Depending on where you settle, that $450 per month car allowance will also come in handy. You see, our traffic has been building. The average commuting time has increased, so you are going to be buying some gas. Did you know Washington has the second-highest state gas tax in the United States, at 49.4 cents per gallon? Missouri is No. 47. At least you don’t have to commute to Portland. Traffic has increased substantially across the river, to about 325,000 bridge crossings a day. But you already know this; you mentioned it in your job interview.
While we are talking about transportation, county roads need a lot of work. The arterial streets are full of potholes; many lack sidewalks. We’ll need the skills you demonstrated in Missouri and Wisconsin, where you solved a structural deficit in the road fund.
It looks like Pleasant Hill’s population has been growing, and is now close to 8,500 people. We have been growing too, to about 475,000 people, as you’ll see when you are house hunting. Some say we need more land for housing; others want more housing density. Besides the population growth, the area is changing in more subtle ways. We have a vibrant scene in downtown Vancouver after decades of deterioration. We have smaller cities such as Washougal and Ridgefield becoming more self-sufficient. Luckily, you worked at a law firm where you were involved in land-use planning.
On the other side, we have more homelessness and need, and we also reflect the national trend of not listening to each other. We need to work together to solve big problems, but voters feel taxed to death. Whether that is true or not, that is the perception. Just ask the sheriff, Chuck Atkins. He will tell you that our central jail is too small and is aging just like you’d expect someone who has consorted with criminals for more than 30 years. Not pretty. But the public isn’t clamoring to spend millions on a new jail, either.
