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When times are tough — and all you have to do is look at the governor’s latest state budget proposals to see how tough they are — individuals, families and whole communities need to decide what their priorities are and how they can most efficiently achieve them. City leaders are asking today for the public’s input on priorities for Crescent City during a town hall from 9:30 to noon at the Crescent Fire Protection District, 255 Washington Blvd. What they hear could have immediate impact, because City Council members may be talking about their budget Monday night. It’s the type of discussion that needs to be taking place at all levels, from family budget meetings to overall community consensus-building. No doubt a lot of time already has been spent setting local priorities, but they must be reinforced and reassessed constantly, especially when the economic landscape shifts.
For the community as a whole, consider a three-pronged approach: 1) Ensure sufficient delivery of the basics, such as water and sewer service, police protection, education, road maintenance and public health. These are obvious priorities, but we need to think beyond the obvious in how to provide them most efficiently. This is where cooperation among various jurisdictions becomes so important. We already have joint-powers authorities for our regional airport, economic development and solid waste management; do we need more? In the long run, we need to seriously consider whether a single urban area known as Crescent City should be governed half by the city and half by the county. Right now, city and county officials must work in concert to secure as much federal assistance as possible — something leaders stressed in a meeting last week with Congressman Mike Thompson. 2) Provide some of the extras commonly needed in any community so that it can thrive and feel good about itself. Volunteers and public officials are working hard on several fronts to provide these “extras.” Take youth activities such as sports or music. Our schools play a key role, but so do the people running youth programs that lay the foundation for success at our middle schools and high school. What else can we do for our younger citizens? The renovated municipal swimming pool is a shining example of volunteers and city government working in concert. And consider community theater; today volunteers are getting down and dirty as work continues to convert a former moviehouse into the new venue of the Lighthouse Repertory Theater. 3) Find new ways to celebrate and exploit the benefits of our unique characteristics. We’re blessed to live in a place where those attributes are obvious. Beyond putting up signs pointing to the beach or the redwoods, how can be better interpret them for ourselves and visitors? The new director of the Marine Mammal Center wants to expand its educational offerings. There’s long been a move afoot to establish a maritime museum. A wildflower show continues today at the fairgrounds. State and national parks officials pretty much handle the redwoods — are they cooperating as efficiently as possible? Our rich environmental diversity and colorful history represent huge potential for tourism, one of the keys to our economic development. Are we spending the necessary seed money to promote ourselves and reap the rewards? Supporters of the Visitors Bureau will no doubt address that today and Monday as they ask the City Council to permanently dedicate a portion of its hotel/motel tax revenue to efforts to attract more paying customers. Priorities and efficiencies. Let’s get to work.
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