The biggest proposed change is renaming and refocusing the Economic Development Committee to become the Sustainability Committee. This new committee would be tasked with running comprehensive plan updates, transportation, housing, arts and culture issues through what was described by Council member Walker as a “sustainability filter.” Council member Walker described a sustainable community as one that does not “deplete, dump, degrade or demean” our resources. She goes on to say that there needs to be a balance which includes adequately meeting human needs as well. She explained that this committee would also ensure that the city has a more holistic approach to planning to ensure that we “create the kind of world that we want for ourselves, our neighbors and future generations.” Ms. Walker also wants to make it clear she does think that, “Sustainability does not equal Enviromentalism.”

At these public meetings Council member Walker expressed several reasons she felt the need to create this new committee stating: “we were using non renewable resources, we are accumulating chemicals that can not be assimilated into the environment and we are systematically degrading the physical world.” She continued by saying that “resources are declining and ability for earth to accommodate chemicals and human population is expanding so it is limiting our ability to live.”

A key part of the proposal is the creation of a Citizens Action Group (CAG). Members of the CAG would include citizens recruited by the city council and volunteers from the community. The CAG would assist the proposed Sustainability Committee in creating “a long term plan for the community to realize sustainability.” Council member Walker stated that the focus should be on the journey and the destination because this is a “transformational change toward sustainability.” Addressing this change in a written response Council member Walker stated, “We are at the very beginning of the discussion and I continue to remind myself that there is a huge learning curve with not only City Council but the community. One of the lessons learned by other communities that have gone through this process is that it is not only a destination (a plan) but a journey (process) – and the community needs to embrace this by participating throughout that journey.” She also clarified the City Council’s roll by saying, “We will lead, but it has to come from the community.”

Council member Walker admitted that there would be some difficultywith funding the Sustainability Committee this year. The Sustainability retreat that she recently attended in Toronto, Canada was at her own expense as it was part of her own professional development. The city has allocated no money for this proposed committee. She continued by saying that most jurisdictions “hire a consultant to take people through the process, and if you don’t hire someone to actually move it through and getting it going your totally relying on volunteer and citizen base and that gets to be the controlling factor as to how quickly you go.” She hoped that the city would be able to identify some funding because she felt this would be a valuable investment for Duvall. At the Council retreat Council member Walker did remind the council that she would be able to assist the city in this process and her “new skills and interest are available at a very reasonable cost” and “nearly free”. In a written response to questions from the River Current News staff Council member Walker has since clarified this statement by saying, “The‘reasonable cost’ is free as I am offering this service as part of my duty as a council member – at no additional cost to the City.”

The Council has asked for more time to discuss the issue and to review the information provided by Council member Walker because how the creation of this new committee would affect Duvall was not completely clear to them from her two presentations. She has agreed to continue to provide as much information as possible. In an email to this paper she stated; “As you can see, there is still a lot to impart to everyone, and we are working on the plan to engage the community in the most valuable and productive way.”

We will continue to cover this story as it develops and will update the public with any progress with this proposal. Per the Duvall City Agenda, there will be continued discussion in regards to this proposed committee at the Thursday, March 11th Duvall City Council meeting. The meeting is held at the Duvall Fire Station and begins at 7pm.