Changes coming to Royal City

Community members seek ideas to improve surroundings

ROYAL CITY - Citizens of Royal City plan to beautify their surroundings through an on-going community effort.

It all began when six community members attended a workshop presented by the Washington State University Extension Service in October 2005. The workshop was for small communities wanting to learn about issues effecting their city. Since the workshop, the group Strengthening the Heart of Our Community began having meetings to address ways they could improve their surroundings.

They hope to take on a large project such as having a museum, Cathy Potter, SHOC member said. An old building near Royal City Hall just might be the place, but their are a few problems.

"It would make an excellent museum," Potter said. "Unfortunately the inside needs a lot of work."

Several citizens are ready to donate art pieces and antiques to the future museum, but they are still in need of volunteers to make their visions come alive. The group wants to have as many Royal City citizens take part as they can because everyone has different strengths and talents to bring to the group, she said.

One thing Potter loves is outside landscaping. It keeps her motivated. She said, if people join the group and find something they enjoy doing for fun they will make a lot of progress together.

The group also hopes to form a non-profit organization.

"Some people physically cannot work but still want to donate," she said.

Many of the projects they hope to complete require funding.

"The main thing we want is to instill pride into our community," Potter said.

One way they can do this is through beautification.

One idea is to create a 6 foot by 12 foot garden area on one of the more frequented streets, she said. The idea for that project is to have a tree in the center with two boulders on each side of the tree or two wine barrels with flowers planted inside.

They plan to place banners on light posts down the main streets of town, she said. The exact design is not decided yet but they plan to have a farming theme. The picture should radiate "Welcome" and feature a crop scene.

The group also plans to update their "Welcome to Royal City" sign that is seen when driving into town. It is too old and shrubs have grown to the point of blocking the sign, she added. They also have several garbage cans along the streets that could be decorated.

They also want to get a lit reader board informing people of what is going on around town.

To join the group, Potter asks people to attend the community potluck in Lions Park. It is Wednesday, Sept. 27, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.