No one plans to fail, they just fail to plan

A Goldendale Sentinel Editorial

     Planning ahead....
     It's a great idea, in theory. But as we all know, there's always someone there to throw in a monkey wrench just to keep things interesting.
     And of course, there's the always present nay-sayers. And no matter what grand idea is presented, the response is either, "we've never done it that way before," or "we tried that and it didn't work."
     And everything stays the same. It's sort of like swimming in a stagnant pond, no fresh water coming in, no outlet for the waste.
     Several months ago, consultants from the University of Washington came to Goldendale. They had taken us on as a sort of "project." The idea was to see what they could do to help our community grow and improve.
     What a great idea! (Here's the "fresh water")
     One only needs to walk through the downtown area to see there are differing viewpoints on that topic. Some business and/or property owners have assumed that nothing will ever change, and so they let things run along as it always has, neither leading the charge for change, or even showing an interest. If anything is to happen, they'll be dragged along, kicking and screaming all the way. ("no outlet for the waste")
     At the end of the month, April 25, business and property owners will be invited to attend a day-long community planning assistance event. Included in the list of presenters, will be professionals with expertise in Historic Preservation, Economic Development, Growth Management, Landscape Architecture, Transportation and Land Use, Community Transportation, to name a few.
     The goal of the meeting is to identify and analyze Goldendale's existing commercial and retail zones. Using the information, we can shape Goldendale into a destination and not just another bend in the road.
     At the end of the session, there will be a public open house,
     Got an idea to share? Bring it with you. If two heads are better than one, then a few hundred can really get things done.
     Remember, insanity is defined as doing something in the same way over and over and expecting different results.