Camas Youth Speak Out

(10/25/2019: CAMAS, WA)

Dear Editor and Camas residents,

We are a group of children and young adults who live in the city of Camas, Washington and/or the Camas school district. We are writing because we are concerned about Proposition 2, which will be voted on in the upcoming November elections. Leading citizens and political officials in Camas have said that Proposition 2 is “for the kids” and will make Camas a better place to live. We do not agree. We do not think that Proposition 2 is a good idea for 3 reasons: it is is not needed, it is too expensive, and it is in a terrible location.

We currently have sufficient sports fields and public parks in Camas, as well as privately owned gyms, pools and conference spaces. The only new benefit that the community center would provide Camas is a city-owned pool for the high school swim teams to practice at. We do not need to invest in such a huge facility to solve the high school swimming location problems. The high school swim teams currently do not have a local place to practice because the Camas School Board has not been able to come to an agreement with private pool owners, something ordinary Camas residents have been doing for years. In addition, the proposed facility will not even have a diving well, forcing the CHS diving team to continue driving to Tualatin, OR to practice.

$78 million dollars is being touted as a perfectly sensible price for this community center, despite the fact that comparable facilities are being built across the country for far less. The levy will cost Camas homeowners (at present, our parents, but eventually us) $1.04 per $1000 Assessed Property Value (APV) every year for the next 20 years. This means that the average Camas homeowner will be paying $8,000 over the life of the bond. However, this does not cover the cost of running the facility each year. For families to use this facility, it will cost an additional $800 dollars per year, bringing the total cost per family to nearly $20,000 ($8,000 for the bond, $11,200 for admission for 14 years) over the course of the next two decades.

The proposed location for the community center is near the Everett-Lake Road intersection, one of the most congested areas in Camas. Every day of the school year, this intersection is choked with teenagers and their parents trying to get to and from Camas High School. We can personally testify to many wasted hours waiting at the end of a line of cars in this intersection. While the proposed community center is being built (which is estimated to take 6+ years), this traffic situation will be even worse. Once it is completed, the congestion problems won’t go away— any traffic to and from the community center will (continue). The most disheartening aspect of the proposed location is that it is by no means the only option. There are other possible locations in Camas, such as the UL campus and the former Georgia-Pacific site on 6th Avenue, that are in less congested areas.

In conclusion, though almost all of us are unable to vote, we children and young adults of Camas want to be sure that our voices are heard on this matter. Camas residents are being told that “Proposition 2 is for the kids”, but we disagree. The proposed facility is not needed, is too expensive, and is in a terrible location. Please, Camas residents, vote NO on Proposition 2!

Signed by:

Luke Bales

Jack Harris

Jordan Harris

Landen Hashimura

Owen Robertson

Henry Webster

Lucy Webster

Sophie Webster

Stella Webster

Theo Webster

Ares Zhang