Manifesting destiny in the city of Palmer

June 7, 2005

KATE GOLDEN/Frontiersman reporter

PALMER - What do you want Palmer to be like in 2030?

"I want (my kids) to have what I had," Kristy Thom Bernier, a born-and-bred Valley girl, told her fellow residents at the table in the Palmer Depot last Wednesday. "Everybody knew everybody. You could walk, bike Š It was safe."

At the first Palmer Comprehensive Plan Update public meeting this year, you could meet a Palmerite who grew up in Colony days or a recent transplant, an owner of hundreds of acres or a renter, a conservationist or a developer - each passionate about this small town.

They were critiquing the first draft of Palmer's goals, laid out in oversized sheets around the tables with headings from infrastructure to community identity.

Consultants from Agnew::Beck in Anchorage are drafting an updated comprehensive plan for Palmer this summer.

They have no intention of pulling it out of their hats, they said. Direction and details must come instead from Palmer residents. Consultants collaborated with a newly formed seven-citizen planning team to create the list of goals that lined the walls at the Depot.

The plan, last updated in 1999, is supposed to guide growth and development, identify and prioritize community projects and programs, support economic development, sustain the character of the community and its lands, and "clarify a long-term vision for Palmer's future," the consultants outlined.

This Wednesday workshop began a series that will continue throughout the summer and fall.

The goals looked pretty good to most people. But wait - there was so much more.

At the Community Identity discussion, for example, Agnew took notes as the ideas flooded in. People wanted compactness. An identifiable downtown. No tall buildings. Night-time cultural events. Palmer as a "brain center" for talented young intellectuals. A local Bear Tooth Theatre Pub. Wind power.

After two and a half hours, the consultants condensed the direction they'd gotten from the brainstorms around the room.

€ Capitalize on what's great about Palmer. Attract "footloose" industries like tech companies. Keep the green, open-space character. Cultivate history and a sense of community.

€ Plan for infrastructure, focusing on youth, senior citizens and visitor services. Get transportation networks into centralized nodes, perhaps with shorter routes.

€ Economic goals require a clearly identified tax base - that is, an annexation plan. Promote agriculture and tourism. Design downtown with customer- and business-friendly amenities.

"I think it's pretty clear," Agnew said. "I can't wait to see it written down."

A few expressed frustration at the breadth and apparent vagueness of the goals - such as "work to make Palmer an increasingly attractive place to live, work and visit" - and there were a lot of issues to cover.

"It's hard to focus on specific issues," resident Mary Ann Cockle said.

"There's too much to do at once," resident Kelly Sidebottom said.

Both, however, returned a positive verdict on the workshop. Sidebottom said she's been inspired to get some Palmer community gardens going.

Consultant Chris Beck said the big picture provides a sturdy common ground.

"Sometimes that first step seems sort of abstract, but it's actually really powerful," he said.

But the task gets harder as the details surface, he said. That's why it's important, he said, that people be sincere about the goals they're creating for themselves - both "visionary and practical," he said.

Yes, the possibilities are endless - but are Palmer residents willing to take out their wallets?

"It starts with desire," Cockle said.

The current draft of Palmer's goals is available on the city's Web site at http://www.cityofpalmer.org.

Contact Kate Golden at 352-2284 or kate.golden@frontiersman.com.