Maple Valley US 'Best Places' - Really?

Maple Valley US ‘Best Places’ – Really?

Editor, the VOICE:

I have lived in Maple Valley since before the City’s incorporation. Certainly there must be enough benefits to the area to keep me here this long. Still, to be considered on the ‘Best Places’ to live or raise children in the US is somewhat puzzling. One need only to look at the City’s main webpage to see the numerous accolades that city management is so proud of. This leaves me wondering, is this really as good as it gets? No doubt we have beautiful scenery here in the northwest. Our community apparently has a low crime rate, and the cost of living is reasonable compared to many other towns of this size. Yet, when I let my mind wander about the Utopia of suburban living, I don’t imagine randomly scattered shopping strips, nightmarish traffic, lack of a city center that fosters a sense of community, or nonexistent public transportation coupled with an infrastructure that is not ‘walkable’. Though despite these shortcomings, I have concluded that the biggest drawback is the narrative I hear each time I attend public city council and school board meetings.

Indeed, one would think the town was filled with rainbows and unicorns after listening to the city council, school district administrators, and school board converse about the issues of the day. Everything is wonderful, there is always enough funding for the projects of their choosing, all the employees are exceptional citizens, and disciplinary action is never required. They don’t need training in conflict resolution, because there is never any conflict to begin with. However, the school board does schedule time for a group retreat in Leavenworth in September. What can be accomplished in Leavenworth that can’t be done right here?

So, what are the residents, parents, and students to think or do when their needs or wants do not sync with the narrative of the community leadership? The way it looks to me is that the leadership doesn’t care about community opinion. It appears they got a group rate on travel to go kiss the Blarney Stone in person considering the ease with which they justify decisions impacting the citizens. The city council tells us there is plenty of revenue, but the forecasts indicate otherwise. Is our local government stable, or are we headed down the same path as Greece? Meanwhile, Tahoma School District Superintendent, Rob Morrow claimed that Russell Ridge School is a ‘program’ and not a school after all. This reminds me of Chief Justice Roberts’s opinion that Obamacare is a ‘tax’ and not a government’s mandate. Parents and students have turned to district administrators and school board members for help regarding Tahoma faculty and staff mistreatment of students, but the school leadership repeatedly turns a deaf ear. On rare occasion an employee will suddenly ‘leave for family reasons’, but the narrative never wanes, as acknowledgement of the truth is not an option. The end result is, almost 20 years after our municipality took the reins from the county, Maple Valley has perhaps become paradise, a fool’s paradise. Well, I’m not buying all the ‘Future Ready’ rhetoric. So, please don’t pee on my leg and tell me it’s raining.

Tim Haugh