Without a concerted effort, downtown Centralia, as a commercial area, will become the businesses and services surrounding the freeway. Downtown, for all intents and purposes, will be gone. Our town and our sense of community will be gone. This Council is unwilling to let that happen. Insufficient tax dollars equal reduced services in law enforcement, fire, safety and parks.
Empty storefronts mean depressed commercial property values.
A reduction of commercial property values will eventually cause taxes paid by homeowners to go up. Empty storefronts and a declining downtown require an above average number of calls from both Police and Fire services. So, a great downtown creates more tax money and costs less to service, freeing up resources for the citizens of the community. The City plans to completely redo downtown. In cooperation with the State Department of Transportation, the City has a new Streetscape planned.