Editorial: Communities improve by supporting these issues

Making the decision to tax yourself for the common good is a difficult choice taxpayers struggle with during every election. But here are some issues The Herald thinks voters should support:

> Edgewood is a growing community that desperately needs a gathering place for its residents. Approving the Edgewood Community Park measure would give the city council permission to move forward in issuing its general obligation bonds for no more than $8 million. The 18-acre park would provide sporting fields, play areas, picnic spots, a splash court and walking trails. If a park is going to be constructed in Edgewood, this is the time to do it; the cost will only increase with time.

> For more than 100 years, Eatonville has survived with a volunteer-based fire department, until losing its paramedic support from neighboring fire departments. Now, it has to rely on critical advance life support from Puyallup, which could prove fatal because of the distance between the two cities. Voters need to lift the levy lid to allow funding for fire and medical services, including the transition to a combination of a volunteer and paid fire department.

> The Graham area is another East Pierce community that is continuing to grow and needs the resources to facilitate that growth. Previous fire stations have been constructed from the annual operating budget but the new developments sprouting up in the area make that impossible. To handle the increase of 911 calls, the Board of Fire Commissioners of District No. 21 are requesting permission to issue no more than $12 million of general obligation bonds. The money would be used to build to new fire stations, make capital improvements and retire outstanding debt.