Downtown improvements, electoral process key topics at Pasco community forum

Pasco residents and business owners were encouraged to hear Wednesday night that the city is targeting downtown for cleanup and development.

But some questioned how a city where the majority of downtown businesses are owned by Latinos doesn’t have equal representation at the government level.

“How can you have this many Mexicans and none in a position of authority?” Rick Rios recalled thinking after returning to his hometown four years ago.

About 30 people filled a room at TRAC for the first of two Pasco community forums.

The forums are held every other year to help city staff and the Pasco City Council set goals for the next two years.

City Manager Dave Zabell was joined Wednesday by several department leaders, including Police Chief Bob Metzger.

Mayor Matt Watkins and council members Rebecca Francik, Al Yenney and Tom Larsen also attended.

Rick Martinez, a facilitator, called on audience members and kept a list of key topics, which ranged from voter registration and outside transparency to red-light cameras and holding a similar forum for Spanish speakers.

Several residents and Latino community advocates pushed the council to make district-based elections a reality in Pasco.

A recent opinion from the state Attorney General’s Office said the city, under certain conditions, can change its electoral process to keep the votes within each district for the general election.

Zabell said that opinion is promising, but noted that a legislative bill is a quicker way to make it happen.

Felix Vargas of Consejo Latino is a proponent of making the change to stop diluting individual district votes with citywide elections. He commended the city for listening to complaints and ideas from its residents Wednesday.

“This type of event is very, very important to open up your soul to the community,” said the longtime Pasco resident.

He said instead of having outsiders telling the city how it should be doing business, the solution is within if staff continues to “sit down and dialogue” with the community.

The Pasco Police Department’s policies and procedures were questioned by some residents, particularly since it was the one-year anniversary of the fatal police shooting of Antonio Zambrano-Montes. Several members of Tri-Cities Community Solutions were in the audience.

Metzger said the department has increased the number of bilingual officers from 11 to 18, held community events to attract more bilingual job candidates and formed an advisory committee that meets monthly to talk about what’s going on in the city.

“Does that mean we are not open to look and listen and do more? We always are,” he said.

Zabell added that the city and police department are awaiting reports from the Department of Justice and state Attorney General’s Office, both of which may include some recommendations for reform.

Edwardo Morfin, a member of the Washington State Commission on Hispanic Affairs, said he was speaking as an “outside observer” when he suggested more transparency within city and county government.

“I leave some meetings with a lot of questions. Who is really making the decisions?” said Morfin.

As for downtown Pasco, Zabell said it is one of the city’s biggest opportunities for growth and improvement. He noted how crews have been fixing the sidewalks so they’re no longer “tripping hazards,” and said there is about $500,000 in the budget this year for design and a public outreach effort for Peanuts Park and the area surrounding Fourth Avenue and Lewis Street area.

“We really have a sense of being able to influence what is going to happen downtown,” Zabell said. “And I can tell you right now, you have a council who is willing to listen to what is going to happen.”

The second community forum is scheduled for 7 p.m. Feb. 17 at the Pasco Senior Center, 1315 N. Seventh Ave.

A separate forum for Pasco businesses is scheduled for Feb. 19 at Holiday Inn Express. Participants must RSVP for lunch, sponsored by the Pasco Chamber of Commerce and the Tri-Cities Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.

This story was originally published February 10, 2016 at 10:41 PM with the headline "Downtown improvements, electoral process key topics at Pasco community forum."