Toy Economy

The absence of vision and lack of initiative by our city government has set us on course to bankruptcy. Given this dire situation, one would think they would reach out to Blaine citizens for fresh ideas. Unfortunately, they continue to play with toy economy ideas that generate little revenue for the city. 

As tourism development is the official city plan for economic recovery, one would think they'd look to successful tourist towns like La Conner for inspiration. Sadly, they overlook two key factors: public involvement and public investment; public discussion in community forums followed by public investment in tourism infrastructure, the top two items being art galleries and museums.

The city officials constant refrain is we don't have the money, but they aren't even trying to find it, and public discussions are where public/private partnerships emerge. City hall needs help in saving our city, but they need to communicate that fact and facilitate public involvement so we can become informed. 

Presently, there is no cost benefit analysis for public investment, evident in the recent decision to spend $205,000 repairing the PLOVER. While we all love the PLOVER, repairs could have waited until we start climbing out of the red. Spending that amount of money on a nostalgic "money pit" makes no sense.

Which brings us back to our topic of public involvement and communication in reimagining Blaine.

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