Dayton Mayor Supports City's Public Works Director

Letter to the Editor

To the citizens of our beautiful Dayton, I’d like the opportunity as your elected Mayor to address a few situations and clarify some things that have recently been floating around the different channels of information we have at our fingertips. Some folks prefer the newspaper, some prefer the internet, and others utilize good old-fashioned face-to-face conversation.

Some things recently have made “headlines” on social media, spreading false information about the City’s Public Works Director, Ryan Paulson. He has only been here for a short four years and has been a key member of our team in successfully obtaining millions of grant dollars for the infrastructure of our city, which we would not have had without him.

The Main Street sidewalks in his first year brought in $80,000 in 100% grant dollars. The 3rd Street project, North and South of Main Street, was about $3.5 million with a 5% match. The 4th Street project, starting with the ADA Sidewalk portion of the Complete Streets Project, Phase I, is being awarded about $495,000, with the city only paying 5% match. Phase II of the 4th Street project was a combined effort with Columbia County that had a total awarded cost of about $2,200,000. This portion of the project was 100% funded grant with no cost to the city. There was also the Otta Seal project, which was an experimental State Project that was used in different communities across the state, which if it produced good results, would be a less expensive way to help in the life of the road structure. This project was awarded $2,000,000 with a 5% match. It did not have the outcome desired, so Ryan worked with the funding agency to procure a second phase, which this year put out conventional 3/8” chipseal and made this project very successful, and continues to work toward securing additional funds to continue this project. These next two years, he also has received another $2,750,000 for Main Street improvements that will have only a 5% matching cost to the City of Dayton.

Moving on, there are grant dollars already secured to put toward the building of a new Wastewater Treatment plant. Ryan and Deb have been working on this project for a few years, working with Anderson Perry and Associates, Department of Ecology, State Department of Commerce and State Representatives Joe Schmick, Mark Schessler and Mary Dye. Ryan was successful in obtaining a state appropriation of $1,000,000 with no cost to the city.

I challenge anyone to come up with an individual, in any city, that has changed the direction of a community as much and fast as Ryan Paulson has for the City of Dayton. He has every ability to leave and make another community better. He and his wife, raising their children, have chosen to make Dayton their home. He strives to improve the attitudes toward success for the City of Dayton. You won’t find a more dedicated employee that actually wants to stay in a community and not worry about people wanting to degrade him and his integrity.

Concerned Citizen of Dayton,

Roger Trump