Over a dozen attendees filled the council chambers inside Toledo City Hall on Monday, Aug. 4, for the Toledo City Council meeting.
Among the items discussed on the agenda included the continuation of hydrant flushing throughout the South Lewis County community.
According to Toledo Public Works Department Assistant Director Jay Crow, public works staff have begun working with the local fire department to flush Toledo’s hydrants.
“We have tested six of our 48 hydrants so far,” Crow said.
He added he hopes to finish the remaining hydrant flushing this week.
Additionally, city staff applied for Washington state Transportation Improvement Board (TIB) grant funding for Augustus Street sidewalk repairs, and also announced another TIB grant application for chip sealing on the city’s streets had been declined this year.
Also approved by the council was the permit application for the Day in the Park event at the Kemp Olson Memorial Park and RV Campground, but not without discussion of issues with the annual Esther Borte Walk in the Park memorial, held in the park on the same day.
And along with the council’s approval of his contract, city staff also introduced the new Kemp Olson campground host, U.S. Army veteran Nicholas Shampine and his wife, Miranda Maki.
Also during the council meeting, Larry Davidson, member of both the Toledo Historical Society and the new nonprofit Greater Toledo Heritage and Horizons (GTHH), unveiled the GTHH’s long-term revitalization vision for Toledo, with projects focused on both revitalization and historical preservation.
During Davidson’s presentation, project details were explained by an AI-made video portrayal of Simon Plomondon, considered the first white settler in the area having arrived as a fur trader and Hudson’s Bay Company employee in 1820.
Davidson’s goal was to try to recruit city staff to begin pursuing grant funding to start some of the projects.
TIB grants
While Toledo City Clerk-Treasurer Rachel Campbell did make the announcement that the TIB grant application for chip sealing funding in Toledo had been rejected, she stressed the importance of continuing to apply for TIB grants.
“I could be wrong, but I think the more we work with TIB and start these projects, the more willing they are to work with us and help us out,” Campbell said.
Though the chip sealing funding was denied, TIB staff appeared to be interested in the city’s grant application for an Augustus Street sidewalk.
“They didn’t reach out to us because we kind of went missing, but as soon as I jumped back in and started conversations with them … I’ve got like six people that came after me and said, ‘Hey, let’s get these going,’” Campbell said. “It seems like again, the more you participate in their grants, the more they are to be like, ‘Hey Toledo, we’ve got this grant coming out, it’s going to work for you and we’re going to include you.’”
According to the council’s agenda report available on the city’s website, the TIB grant for the sidewalk on Augustus Street, TIB staff have also recommended installing a sidewalk on Fourth Street.
While negotiations with TIB staff are still ongoing, Rachel told the council the TIB is asking if the city is willing to match funds at either 4% or 6%, or $18,000 and $27,000, for sidewalks on both Augustus and Fourth streets. The more the city contributes, the higher they’re scored amongst competing municipalities applying for TIB grant funding.
“We can always turn it down later,” Campbell added.
The council ultimately approved moving forward with the TIB grant application for sidewalks.
Day in the Park issues and new Kemp Olson host
With the 10th annual Esther Borte Memorial Walk in the Park scheduled for Sept. 6, the council approved an event permit for the Day in the Park event, which coincides with the walk.
Borte passed away in 2016, but prior to that, had been organizing a Walk in the Park event at Kemp Olson Park to raise money for park improvements. She attended the inaugural walk just three months prior to her death at the age of 90.
The Day in the Park event followed the walk and featured both vendors and live entertainment set up at the park throughout the afternoon.
However, over the past couple of years, those participating in the memorial walk itself have found themselves having to deal with noises of vendors setting up, generators and even some old metal music.
Since the events were started, private vendors took over organizing the Day in the Park while the city’s parks department continued running the walk.
While the council approved the permit application for the Day in the Park, there were some stipulations.
First, they must provide their own trash cans, and additionally, vendors and performers have to set up either before 9 a.m. or after 11 a.m. on Sept. 6, to allow those participating in the memorial walk to do so in peace.
“It’s not a city-sponsored event, they’re just kind of piggy backing off our event,” Campbell said.
And as for the park’s new hosts, Shampine thanked the council for approving his contract as he is currently a veteran on disability and unable to work a traditional job.
“I’m not able to physically work anymore as far as an hourly job, because I have chronic fatigue syndrome,” Shampine said. “... But this is the perfect job for me because there’s no pay to it, I just need to maintain the grounds at my own pace.”
Due to his chronic fatigue syndrome diagnosis, he has to get up to take a walk every two hours. Having already lived at Kemp Olson in the days leading up to Monday’s meeting, he added that residents camping there were happy to see him and commented they saw him a lot more than previous campground hosts.
“Since we moved in, I keep my front door open, just my screen closed, so anybody can come up and ask me for anything they want, and they’ve already started to do that,” Shampine said.
“We’ve only been there four days, and that’s saying something,” Maki added.
He also has experience in the construction industry and handyman experience.
Greater Toledo Heritage and Horizons
During the GTHH presentation to the council, Davidson played the AI-Plomondon presentation, which lasted around 20 minutes.
“We’ve formed a new Washington nonprofit, and we have a pending 501 c3 (designation),” Davidson said. “... What we’re proposing (is) for the Greater Toledo Area, of which Toledo city is part of that.”
GTHH’s vision certainly is a long-term one, as revitalization projects include completely repaving Toledo’s historic old town area on the banks of the Cowlitz River with traditional brick paving and building a steamboat theater at Wallace Pond.
Other proposed projects include a Greater Toledo Civic Center on Plomondon Road and a new industrial park near Lacamas Creek.
Davidson told the council his goal was to unveil the GTHH’s proposals and gather input, along with asking city staff for help in pursuing grant funding to begin some of their projects.
“This is our first introduction, we want to make the council saw what we’re proposing first and then get support from the council,” Davidson said. “So then we can move to the (Toledo) Planning Commission and start talking about more of the details. We’re trying to do a systematic approach for informing people before you all of a sudden see a surprise pop up on your desk.”
To learn more about the GTHH’s proposals, visit its website at gthh.org or email info@gthh.org.
