From left, Marysville Walgreens Pharmacy Manager Michelle Akigami, Will Ibershof, Tulalip Boys & Girls Club Unit Director Chuck Thacker, state Sen. John McCoy, Marysville Walgreens Store Manager Alan Powell, Marysville Mayor Jon Nehring, City Council member Donna Wright and Marysville Historical Society President Ken Cage take part in the Marysville Walgreens ribbon-cutting. — image credit: Kirk Boxleitner
By Kirk Boxleitner, Marysville Globe
MARYSVILLE — Walgreens opened its Marysville branch at 404 State Ave. with fanfare and charitable contributions to the community July 18.
Marysville Mayor Jon Nehring touted the store’s opening as contributing to the city’s plans for downtown revitalization.
“They’ve already improved this street corner,” Nehring said. “I’m really excited by what the future will bring.”
“The Mayor has already pleaded with me to add a yogurt shop, so I have my marching orders,” Walgreens District Manager Bruce Philip laughed. “Our managers have put together a fabulous group of store employees, who are talented and committed and enjoy taking care of their customers.”
Philip deemed his donations of $250 each, to the Marysville Historical Society and the Tulalip Boys & Girls Club, as evidence of Walgreens long-term commitment to its new community.
“We intend to maintain and even grow these contributions over time,” Philip said. “Our staff lives in this community, so we care what happens here.”
State Sen. John McCoy and Chuck Thacker, unit director of the Tulalip Boys & Girls Club, accepted Walgreens’ oversized check to their club, which McCoy had helped institute 18 years ago.
“It was only the seventh Boys & Girls Club on a Native American reservation,” Thacker said.
“Our kids are our future leaders, so we need to take care of them,” McCoy said.
MARYSVILLE – Imagine the city’s waterfront filled with classy restaurants, a boardwalk and boutiques. Or how about condominiums and a casino? Wouldn’t a park with a stage for concerts and plays be nice?
What, you didn’t even know Marysville has a waterfront? It doesn’t look like much now, but city officials hope it will be something special in the future.
Marysville Mayor Jon Nehring said it’s part of the Downtown Revitalization vision, which includes the recently completed and widely popular Spray Park.
“We want a vibrant downtown that’s generating income and where everybody has jobs,” Nehring said, adding the goal is to have private enterprise build up the waterfront.
The downtown master plan calls for a waterfront trail and mixed use of business and living space on the property south of Penny’s.
Four years ago the city bought the former Ed and Susan Geddes five-acre marina at 1326 1st St. for $1.9 million. It took four years to decide on a price, as the Geddeses filed suit against the city due to surface water flowing into the marina. Bill Geddes had owned the property in the 1930s as a retention pond for a lumber mill.
The city has been applying for grants to clean up the site for years.
The city was awarded a $200,000 hazardous substances cleanup Brownsfield grant from the Environmental Protection Agency Oct. 1 of last year. A month later it received an Integrated Planning Grant from the state Department of Ecology for a similar amount. It has hired Maul Foster Alongi Consultants for $304,000 for a contract that runs from July 15, 2014 to Dec. 31, 2017.
Past activities at the location, including painting, boat sanding and fuel and oil storage and handling, likely contaminated the site with arsenic, cadmium and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. In addition, stormwater discharge from the adjacent mill site has likely caused some of the contamination.
The property was historically used as a marina, but the city has stopped renewing leases and has removed several boat houses, the grant says.
Nehring said the city knew the site was contaminated when it bought it, and it also knew grants would be needed to move on. The state money will determine chemicals in the soils and the method of cleanup. The money from the feds will help pay for the actual cleanup.
“We need more money. This will just get us started,” Nehring said.
He said how much the cleanup will cost will be determined by what goes there. Some development needs would have to have more cleanup than others.
Nehring said the city spent about $200,000 in federal money to clean up the area just to the East a couple years ago, but that was “minor” compared with Geddes Marina, said Gloria Hirashima, Community Development director.
Hirashima said no matter what goes there drinking water will be pumped in and people will not want to be exposed to the contaminated soil. Across the street at the boat launch soil was cleaned to a point but then the site was capped and clean dirt put over it, similar to what is done to build over landfills.
A key to the success of the area will be finding a use that provides “constant activity.” Hirashima said that is lacking at the boat launch, and that is why homeless have inhabited that area. She said if Geddes Marina becomes more like the skate park it will be successful.
“There used to be a bad crowd there, but the families reclaimed that park,” she said. “We need active usage at a daily rate.”
The consultant will work in two phases. The first to analyze the site, the second to design remedial action and oversight.
The first phase includes cleanup options, community involvement, developer options and market analysis. Cost is $220,000. The second phase includes permitting and working with agencies, the cleanup, oversight and the final report. Cost is $84,000.
Final approval would come from the Department of Ecology.
PHASE ONE – Site analysis
• Presentation to the City Council and Open House for residents.
• Analyze cleanup costs to evaluate potential developer interest and flag areas of risk for the city.
• Analyze physical condition of land, including stormwater, hydrogeological and geotechnical.
• Analyze federal, state, and local land-use and environmental regulations.
• Study local and regional real estate market to look at potential marketing opportunities. That will include cost estimates, achievable rents as well as vacancy rates for competing development sites. The market analysis will ensure that the development vision has a realistic opportunity for implementation.
PHASE TWO – remedial action and oversight
• Work with federal, state, local governments and Tulalip Tribes to obtain required approval and permits.
• Cleanup plan to include approach, sampling strategy, cleanup levels and post-cleanup monitoring.
• Will develop construction bid package that will allow the city to procure a contractor to complete the remedial action.
• Will provide field oversight associated with implementation of the remedial action.
What do you think should be done on the waterfront?
Sienna is fed by Colleen Chamberlain, weekend manager of the All Breed Equine Rez-Q, during its July 12 Kit-N-Kaboodle. — image credit: Kirk Boxleitner
MARYSVILLE — Organizers deemed the All Breed Equine Rez-Q’s July 12 Kit-N-Kaboodle barbecue and raffle a success, but more fundraisers are needed, so an Aug. 16 open house at 2415 116th St. NE is planned.
Dale Squeglia, founder and president of the nonprofit group, explained that it needs a horse quarantine station that will cost about $20,000.
“And we’re not even close to having that amount of money,” said Squeglia, who pointed out that it costs $8,000 just to supply the horse rescue with enough hay for a year. “Our hay loft is almost down to nothing right now.”
One of the horses that will benefit from the horse quarantine station is Biscuit, whom volunteer Colbie Cooper explained is a descendant of the famous racehorse Seabiscuit.
Cooper gave visitors guided tours of the horse rescue’s stalls and pastures during the Kit-N-Kaboodle, and elaborated on the other needs faced by the horses.
“Blackberry is a miniature donkey who might be pregnant, so we need to have that checked out,” Cooper said. “If it’s a boy, we should call it Boysenberry.”
Sienna is a Western Trail riding horse who’s spent the past several months recovering from being ridden with a leg injury for years, while Toffee suffered from severe obesity. Many of the rescue’s horses, including Jim and Lucy, were abused by their former owners, while others were surrendered to the rescue because their owners no longer had the time or money to care for them.
In addition to money, the horse rescue could always use more volunteers like Cooper, who can be trained to perform basic tasks such as feeding and watering the horses, cleaning stalls, grooming and exercising them, sweeping the barn and cleaning the grounds.
By Kim Kalliber, Tulalip News and Patty Thometz, Grove Church
Staff and volunteers from the Grove Church in Marysville continue to expand their iheart outreach campaign in an effort to better reach out to the Marysville and Tulalip communities.
Each year, 150 plus volunteers pay a fee to go on a missions’ trip to serve our community by beautifying grounds of local schools, repairing/painting, building shelters, park benches and dug-outs for parks and baseball fields around Marysville.
Patty Thometz, Children’s Pastor at the Grove Church said, “This summer, we will be expanding our reach to children through iheartGO, a big block party for kids at various locations in Marysville. We want to go where there’s a lot of children.”
Youth in fourth through eighth grade are encouraged to volunteer a week of their time to serve others and give back to their communities. This includes everything from set up, clean up, leading the games and crafts.
The Tulalip Boys and Girls Club is one of five host locations. Chuck Thacker, Unit Director of the Tulalip Boys and Girls Club, has warmly invited the Grove Church campaign folks to partner with them for a day of fun, bounce houses, face painting, crafts, games, free hot dogs and much more. This event will be on Friday, August 8, from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
“It’s wonderful what you [Tulalip] do for the kids at the Boys and Girls Club and the Grove Church is excited to be a part of this learning partnership. I love outreach and I love working with kids,” said Thometz, with a smile.
For more information about the Grove Church and its outreach programs, please visit grovech.org.
Sales of fireworks have already begun at Boom City on the Tulalip Reservation. Other fireworks stands will begin sales off the reservation starting June 28. — image credit: Brandon Adam
While Arlington and Marysville encourage citizens to celebrate the Fourth of July, the cities’ police officers and firefighters want to make sure those who use fireworks do so safely and legally.
Arlington allows fireworks to be sold from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Saturday, June 28, through Friday, July 4, whereas Marysville allows sales from noon to 11 p.m. on June 28 and from 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. from Sunday, June 29, through July 4.
Marysville residents may discharge fireworks only between 9 a.m. and 11 p.m. July 4, while Arlington residents may discharge fireworks between 9 a.m. and midnight that day. Neither city allows residents to discharge fireworks any other day, outside of New Year’s, and both cities limit their legal fireworks to Class C, or “safe and sane” fireworks.
Native American reservations may sell fireworks that do not conform to those laws, but such fireworks must be detonated on reservation lands. The fireworks stands of “Boom City” on the Tulalip Tribal Reservation provide a lighting and detonation area on site for customers. Security personnel will monitor the area to ensure that children age 12 and younger have adults age 18 or older present.
Fireworks that are illegal off tribal lands include bottle rockets, skyrockets, missiles and firecrackers. M-80s and larger, as well as dynamite and any improvised, homemade or altered explosive devices, such as tennis balls, sparkler bombs or cherry bombs, are likewise illegal. Anyone who possesses or uses such illegal devices can expect to be charged with a felony.
State Fire Marshal Charles Duffy is reminding Washingtonians that the purchase of fireworks over the Internet is illegal. Fireworks must be purchased from a licensed retail fireworks stand during the legal sales period.
In its online list of tips to the public, the Arlington Fire Department noted that illegal fireworks are often unpackaged and wrapped in plain brown paper, and warned against purchasing any fireworks that are not in their original packages, or are in opened or damaged packages.
Marysville police are taking enforcement seriously. Up until two years ago, they mainly issued warnings to those caught with illegal fireworks. “Warnings weren’t effective in ending the activity,” Marysville Police Cmdr. Robb Lamoureux said. “Anyone caught with illegal fireworks will be cited, and the fireworks will be confiscated.”
Under state law, possession or discharge of illegal fireworks is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of up to $1,000, up to a year in jail and a mandatory court appearance.
City Public Information Officer Doug Buell pointed out that Marysville police can issue criminal citations to violators or civil citations, the latter similar to a speeding ticket. Lamoureux explained that such civil infractions enable officers to spend more time on the streets responding to fireworks complaints, and less time processing paperwork.
He added that Marysville police plan to have more officers on duty during this year’s Fourth of July, and emphasized that the safety of individuals and property is of utmost concern. “We have seen too many instances elsewhere and over the years where celebrations quickly turned to tragedy for families, especially where children and teenagers are involved,” Lamoureux said.
Although Arlington Fire Deputy Chief Tom Cooper believes that Arlington police and fire personnel are more likely to try and educate those using illegal fireworks, he warned that they will likely be more proactive and visible in various neighborhoods that have experienced problems with fireworks before.
“As much as the Fourth of July is a patriotic holiday, there are more than a few veterans who have a hard time dealing with fireworks because of their experiences,” Cooper said. “If people limit their fireworks activities to the Fourth, it allows those folks, as well as those who own easily spooked pets, to make arrangements.”
Officials in both cities urge Fourth of July revelers to clean up their fireworks. “After you light it up, clean it up,” Buell said. “Discarded fireworks the days after the Fourth are a neighborhood and community eyesore, and smoldering fireworks can still pose a fire hazard if you don’t get rid of them properly.”
To dispose of spent fireworks properly, the Arlington Fire Department advises that people let their used fireworks lay on the ground until they are cool, and there is no chance that any residue will reignite, after which they should place all the expended firework cases in a bucket of water. Those who use fireworks should keep a bucket of water or a running water hose close by.
“We want people in our community to enjoy fireworks and the Fourth, but we want them to do so safely, which is why we’re encouraging them to attend public fireworks shows, like the one at the Arlington Boys & Girls Club,” Cooper said. “Those shows are professional, well-organized, safe and, at least in Arlington, free.”
Cooper cautioned against treating certain fireworks dismissively because of their size. “People tend to think that smaller fireworks are less dangerous,” Cooper said. “That’s how they get injured, from standing too close to those fireworks, or over them, or even by holding bottle rockets with their bare hands.”
Rescue dogs fashion show, wiener dog races, Flyball, contests and more!
MARYSVILLE – Marysville Dog Owners Group (M-DOG) invites you and your pooch to the 8th Annual Marysville Poochapalooza outdoor dog event 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday, July 12 at Strawberry Fields Park, 6100 152nd St. NE in Marysville.
Snohomish County’s largest dog event has kept tails wagging with the Fashions and Rescues Runway Show, Running of the Wieners dachshund races, Flyball exhibitions, pie-eating and Best in Show contests to give dogs their moment to shine, event coordinators say. In addition, you can snoop for bargains among the dozens of pet-related vendors.
Poochapalooza is free, but a suggested minimum $5 donation per person is requested, with goodie-filled “wag bags” to the first 500 visitors. All proceeds support needs at Strawberry Fields for Rover Off-Leash Park, such as agility equipment, picnic tables and benches. The park is maintained year-round by M-DOG volunteers.
Poochapalooza this year will again go high fashion with the popular Fashions and Rescues Runway Show, mixing country charm with urban chic. The show will feature adoptable dogs modeling the latest eye-catching fashions live on the catwalk…urr….dogwalk.
“This is one our favorite highlights at the event because we like helping pet adoption groups find loving homes for dogs,” says Leslie Buell, Poochapalooza founder and coordinator, and an owner of shelter adopted dogs for years.
Another favorite is the “Running of the Wieners” dachshund races. Watch as these low to the ground but high on energy pups show off their speed and cunning in races starting at 2 p.m., Buell says. The number of qualifier races will depend on how many dogs register, so make sure your dog is in the running! Day of event registration is $10 per dog to race. Top finishers will be invited to compete in wiener dog races at the halftime show of a Seattle Seahawks game at Century Link Field in the 2014 season.
Dogs with a hidden talent can enter fun “Best in Show” contests like Best Kisser, Best Voice, Wackiest Pet Trick, and Pooch Pie-Eating Contests. Contest donation cost is $5 for one contest, or $10 for unlimited contests (excluding the Pooch Pie-Eating Contest in big and small dog categories, which is $10.) Register at the event. Visit the Poochapalooza website at http://poochapalooza.org/ for forms and schedule. The pie-eating contests are sponsored and emceed by Dining Dog Café and Bakery of Edmonds and Owner Dorothy Moore. The fashion show is sponsored by Christy Bows LLC.
Among new events this year, DuTERRA Essential Oils and K9 Nosework will combine to provide a scent demonstration, at 1:30 p.m., and a Doggie Dessert Dash will occur at 3 p.m., courtesy of Pupcakes LLC.
Food and refreshments available for purchase. Parking is free.
TULALIP — The Marysville School District’s third annual Opportunity Expo is coming on Tuesday, April 22.
The Expo is a dynamic college and career fair designed to help prepare students for life after high school.
The event will take place at the Tulalip Resort Orca Ballroom and Chinook rooms from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
There will be three sessions for students — 8 a.m., 9:45 a.m. and noon — and one session open to parents, students, staff and community members at 1:45 p.m.
Marysville School District juniors will be bused to the morning sessions.
The Expo is provided through a partnership between the Marysville School District, the Tulalip Tribes, the Marysville Rotary and the Rotary Education Foundation.
More than 120 college, tech, trade, vocational, civic and military representatives will be in attendance, to help students prepare for their futures, and support them in their dreams and goals.
MARYSVILLE, Washington — Marysville police say a man who impersonated a SWAT team member during a robbery last month has been arrested in Renton.
Detectives said Saturday the 27-year-old man had been working for a local bail bonding company and was trying to find someone who had skipped out on his bail. He placed a call to a female acquaintance of the bail jumper; she was heading to a Marysville parking lot to buy an electronic benefits card from two men.
According to police, the suspect showed up at the parking lot in a dark vehicle with tinted windows, a bullet-proof vest and a badge on his hip, and identified himself as “task force.” He ordered the two men out of a car at gunpoint, frisked them and took what was described as a large amount of cash from one of their wallets.
Detectives say they tracked him down through cell phone records and that he denied taking any money from the victims. He’s been booked for investigation of first-degree robbery.
MARYSVILLE — A long-term project that will ultimately alleviate some of Marysville’s downtown traffic backups will take a step forward this month.
Traffic flow downtown is hampered by the Burlington Northern Santa Fe rail line that cuts through the heart of the city. All the local streets downtown cross it at grade, leading to major backups whenever a freight train rolls through town.
Key to untangling that mess is where I-5 and Highway 529 meet just south of downtown. The idea is to rebuild the interchange, making it possible for northbound traffic on I-5 to enter town on Highway 529, bypassing the railroad tracks.
The current on- and offramps in the interchange only serve traffic going across Steamboat Slough and the Snohomish River to and from north Everett. The Fourth Street exit off I-5 drops traffic just west of the tracks, and a long train can keep traffic backed up all the way onto the freeway.
The city has budgeted $1.5 million this year for an initial design and planning proposal for the interchange project, Chief Administrative Officer Gloria Hirashima said.
That money, plus another $500,000 provided by Snohomish County, will fund the initial design work.
Mayor Jon Nehring highlighted the project in his State of the City speech last week, pointing out that the city would be able to take that preliminary plan to the state or federal government to get money to build the full interchange.
While it is still too early to put a price tag on the project, similar types of interchange expansion projects run in the $35 million to $40 million range, Hirashima said.
The City Council is expected to award a contract for the work to Bellevue-based engineering firm HDR Inc., probably this month, Hirashima said.
Over the longer term, the city also plans to investigate two other interchanges on I-5 for possible changes.
The main downtown interchange to Fourth Street needs improving, Hirashima said, and traffic backups there are also a contributor to downtown congestion.
The second location is where 156th St. NE crosses over I-5 near the north end of the city. The city’s Smokey Point Master Plan would transform 675 acres of agricultural land east of the overpass into a commercial and light industrial manufacturing center that could provide 10,000 new jobs to the region.
Transforming the overpass into a full interchange would improve access to the area and reduce the amount of traffic on 172nd Street NE that development is expected to bring.
“We’re very dependent on I-5 to move people back and forth, so we’re interested in working with the state to talk about improving interchanges,” Hirashima said.
The state Attorney General’s opinion would reserve the right of cities such as Marysville to determine their own ordinances regarding marijuana businesses. — image credit: Courtesy photo.
By Kirk Boxleitner, Marysville Globe
MARYSVILLE — A recently released opinion from the Washington State Attorney General’s Office ties into the city of Marysville’s pending decision on how to address the potential establishment of marijuana businesses within the city’s limits.
In response to a request from Sharon Foster, chair of the Washington State Liquor Control Board, the office of Attorney General Bob Ferguson released a formal opinion on Thursday, Jan. 16, regarding local ordinances affecting new marijuana businesses in Washington.
The opinion states, “Under Washington law, there is a strong presumption against finding that state law preempts local ordinances. Although Initiative 502 establishes a licensing and regulatory system for marijuana producers, processors and retailers in Washington state, it includes no clear indication that it was intended to preempt local authority to regulate such businesses. We therefore conclude that I-502 left in place the normal powers of local governments to regulate within their jurisdictions.”
Grant Weed, who serves as the city attorney for the city of Marysville, sounded a qualified note of optimism, even as he sought to clarify what this development actually means for the city.
“The Attorney General’s opinion is just that — an opinion,” Weed said. “It’s not legally binding, and while the courts tend to give deference to the Attorney General’s opinions, neither the courts nor the cities of the state are bound to them. That being said, the Attorney General’s Office has very skilled lawyers whom I don’t doubt answered many questions that were posed to them about this issue, so I’m not questioning this outcome, which gives the cities of Marysville and Arlington guidance on the options that are available to them.”
While Weed emphasized that no final decision has been made regarding the production, processing or sales of marijuana in the city of Marysville, he did acknowledge that the city’s Planning Commission voted by a 4-to-2 margin on Tuesday, Jan. 14, to recommend to the Marysville City Council that they prohibit all three within the city limits.
Marysville City Council member Steve Muller brings with him a certain measure of experience in such affairs, since he previously served as a member of the Planning Commission, but he was not inclined to either second-guess the Planning Commission’s judgement or even offer a definitive opinion of his own yet.
“There’s still a lot of gray areas here, and I wouldn’t want to see them worked out in Marysville’s backyard,” Muller said. “I don’t know how this all will fall out. I do question some of the assumptions about the tax revenues that this will generate, because if the product winds up costing more, it could become less competitive with what’s sold on the streets. This is a new industry, so we’re still seeing how this will play out. My position is, if we’re going to do something, let’s take the time to do it right the first time.”
Kamille Norton is the newest Marysville City Council member, having been appointed in February and elected in November of last year, and she sounded an even more deliberately neutral note than Muller.
“I’m waiting to review the Planning Commission’s recommendation for myself, and until then, I’m staying open-minded,” Norton said. “I do think the interim moratorium was the correct course of action to allow us time to study and explore this issue.”
Norton reported having spoken to a number of citizens and business owners on this subject, and regardless of their opinions, she described them as passionate about the matter.
While no set date has been released yet for the Marysville City Council to decide on this issue, Weed predicted it would be scheduled within the next several weeks, in February or March at the latest.
In 2012, I-502 passed statewide with 55.7 percent “Yes” votes. Locally it received 178,669 “Yes” votes out of 327,303 votes cast, or 54.59 percent of the vote in Snohomish County, and Marysville voters approved it by a slightly narrower margin, with 13,037 “Yes” votes out of 25,523 votes cast, or 51.07 percent of the vote.
