Bob's Acceptance/Concession Speech
Though the outcome of the race is still unknown, I wanted to let the council know my thoughts about the future of Astoria.
Instead of growth for its own sake, as Mr. Roscoe gave as his primary goal at the AAUW candidates forum – growth of people, houses, cars, economic activity, roads, etc. – the primary goal of Astoria should be a better life for its citizens. Quality vs. quantity. We have many assets that other cities would die for – the amazing Columbia River estuary, a Victorian-era housing stock, surrounding forests and awesome people – and the maintenance, upkeep, restoration and enhancement of these assets should be Astoria's primary goal.
Instead of looking at expanding the urban growth boundary, acquiescing to megaprojects like LNG, promoting development at our fringes, such as the Miles Crossing sewer project connection to our water treatment system, and allowing the walling off of our Riverwalk with out-of-scale residential development, Astoria could be doing things that enhance the lives of its residents, our visitors, and the extensive wildlife that calls our urban forest their home.
This effort will require our leaders to work with neighboring cities and counties, the states of Oregon and Washington, and the federal government, as well as with Native Americans, to accomplish its lofty goals. Developers could be guided to use their expertise to restore and enhance our assets, as the Caruana group is now doing downtown. Landowners could be persuaded to sell or donate their land to the city for development into public amenities, such as parks, community centers and sports facilities, or set aside to play its role in maintaining our supporting ecosystem. Homeowners could be encouraged to steward the land around their home, maintain and enhance their home, and take care of adjacent city property, as I currently do as part of the engineering department's gardening program. Our community college, now embarking on a project to upgrade its facilities and programs, could be enlisted to help train our young (and older) people to work in small, sustainable, "green" industries and enterprises, that we could then encourage to locate here, given our skilled labor base, extensive public amenities, and beautiful surroundings.
When I arrived in Astoria in 2005, the area was flush with excitement at the Lewis & Clark Bicentennial celebrations. Impressive restoration projects had converted the Elliott Hotel and the Liberty Theater into world-class attractions, and the establishment of Lewis & Clark National Park and the associated Fort to Sea Trail really highlighted the beauty and bounty of our area, and its history.
In 2011, Astoria will celebrate its own bicentennial. As Mac Burns keeps telling us, the bicentennial brings with it, in addition to a commitment to make it great, many opportunities for our city. There is already a legacy committee looking into these opportunities, and I hope to join them soon. Remember that the major legacy of Astoria's 150th birthday celebrations was our library. We need to be thinking of a new library as the first of many legacy projects of the bicentennial. A community center that would gather many of the now-scattered city facilities, and new ones, under one roof, would be a wonderful legacy that is so needed in our community. And restoration of our urban forest after the storms' devastation could be the most lasting of the bicentennial's legacy projects.
The current city council of Astoria is in a position to encourage and enable all of this to happen. Your leadership would be remembered and celebrated for a long time. From talking with many people during my campaign and before that, I am sure the people of Astoria would be behind you. There's plenty to do, so let's start right now.
Thanks.
Instead of growth for its own sake, as Mr. Roscoe gave as his primary goal at the AAUW candidates forum – growth of people, houses, cars, economic activity, roads, etc. – the primary goal of Astoria should be a better life for its citizens. Quality vs. quantity. We have many assets that other cities would die for – the amazing Columbia River estuary, a Victorian-era housing stock, surrounding forests and awesome people – and the maintenance, upkeep, restoration and enhancement of these assets should be Astoria's primary goal.
Instead of looking at expanding the urban growth boundary, acquiescing to megaprojects like LNG, promoting development at our fringes, such as the Miles Crossing sewer project connection to our water treatment system, and allowing the walling off of our Riverwalk with out-of-scale residential development, Astoria could be doing things that enhance the lives of its residents, our visitors, and the extensive wildlife that calls our urban forest their home.
This effort will require our leaders to work with neighboring cities and counties, the states of Oregon and Washington, and the federal government, as well as with Native Americans, to accomplish its lofty goals. Developers could be guided to use their expertise to restore and enhance our assets, as the Caruana group is now doing downtown. Landowners could be persuaded to sell or donate their land to the city for development into public amenities, such as parks, community centers and sports facilities, or set aside to play its role in maintaining our supporting ecosystem. Homeowners could be encouraged to steward the land around their home, maintain and enhance their home, and take care of adjacent city property, as I currently do as part of the engineering department's gardening program. Our community college, now embarking on a project to upgrade its facilities and programs, could be enlisted to help train our young (and older) people to work in small, sustainable, "green" industries and enterprises, that we could then encourage to locate here, given our skilled labor base, extensive public amenities, and beautiful surroundings.
When I arrived in Astoria in 2005, the area was flush with excitement at the Lewis & Clark Bicentennial celebrations. Impressive restoration projects had converted the Elliott Hotel and the Liberty Theater into world-class attractions, and the establishment of Lewis & Clark National Park and the associated Fort to Sea Trail really highlighted the beauty and bounty of our area, and its history.
In 2011, Astoria will celebrate its own bicentennial. As Mac Burns keeps telling us, the bicentennial brings with it, in addition to a commitment to make it great, many opportunities for our city. There is already a legacy committee looking into these opportunities, and I hope to join them soon. Remember that the major legacy of Astoria's 150th birthday celebrations was our library. We need to be thinking of a new library as the first of many legacy projects of the bicentennial. A community center that would gather many of the now-scattered city facilities, and new ones, under one roof, would be a wonderful legacy that is so needed in our community. And restoration of our urban forest after the storms' devastation could be the most lasting of the bicentennial's legacy projects.
The current city council of Astoria is in a position to encourage and enable all of this to happen. Your leadership would be remembered and celebrated for a long time. From talking with many people during my campaign and before that, I am sure the people of Astoria would be behind you. There's plenty to do, so let's start right now.
Thanks.
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