Any small town is a study of the small decisions that shape it. And those decisions, made by residents and businesspeople and the government that runs it, often take it in directions it might never have seemed able to go. But there it is: sometimes towns grow all on their own, and it seems like there’s nothing to be done but watch the changes, like a rebellious teenager. Sometimes, of course, it’s time to make big decisions too.

To take just one example, let’s look at Hoquiam, Washington. This town started life as a logging town, making its money from the Northwestern forests surrounding it. Now it maintains that identity in a kind of nostalgic way, through an internationally known event called Loggers‘ Playday, annual logging competitions, parades. This has worked well for the town, but now it may be time for a change.

There has been discussion in Hoquiam of developing the waterfront, a piece of downtown that runs along the Hoquiam River. Development has been proposed, but the future of the area is not yet clear. Now is the time for the community to decide what it wants to see when it visits its city center. A developed waterfront did wonders for big cities such as Baltimore and San Antonio, but could Hoquiam have as much success bringing dining, shopping and entertainment to its riverside real estate?

The waterfront hasn’t been much in vogue since the 1980s, but recent development interest has revived a discussion about how best to use that area. There is a lot to consider, because of course this is tax money going into any new project. It’s important to review options and decide, as a community, how best to use and area, and who best to head up that development — a decision that can’t be taken too lightly.

One of the perhaps important factors to consider is Hoquiam’s neighbor to the west, the larger city of Aberdeen. These two towns have had a friendly sort of rivalry, as neighboring towns will. But it bears consideration to think about how bigger towns often benefit at the expense of their smaller siblings — tax money and tourism being just two ways bigger towns get ahead. Hoquiam’s decision to grow might bear upon its rival in interesting ways.

But it’s all a balancing act. Hoquiam can’t change too much or it risks losing its heritage. On the other hand, if it gets stuck in the past, it risks fading away, like so many other small towns do. Whatever changes get made will be made as a community, so the people of Hoquiam need to make sure they surround themselves with the right people.

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