Every two years, the City Council establishes specific goals designed to guide the work of the City. Following two community forums and a business forum, the Council held a goal-setting retreat at the end of March. The 15 goals which grew out of the retreat were adopted by the Council on April 16. Three of the most important goals are:
DNR Property near Road 68 Interchange: The Washington State Department of Natural Resources (DNR) controls the western half of the property adjacent to the City’s busiest freeway interchange – Road 68 and I-182. DNR’s lease requirements effectively discourage retail developers, which indirectly harms the Pasco community. Continued DNR control of the property at this interchange neither benefits the state nor allows citizens to realize the benefits of urban use of the property and also conflicts with the objectives of the state’s Growth Management Act. The City will endeavor to initiate urban infill development of the DNR property at the Road 68 interchange.
Industrial Development: The Pasco community relies on one of the lower “per capita” assessed values in the state. The City needs to foster more industrial investment to increase the non-residential tax base and, in turn, improve the ability of local public agencies to deliver needed services. The City will continue to partner with the Port of Pasco, TRIDEC, and others to actively market the particular development opportunities offered by industrial areas of the City and seek professional wage jobs.
Emergency Communications: For more than 30 years, the City has relied on the Franklin County Sheriff for emergency communication services (police and fire). Operational and technological constraints, along with growth of the City, contribute to an increasingly ineffective emergency communications system. Regionalization of call processing and dispatch services has been evaluated and promises to be the most cost effective and reliable way to assure future emergency communication services for the public as well as emergency responders. To that end, the City Council will diligently work to fulfill the regional emergency communications recommendations.
For the full list of goals, follow the link below.