Talking Kelso

The Longview City Council voted 3-2 against a resolution that would have authorized an advisory vote gauging voter interest in a merger of Kelso & Longview. Without support from both councils, I would have to assume no advisory vote will be taken in November.

It puzzles me that they chose not to take this opportunity to poll voters on what is a polarizing, but relevant topic. Whether you completely hate the idea of municipal consolidation or think it’s the greatest thing ever, it would seem a council member would want to hear what the constituents think. Perhaps they may reconsider the idea when the two missing members are present, but, for now, it seems like the Longview council is unwilling to consider any opinion but their own.

Update: The Longview city council will meet on August 6 to reconsider the advisory vote with all members present.

The council decided this week to support polling the voters to find out your stance on consolidation. While we’re not sure what the exact ballot title will be, the goal will be to get a firm grip on exactly where voters stand on considering a merger of Kelso and Longview.

In the nearly five years I’ve been involved on the council, the issue of consolidation has come up repeatedly. Some people tell me we’re crazy for not merging, and others that we’re crazy for even considering it. My hope is that with this advisory vote, we can settle the issue for a while, at least. The results hopefully can help us “either [defecate] or get off the pot,” in the edited words of several constituents.

By authorizing this advisory ballot, the council wasn’t taking a position on the issue. I would suspect that just as the community has different opinions on the topic, the council does, too. The one thing it was easy to agree on is that input from the community is invaluable in determining the right path for this process.

Okay, it’s not really ‘done.’ But at least we were able to award a contract for its construction this week. After nearly a decade of process and money hunting, it is nice to have this project moving forward.

I also enjoyed being able to hire a local firm as the general contractor. While I’m sure other contractors would do a good job, it’s comforting to know that you’ve got a company that has to live in the community once they’re done. They can’t just walk away and leave a subpar project behind. Of course, even better is the fact that this particular company, Pacific Tech Construction, has been around for a long time and has a strong history with major projects.

The hope is that the park can get under construction within 2-4 weeks, and can be completed this year. Next stop: the grand opening!

One of the three bids received for the skate park this month was $363,000, a drop of more than $60,000 from the sole bid we received in May. It’s also nice to see a local contractor, Pacific Tech Construction, is the low bidder. Council will decide whether to accept any of the bids on July 7.