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Inland Empire Section

By Mary May

After another great conference at Priest Lake in June, planners on the IES Board got busy planning a couple more events for this fall. First up is a presentation and discussion on "Strong Towns America- A Bottoms Up Revolution to Rebuild America's Prosperity." For generations, North American communities have been growing, or at least they've been building. But have they remained financially strong and resilient? Author and speaker Charles Marohn will begin his nationwide book tour in Spokane, September 10. The Inland Empire Section is proud to be co-sponsoring this event with APA Idaho, Gonzaga University, Community Assembly and the City of Spokane.

Then, on September 26, we join with the Spokane Regional Transportation Council and EWU's Urban and Regional Planning Department to bring a grant writing seminar with nationally acclaimed grant writer and coach Dr. Bev Browning, CSPF. For many of us, whether we work for public agencies, jurisdictions or the private sector, grant writing is a necessary skill and one that we either learn by doing or one we pass on to the next planner in line. This all-day workshop promises to take some of the mystery out of the process and to help build confidence in writing successful applications.

Find more information and registration for both these events on the APA WA website, under the Inland Empire Section.

 NW Section – Movin’ On……..

By Chris Comeau, AICP-CTP, President, NW Section

The Northwest (NW) Section of APA Washington has been thriving over the past several years.

  • We’ve had a full elected Board of Directors according to NW Section bylaws since 2015;
  • Our NW Section web page is full of current information and useful resources for planners;
  • We’ve hosted quarterly Planner’s Forums in many of the communities within our very diverse NW Section geography, including:
    • Coffee and catered lunches;
    • Excellent speakers presenting information on contemporary planning issues;
    • An average of 4 to 5 AICP certification maintenance credits free to attendees;
    • An average attendance of over 40 planners per forum;
  • We’ve created an annual $500 NW Section Scholarship for WWU Planning Students in addition to the annual APA Washington Scholarship for WWU; and
  • We’re continually seeking to recruit and sign-up new members to the NW Section.

An important transition is on the horizon for the NW Section Board of Directors as President Chris Comeau (2015-2019) passes the proverbial torch to President-Elect Meredith Penny on November 1, 2019. Meredith will do an excellent job and will continue to lead the NW Section in successful endeavors. Chris will transition to immediate Past-President for 2020 and will serve as a resource to the Board. Secretary-elect Melissa Fanucci will also take over for Secretary Samya Lutz (2015-2019).

 SW Section

By Sam Rubin, AICP, Environmental Planner

The SW Chapter of the APA Washington is staying busy this summer with lots of events and training opportunities. Along with the Dept. of Commerce, the SW Chapter hosted a great summer planner’s forum in July in Kelso that focused on required updates to jurisdictions’ Shoreline Master Program and what grant opportunities exist to help with those updates. To learn more about what was discussed at the forum go to Commerce’s website to find the presentations. To get involved in the next SW WA planners’ forum keep an eye out for the agenda on our website and mark October 30th on your calendar.

The SW Chapter has been expanding on our previous successes with social events where planners from around the region get together to share experiences and collaborate. Earlier this year, in May, the chapter hosted a CouveCycle event where attendees used pedal-power to bike around downtown Vancouver listening to tunes and sampling local beers and food (and talking a little about planning). There are a few more social events and volunteer opportunities left on the calendar in 2019 so stay tuned and reach out to the chapter to learn more ([email protected]). Our next volunteer event will be helping Columbia Springs in October. Columbia Springs is a great program that helps students and adults get connected with nature and learn more about the environment, our chapter is excited to see how we can help them out!

 Columbia Section

By Lucy Temple, Planner, City of Cle Elum

The City of Cle Elum has been working on many great projects but would like to highlight our First Street/Main Street “Downtown Revitalization Project”.

The City of Cle Elum’s Downtown Revitalization Project is underway and includes a transformation of First Street (the City’s “Main Street”) from a previous auto-centric State Route (SR 903) to a thriving Complete Streets corridor, including six blocks and seven intersections (Billings Ave. to Peoh Ave.). Revitalization components include new bulb-outs at each intersection, mid-block crosswalks, corridor-wide stormwater system, 30-degree angled parking, pavement markings with reduced lane widths, street signage with decorative pole provisions, curb and gutter, wide sidewalks with scoring patterns, ADA curb ramps, pedestrian and street illumination, including flag holders and hanging basket brackets, banner foundations and posts to span First Street, undergrounding utilities, planters with trees and urban landscape treatments with in-ground irrigation, and site furnishings including benches, bike racks, trash receptacles, and decorative coal carts. In less than two years, the City has secured $2.9 million from 13 funding sources and was showcased in the January/February 2019 AWC Cityvision publication.

Additional information can be found on our website. Our most notable press clippings are there as well, including our feature within CityVision Magazine.

Return to the July/August issue of the Washington Planner