By JACK HOPKINS
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER

Getting agreement on what tasks ought to be undertaken in Des Moines isn't all that easy.

"We could accomplish more if we had a common vision of what we want to accomplish," Richard Kennedy, the former mayor, says. "But it is very difficult to get people to agree on what they want Des Moines to be.

"You have some people who want to foster more tourism and have more different kinds of shops. You have other people who think that's abhorrent, don't want us to become another Carmel and would almost like a passport station to keep the tourists out.

"It is the same thing with apartments and single-family homes. Some say we need more affordable housing, and apartments are the way to go. Others say apartments have ruined the community and brought in a lot of renters who have less of a vested interest in the community."

Real estate agent Carmen Scott counts herself among those who would like the community to attract more tourists.

"We are less than five miles from probably 10,000 hotel rooms and just down the slope from I-5," Scott says. "We have a great opportunity to enhance our uniqueness."

She thinks it can be done without wrecking the small-town atmosphere.

"Development hasn't done that to Poulsbo or La Conner," she says.

Continued:

• City by the water has kept its traditions despite growth
• "Waterland" community is ready and willing to fight about it
• Historic growth from sawmill origins to a diverse suburban melange
• The highway's byways that no one really wants to talk about
• A lot of young outlooks in a city favored by retirees