Winthrop Ice Rink wins award

On June 19, 2008, the Town of Winthrop was honored with a Municipal Excellence Award from the Association of Washington Cities (AWC) at their Annual Conference in Yakima.

The Town of Winthrop won the Small City Successes category for the Winthrop Town Trailhead and Ice Rink. The Winthrop Town Trailhead and Ice Rink represents the culmination of years of effort by the town and two nonprofit groups, Winthrop Ice and Sports Rink Association and Methow Valley Sports Trail Association (MVSTA) to create a vibrant recreational hub in the heart of our community.

Planning for the project drew a great deal of public attention and input. Winthrop’s new 3.8 acre trailhead and ice rink now stands as the cornerstone in realizing a handful of long held community visions. Over the winter, hundreds of people, old and young alike, enjoyed skating on the new facility and warming their toes in the new building; while other folks used the new trailhead as a departure point to guide along the MVSTA ski trails.

Out of 62 entries, Winthrop’s entry was one of eight projects selected to receive an Excellence Award at AWC’s 75th Annual Conference. Entries are judged by subject category and each category has one winner. The awards are judged by individuals outside of AWC, who are selected for their knowledge of and enthusiasm for local government.

The Municipal Excellence Awards are presented to cities that have demonstrated outstanding achievements in promoting community excellence. The competition recognizes a community’s achievement and encourages other cities to develop similar programs. The hard work and dedication proven in each of the projects makes a community stronger especially when the focus is on improving tomorrow.

The Town of Winthrop wishes to thank all of the community members who volunteered and supported this project. This award is because of all of you and your unselfish hard work.

Traffic Note: MV Tour Bike Race

This Sunday, June 15th, the Methow Valley Tour bicycle race will be passing through downtown Winthrop frequently throughout the day. The race will be using portions of Hwy 20, Bridge Street, and Bluff Street. Motorists are encouraged to watch for cyclists and obey traffic control flaggers directions to ensure the safety of all. Thank you.

Town Council and other meetings at the Barn

The Winthrop Town Council will be holding its meetings (which take place on the 1st and 3rd Wednesdays of the month at 7pm) at the Winthrop Barn until further notice. The change of meeting location is part of an effort to provide needed additional work space for town staff. The Winthrop Planning Commission will also be moving its meetings to the Barn soon as well. For more information on the change, please contact Town Hall at 996-2320.

Winthrop Planning Community Workshop

These days Winthrop is changing and yet staying the same. It is still a small town. Its citizens are still friendly and care deeply for the place they live. Although its population is still about 370 people according to the State of Washington, just an increase of 21 people since the 2000 census, few would argue that Winthrop isn’t growing. New commercial buildings and many new residential development proposals have citizens wondering if the town is adequately prepared to handle these changes and some of the related issues and challenges they pose. These citizens are not alone, the Winthrop Town Council and Planning Commission have been eyeing these changes and considering the need to perhaps revisit the Town’s Comprehensive Plan and possibly make some improvements to it and/or Winthrop’s zoning code. As part of this consideration, the two groups held a joint meeting a several weeks ago to discuss what they felt some of the key issues and challenges facing the town and its citizens are. Also discussed was the desire and need for a public workshop to gather input from the citizens of Winthrop to make sure that their concerns and issues could be considered and addressed during this re-examination of the Comprehensive Plan.

This is where you come in. On Tuesday, May 13th, at 6pm, the Town of Winthrop will host a public workshop at the Winthrop Barn to gather public input and opinion on the issues and challenges facing Winthrop. This workshop is intended primarily as a community brainstorming session with an emphasis on generating a list of issues, challenges, and possible solutions to be investigated and worked on by the Town Council, Planning Commission, town staff, and citizen committees as necessary. The workshop will be facilitated by Winthrop’s Building Official Dave Sandoz who also happens to be a trained facilitator. Please come and join us and share your ideas and opinions on the issues and challenges that Winthrop and its citizens face. Be part of helping Winthrop effectively meet the challenges of the future so that even as it faces change it can stay the same wonderful place we all love.