[Vision2020] The City This Week: An Occasional (very) Column and a couple of other announcements

[Linda Pall]

Hello, Visionaries!

I hesitate to swim in the shallows here with the potential recall, etc., but here I am anyway!

ANNOUNCEMENTS!

1. Winter Market, sponsored by Heart of the Arts, Inc., will warm your heart and give you something fun to do INSIDE this Saturday morning! Artisans, bakers, story tellers, musicians and maybe a juggler (?!?) will gather at the 1912 Center between 10 AM and 2 PM for your shopping, chatting and chewing/chugging pleasure. All the gossip about the latest in Moscow, dreams and imaginings for spring gardens, great pottery, jewelry and a new secret booth by Pam Peterson and superior hot coffee and breakfast pastries... be there!

2. Latah County Human Rights Task Force Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Breakfast on Dr. King's birthday, Saturday, January 15, 2005, at the multi-purpose room of the Moscow Junior High School at 9 A.M. Cherie Buckner Webb , Boise, will be the featured speaker. Cherie is a fine jazz singer and an even more impassioned community activist for human rights and dignity. You will find her message moving, inspiring and entertaining, all at the same time. Join us! Breakfast tickets are available at Bookpeople now... the breakfast sells out, so get your ticket right away.

THE CITY THIS WEEK...

City Council...

The more things change, the more... oh, it always sounds better in French... you know what I mean.

The Council reorganized last Monday night and life goes on. The parade ordinance (a good revision and clarification of city practices for parades by city attorney Randy Fife) made it through a second reading and will come up for the third reading at the next Council meeting Tuesday, January 18, (because of the MLK Jr. holiday). Take a look at the city's website www.ci.moscow.id.us for information about agendas. You can get a copy of the proposed ordinance from the City's Administrative Office on the third floor of City Hall (for some reason, it's not on the web or I can't find it).

PUBLIC WORKS/FINANCE and ADMINISTRATIVE COMMITTEES...

Both Committees will meet Monday, January 10... Administrative Committee at 3 PM and Public Works Finance at 4:00 or 4:15 P.M. (check for the time). Council members assigned to these committees are Peg Hamlett, JoAnn Mack and John Dickinson, Administrative Committee, and Jon Kimberling, Nancy Chaney and Linda Pall, Public Works/Finance Committee. On the Public Works agenda will be further discussion of sidewalks and pedestrian mobility. The needs of those of Moscow who have mobility issues (read: wheel chair, cane, walker users, unsteady walkers for whatever reason and those with limited stamina) will be particularly reviewed.

AND SPEAKING OF SIDEWALKS...

Don't forget to remove the snow from your sidewalks within 24 hours of the snowfall!

Whether you own or rent, your sidewalk can be a magnet for accidents and serious injury. Believe me, you would not want on your conscience the broken hip of a neighbor who slipped and fell because your sidewalk was an icey trap! That fall could be the beginning of a life-ending, declining experience for an elderly person. 

PLEASE clear your sidewalk during the winter... it makes it possible for people to move about with less fear and loathing of the winter ice and snow. I have been the beneficiary on many occasions of my neighbors and friends who have helped me keep ahead of the game AND, of course, the regular and wonderful service of Steve McClaine of Me and My Truck who, for a small fee, will put you on his regular list for sidewalk snow removal. He's great!

ABOUT ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, SINCE YOU ASKED...

The City has brought forward, from 2002, funds and a strategic plan goal of preparing and implementing an economic strategic plan. Some work was done on this in 2002 but many felt that a broader discussion was necessary. The City has concluded a Memorandum of Understanding with the Latah Economic Development Council and will soon be talking with them about the shape of things to come, including the scope and process of the planning effort.

Meanwhile, at the National League of Cities meeting last December, I attended a thrilling (yes, really!) seminar on economic development that introduced me to a new group that Moscow might qualify to participate with, the New Cities Foundation. They have a New Cities Initiative that will be deciding which among a number of candidate cities of various sizes which 12 cities will be their first participants in the New Cities initiative. These 12 of varied sizes and varied locations will work with Foundation staff to bring their respective cities into the 21st century with a unified, progressive and innovative attitude and set of strategies for the community's economic life and more.

The Council took a crack at the New Cities Assessment tool that covered interesting topics for any city council to look at with respect to Moscow. The exercise covered many questions under provocative topics: Connection to the Wider World; Encourage Youth, Diversity and Inclusiveness; Feed the Mind and Nurture the Soul; Embrace Healthy Living; Remain True to the City's Uniqueness; Don't merely Grow... Plan and Develop over Time; Build Beautifully and Steward the Environment; Cultivate Leadership and Civic Involvement; Recruit, Retain and Generate Wealth; Overcome Obstacles; Rethink Boundaries; Buy Locally, Sell Globally.

We'll be looking at this opportunity which could give us more flexibility in our economic development expenditures and bring additional positive attention to Moscow, if we were ultimately selected from among the many cities who would like to be the first set of "New Cities."

Stay tuned. In the meantime, read more about it on www.newcities.org Take a look at the press releases from December in the center/lower part of the home page on the Initiative. exciting, yes!?!

I think we have "new" potential, especially if we move forward together!


All the best,

Linda Pall
Moscow City Council
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