The community assessment task force held meetings in various parts of the city to help us identify ways we could improve Kelso. Their report will be presented to the council in a special workshop on Tuesday, June 30 at 6PM. Everyone is welcome to join us!
From a release by the city manager’s office:
The next scheduled citizen outreach meeting to provide input to the Kelso Community Assessment Taskforce, which will be held Saturday, January 31, 2009, from 10 AM – Noon at the Coweeman Middle School Library. This taskforce, a collaboration between the City of Kelso and the Kelso-Longview Chamber, will solicit community input through a series of outreach meetings in different geographical parts of the city.
The information will be used to evaluate the community assessment conducted this spring by Destination Development, Inc., a branding consultant hired by the city to evaluate our “community appeal.” Their suggestions as to how Kelso can better position itself to enhance its image and economic development growth will form the basis for an action plan to be presented to the City Council.
Rick Winsman, President of the Kelso Longview Chamber of Commerce, facilitating this process, said, “the Taskforce wants to hear from all parts of our community, not just the Downtown. It is important that every resident has the opportunity to let us know what improvements matter to them.”
Here’s a group that wants to hear your input on how to make the city attractive to growth. There’s a third meeting scheduled in February…more on that later.
We had the opportunity last night to hear from Roger Brooks at Destination Development about his company’s experiences visiting Kelso from a tourist’s perspective. Brooks specializes in helping cities identify areas for improvement and strategies to increase local tourism (also known as getting our citizens some money from outside our community!)
Brooks identified some shortcomings in the area, such as poor signage directing visitors around town, a lack of downtown greenery, and opportunities for improving cleanliness and neatness of commercial properties in the downtown core. However, he also noted many assets that the city has which could be leveraged to increase tourism, such as a nice compact downtown area, an attractive city hall, and a beautiful (Three Rivers) golf course. Brooks encouraged us to adopt a theme (also known as a brand) to unify efforts for attraction and decoration of properties and in marketing.
Because Brooks’ company specializes in providing consulting services helping cities develop branding, it was no surprise that one of his suggestions would include a thematic approach. What did surprise me is that without input from community members, the brand that Destination Development identified was a Scottish theme. Brooks pointed out possible applications of this theme, such as decorating downtown properties in a Scottish or British style, encouraging businesses that fit that theme (Scottish restauranteurs are welcome), etc.
The neatest part about this recommendation is that I’ve heard similar thoughts from citizens repeatedly, so it seems like a brand that would be embraced by the community. My biggest fear in the branding process was that we would have to try to squeeze ourself into a ‘made up’ brand that really wasn’t who we are. With a Scottish theme, we would already have many pieces in place, like our high school sports teams, the popular Highlander Festival, and even a plaid city flag!
Tuesday, April 22, we will hear the results of a recent evaluation of Kelso from the perspective of a visitor to the community. The evaluation, performed by Destination Development, is designed to help identify ways that we can make the city more attractive to tourism and development. In other words, we want to figure out how to get money from outside the area. 
Some at the city have been fearful of the public whipping they’re afraid is inevitable at this meeting. Personally, I welcome the opportunity to hear about things we can do better. It shouldn’t be threatening. We all know that there are areas we can improve, as well as many things going right. The sooner we figure out the improvements needed, the sooner we can correct them.
In my business, we’re required to have a peer review every three years. I’ve always chosen to have the same procedures performed annually, even though it’s not required. In that instance, like this, I want an outside perspective to help identify what we can do better.
Anyway, if you’ve got some time Tuesday night, come join us to hear the results of the evaluation.
Kelso News