...And envisions the town's future By Matt Kapko Eye Reporter The Arcata Eye March 30, 2004 Jumpstarted by the lack of community feedback included in the county’s visioning process, 28-year Blue Lake resident David Glen helped form the Community Relations Committee. Glen didn’t think the community was given the full opportunity to address local issues through the county’s visioning meetings, so he decided to work toward a uniquely Blue Lake visioning process – done by and for Blue Lake and surrounding community residents. “One thing that we were looking at was more integration,” Glen said of the project. He received 178 surveys from a wide variety of people in the community. “What we were more after was the range of opinions that people had.” In the county’s visioning process, Glen and others were disappointed that there was little citizen feedback on the county’s ideas. In contrast, Glen received surveys from the entire eighth-grade class and a sizeable amount from other teenagers. “The teenagers were great. It gave them a chance to have input,” he added. “The beauty of the survey is that you have so many viewpoints coming out.” While some anxiously awaited the start of the HSU Lumberjacks game in the Final Four, Glen and a group of at least three dozen others met at the Blue Lake Grange last Thursday to discuss plans and projects for the city. “Hopefully this will make a framework” that can “encourage the various city governments to work together on these projects,” Glen said. “The whole purpose of this is to get people involved in their community and work on real projects.” After breaking into small groups to discuss their community’s needs, residents brought back a good variety of ideas to offer. Resident Karina Green said she’d like to see a community farm developed that could be used as an educational tool by the school. She thinks the interaction between kids would be beneficial. She’d also like to see a small nursery stand established. Reporting back from her group, City Councilmember Marlene Smith said she wants to make the school more appealing by broadening its curriculum to include studies that continually lure parents to enroll their children in other schools. Smith also made a pitch to those in attendance to get involved in local organizations that help the community. “Volunteer your time and interests in these groups that already exist and desperately need your input.” Glen added, “The new people don’t know the history. Pretty much everything in Blue Lake is volunteering.” Smith reminded those at the grange that there will be three open seats on the City Council this coming November. Other ideas include renaming the industrial park to business park, creating a local radio station and a cooperatively owned general store, planting more foliage at the roundabout and capitalizing on tourism and day trips from nearby residents. After sharing their ideas, the audience broke into even smaller groups to plan year-long projects that can be accomplished before the committee meets again in one year. One group decided to help make the skate park a reality, another plans to continue working on trail improvements, while others will be putting their time toward creating a city map that includes the trails surrounding town. Glen will be presenting the committee’s work to the City Council soon, as he finalizes the document it put together. “The community is dedicated to finding a balance between growth and preserving its clean and healthy small town atmosphere,” read the opening lines of the document. Home