Email: joshcolletteforelma@gmail.com Phone: (360) 704-0283
Email: joshcolletteforelma@gmail.com Address: 1004 Garden Hill Rd W, Elma, WA Phone: (360) 704-0283
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JOSH'S PLATFORM
Elma is a great place to live and raise a family. I envision it growing into a safer and heathier community that is full of hope. We can continue on this path by improving public safety and investing in parks and recreation. We must maintain a high level of police service while improving the safety of our streets and sidewalks.
During my term on the City Council, I have advocated on these matters and the importance of long-range planning. We are in the final stages of completing our plan for the first time in many years, and it will be important to act on it. I also made it a priority to develop relationships with many community leaders. These relationships will be essential moving forward.
As your next mayor, I will continue to focus on this vision and execute the plan. I have nearly two decades of experience in government finance and operations. I understand the obstacles that we face, but more importantly, I understand what it takes to find the solution. We must work together to build a better future for our community. I look forward to serving you.
Investment in Our Community's Infrastructure
Parks and Recreation
Parks and other recreation areas are a vital component to keeping Elma a healthy, safe, and vibrant community. They give us and our children a safe place to play, exercise, and create memories. These spaces also provide an opportunity for people to connect through sporting events and other public gatherings.
The community’s primary recreation locations have been the Smith Murrey Park (10th St. Park) set in the center of town and Elma School District’s athletic fields. Smith Murrey Park was constructed from the City’s comprehensive parks plan developed in 1970, and the park requires improvements and modifications to meet current needs. The playground is in dire
need of replacement with a structure made of materials requiring little maintenance and is less susceptible to damage. Increased lighting and improvements to guest parking will not only improve safety, but it will also improve the experience for those using the park. Any improvements made to our parks must consider the needs of all users.
Safe Streets, Sidewalks, and Walkways
We have several streets in the community that are in need of repair and improvement. Outside of maintenance of existing streets, the most pressing project is improving the flow of traffic at the intersection of Main Street and Highway 12. We also need to improve the safety and visibility for pedestrians crossing our streets in the school zones and business district.
We have existing sidewalks and bike lanes along Main Street; however, many neighborhoods have no sidewalks, or other pathways for safe travel. It makes it difficult for people
with varying levels of mobility to travel around town with ease. It is clear we need to prioritize safer routes for pedestrians and bikes to share the streets with vehicles. It also means we will need to invest in our storm drain infrastructure to add sidewalks and keep water off of our streets.
In order to prioritize safety, we need to improve our effort to minimize deferred maintenance of existing streets and sidewalks. We can add new sidewalks with curbs, or we can widen the paved shoulder for pedestrians and bikes. We also need to improve street lighting and the visibility of crosswalks for safe passage of pedestrians crossing our city streets. These infrastructure improvements will enhance safe routes to schools and other points of interest, and they will increase walkability and opportunity for more activity for the community.
The prohibitive cost of these projects, and our limited resources, have been our biggest obstacles. Our relationships with our community partners, and the completion of our long-range plan, will increase our access to additional resources so we can increase our investment in vital infrastructure improvements.
Vibrant Downtown Elma
We have seen a lot of growth on the east side of town; most notably with the expansion of Summit Pacific Medical Center and Eagles Landing. We need to continue to foster this growth without compromising our efforts to rejuvenate our downtown corridor.
We can accomplish this by making improvements in infrastructure for lighting, sidewalks, and street crossings. We can also identify opportunities to add points of interest, improve downtown parking, and create a welcoming environment for new businesses. One of the first step we must take is finish what we have started. We need to finish the demolition of the theatre building, as well as complete the renovation of the public safety building that will serve our community for generations to come.
