Palmer lets Bill Allen go; search should focus on another visionary

Bill Allen, in his role as Palmer city manager, has always looked to the future for his town. He’s had his detractors, especially a few on the council as is evident by a 4-3 decision to not extend his contract for another two years.

As with any city manager, he has also rankled people in the public.

However, in just a short time, he gave Palmer hope for a future, unlike its semi-stagnant ways of the past. There are people in Palmer who prefer to live in the long ago, and that figured into some of the discord directed at him.

There are those who complain that there aren’t enough jobs in Palmer, not enough business taking place, not enough entertainment.

But when one of Allen’s dream projects — a civic center and small convention center — came to light, the usual suspects cried foul. They said it would cost money and who would want to come to Palmer for a convention anyway.

Conventioneers don’t come to Palmer because there’s no decent place to hold a small convention. A center Allen envisioned would require more beds. Better beds. Some people didn’t want new motels or a hotel in Palmer.

The civic center and new accommodations would have created jobs. The center would have attracted groups that would need places to stay and souvenirs to take home to the kids. They would need gasoline and food to eat. They would be paying sales taxes.

Too many people in Palmer simply don’t want to see progress. Some are on the city council, and that’s a shame because Palmer is a great town and is surrounded by genuine geographical beauty. In short, it’s a place visitors would enjoy winter and summer. Allen also promoted a trail system that would link the Matanuska River to the fairgrounds and with existing smaller trails in town.

He worked hard to attract the state crime lab to Palmer. Another dream that would bring jobs and taxes.

Palmer could have a state criminal justice complex with the courts, the busiest trooper post in the state, the pre-trial campus and the training complex for all state Department of Corrections employees. Think a crime lab wouldn’t be a good fit?

There are new projects on the horizon that some Palmer residents will fight because they just fear progress. The city council booted Allen. Now the pressure’s on to see what kind of town they want. We’ll see who they hire and what that individual’s visions are for Palmer.

More of the same will be Palmer’s death knell.