...typos are rampant. My feelings go out to ya-all on this one-

-it is unfortunate that the planter is already removed, but I understand the motivation to comply with the ordinance.

This whole scene blows big chuncks! So glad my tax dollars fund "A-hats".

Cherry Street Cafe is one the major reasons that I visit downtown, and the whole crew at Cherry Street, Espresso Parts NW, and Olympia Coffee Roasting Company rock!

This "watchdog" behavior that the City of Olympia (CoO) engages in is quite disturbing, almost passive-aggressive...but I'm so burnt-out trying to deal with folks that have internalized the institutional mindset that I'm sure I'm bias-

-folks in enforcement should be sympathetic and supportive (at the least), and is it too much to ask that the CoO be accountable for the variety of "baked" or "screwy" stuff that employees do & say all the time?

I know some smart, sharp, and cool folks that work for CoO, and I wish that there was a way to cut through the the organizational compartmentalization and tap these individuals to give them the "go" power...

...hearing about bad confrontations between CoO employees and folks I know, respect, and trust, makes me inordinately upset, and to some extent really disrupts my flow.

And I know that I'm not the only one in this community that could do without this needless/pointless drama...

...I think it is a shame that $300 and all that social capital & goodwill got junked because this "Ruth" person is not responsible...what a shame =(

But I am Just Another Voice

I talked with Ruth about this before we put up the planter, and she said it wouldn't be affected by the sidewalk ordinance. The miscommunication centered around the definition of the word "planter". She heard "planter" and thought of a smaller, flower-filled, typical planter like the ones you already see around downtown. I said "planter" and meant a large, high-capacity, stormwater filtration device. I failed to provide specifics, she didn't request them, and we poured two tons of concrete into a large mold on the sidewalk. Ruth received multiple complaints about this "monstrosity", and called to check the dimensions, etc. She offered to help with the permitting process if the planter provided six feet of pedestrian corridor, as required by the ordinance. We had measured to the curb, with more than six feet, but there's a parking meter only five feet from the corner of the planter. IMHO, if we had a tighter timeline for the project and had already put plants in it and art on it, fewer folks would have complained. As it was, it was a big ugly nuisance. I get that. Lesson learned. w1r3d1 and I are going to look at a narrower, longer planter to replace it. We are dealing with 2300 square feet of roof runoff space, much of which drains to the alley downspouts. Even the 1/3 of it that comes through the side gutter on Cherry is a lot of water, so the square footage of the planter, to achieve what we want it to achieve, has to be... a lot. But, this is all an experiment anyway (no substantial data is available for retrofitting old building with these things, mostly used in new construction), so we will play around with new dimensions, making sure to keep Ruth in the loop as we go. It's frustrating, for sure, but a worthwhile use of time and resources. If we construct something that can actually filter and slow the bulk of runoff from that building, we will be able to offer similar things to other business owners in that area of town (where the runoff goes straight into Moxlie Creek and there is frequent alley-puddling).

This might be a good time to mention that we spent a few hundred dollars on this. Towards the end of this year I will be in a position to contribute more, but in the meantime we could probably use some help. I like the idea of the "coffeecrete" we were trying out, but would be willing to use brick, wood, cob, or another suitable material. So if anyone has concrete, brick, cedar, or sand-clay-and-straw lying around that you're not using, put it to good use. Also, we would love to borrow a large pickup truck a couple of times (for building materials, gravel and dirt). And the best part is, we will probably need help decorating. w1r3d1 has some pottery shards, and I'm looking for leftover glass pieces or similar stuff to do a tile mosaic, as well as artists to help design and put together a piece on the planter. If you want to help out, be involved, get updated, etc., email me at meta.hogan@gmail.com.

Thanks to everyone who supported us and gave us feedback through this process. We are still learning and look forward to being able to create something really awesome for downtown.