Bridgeport chamber and city council discuss mutual issues

BRIDGEPORT – The first meeting of the Bridgeport Chamber of Commerce and the Bridegeport City Council took place at city hall on Thursday, July 21. The get-together came on the heels of the chamber’s successful organization of the annual Bridgeport Daze celebration held on the first weekend of June.

Chamber President Carlos Henriquez and his wife, Zuni, who serve as co-pastors of the Wellspring of Life Foursquare Church and organizers of its weekly food bank distributions, attended the March city council meeting to introduce themselves and personally submit the Bridgeport Daze event application.

At last June’s council meeting following Bridgeport Daze, Mayor Janet Conklin advised members that she was composing a letter to the chamber commending it for the way it handled the annual event.

Henriquez, who was among five chamber members who met with the council, said the discussions were very informative and touched on topics ranging from the Bridgeport Community Revitalization Plan and proposed upgrades to Berryman Park to construction of the city’s second water reservoir and rebuilding the wastewater treatment plant destroyed in the 2020 wildfire.

Henriquez said that in addition to the chamber’s role in June’s Bridgeport Daze and Santa Comes to Town in December, the group can also help raise awareness and encourage involvement in the community projects like the SR-173 Corridor Revitalization Plan.

The SR-173 plan adopted in January 2021 includes that portion of the highway from the western end of Bridgeport at Columbia Avenue along 17th Street and Foster Creek Avenue to the eastern end of the city near the SR-173/SR-17 junction.

The Washington State Department of Commerce and Chelan-Douglas Regional Port Authority provided funding for an 89-page Bridgeport Community Development Plan compiled by SCJ Alliance Consulting Services. The plan in its entirety can be viewed online at bridgeportwashington.net under the Forms & Docs tab.

Henriquez also announced that his church will host a special back-to-school event in conjunction with its food distribution day on Friday, August 19. School supplies for 200 students will be among the items given out as part of a carnival-like atmosphere to help prepare youngsters for the fall school term starting August 29. More specifics will be published in the  Quad City Herald next week. In the meantime, contact Henriquez at 509-989-9687 for further details.