The bond measure for a new Troutdale Community Police Station went down in flames last year by a 44-55% margin. Everyone involved with the campaign agreed that a late start and the downturn in the economy likely doomed the campaign. I wasn't involved with last year's campaign, but I'm happy to serve on the new committee that's breathing new life into a new campaign for November 2010.
We're currently in the process of planning next year's campaign. We have several talented people who have already committed to the effort. The campaign strategy and timeline are being put together slowly, piece by piece. I can say with confidence that next year's campaign won't be like anything Troutdale has ever seen. We're in it to win it. If you've seen Troutdale's current police station, you'd instantly vote yes. Our current police station is cramped, crowded, obsolete, and inefficient.
I've heard one or two people claim that a new police station isn't needed. Amazingly, they say that police officers can handle almost all of their non-patrol duties in their police vehicles. Think about that for a moment. Imagine a Troutdale police officer interviewing suspects in their police car. Or using their police vehicle as a holding facility. Or doing armourer work on their weapons in their police vehicle. Or storing crime scene evidence in their vehicle. Or holding staff meetings in their vehicle. And surely we can park all of the police cars inside another police car securely. We don't need a secure parking lot for our police cars, which have been subject to vandalism. You get the picture.
The good news is we have plenty of time for planning, volunteer recruiting, fund raising, and everything else that needs to get done to get the good old 50% plus 1 of the vote next November. We will get-r-done this time.
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