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Council agenda for Monday, Jan. 25
Highlights: “overview of Project Management for New Water Treatmeet Plant“; “Aquatic Plant Management Plan” (Duck Lake “and associated waterways”), public hearing on updated plan; Weatherwax banking; and everybody’s favorite . . . “City Council discussion on the speed limits and citizen requests to change some speed limits”
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19 Responses to “Council agenda for Monday, Jan. 25”
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How many of you saw how much traffic was on a particular street when you looked for homes? You probably ran around town with a realtor and quickly saw home after home. Your focus was on the home. In the maybe 10 minutes or less you stayed there, you saw how much traffic here?
I could see someone saying it about Point Brown or Ocean Shores Blvd because they are main roads, but all the others are really residental roads.
Some GPS systems did not even show the other roads here in the past. That is how significant they were.
State Law recommends 25 MPH on residental roads. Strange that Aberdeen and Hoquiam are 30 MPH on the main road in their town. I guess we can use them to justify EMS and School taxes. I guess we can use them to say how many police officers and firemen we have. However, we can’t use them for speed limits? I think there is a disconnect.
I hear about people living on “impacted streets” complaining about the traffic. People pay extra to live on side streets, cul-de-sacs, etc. without that traffic burden, and those that bought their property at a discount, because it was a busy street, are now complaining. The streets were there long before the houses. I, for one, don’t have much sympathy for those complainers.
I agree that it would be wonderful to have 4 or 5 more Officers.
The same argument could be made to have 20 or 30 more. (Think of how safe we would be then.)
Where do you draw the line? This whole discussion boils down to “What can we afford?” or “What are we willing to pay or give up?” I don’t know about some of you, but I really can’t afford much more in the way of taxes and therefore I am willing to take on additional risk in order to keep my household together.
What am I willing to give up? The city has already pretty much divested itself from the Library/Interpretive Center and is leaving it up to the citizens to find a way to keep them open on very reduced schedules. What’s next? Convention Center? Closing it would save whatever it costs to run, but the Convention Center comes reasonably close to paying for itself, so there wouldn’t be that much of a net saving. Closing it would also reduce the amount of B&O taxes collected due to the reduction of tourists that it attracts.
That pretty much leaves City Hall and whatever portion of Public Works is funded from the General Fund. There have been cuts there also, but for some reason nobody seems to be too upset about the folks that lost their jobs in those departments. Maybe we should cut them even further? Cut enough services and/or raise the taxes far enough to drive enough people out of town and then the reduced Police Force will be “properly” staffed for a smaller town. (Talk about thinking ahead of the curve.)
whatever it
As I sit in my livingroom just off Point Brown Ave SW, I hear the
cars and trucks go by. If they’re doing the speed limit, I need to
re-assess my concept of speed. I remember when Pt. Brown was 50mph,
and don’t remember too many accidents that were caused by speeding
traffic. Actually, the only accident I remember was a friend whos
old Ford pick-up had a steering linkage failure, and wound up in
the weeds with no damage to the truck, other than needing a new
tie rod…
SteveL
Maybe they were too busy on other calls to sit and do traffic enforcement? Because you complain when they sit by the side of the road, but then complain that they are not doing any enforcement on the speed limit. Sometimes two will sit together and get the traffic going both directions. But if they are on other calls then they wouldn’t be available to enforcement the speed limit. Sounds like you need more cops, not less, if you want enough people to respond to all the calls AND regulate the speed limit.
The biggest speed traps are on the north end of dolphin, the grade school, and around the cinema. I used to see the guys out there a lot during the day. Last time I got the paper, it showed that on the police log too.
They are really busy on Dolphin these days. I am sure a copy of the Police Log would show that. It is the new speed trap of Ocean Shores.
Remember the word ENFORCEMENT? I don’t even see citizens worried or paying any attention to the new speed limits, as there is no one out there to enforce them. No, the answer it not more cops, for even when our police force was totally staffed, there was no enforcement, so that excuse just doesn’t work anymore. If you buy a magazine but never read it, is there any sense in renewing your subscription? That is the situation in Ocean Shores.
How about a poll of the people living on the impacted streets? It is there street and probably their children and familes walking and biking down them. Everyone else will just have to abide by their decision. What people forget is that drivers are required go give bikes and pedestrians sufficent space on the road and they have the right of way at crosswalks and sidewalks. Yes, that does mean the roundabout too.
Everyone would like to see the police department we had several years ago. The only problem with that theory is that the unions have priced those days out of existence with their contracts. Soap box editorials won’t bring that back. Concessions by the police union will. There is only so much money in the kitty, so let’s hear about what city service you suggest we give up to grant your wish? Even if we close the convention center to pay for your wish, which is the only thing they haven’t gone after yet, you are still stuck with paying for that out of the general fund in a few years when the county stipend disappears. Its great to dream, but sooner or later reality gets in the way.
As far as the speed limit thing goes, how many signatures do you think would be necessary to force a council vote on this? I understand that our “EMS committee” is doing a citizen poll about EMS. If the city really wants the public’s opinion on this, why don’t they include the speed limit issue as one of their questions? Did anyone ever ask us about the roundabout and the fire station? Inquiring minds want to know.
I would like to see us talk about reinstating the police department we used to have. They are a very vital part of our community. Just because we do not see them out there working every day does not mean that they are not working. Do you have any idea how many calls they get in a given week? It ebbs and wans but they are busy guys. Who do you think responds when a daughter calls the police and wonders why daddy hasn’t answered the phone in 3 days? Who do you think finds Daddy’s body and notifies the EMTs, coroner, and next of kin? Who do you think makes arrangements for the deseaseds animals and calms the children who just lost their daddy? Who takes the calls from a worried wife whose husband left a note saying he was going to Ocean Shores to kill himself? Who drives on every stretch of road in this town to try to find that husband? Who do you think talks that drunk guy out of his house where he is threatening to kill his girlfriend, her kids, and them himself? And why do you think you don’t know anything about any of these situations? Because they don’t exist for you, because the police are there to handle it. They are the ones who not only respond to calls of criminal behavior but to calls of help. You don’t read about it because it would be in really BAD TASTE to print it. We don’t hear about a fraction of the things police do because it’s human decency to not report on it. Yeah, you could get the call logs if you so choose but even you would cringe at some of the stuff you would see and wouldn’t bother to follow up on it. They are cops because that is what they were called to do. They are there to clean up the mess that society has created. They don’t brag about it, they don’t asked to be commended or thanked, but it is very nice for them when they get even the most basic amount of respect for what they do. Busting criminals is not the only purpose they serve and when you live in a community such as ours, cops are dealing with a large number of calls that are not crime related, but these people need help in the ways that the police are trained to give it. So many suicides have been stopped because the cops were there to do what they were trained to do. While no crime has been committed, they respond to an altercation between neighbors that would have likely escalated to a crime, but it was distinguished because of the police presence and them doing what they are trained to do.
So let’s not make this all about crime, police officers are highly trained professionals in many aspects. They work crisis intervention, they de-escalate potentially explosive situations, they investigate suspicious behavior, they kick disruptive patrons out of bars, keep drunks off the road, find little kids wandering down the street, aid domestic and wild critters, keep your neighbor from blaring his music until 3AM, keep you from beating up your neighbor for blaring his music until 3AM, move dead critters off the road so that they dont cause an accident, investigate car accidents, identify stolen vehicles, respond to things that go bump in the night, help get abused kids out of bad situations, help parents who are being abused by their kids get out of bad situations, figure out where the lost little old man belongs, find “missing” persons, and directs a citizen to return a baby seal to the beach.
I think these arguments took a wrong turn when they started focusing on the police and crime. Sometimes they are just trying to figure out whether or not a crime actually ocurred, and a lot of the time they are just helping people. Because that is their job. That is what they take an oath to do when they accept that badge and that gun. And you can’t call BS on this argument because we teach our kids to go to the police if they need help. We do that because the policeman’s job first and foremost is to help.
If you have ever needed a cop then you know how to appreciate them. They may not respond to crimes all the time, but they respond to people. And we are all people, who at some time or another are going to find ourselves in need of help. Please remember that when you are disrespecting the people who hold that badge and have pledged to uphold a duty and responsibility to their community, whether they are on or off duty.
I hope that in your time of need, an officer is available to assist you. Because that person who holds that badge has a family who loves them, who has spent a countless number of weekends, holidays, special occassions and vacations without them, so that they could be out there on the street protecting you and your loved ones. This is not a “job” they go to, this is a lifestyle; it is not a “career”, it is a calling. Because not every one of us has the ability to see what they see, do what they do, and still come home intact at the end of their shift and try to function as a normal person.
Many of you should be ashamed at your limited visions and judgemental accusations, for you know not what you speak about. I am praying for each and every one of you that has discounted our diligent police department, that there are enough of them to serve all of you in your time of need. They really are there to serve the public but the public has seriously let them down. But I know for a fact that in your time of need, each and every one of them will look you in the eye and tell you the truth, even if they know you’re on here stabbing them in the back. Because that is what they do, it is their life, their calling, and what they have pledged to do. They will protect you even as you make attempts to destroy their credibility. And in my opinion, that takes a bigger person than you or I will ever be.
As to the speed limit issue, 400 signatures do not make a majority. I think there are 5000 citizens in Ocean Shores. There are over 3000 registered voters. Close to 2200 voted last time. So, why are we doing this again? Don’t we have more important issues to bring forward?
How about that horse tail and Scotch Broom? The landlubber have that problem. All this talk about fish reminds me of Monty Python… Oh Fishy, Fishy, Fishy, Fish.
i’m sure glad i have no jungle creature flowering weeds in my garden.
Who is calling who a dumb fish? Be nice!
Oh lovely we now have dumb fish
OK EVERYONE, I HAVE THE ANSWER TO ALL OF OUR PROBLEMS!
The answer to all of our social wills is so easy, I cannot believe that anyone has considered this before! Forget all of the problems with our government, fire, police and public works…
The true solution to this problem is to become a part of that which is the true essence of all that the north beach represents. We need to be incorporated with Oyehut, and let this name be what we as an area are all about…
Ocean Shores is history……long live Oyehut!!!
This statement should catch your eye too:
Establish discussion between lake and waterway residents with state and local government in an effort to secure a funding source necessary to manage and maintain the system in future years. It is unrealistic to rely on or expect that all future funding required to maintain the system be the sole responsibility of the City of Ocean Shores. Lakefront and waterway property owners receive the greatest monetary benefit from maintaining an environmentally healthy lake and canal system.
Strange, what about all those fishing tournaments? How about all the day use people? Are they saying that people that don’t live on the lake never use it? The lakes are our drainage system. That has been repeated by Ken over and over. The Storm Drain Utility is supposed to be managing it. We do pay to support that utility. Should the people adjacent to the Airport pay for that too? How about the Golf Course? How about the Jetty, Dunes and Beach?
You should download and read the section about the Duck Lake Elodea study. It appears they are recommending more grass carp and scuba and snorkel divers to remove the remaining elodea. Apparently the existing grass carp in the lake don’t know how to swim to where their most abundant food source is, so they plan on planting more. Why aren’t we holding the company that placed the initial chemical in the lake responsible for removing this infestation all concentrated in one location, that they apparently didn’t concentrate on initially, rather than throwing more money at it to clean up the problems they left?