The following is written by Sumner Mayor Dave Enslow:

After almost twenty years in public service, one of the things of which I am most proud is the staff that serves our city. When many people think about government, they think inefficiency and bureaucracy. While that may be true in other places, it certainly isn’t the case in Sumner. Whether it’s creating public-private partnerships to run the senior center with great success or leading a coalition of seven cities to provide animal control and adoption services at a fraction of the normal cost, our staff is constantly looking to improve, finding better ways of doing things, and creating efficiencies that improve service to you while saving money. Times change, people change, needs change, communities change, and so government and what services we provide and how we provide them need to change too. We should never use the excuse that we do something because that’s what we’ve always done.

As part of this change, this year we are studying our parks and trails. Even though we have great parks, our staff is exploring facilities needs for the future and making sure we plan for those needs. This also fits in well with evaluating the recreational needs of our community. When the school district decided that it wanted to step away from the administration of our existing rec program, we realized that after 27 years, it was time to take a fresh look, carefully evaluate what’s best for Sumner, and what new partnerships such as the Y, could bring to the table to improve your future recreation options.

Speaking personally, change is sometimes hard, but it’s part of becoming a better person. I have learned it’s part of becoming a better community as well. I’m proud of that fact that we have a staff that is willing to embrace change, keeping Sumner a vibrant and great place live.