A councilmember raised a request March 18 to send a letter supporting Olympic College’s application to expand radiology technology and sonography training in Kitsap County.

Staff and councilmembers described the workforce rationale: local hospitals and clinics need trained imaging technicians, and county partners (Kitsap County, regional hospitals) have provided grant support for program development. The presentation noted public-sector and private contributions: Kitsap County has provided $6,000,000 in ARPA pass-through funds to Olympic College for program development, and Virginia Mason Franciscan Health (St. Michael’s) provided about $2,500,000, according to the briefing. The county’s and hospitals’ letters of support and grant commitments were cited by staff.

Councilmembers asked for additional information before committing city funds or endorsing the program formally. Questions included transportation barriers for students required to travel to Tacoma for parts of training, the number of full-time openings locally for rad-tech graduates, the proportion of positions filled by traveling technologists, and long-term clinical placement capacity.

Councilmembers conducted an informal show-of-hands and several indicated they were willing to sign a city letter of support; one councilmember asked for more data and said they would not sign without additional information. Staff and councilmembers clarified the letter would be a non-financial endorsement and that any individual signing on behalf of the city should identify whether they sign in an official or personal capacity.

Ending: Staff said the letter could be finalized on city letterhead and circulated electronically; the council did not take a formal vote and several members volunteered to sign in the coming days.