T he C olumbia P ress
April 6, 2018
A Message from Warrenton’s Mayor
by Henry Balensifer
Growth is great, but prompts Warrenton to set goals
Warrenton is a very exciting
place to be.
We’ve seen unprecedented
growth in the past 10 years.
This has translated into a
cornucopia of shopping and
dining choices, and we’re
building more housing than
any other city in the county.
There’s something for just
about everybody. There’s
no denying — these chang-
es have come with growing
pains, but we are poised to
meet those challenges. The
primary question we’re ask-
ing is “What decisions can we
make now to ensure Warren-
ton is a great place to live and
raise a family in 10 years?”
Last meeting, the City Com-
mission established 4 goals
to begin answering that ques-
tion.
Each has specific bench-
marks to ensure the citizens
can measure tangible results
from these goals.
The goals are Community
Building, Vision Plan Up-
date, Downtown Improve-
ments and Emergency Pre-
paredness.
I’ll briefly cover the bench-
marks for these goals:
•Community Building:
We want to create more op-
portunities for residents to
interact. This includes en-
couraging city departments
to sponsor events. We will
also create a public email
newsletter to better spread
the word about events, proj-
ects and meetings. Finally,
we wanted a citizen police
academy to foster better un-
derstanding of police work in
our city. I’m proud to say the
WPD is already taking appli-
cations on the city website!
•Vision Plan Update:
We have prioritized starting
a communitywide process
for updating the 2001 Com-
munity Vision Plan. This
will inform future chang-
es to our city code as we lay
the groundwork for a more
livable, vibrant city in the
decades to come. We also
decided to apply for grant
funding to start an econom-
ic roadmap plan. Unlike a
vision plan, which is aimed
at long-term future goals, an
economic roadmap looks at
what exists and creates an ac-
tion plan for immediate work
and near-term results.
• Downtown Improve-
ments: These have been
talked about for decades.
Using grants, as well as city
and Urban Renewal Agency
funds, we plan on updating
our urban renewal plan to de-
tail the most strategic use of
funds and increase mobility
in our downtown corridors.
We also are going to deal with
blighted and nuisance prop-
erties.
• Emergency Prepared-
ness: This is ongoing, but
overall, we plan to do better
at getting the word out and
preparing citizens for emer-
gencies. This isn’t just for
“the big one,” but also small-
er incidents.
Preparedness is a mindset,
and we recognize the city
must take a more active role
in shaping that. We are cur-
rently trying to put together
a new Emergency Operations
Plan to serve as a springboard
for more preparedness, and
we are putting up sirens at
the Warrenton and Ham-
mond fire stations.
Concerned about elk?
I will be hosting my sec-
ond Town Hall at 6 p.m.
Thursday, April 12, at the
community center.
The topic will be elk and
there will be a briefing from
OSP, ODFW and WPD.
Come find out more about
the elk issue, the stats and
what to do about it.
I’ll also be looking for
community-driven ideas
on what other things we
could do about it.
3
Auto dealer donates van to mission
Warrenton KIA do-
nated a van to Astoria
Rescue Mission last
week after learning
it was having trouble
serving the homeless
with just one vehicle.
“God hasn’t given up
on these people, and
it’s nice to know that David Newman accepts the vehicle title from
Erik Hansen, Warrenton KIA inventory man-
neither has Warrenton ager, right. At left is Newman’s wife, Amy.
KIA,” said David New-
man, the mission’s executive help the organization contin-
director. “Many who come to ue its mission of helping those
us are struggling with over- in need of food, shelter, cloth-
ing and spiritual support.
whelming problems.
Warrenton KIA was glad
“The Astoria Rescue Mis-
sion helps provide for their to help a worthwhile organi-
physical, emotional and spir- zation that is helping others,
itual needs. To know that said Roxanne Williams-Mo-
someone cares, means a great rinville, owner of Warrenton
deal to the staff and to those KIA. “Being a part of this
community is what this com-
who come to the mission.”
The 1996 Ford Econoline will pany was founded on.”