A land use attorney that I knew once told me that, “Environmental regulation is a luxury of an affluent economy.” He has the propensity of having verbal gems fall from his lips like that.
He’s correct. When we, as a community have a ton of money, we then are not constrained to spend it only on gas and groceries; but also can spend it on other stuff that we care about. When we don’t have that extra money, we have to focus on our own and take care of ourselves.
I have great respect for the Westport City Council in supporting venues of our local culture and history like our Westport Maritime Museum and Grays Harbor Lighthouse.
Despite our ‘rising economy,’ a lot of us here on the Outer Coast of Washington are still hurting drastically. When there is surplus to spend, it’s important to spend those communal funds on the benefit of out current Westport residents, as well as those to come. It’s important to spend it on our populace and to promote others to come to Westport and enjoy all that we have to offer.
Here’s an example. The Westport Aquarium operates on about $16,000 a year for operating costs. That’s, We’ve got to get out of bed at 6 a.m. and work it — pay the utility bills, clean the tanks, feed the fish, tour the visitors, pay the wages, try to paint the building, respond to seals and whales on the beach, try to fix the pumps — and working it includes about $16,000 a year in operating costs. The Westport Aquarium will gross about $16,000 in a year.
Well, sorry. You do the math, dude.
We here at the Aquarium work two extra ‘real jobs’ to make up for the rest, like food. That’s how much we care about the Westport Aquarium, our good folks here in town, our community and keeping Westport vibrant.
The City Council decision to support the museum, the lighthouse and our community is a step in the right direction. Without culture, without a sense of history, without a sense of who we are, communities die.
We will not do that.
Marc Myrsell
Westport