“Beautification, Economic Development Linked” Herald and News Editorial

By: Alison Nash, Quality of Life Committee

Last December, the Herald and News printed a commentary I wrote regarding the evident lack of pride in our community and the need to spawn a cleanup movement.

The months that followed were spent brainstorming and collaborating with others that shared the same concern in an effort to find a solution to the problem. Since then, my husband Jason and I have become members of the Klamath County Economic Development Association (KCEDA) under its new model because we wholeheartedly believe in our community and it’s ability to turn itself around economically.

Klamath Pride’s origins

With the restructuring of KCEDA came the creation of a Quality of Life committee. This committee has been meeting for the last six months and discussing beautification efforts and how they are crucially tied to economic development. After much research and many hours of planning, Klamath Pride was born.

Klamath Pride was conceived with a simple question in mind; how does the City of Klamath Falls and Klamath County begin to put its best face forward? The objective is to inspire and promote the beautification and betterment of the communities in all of Klamath County and instill a sense of civic pride in our citizens. Klamath Pride will utilize Klamath’s greatest strength — its residents — to report, maintain, volunteer and encourage others to clean up their property and contribute to the beautification of their communities.

Part of a package

Beautification needs to be thought of as part of an economic development package. Tax abatements, grants, and regulatory exceptions can only do so much to attract new business.

No matter how much money a community is willing to offer in incentives, quality of life issues will always have a major impact on where people choose to live and locate their business. The way our community presents itself has a great deal to do with the choices that business executives make regarding site selections.

Klamath Pride will work to bring together caring citizens, civic organizations, and federal agencies to improve the quality of life for our residents and visitors. There will be programs in place to help those needing assistance, either physically, financially or both, in cleaning up their properties.

Focus will first be on beautifying the areas that will be the first visuals that visitors and potential businesses experience, and the hope is that those efforts lead others to continue the progress within their own communities.

KCEDA, its new executive director, Greg O’Sullivan, and it’s board of directors knows the importance of beautification as it relates to economic development and is wise to implement Klamath Pride as the vehicle to begin to improve the quality of life within our community.

Their support and forward thinking members have brought the vision of Klamath Pride a big step closer to reality. Continue to watch for information and updates on Klamath Pride and its projects.