March 5, 1999

Local control has been the mantra of politicians and bureaucrats for quite some time now, but today what does it really mean? The answer isn’t quite as simple as it once was.

Used to be, when a community wanted to do something, everyone knew that the decisions affecting the community were in fact made by local citizens. Everyone pitched in and things got done. Money was raised by local folks, materials often were donated, and a local company provided the know how and the labor.

Today it is a little more complicated. Local folks may in fact get together to decide to address a problem or to do something, but that’s about where the similarities end. Not much is going to happen until higher levels of government have been brought “to the table.” Why? Because almost anything a community wants done requires the involvement of or approval from government at some higher level whether it be county, state or federal.

Take the I-5 interchange project in Woodburn that has been under discussion for more than 15 years now. Most recently, we have local businesses, city, county and state representatives “at the table” to figure out a solution the traffic congestion along 214 and at the I-5 interchange.

Most citizens in Woodburn know that over the past 15 years, there have been almost as many committees studying this “problem,” and that each committee has come to almost exactly the same conclusion. What is so puzzling is that the Oregon Department of Transportation can’t seem to figure out a solution. Or is it they don’t like the solution the local community has come to?

Over the course of these many years, each time a committee has come up with a solution, the Department of Transportation has said, “Great, we’ll add you to the list.” Then, when local folks start asking why the project isn’t going anywhere, they are told they need a new committee, new studies and, of course, a way to find the money. And in the meantime, there is an entire changing of the guard at ODOT and we are all back at the drawing board.

Nevertheless, here we are once again listening to some new ODOT expert telling worn out business owners the history of this dilemma. Then, to the chagrin of the local business owners, ODOT’s latest proposal is nothing more than a band-aid approach to this age-old nightmare. And worse, a band-aid that would have to be reapplied in five years!

These local business owners are to be commended. They have offered to donate their right-of-way, which would accommodate two eastbound lanes, two westbound lanes, a turn lane sidewalks and bike paths. They have said, “Don’t monkey around with half a solution. Don’t prolong this any longer. Just do it!”

They have had enough. They want to run their businesses, serve their customers and get on with life. They have offered a phenomenal solution. ODOT should be grateful for such community involvement. After all, isn’t this the essence of local control?

We all want to be hopeful that this old-fashioned approach to solving problems will succeed. But, ODOT official have merely said, “We’ll get back to you.”

Stay tuned. This isn’t the end of this saga. But as always, please feel free to call. I want to hear your ideas on local decision making and local control. You can e-mail me at pmilne@open.org.