Susan Conniry

Age 69. Retired to Ocean Shores after 40 years of active community/public service in Southern California, having been appointed to the Santee Planning Commission, the San Diego County Assessment Appeals Board and ultimately serving as an elected director of the Lakeside Fire Protection District. From numerous volunteer positions for service organizations and non-profits to organizing disaster-survival workshops, community service provides a purpose beyond myself and has always been a mainstay in my life. Currently I volunteer for the Green Lantern Lunch Program, North Beach Senior Center and the North Beach School Board’s ad hoc committee on homelessness.

I received my bachelor’s degree from San Diego State University, graduating manga cum laude. As a small business owner, CEO of an educational non-profit and an elected official, I developed skills of collaboration, teamwork and compromise while managing complicated budgets. For three years, I have focused on the common good of our community and encourage citizen education and participation in government, through town halls and forums. I am a member of the OS Planning Commission and the Grays Harbor County Board of Equalization.

Do you favor the Point Brown Avenue redesign project moving forward, and if so, which of the alternatives do you favor and what suggestions do you have for funding?

The survey was unsatisfactory because you couldn’t vote no. Nor could you comment unless you rated the elements presented. It would have been more productive, and should be a priority as we move forward, to have a town hall. Businesses are unhappy about the parking configuration; worried about construction disruption. Citizens are troubled about losing the green median, the memorial trees, adding more roundabouts and the increased matching funds. This project started with a desire to have sidewalks. It morphed when the city found additional grant funding and moved forward without adequately engaging the community. They seem surprised that we are not happy with the project. As a council member I look forward to working with our citizens, businesses and my colleagues as we focus on the future of this project, wherever that takes us, even if it is to pay back what we owe and start again. More importantly I look forward to building trust and mutual respect as a foundation for progress.

The city faces a dilemma with funding set to expire for seven firefighters. Do you favor retaining these positions, why or why not, and if so, how would suggest they be paid for?

I spoke publicly against accepting the Safer Grant. I served as an elected director for a fire district and we never applied for this grant. With no guarantees that we could continue firefighters’ employment at the end of the grant, we chose instead to hire one at a time as our budget allowed. When Ocean Shores accepted the grant, the seven firefighters hired knew their tour of duty was for two years. I’m sure they hoped we’d budget for them to stay. We did no such thing. We let them down.

The city agendas have been full for months. Noticeably lacking was the Safer grant. Why was there no discussion about the fact that the funding was ending? Why did the citizens not have the opportunity to weigh in on perhaps funding our firefighters rather than some of the other projects?

Finally the council authorized a study to show how many firefighters we need and how much our ambulance utility bill will have to increase to pay for them. We are still waiting.

What three items of public interest and benefit would you propose as a council member and what three items would you like to see changed in the city of Ocean Shores?

Citizen engagement is vital as we update our Comprehensive Plan and develop a vision for the future. This is our opportunity to dialogue on every aspect of our city, from the way it functions to its appearance. How we take care of our aging population, support our business community and attract visitors.

Holding public town hall/forums, where council members encourage healthy debate with the community is vital to making our city a place we are all proud of. Responsible stewardship of the public’s money, adhering to priorities that resonate with all our citizens and businesses. Raising taxes as a last resort, after all other options have been explored and publicly discussed

Community policing in conjunction with Neighborhood Block Watch, a cost-effective strategy for safer neighborhoods and community development, should be implemented immediately.

Promote a sustainable environment, zero waste through recycling, eliminate unnecessary plastic waste, particularly on our beaches; better management of our fresh waterways. Take action to provide accessibility for everyone; build a Tsunami parking garage. Encourage GH Community Hospital to locate an urgent-care clinic in the city.

Work in partnership with state parks to build a day-use park with bathrooms and viewing benches on our beach-access roads where they meet the dunes, increasing accessibility of our most important asset — our beaches.

Would you continue the city’s contract with the Pinnacle Group to help manage and market the Ocean Shores Convention Center, and what suggestions do you have for the facility in the long term?

The Pinnacle report, that cost the city $20,000, confirmed that convention centers like ours are not designed to turn a profit, however, it is a successful economic engine for the community businesses and hotels. The staff were congratulated. The report included suggestions to management to create an emergency plan, have in-house catering, fix the handicap-access doors and work on a succession plan for the retiring operations manager. The general manager says they already have in-house catering and when the manager retired, she said he was not replaced. Instead the caterer stepped up to fill the position. They have already discussed an emergency plan with public works and the doors are scheduled to be repaired. The report justifies many of the actions already taken. The future? The report suggested hiring more staff as well as a sales person to find new events. The City Council must now decide if they want to hire Pinnacle for that purpose. They should deliberate carefully, weighing the impacts on our budget and our economic progress. A great opportunity to allow more than three minutes to comment by holding an interactive community town hall.