As a government official, it is important to look toward the future, but it is also important to understand the past and how decisions were made that affect the present.
That is the view of Carolyn Wood, who believes her background and experience make her a valuable asset to The Dalles City Council.
She is seeking re-election to the at-large position that she has held since 2007. Her opponent in the November general election is Taner Elliott, an electrician and developer.
Wood owns and manages rental properties, and has served on the council during past and present times of crisis.
Her public service also includes almost 25 years helping Columbia Gorge Community College expand programs that meet the educational needs of young adults and displaced workers alike.
“I’m really proud of what our college has become,” she said. “It was a wonderful vision and I feel it is one of the greatest accomplishments of this community.”
Wood, 74, holds a bachelor’s in social science from Marylhurst College near Portland that was obtained over a 10-year period while she worked and raised a family.
After being appointed to the council in 1989, she captured the position in a 1990 election and served for four years. At that time, she said there were a lot of glitches in the city’s financial accounting system. Master plans were also needed to facilitate replacement of aging infrastructure.
“The city was at a point where we needed to come into the 20th century,” Wood said. “As a result of our work, the city has been recognized for achieving excellence in financial reporting during the past 20 out of 22 years.”
Also on her list of accomplishments is getting water and sewer systems mapped to set the stage for improvements.
“I went off the council then because I felt like we got our structures in place,” said Wood.
She said officials were aware that the wastewater plant had reached capacity and it was time to start replacing aging water lines, especially a wooden main that was a century old.
That work started in 2001 but stalled when council members hesitated to raise rates to cover large expenditures.
Wood re-entered the political arena in 2007 with a second term in office and willingness to make tough decisions for the future. She felt that the city could not continue to put off work that protected public health and safety.
“While higher rates are unpleasant, they are necessary because we have to make payments on the revenue bonds that cover our costs,” she said. “We need good infrastructure in place to get more industries – and jobs here.”
Toward that end, she has strongly supported the revitalization of downtown and creation of more economic development opportunities.
“Both are necessary to attract visitors and customers,” she said.
Wood has voted for water and sewer rate increases with the knowledge that there are programs in place to help people living on lower incomes. “As an elected official, you are very aware that the decisions you make affect people’s lives and it can be very tough at times,” she said.
She is pleased to have the $17 million wastewater plant renovations now underway and the capital improvement plan in place to guide water system upgrades.
“It’s better to fix them before they fail than to have them fail and then try to deal with the problem,” said Wood.
She said the council frequently gets criticized by residents who think projects are taking too long or are too expensive. She said people are sometimes unaware that state and federal mandates must be met, which often requires more extensive work at greater expense.
For example, in 2007 the city had to install a new $4 million storage tank for its water supply to comply with revised federal drinking water standards.
The following year, another $15,000 was expended to conduct additional tests on drinking water as required by amendments to the federal Safe Drinking Water Act.
In addition, the city spent $16,000 to analyze its treated effluent from the plant to comply with a new state directive.
Wood’s biggest frustration in office has been getting residential in-fill policies in place to address an area of citizen dispute – and then having the legislature intervene. She said the city revised policies concerning minor lot partitions in 2013 after east end residents complained of street improvement fees.
The enactment of House Bill 3479 interrupted finalization of those plans and sent city officials back to the drawing board in regard to residential development and associated fees.
Wood said street upgrades have to be paid for somehow and city officials need to be careful about excusing or delaying payment because of political pressure. She said a precedent could be set if this practice continues and then it will become more and more difficult to cover costs.
“Whatever system we design, it needs to be fair and equitable,” she said.
Wood is the council’s representative on the Historic Landmarks Commission, Q-Life and Mid-Columbia Council of Government.
Her background also includes almost two decades on the Oregon Historic Trails Advisory Council and the Historic Columbia River Highway Advisory Committee.
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