Highlights

Contact: Mary Campbell

Is there a community issue that you’d like to see addressed?

Community Council’s annual study may be just the place to get started. Each year the Community Council brings citizens together to analyze and find solutions for important issues facing the region that lies between Burbank and Dayton, from the Snake River to Milton-Freewater.

The public is encouraged to submit potential topics for the study scheduled to begin Fall 2010. Submissions are accepted throughout the year, but to be considered for the 2010 Study, the suggestion must be received by March 19, 2009.

The six-month process will explore the topic in depth and will conclude with a report to the public and recommendations for action. The Community Council then facilitates a 2-year effort to implement those recommendations.

Send your suggestion with your name, telephone number, and email (or postal) address to Community Council, P.O. Box 2936, Walla Walla, WA 99362 or to julie@wallawallavitalsigns.org. Please describe the topic as fully as possible and describe how it fits the following selection criteria:

1. Definition and Manageability: Is the issue clear? Can the issue be researched and effectively handled by the Study process?
2. Importance: Is the issue of importance to the region? Does it affect large numbers of people on an economic or quality-of-life basis?
3. Necessity: Is it likely that other groups can or will carry out a similar study?
4. Citizen Interest: Is the issue likely to attract participation from a broad spectrum of members of the community at large?
5. Effectiveness: Can the issue be resolved by reason, based on fact, or are the emotional overtones too great to permit reasoned analysis?
6. Timeliness: Will the Study provide guidance for decisions needed now? Is there enough time to complete the study before community decisions must be made?

The Community Council Board of Directors will announce the selected topic later this Spring. The Study, open to everyone interested, will begin Fall 2010.

The region’s first annual Study, chaired by Roger Bairstow, focused on the educational, mental, health, and housing stability of the region’s children. Judge Robert Zagelow is leading the effort to implement recommendations that were developed. Currently, Steven Woolley is chairing a study exploring how the region’s economic vitality can be improved through the creation of value-adding businesses that utilize agricultural resources.

The Community Council was formally organized in 2008 to inspire a citizen-driven, consensus-based, problem-solving process to prepare the region for future growth, change, and challenges and to enhance the quality of life for everyone.

For additional information call Julie Reese, Community Council Executive Director, 509.540.6720.