October 12, 2010
The Excellent Metropolitan Of Hoquiam Evaluates The Future And New Developments
Any small town is a study of the small decisions that shape it. And those decisions, made by residents and businesspeople and the government that runs it, often take it in directions it might never have seemed able to go. But there it is: sometimes towns grow all on their own, and it seems like there’s nothing to be done but watch the changes, like a rebellious teenager. Sometimes, of course, it’s time to make big decisions too.
The town of Hoquiam, Washington is in the middle of these considerations at the moment. Historically a logging town in the lumber rich Pacific Northwest, the town has preserved its heritage through a variety of events. There’s the annual, and internationally famous, Loggers’ Playday, as well as logging competitions and parades in the fall. Now it has to consider whether it wants to grow.
There has been discussion in town of developing the waterfront, a piece of downtown that runs along the Hoquiam River. Development has been proposed, but the future of the area is not yet clear. Now is the time for the community to decide what it wants to see when it visits its city center. A developed waterfront did wonders for big cities such as Baltimore and San Antonio, but could Hoquiam have as much success bringing dining, shopping and entertainment to its riverside real estate?
The last time the waterfront was popular was in the 1980s, and since then the town itself has of course grown up a bit. But still the question remains: Should something be brought to the waterfront? Is it worth the tax expenditure? Are there people with the right vision and organization to carry it out? The possibilities are there, at least.
One of the perhaps important factors to consider is their neighbor to the west, the larger city of Aberdeen. These two towns have had a friendly sort of rivalry, as neighboring towns will. But it bears consideration to think about how bigger towns often benefit at the expense of their smaller siblings — tax money and tourism being just two ways bigger towns get ahead. The city’s decision to grow might bear upon its rival in interesting ways.
So as it moves forward, it has to think about how it can preserve its history but stay modern. How it can have a heritage that informs its future. It’s a question all small towns at some point have to face, and while it doesn’t mean Hoquiam has to become a metropolis, it at least has to face some grown-up decisions.
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