Video courtesy of Nancy Kusky of Goldendale TV. Please subscribe to her YouTube Channel.
Last night’s Goldendale City Council meeting focused on a request by Klickitat County to vacate a portion of Grant Street next to the county courthouse. A number of people spoke against the proposal, at least in its present form. Here is a composite of some of the responses:
“I think vacating this street is not a good policy; it is almost like spot zoning. To cut that off, and cut off access to the church, to me would be a travesty. This plan was proposed by the previous board of commissioners. I personally don’t like this plan. I tried to change this plan: I was outvoted. I object to it wholeheartedly. So many people have raised concerns that I hadn’t really thought about, I won’t be able to support the plan as it is.”
One of the prime objections was the lack of access from Allyn Street. Currently that helps parking for services at the Nazarene Church next door. One church spokesman said he had talked with the library staff and said they were also concerned about parking for patrons when they have events.
In the end, every council member expressed opposition to the plan as it was presented. In a split vote, four councilors voted to table the proposal until it could be reworked. Councilor Fil Ontoveros abstained, as he had not been at the meeting where the proposal was initially presented and Councilor Steve Johnston voted no, because he said he was unalterably opposed to any plan that vacated Grant Street.
In other news, Police Chief Jay Hunziker shared the news that a well-respected nonprofit called TIP was expanding to include Klickitat County. TIP, he told councilors, stands for Trauma Intervention Program, and he described it as being composed of:
“Specially trained and thoroughly screened citizen volunteers who provide emotional and practical support to survivors of traumatic events and their families in the first few hours following a tragedy. TIP is a national nonprofit tax-exempt organization. Services are available to survivors and their families free of charge and are made possible by donations from local governments, businesses and individuals. State Patrol are already aware of this. They use it down in Vancouver. Sergeant Covey Hoff says it’s a fantastic program. Many. many great things come from the assistance of these people.”
Hunziker plans to bring a representative from the TIP organization to brief the council t an upcoming meeting.
And a special library subcommittee of the council next Monday at the council chambers at 4 pm. This is in response to a local citizens group who were upset at some of the material they found at the cily library. The meeting is open to the public.