Monday, August 23, 2010
A Quick Note about the Camp Murray Gate
Quite awhile ago I asked readers if you wanted me to respond to the volumes and volumes of emails from a couple sources that are clearly out to find fault with Lakewood city government no matter what it does. Opinion was divided. In general, I've decided to focus on my time on being proactive, but the confusion over the Camp Murray matter just feels to me like it's getting a bit extreme.
Some of the confusion has very real roots. I nearly spit up my coffee when I read in the paper that Camp Murray apparently told someone at the paper that the city would do public outreach for their proposal: that's like saying you thought President Obama was going to do public outreach for Sarah Palin. Two different people. Two different governments. (Otherwise, by the way, I'd commend you to that News Tribune story for more information about the topic) If that's the quality of information Camp Murray is providing to citizens, then suspicion is appropriate.
That said, I think everyone without a political agenda to constantly criticize city hall knows you can trust Lakewood to advocate for its citizens just like we did with Amtrak and state and federal transportation officials over the railroad. But in case it's unclear, nobody is changing the Camp Murray gate without considerable discussion, if it changes at all. The real issue are the freeway interchanges in Tillicum. Those freeway interchanges were designed for 1950, not 2010 and certainly not 2020 - they're preposterous and need fixing. One cannot blame Camp Murray for proposing a cheaper fix, but bear in mind, Camp Murray not yet filed an official proposal to change anything. Assuming they do, the city will react on behalf of its citizens.
So no changes are happening around Camp Murray anytime soon, but I did respond to one email; you can read my comment here. Again, if you find this subject confusing or have a question, please, get in touch. I'm here.
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Some of the confusion has very real roots. I nearly spit up my coffee when I read in the paper that Camp Murray apparently told someone at the paper that the city would do public outreach for their proposal: that's like saying you thought President Obama was going to do public outreach for Sarah Palin. Two different people. Two different governments. (Otherwise, by the way, I'd commend you to that News Tribune story for more information about the topic) If that's the quality of information Camp Murray is providing to citizens, then suspicion is appropriate.
That said, I think everyone without a political agenda to constantly criticize city hall knows you can trust Lakewood to advocate for its citizens just like we did with Amtrak and state and federal transportation officials over the railroad. But in case it's unclear, nobody is changing the Camp Murray gate without considerable discussion, if it changes at all. The real issue are the freeway interchanges in Tillicum. Those freeway interchanges were designed for 1950, not 2010 and certainly not 2020 - they're preposterous and need fixing. One cannot blame Camp Murray for proposing a cheaper fix, but bear in mind, Camp Murray not yet filed an official proposal to change anything. Assuming they do, the city will react on behalf of its citizens.
So no changes are happening around Camp Murray anytime soon, but I did respond to one email; you can read my comment here. Again, if you find this subject confusing or have a question, please, get in touch. I'm here.
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Camp Murray is, in fact, providing quality information. It is the City of Lakewood that is not. There are traffic reviews,20 pages; Environmental Assessment,60 pages; and one press release. There have been two meetings initiated by Camp Murray for impacted Tillicum residents. There were no Lakewood City Councilmembers at either one. In fact, there has been zero communication from the one government entity of elected representatives that should have, could have, taken the lead on this.
Which begs the question - why not?
In the aforementioned documents, provided by Camp Murray - 60 pages describe the proposal to move their gate to the interior residential streets of Tillicum. On p.47 is this statement, "Camp Murray planners have coordinated this improvement with City of Lakewood officials, and will consult further at the time of design of the new ECP facility."
That document is dated Feb.12,2010which means of course that to complete such a "coordinated effort" takes time. A lot of it.
"Coordinated - vt organize something complex: to organize a complex enterprise in which numerous people are involved and bring their contributions together to form a coherent or efficient whole."
Then there is the press release from Camp Murray dated July 20, 2010 that reads, "Camp Murray Prepares to Build A New Main Gate -
CAMP MURRAY – The Washington Military Department will move forward with plans to build a new main gate on Camp Murray and hopes to complete the project this fall."
So when, exactly, were our Lakewood elected officials planning on representing those who elected them?
Which begs the question - why not?
In the aforementioned documents, provided by Camp Murray - 60 pages describe the proposal to move their gate to the interior residential streets of Tillicum. On p.47 is this statement, "Camp Murray planners have coordinated this improvement with City of Lakewood officials, and will consult further at the time of design of the new ECP facility."
That document is dated Feb.12,2010which means of course that to complete such a "coordinated effort" takes time. A lot of it.
"Coordinated - vt organize something complex: to organize a complex enterprise in which numerous people are involved and bring their contributions together to form a coherent or efficient whole."
Then there is the press release from Camp Murray dated July 20, 2010 that reads, "Camp Murray Prepares to Build A New Main Gate -
CAMP MURRAY – The Washington Military Department will move forward with plans to build a new main gate on Camp Murray and hopes to complete the project this fall."
So when, exactly, were our Lakewood elected officials planning on representing those who elected them?
When it's the proper time. This is the sort of matter that can end up in court and in those circumstances, actions must be measured; you want, I hope, your elected officials to be effective, not necessarily loud.
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