Goldendale considers nip-tuck
Rachel Cavanaugh
News Editor
The City of Goldendale may be in for a major makeover.
On Saturday night, at a Chamber of Commerce event, two UW graduate students unveiled a working vision of how they think the city could look in a few years with some architectural renovation.
They showcased ideas they’ve been working on the last few months with a program through the University of Washington’s Department of Architecture.
The program identifies small towns and assists them with planning design and aesthetic renovation. Elements include storefronts, archways, sidewalks, entrances, intersections, and building facades.
“Not a lot of communities have such a pronounced gateway and it really is an asset,” said architecture student, Claire Gear, noting the four-way stop on Columbus and Main.
She went on to point out various assets the community has - prominent signage, wide sidewalks, and spacious city streets - that could be highlighted with proper planning.
Gear was speaking at the annual Membership Banquet for the Greater Goldendale Area Chamber of Commerce.
The idea of the redesign is to boost economic vitality.
Gear, along with fellow student Will Payne, has been sifting through old photos in recent months from the Klickitat County Historical Society to get a feel for the town.
She and Payne said they hope to have recommendations ready for the City by summer 2009. Saturday, they relied mostly on examples from the town of Morton, which was recently helped through the program.
At the moment, the overarching goal is to find characteristics unique to Goldendale and create a theme, based on history and community identity.
They will then create models based on those themes.
The “pedestrian experience” was mentioned as one important factor, especially to tourism.
Another key objective, according to the students, is coming up with a way to pull people off the highway. That would likely involve revamping both town entrances.
Len Crawford, president of the Chamber, said the renovation must extend into town.
“It needs to happen all the way down Broadway,” said Crawford. “It needs to happen all the way down Simcoe. We have to make the entrances to our city so attractive that people want to drive down and see what’s down there.”
Gear agreed, saying it helps to consider what the tourist or passerby is thinking.
“What makes you want to turn there?” said Gear. “What makes you want to slow down in your car?”
Crawford said a key to bolstering vitality is getting the business community to work together. He cited Prosser as an example of a community that has recently completed renovations and is now reaping the economic benefits.
When drivers pass by that town, he said, the entrance is so alluring your “car automatically turns off that freeway.”
“Their business community has come together and they’re a team and that’s what we need to do,” said Crawford.
City administrator, Larry Bellamy, said it is unclear what portion of the student’s models could be used in a renovation plan; however, they provide a solid framework for moving forward.
“We can use that plan as a template or a key piece to actually implement what they suggested could be done,” said Bellamy. “It…gets us across one of the first hurdles we need to get across to make this a reality.
Also present on Saturday, was a woman from the Washington Department of Transportation who spoke about grant options. She is part of a group called the Community Planning Assistance Team (CPAT) that offers pro bono work for towns to find funding.
The students called for suggestions, emphasizing they want to hear feedback from the community.
Crawford expressed enthusiasm for the project.
“I believe if this is the right direction we want to go, the Chamber is probably going to pick up the ball on this and work very, very hard to make this happen, along with the City.” said Crawford.
He pointed to tough economic times, but remained optimistic.
“We’ll conquer this in Goldendale,” said Crawford. “The future of Goldendale is already in sight.”
“Success or failure is in your hands,” he added. “The only way we’re going to do it is to work together as a team.”
Thieves target Obama signs
Campaign officials reported a raid on democratic political signs this week as the general election gets closer.
The raid targeted mostly Obama signs, although some were also taken down promoting local candidates, including Jerry Gaines and Lea Rachford, both running for county commissioner.
According to campaign coordinator, Loren Johnson, at least 26 democratic signs were stolen in Goldendale last week.
The overwhelming majority, he said, were signs promoting presidential candidate, Barack Obama.
“The target has primarily been Obama,” said Johnson. “At first I thought it was school kids but I don’t really think that now,” he said, noting the times during which they were stolen didn’t match up with students.
Johnson said he thinks it is republican voters who are upset about the upcoming election.
“Some of the republicans are probably feeling pretty frantic at this time,” said Johnson.
“There could [also] be some racist tones...that can’t be completely dismissed in Klickitat County.
“I have found people that are traditionally democratic that aren’t going to vote democratic because of this. I think there is some deep prejudice that some of these people have been living with all their lives,” added Johnson.
In the last few days, he has replaced about 20 signs, he said.
However, republicans emphasized that their signs have also been the subject of attack.
Keith Silen, a former county republican chair, said he has replaced several signs during the course of the campaign.
He noted it has not been all at once, like these cases, but said the incidents that happened last week were isolated events and don’t reflect the actions of republicans at large.
He said he thinks the majority were probably taken by kids.
“That surprises me,” said Johnson. “I can’t imagine anyone being that way from the republican side.”
He also pointed out that state or government officials will remove any signs on public property.
Laura Cheney, Chair for the Klickitat County Republican Party, said they have had similar issues in White Salmon, where the demographic tends to be more liberal.
There, they are stealing McCain signs.
“They’re either taking them or covering up a McCain-Palin with an Obama sign,” said Cheney. “One woman had her sign covered up with an Obama sign and she was nice enough to return the sign to the Obama headquarters.”
She guesses more than ten have disappeared or been vandalized in the course of the election.
City seeks funds for neighborhood improvement
The City of Goldendale will be going house-to-house this week to get information for a neighborhood improvement grant.
Administrators need demographics to see if they qualify for the Community Development Block Grant program through a state economic development program.
Beginning as soon as Wednesday, City administrator Larry Bellamy and others will be giving out surveys in select parts of town where the grant would be applied.
If the City receives the funding, it would be able to make repairs and revitalize select parts of town.
The areas will be the 100 to 400 blocks of King, Academy, Schuster, and Wilber, as well as the 300 to 600 blocks of East Court, Allyn, and Burgen.
“Since we’re doing some reparations of water lines in that area we thought, ‘Why don’t we do something that goes hand in hand?’” said Bellamy. “I want to try to take advantage of the [grant] program as much as possible.”
Bellamy asked residents to be prepared for his visit or other personnel from the City.
Bellamy elected to Chamber
City administrator, Larry Bellamy, was elected to the Board of Directors Greater Goldendale Area Chamber of Commerce this month.
According to Bellamy, the position will allow him to work more closely with the Chamber on items relevant to the community.
“The Chamber and the City have been working together on economic development issues...we felt we wanted to continue to develop our relationship and I felt like I would offer, if they needed someone on the Board, to help continue that relationship,” said Bellamy.
The administrator will fill position three which was left vacant by Debi Svendsen.
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