President’s Corner  

By Chamber President Del Clark

 I was raised in McMinnville and must confess that all I knew about the town of Sherwood while I was growing up was that Edy Road was a better shortcut from Highway 99 to I-5 then to wait and cut through at Durham.  I also knew that if I timed it right, I could avoid the light at 6-Corners when going North on Hwy 99 by taking the Sherwood turn off before Shari’s and merging back on to Hwy 99 after the intersection.  I always assumed there was a downtown but I never went looking for it.  And I was somewhat surprised while I was studying for finals during my last semester of graduate school at the University of Washington to find that my wife had bought a home for us in Sherwood.

 Well that was over seven years ago and now I am starting to feel like an old timer in these parts.  I can think back and say “Why I remember when we had a tiny hole in the wall library…I remember a time before we had a Starbucks in Sherwood…I remember a time when we the City Counsel met at the Senior Center…I remember when the only grocery store was the Food King…you get the picture.  We are a dynamic and changing city.  Yet, we still retain the small town sense of community and pride that shapes our town gatherings such as Music on the Green, the Robin Hood Festival, Cruisin’ Sherwood and the Great Onion Festival.

With our population expanding at a near exponential rate, student enrollment expected to be at an all time high this fall, new parks, new roads, new city and residential buildings and new businesses coming in to town Sherwood is growing whether we are in favor of it or not.  Our once sleepy little town has been become a magnet for young families who wish to raise their children in a safe and nurturing community and for people seeking a relief from the challenges of living in more urban areas of Portland.

The tremendous growth that we are now experiencing is expected only to continue or in fact accelerate over the next years.  Consultants working with the city and SURPAC have estimated the population of Sherwood to exceed 30,000 by 2025.  That’s nearly double to population we currently have.  Where will theses new residents live, work and shop?  Where will their children go to school, ride their bikes and grow to be responsible members of our city?   The recent dedication of the new National Wildlife Refuge and talk of Street Cars and Winery Tours being staged out of Sherwood will also increase tourism and the flow of people in and out of the area.  Growth is coming and we are trying to prepare for it, but we need assistance.

We need local business owners, chamber members, residents, church leaders, youth representatives, city and school employees to all come together in assisting SURPAC, Sherwood City Counsel and the City Management to plan for and control this growth. We have a truly unique opportunity to impact where, and to some extent, when this growth will appear.  The first opportunity for this impact will be at the September 12^th Chamber Breakfast.  During the morning we will have a presentation by Kirstin Greene and Todd Chase of the consulting firm of Cogans Owen Cogans, regarding the preliminary results of their economic development study and recommendations for monitoring the growth of Sherwood.  This presentation will be followed by a community open house on September 20th at City Hall where all residents of Sherwood are welcome to come and hear first hand the ideas the consultants and SURPAC are reviewing for implementation.

Growth is nothing new to Sherwood.  However, the opportunity to discuss the how, where, when and how we as a community can actively control and plan for this growth is vital for the future of our city.

I have a vested interest in the future of Sherwood, not just because I own a business in Old Town, but because I live here and am raising a family and want a safe place where my children can grow.

Please join with me and other city leaders in keeping this city the greatest little small town in Oregon.