Maple Valley has been my home for eight years. Two years ago, I decided to get involved with City government and joined the Planning Commission and Economic Development Committee. In this position, I hear a number of complaints, but seldom do the initiators have anything to offer as far as solutions. The City Council, Planning Commission and Economic Development Commission hold open meetings. The public is able to make comments at the beginning and end of the meetings. We also hold public hearings. The public is asked to comment on particular issues prior to final adoption. Unfortunately, there is little public participation at these meetings. However, once the subjects have been approved, we start to hear the complaints. We invite you to attend these meetings or write e-mails to the City Council and express your concerns. It is especially helpful if there are items that affect a large number of residents or businesses. An e-mail campaign to the City Council is particularly beneficial when it comes to addressing your issues.

Two problems that I hear most are the Sign Code and the lack of communication between the City and the businesses community. Sadly, individual complaints get very little hearing. An e-mail campaign to the Council from a large number of residents or businesses will have a better chance to get a fair hearing and a greater possibility for a positive result.

Another solution to the situation is for the City to hire a coordinator who would be responsible for meeting with the business community to help justify solutions. The coordinator could work with new businesses to help them through the maze of City regulations and seek businesses resident’s desire. Phillip Morley had this responsibility in the past, but his position was not filled when he left the city. Due to budget constraints for next year, this position is of low priority. Your written suggestions to the Council will be instrumental in order to get this on the radar screen by 2010 – or no later than 2011.

The last positive influence is to change some of the members of the Council in November. We lost one of the prime Council members in the primary who was supporting this position. Unfortunately, the other council members have not placed this position in a priority mode. I’ve had discussions with two of the candidates, Erin Weaver and Bill Allison. Both support the additional position. We need to support Erin and Bill in order to help the small businesses of Maple Valley survive and prosper.

Larry Lindstrand

Maple Valley