Jessie Stensland reports from the Oak Harbor City Council meeting of Tue.,May 3, 2022.
A pathway connecting Pioneer Way and Bayshore Drive, a temporary economic development coordinator and supplanting funding for an “enterprise resource funding initiative” were casualties of disagreements among the Oak Harbor City Council about the spending of American Rescue Plan Act funds.
They Said It
“The one thing I’m having a hard time with is fully funding Serendipity Lane, $200,000 for Serendipity Lane [a project to build a walkable corridor between Pioneer Way and Bayshore Drive championed by the Main Street Association],” [Councilmember Eric] Marshall said, “especially since we’re only giving the marina half of what they need and we own the marina.”
Marshall said he would support giving the Main Street Association $100,000 that they could use to leverage grants or fund raise the remaining amount. He suggested that the $100,000 the city saved could be used to install the Portland loos — prefabricated bathrooms — the city already purchased for Flintstone Park.
[Councilmember Dan] Evans said that $200,000 was a lot of money and he would rather see it spent on infrastructure improvements. He pointed out that spending ARPA funds on infrastructure instead of enterprise funds — from ratepayers — will mean lower rates.
Evans also questioned the creation of a limited-term economic development coordinator position. The proposal would fund $65,000 for the remainder of this year.“We have a lot of work to do in the city before we are going to be able to start attracting people to our city,” he said, again saying that infrastructure is struggling and needs to be a priority.
Councilmember Jim Woessner spoke passionately about the city’s need for an economic development position, pointing out that it’s been something city leaders have been wanting for at least five years. He said other communities have similar positions and Oak Harbor needs someone in order to compete in today’s competitive economy.
Councilmember Bryan Stucky previously raised concerns about some of the items on the list, questioning whether they were truly economic development projects.
