Glad to see one of our most reliable commenters run a guest column about her public service. Cool!

Stan:

Thanks for the question.

There are a number of ways we can attack the problem. I've come up with a few ideas of some things we can do to help with the problem. But it's something that we need to discuss with those who are more of an expert on the topic than I am. We recently added a new city committee on natural resources, and this is a topic I'd definitely like to see go through that committee so that we can make sure we do everything we can to help with this problem.

• Encouraging businesses with large parking lots, apartment complexes, etc. to put in gardens that help to filter the water before it goes into local streams and rivers. OMSI has such gardens in their parking lot.

• Encouraging more community gardens, plants that need less water and chemicals, etc. in place of manicured lawns and landscaping.

• Look at limits and guidelines on sprinkler use. Where I used to live in Texas, there were cities that had rules regarding how long and often automatic sprinklers could run. In some places homes were included, others it was businesses, churches, apartments, etc. Often times what happens is the automatic sprinklers run so long that the water ends up running down the driveway, across parking lots, etc., which picks up all the chemicals and washes it into our waterways.

I'm sure there are a number of other solutions - these are just a few of them that immediately come to mind.

How these things are encouraged is something we'd have to discuss. Would we look at tax incentives? Rewards for those who do it? Discounts on sewer bill? What has worked in other areas?

The people of Gresham would be so fortunate to have such an earnest, hardworking member on the city council.In all my interactions with Jenni, I have found her to be action oriented, people focused and an excellent listener.Jenni considers issues from multiple perspectives and seems to have a knack for building consensus. I have contacted all the folks I know that live in Gresham and told them they have a golden opportunity here. Go Jenni!

Thanks Dena and Mel.

Yea, going back to districts would definitely be a good idea. There is already some discussion about doing that. I think it's a good idea. Not only does it mean we get all areas of town represented, it also means we'll have a greater number of people coming forward to run.

Right now a lot of really qualified people don't run because you have to campaign city-wide, which can get pretty expensive.

Go Jenni! Gresham is lucky to have such a thoughtful person running for council.

Jenni is part of a growing wave of young, energetic leaders stepping up to the plate to help shape Oregon's future.

Linda:

Thanks for the question. I completely understand what you mean.

A big problem has been the city's budget. We bring in approximately $22 million in property taxes (42.4% of the general fund's budget). The rest of the city's funds come in from utility license fees, county business tax, etc. Together that gives us about $46.7 million to fund police, fire and emergency services, parks and rec, planning services, etc. With a population of more than 100,000 people, that's not enough.

I did some comparisons of other cities around the state to see how much they spend. Cities that don't fund their fire and emergency services spend in the $525-560,000 range per 1,000 residents. Cities that offer full services are in the $900,000-1 million per 1,000 residents. Gresham spends about $467,000 per thousand residents.

We're spending almost our entire budget on police, fire, and emergency services - around 85%. That leaves very little funding for anything else.

In the near future, a way we can start to improve this is to expand our Adopt a Park program so that we can get as many of our parks covered as possible. I'm going to see if our neighborhood will cover Hall Park, for instance. The grass is taken care of since groups pay to use the park for soccer. However, things like the trail around the edges of the park badly needs to be maintained.

But that will only help with getting our parks cleaned up - it doesn't add more playgrounds, more recreation services, etc.

I was amazed when I moved here that there aren't any community based recreation services like a YMCA, Boys and Girls Club, etc. offering widespread recreation services. This is one way to get some activities in our city. Before moving here, I was on the board of the Alvin-Manvel YMCA, which was just starting. We realized the same need there and were working to raise funds for a recreation center.

But we also need something more than that, and right now I don't see how we can fit it into the city's budget. And that's a problem, since we all know when you don't have anything for the kids to do, they are more likely to get into trouble.

That is why a discussion has started lately about the possibility of creating a recreation district like other areas have done. This would help to expand parks and rec services since there would be a dedicated fund just for those services.

Adding services like this is a step forward that we have to support if we're ever going to fully grow to become the city that our population suggests we already have become.

Thanks, Bill.

Realist:

First of all, city council positions in Gresham are volunteer. They take up about as much time as a full-time job, and there's no pay. There are no stipends, no salary, no nothing.

Second, I love small businesses. My father and my mother each owned a small business. And this year I've been working on starting my own small business.

Small businesses are important to the community - they're often the ones who donate the most time, energy, and money to the community. They often pay the best wages and treat their employees well. A thriving community needs a good mix of small businesses and large employers in order to ensure there are enough living wage jobs to support the city's population.

Also...

Apparently there is a rumor going around town that I've only lived in Gresham for a year or two. This stems from an incorrect reading of the voter file, which shows the date I last registered (an address change), not the date I first registered.

My husband and I moved to Gresham almost eight and a half years ago. In late 2006, we moved across town.

I've heard from a few people now that this rumor is going around town, and I wanted to correct the misunderstanding.

I'm always amused by the number of people who think that public service is a cushy gig.

Useful trivia: There are only two - TWO! - full-time salaried mayors in all of Oregon: The mayor of Portland and the mayor of Beaverton. The rest are all volunteers (though I suspect there may be some small stipends here and there.)

Jenni,

Good luck in the race. I think you would be a wonderful representative in Gresham. And, we could hook up at the League of Oregon Cities conference next year. I wish you the best. The one thing I learned my first year on Council was not to take things personally. There are folks that you will make happy and the folks you don't are usually the ones that will always let you know.

As Mel has already pointed out, there is already a Wal-Mart nearby in Wood Village. Opposing the development wasn't about denying people access to Wal-Mart (especially since that access is already there). It was about a development that was in no way a good fit for the location. It didn't even fit in with the property's zoning of community commercial, which is supposed to be pedestrian oriented.

I can tell you from 22 years of living in an area saturated with Wal-Mart stores that having multiple stores in a small area is not a good idea. What they do is flood an area with stores and have the prices so low they can put a lot of smaller businesses out of business (back home they even drove out K-Mart and kept away Target). Once they're successful in that, they close stores and raise prices. And those buildings sit vacant... forever. There is something like six vacant Wal-Marts within a short drive from my parents' house.

Also, contrary ti popular belief, Wal-Mart's prices are not that cheap. Try doing a cost comparison sometime between Wal-Mart and a store like Winco. You may find a few times that are cheaper at Wal-Mart, but you're going to find that overall you're going to spend more at Wal-Mart. On clothing and toys I find that they're typically the same as Target. As a wife and mother with a limited budget, it didn't take me too long to figure out it was cheaper to shop at Winco and Target than it was Wal-Mart. And at the same time I'm supporting businesses that treat their employees better, are good members of the community, etc.

Also, there's more to development than meeting codes and paying development fees. There are also things like the development's effect on traffic, the environment, and on the local economy. And on every single one of those issues, adding a Wal-Mart to town was a bad choice. That's why the Wal-Mart store proposal received more comments and letters in opposition than the city has ever received on any other development.

But if people disagree with me and want to shop at Wal-Mart, that's their choice. Passing their parking lot on numerous occasions, I know plenty of people do. And it's just a short trip from Gresham to Wood Village.

The other two positions are unopposed.

Shirley Craddick and Paul Warr-King are excellent council members and are two people I've looked to for advice on more than one occasion. Both are very active in the community and are regularly out meeting with and listening to Gresham residents.

The best part is that they're both people who are more than willing to listen to ideas from other people and learn from what you tell them.