(10/1/2019: CAMAS, WA.)
The city’s website for the $78 million dollar pool is currently promoting a “community open house” on October 2 at Lacamas Lake Lodge from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. They mention that City staff (note that they don’t specifically say that the mayor or city councilors will be there but a more generic “staff”) will give a brief presentation highlighting project developments since the last open house on June 18th. You can read the comments that the city has released from the first of these meetings found here, here, and here.
The site says that following that presentation, “staff” will be available to answer questions one-on-one with community members. Unfortunately, the staff that are running this meeting, along with the previous one, are members of a consultant group that the city has paid $69,640 of your tax dollars for services exclusively aimed at passing this pool bond - and that’s just the spend they’ve shared publicly so far. Here’s the last meeting summary written on that consultant’s own letterhead. June 18th "Community Open House 1" Summary
Until now, Camas’ only option has been to walk into an “open house” staffed by a group of people who:
1. The city has paid almost $70,000 of your own tax dollars to do everything they’re capable of to get this passed - and they are a capable group, having successfully promoted similar facilities in many small towns like ours.
2. Likely stand to make millions of dollars running the build of this facility should it pass.
Unfortunately, as of this article’s writing, no invitation has been sent to the official No To Camas Pool Bond website, run by a registered political committee of locals as is required by state law, to present or have any presence at one of these events.
We don’t have any more time to wait for the city to realize they need to do better.
Here’s what you and your neighbors can do to help get the whole truth to as many people as possible. No To Camas Pool Bond has put together a printable, single page fact sheet. Please download and review the sheet and then do one or more of the following:
Print out 5 or so copies of this sheet and take them with you to the “open house”. If you meet any neighbors that don’t have all the facts, strike up a conversation with them and give them a sheet to take home. This WILL make a difference.
Study a few of the points yourself, attend the meeting and politely watch the presentation. Take note of if any of these things are meaningfully addressed and if they do attempt answers, ask why they are providing any new information only a month away from election day.
Print as many more as you’d like and continue to give these to people at work, at school or at your favorite coffee shop between now and election day.
Please be respectful of differing opinions and only give these out to people that want to have them and always ask permission of the owner before leaving a stack at a business. The truth is powerful and all we need to do is share it wide to be sure that this overreach is met with the firm NO that it deserves on election day.
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