Don’t Kill Off the Maritime Village

Lately, I’ve read two carefully considered opinion pieces about local life.  One was about the need to market Gig Harbor in a manner that promotes our local goods and services.  The article made the point that Gig Harbor is no longer a “sleepy little fishing village,” and that we need a new image, a new marketing focus.  The other article stated that if we just focus on business as the chief criterion for all our public decision-making, then we’ll all be healthy and happy.

On the surface, especially in these times, a focus on business seems reasonable.  After all, taking care of our basic needs relies on commerce, and marketing to our services advances business.  Nevertheless, saying that Gig Harbor should not present itself as a “sleepy little fishing village” is like saying our brand is dead and marketing alone will suffice.  It’s similar to saying that if we just market to fill the hotels at Disneyland, we don’t really need that old Mouse.  A principal focus on business as a lens for community decision-making ignores the fact that food, health, safety and shelter are just the bare minimum that we seek.

In fact, we’re after a lot more than that!  Have you ever read the vision statement of the City Council of the ?  Evidently, at least one of our city planning commissioners doesn’t seem to have considered it.  It seems that one of our rising new marketers hasn’t either.  Here it is:

“Our vision for the City of Gig Harbor is a community that is well planned and comprised of identifiable residential and business neighborhoods that are safe, secure and have access to high quality municipal services and amenities;

with pedestrian, bicycle, vehicular, and police service systems that enable people to move safely between neighborhoods, work places, shopping, and other destinations;

with an economic base that emphasizes professional employment and business opportunities;

that continuously develops partnership of citizens, city government, business and education, and that fosters meaningful involvement and civil exchange of ideas;

that provides an integrated system of natural features, open space, recreational and cultural opportunities;

that develops and preserves its natural and historical assets, while adapting to a changing environment;

and whose government is responsive to the needs of its citizens and serves as a steward of public resources and confidence.”

In other words, our community task is a bit more complicated than just focus on business and market the great dentists.  The City of Gig Harbor’s vision statement may be the longest sentence since a Faulkner novel, but it does express that our task is to support a system of community aspirations, all of which are of equal importance if we are to have a sustainable community with a high quality of life. 

Even as Gig Harbor grows, we should 1) structure, retain and maintain what feels like a sleepy little fishing village and 2) develop the best community systems, including business recruitment and retention.  We can do both, but not if we focus strictly on business, not if we abandon our brand.