POULSBO — North Kitsap High School juniors Sophie Bonami and Elizabeth Nodolf made their push for the Martinson Cabin before the Poulsbo City Council Wednesday night.

However, their push was thwarted when Mayor Kathryn Quade informed them the issue must go before finance/administration committee, the public works committee and the community services committee before the full council makes a decision.

“We do have a proposal and it will be going through the committee system,” Quade said. “Hopefully, we can tie all the loose ends up, but it’s going to take a little bit longer to get there.”

Nodolf, who along with Bonami was dressed in an early 1900s style garb, told the council the pair has been volunteering with the Poulsbo Historical Society for three hours every Wednesday afternoon since the fall of 2005.

“We’ve been working on inventorying some of the collection and we curate a display at North Kitsap,” Nodolf said.

Bonami added that the society has a great deal of history about the Martinson cabin that is ready to be displayed.

“It would help educate residents and visitors to Poulsbo about this historic place and every time we go up there someone tries to get in,” Nodolf said.

The cabin, which is located at Nelson Park, has an outdoor picnic area, plenty of parking and a public restroom, but no one has the opportunity to see it, she said.

“With your help we can make our past become your future,” Nodolf and Bonami said as they ended their presentation.

PHS curator Erica Varga said the society plans to recreate the cabin as historically accurate as possible.

“We plan on having long-term as well as short-term rotating exhibits in the cabin,” Varga said.

The society would also use part of the cabin for a seating area, so its more senior members can sit and give presentations on different historical topics, she said.

“We also see using the rest of the park for old-time picnics and pioneer days,” Varga said.

The cabin was built to be ADA accessible, its first floor is safe for occupancy, and the society hopes to have it open for 15 to 20 hours a week, she said.

“Insurance, utilities, maintenance and security are issues, but I think you find a lot of these issues have already been addressed,” Varga said.