Council member finds himselfin election race

Cathlamet Town Council Member David Goodroe celebrated his 60th birthday in mid-October and took off for a vacation.

He returned to learn that while he was gone, a write-in candidate, Ruth Doumit, had begun a campaign to win his seat on the council.

An article in last week’s Eagle reported Doumit’s major concerns: 1. The town’s fire siren has been silenced but is needed for public safety; 2. the city’s timberland needs to be preserved, and 3. the town’s waterfront needs to be preserved.

In September, the council received a petition asking that the siren be silenced and an alternative way used to dispatch emergency responders. The council voted 3-2 to pass a motion by Goodroe to silence the siren while a committee worked on the issue. At the council’s October meeting, a motion to reactivate the siren while the committee worked failed in a 2-3 vote.

Goodroe retired from a career in business and moved to Cathlamet with his wife in early 2006. He had been a business manager in retail stores and operated a restaurant startup business. He joined a high-tech company developing speed cooking technology and became its chief executive officer. He also managed a property management business.

As he met people in Cathlamet, he was encouraged to fill a vacancy on the council. He went to a meeting and was appointed. The business background serves well in working with the town’s budgets and finances, he said. After learning the budget ropes from predecessor Andy Lea, he has crafted the last two town budgets.

Goodroe offered the following comments to the issues and concerns which Doumit raised:

—Siren: Goodroe said he is willing to compromise on the siren, but “the other side” hasn’t offered a proper compromise. He said he has heard firemen say the siren isn’t needed at night and that it could well be used just for fires and other very serious emergencies, but that hasn’t been proposed. “There’s probably a need for it, but not for every call that’s not life threatening or not a fire or that’s a transport from the nursing home to the clinic and back.

“I believe there’s an acceptable compromise out there; it’s a matter of doing the work to get it done.”

—Timberland: The town owns timbered land that has been valued from $1.4 to $7 million. “We really need to determine what its worth is to the town,” he said. He brought the issue up to the council, noting that if the timber and land were sold, the town could invest the money and earn $15 million more over 40 years than it could from harvesting timber. Wright has told The Eagle that he fears federal agencies which fund projects like sewer plant construction would require the invested funds be spent before granting any construction funds, and the town would lose its revenue production.

“I have no leanings one way or another,” Goodroe said. “It’s a numbers exercise for me at this point. The jury’s still out.”

—Waterfront development: Goodroe said he believes the town needs to develop tourism business because traditional industries such as logging and fishing have been scaled back.

The waterfront development concept arose after a former council member made contact with a firm that specializes in public-private partnerships, and the idea arose that the firm would build and operate a new waste water treatment plant for the town for 20 years at a maximum charge of $50 per month for household fees.

In exchange, the town would turn over the site of the present plant on the waterfront, and a developer yet to be identified would construct condominiums and-or tourist businesses on the site.

The idea should be investigated, Goodroe said, for if the town has to finance the new sewer plant, fees could be $130 a month, a level he called “unacceptable.”

The town and Port District have hired consultants to advise them in discussions and negotiations with possible developers.

“We don’t know what to ask for in order to protect our quality of life,” he said. “Once we see what is proposed, we can look at it. It’s all exploratory at this point.”