Palmer, Wasilla hope to improve residents’ lives

City officials in Palmer and Wasilla have plans in mind that would make the people in both their communities richer in culture.

For Wasilla, there’s a plan afoot to try to build a new library, and perhaps improve the theater at the same time. Libraries can be the focal point of a town for many reasons beyond checking out a book to read. Young mothers like taking their children to reading events. Teaching a child that reading is import will have great benefits as that youngster grows up. Not having a love of reading makes learning at school harder as children are challenged more and more as they move up the grade levels.

Many libraries these days are places where people who need work can polish resumés, search employment sites or do research on occupations that can help them get back on their feet.

Libraries are also meeting sites for groups that need a place to gather.

Here’s hoping Wasilla gets the money it needs to make the city a better place for its residents.

In Palmer, the big dream is a convention and civic center.

A while back, Palmer City Manager Bill Allen attended a Municipal League meeting in Wrangell and came home smitten with the center in that town.

As planned, such a facility would be a gem in downtown where plays could be staged, movies could be shown and small to medium conventions could be held. What a boost to the local economy that would be if Palmer could attract 300 conventioneers to town on a regular basis. They would need rooms, food, gas and maybe buy a T-shirt or trinket to take home. And then they would be gone.

Wrangell, according to Allen, sold movie tickets that amounted to an annual five-digit income.

The plan also calls for an agriculture museum that would trace the evolution of farming from centuries ago through modern times. A lot of tourists come here from the Midwest who would like to see exhibits like that in Palmer.

The center would become the hub of civic gatherings with a full catering kitchen on site. It would be a great place for meetings when contentious topics are debated and the crowd at city hall can’t be seated. Many times the borough assembly has residents standing in the hall waiting for their time to speak.

People in both towns should applaud their leaders for being proactive in trying to make lives for the residents more full.