Public Safety

Camas was recently rated the 18th safest suburb in the country (SmartAsset.com study). While the metrics were limited in scope, it does tell us that we have extremely low crime and violent crime rates. This doesn’t mean that we can’t be safer, but it does mean we are starting from a good place.

The best community safety comes from all of us being responsible for each other. Supporting our neighbors, communicating with our police and leaders. Not looking the other way. Not tolerating bad behavior or bad actions from anyone. Speak up, make the call. I know I will.

“The Lake”

Lacamas Lake belongs to everyone and to no one. What I mean is that it is overseen by the city, by the county, by the state and by the federal government. That’s right and all the applicable agencies of those entities. It is a problem over 100 years in the making and one that has been ignored oftentimes. While everyone wants it clear and clean yesterday, it will take many actions to get there. Yes, there are bio filters that need to be functioning. But there are also septic tanks that need to work, dairies and golf courses that need to cooperate. And we all need to do our part too with chemicals and cars and pets.

The good news is that the science is becoming clear. Now we need to balance the needs of citizens, recreation, property owners and cost. It will take a multi-pronged approach. I’ve been participating in the process and have been asking some hard questions and will continue to do so until we start to see progress.

Spending

No one wants to spend money we don’t need to spend but at the end of the day we have a city to run and that requires spending. Many of the challenges facing Camas today are the result of deferred spending. Clearly, we can’t pay for everything at one time, so we are going to have to be thoughtful and practical as we prioritize. Should we repair streets or upgrade our computer systems? Should we build a new fire station or a new city hall? Should we hire more fire fighters or more police officers? Should we upgrade our water and sewer system or build a new maintenance yard and facility? Should we build a pool or new sports fields?  Not easy choices but we will have to make them. I will be decisive and help lead the council to good decisions.

“The Pool”

We had a nice little pool, yes we did. It served Camas for many decades (yes, my sons swam there) but then it came to the end of its useful life as everything does. I wasn’t part of the decision to decommission it, but I understand how the decision was arrived at. It would have cost millions to rebuild it and then there were the costs of staffing and maintenance. It was decided it wasn’t the best use of our limited resources.

Now we can decide to have a pool, no problem. But that’s not a decision driven either direction by small vocal groups. It’s a decision that should be driven by large amounts of community input. Why is that important? Because we don’t want to have another boondoggle like the pool bond measure that lost by 90%. Clearly the city rushed through that process with limited input. The other thing that would have to be decided is how much we are willing to pay and how would we pay for it? What in the city budget would we swap to pay for a pool and its operations? I’m all ears, let’s talk about it.

Infrastructure

We have two fire stations that do not meet earthquake safety codes, are old and run down. City Hall is undersized and old. Places to let the citizenry be involved are few and oftentimes too small. Road conditions are dismal in many areas, crumbling and breaking down. Building roofs, HVAC systems, technology systems and more are out of date or inadequate. Much of it is due to deferred decisions or kicking the can down the road. I’ll make the decision even if it is difficult.

“The Mill”

Oh, the mill. It has dominated Camas for a century with jobs, services, products, and of course environmental challenges. Hopefully someday we will get the chance to productively use much of the property. Unfortunately, the current owner has not shown much interest in selling it or donating it to Camas or anyone. We need to keep our eye on it, we can include the possibilities in our thinking and planning but for right now it’s a privately owned mill site.

Growth

Camas has grown exponentially in the over 21 years that I have lived here. As many know, Camas is slated to continue to grow. The Growth Management Act requires us to set 10-year plans. We cannot stop growth, but we can plan for it and regulate it. When you hear someone say, “just leave it as it is”, they don’t know the whole story. Every piece of land within our jurisdiction is zoned for some kind of development. Property owners can act within that zoning right now. What we can do is develop our growth plans so they are minimally disruptive (if that can be said of development) and best serve the needs of the citizenry.