a delightful face-to-face chat, “I will start by creativng a permanent home for the Creative District.”
Weaver’s path to Port Townsend speaks volumes about her approach and vision. “When I was studying art and art history in Egypt, the seeds of librarianship were planted in me at the newly rebuilt library of Alexandria,” she said. “Its librarians were actively working to shape their culture and fight against intolerance. I had never before thought about the active role libraries could take in building their communities. [Since then,] I constantly think about community and the ways we can create equitable access so that everyone has a place and feels a sense of welcoming, belonging and connection.”
Many pages are needed to fully explore the many multi-generational community-building programs Weaver has either strengthened or instituted at the “treasure house for books” that is our library and its county-wide affiliates. Her accomplishments point to her vision of more holistic, coordinated services for all.
Asked for an example of what she might do, Weaver replied, “We all know how important public works is. Beyond supplying clean water and good roads, public works helps build the fabric of the community we want to live in. It creates places and spaces that bring people together and foster community. It’s all about connection.
“My goal is to think more holistically about how we provide services. I think about the collaborative work we’ve already done, including Story Walk at Kai Tai Lagoon and collaborations between our new inaugural Poet Laureate program, the Port Townsend Arts Commission, and the library. I’m excited to think about greater synergies as these departments working together to help rebuild our parks, which have not had sufficient TLC over the years.
“You can have a lot of people in a place and not really have a sense of community. Spaces and places like libraries and parks and art galleries bring people together and remind us that we’re more similar than different. I love the idea of people who have very different opinions sitting on a park bench and coming together over a shared appreciation of nature or a book they’re reading or a play they just saw. It’s about creating bridges and lifting each other up by sharing what we find wonderful.”
Weaver points to the embarrassment of riches and hidden treasures that make Port Townsend so special. Perhaps, she ruminated, the new Community Services Department can act as a one-stop place for learning about these resources and ensuring that they’re supporting each other rather than overlapping.
How to create connection without instituting initiatives that require new taxes is, of course, a constant challenge during a period where high costs increase divisions between people of different means and fragment community. Aware of this reality, Weaver noted that the city’s initiative advanced after the library conducted a study that showed that combining departments would create a cost savings for the city.
“This is the best city team I’ve ever been part of,” she said. The ways that we work together, collaborate and support one another are really inspiring. We are really good about holding space for one another, hearing each other’s viewpoints, and learning from each other. You can do anything if you have a great, high-functioning team with a growth mindset. That’s what makes this new department possible.”
I asked Weaver about her plans for Port Townsend’s lamentably controversial Arts Markers. Since Weaver and I both had a say in which design the city adapted for those arts markers — we have never revealed how we voted, out of respect for the local artists who submitted designs — it’s a concern that’s near and dear to our hearts.
“Due to the conditions of the state grant that enabled the city to commission the arts markers, they must remain where they are through June of 2026,” she said. “After that, we can potentially consider putting all five together. They would be enjoyed in a new way. Whether there would be other arts markers to signify the five aspects of the Creative District is something exciting that we can look forward to exploring with the city’s new full-time Arts and Culture Coordinator.”
Weaver praised the many existing opportunities to help support and bring artists together in the community, including the monthly Nexus programs started by former Creative District head (and Leader editor before that), Mitzi Jo Gordon. “It’s all about creating something bigger than ourselves that serves a greater purpose than just serving one individual,” she said. “That’s why I love public institutions that welcome everyone and remove barriers.”
As we enter the new year, I raise my metaphorical, alcohol-free glass high in thanks to Weaver and everyone in city government whose dedication and vision will help carry us forward and thrive in the years ahead.
Jason Victor Serinus is a critic of culture, music, and audio. A longtime advocate for rights, equality, and freedom, he is also a professional whistler. Column tips: jvsaisi24@gmail.com