PORTLAND JEWISH ACADEMY Second-graders show Portland City Councilman Dan Saltzman the cob town they built after studying community, sustainability, planning and urban growth boundaries.
Saltzman: PJA kids ‘sophisticated’
By Deborah Moon
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When Portland City Commissioner Dan Saltzman went to Portland Jewish Academy to discuss community with second-graders, he said he was amazed to hear the 7- and 8-year-olds calmly using words such as urban growth boundaries, zoning, sustainability and power points.
“That’s the language we’re using at city hall,” Saltzman said, noting that before his visit he wasn’t sure how much second-graders would understand about his work. “You’re pretty sophisticated second-graders.”
Saltzman visited with the two second-grade classes near the completion of their study of community during which they planned and built a town using cob (sand, clay, water and straw).
The second-graders stood around their cob town and told Saltzman about the process they followed to create a town. Students said they brainstormed about what people need to live, work and play. They said developer Jeffrey Weitz told them about the importance of urban planning and how putting similar buildings together in residential, industrial and commercial zones makes a city safe, efficient and enjoyable.
“He (Weitz) also talked to us about the Urban Growth Boundary and living sustainably,” said students. “After that, we realized not all of our ideas would fit in the town.”
Following the students’ presentation, Saltzman told the students about his job and answered questions.
Asked if his job was hard, Saltzman replied, “It’s pretty hard. There’s a lot of appearances and going to meetings. … It’s exhausting to listen to people and then make decisions. Most of the time by the end of the meeting we have to take a vote on it—we have to listen and then process it.”
Asked what the city council votes on, he replied, “A lot of times we vote on how to spend your money. … Sometimes there isn’t enough and we have to cut jobs; sometimes we have more money and we have to decide what to do with it.”
One student asked, “Couldn’t you just keep it somewhere,” while another chimed in, “or give it to poor people.”
Saltzman replied that the city tries to do both—keep money in reserve and aid those in need.
Asked what the city is doing regarding sustainability, Saltzman said, “We are working to have all city government’s electricity generated by wind mills… we’re working on promoting biodiesel use in our city fleet … we are promoting renewable energy through our ‘Solar Now’ campaign.”