Tag: MARYSVILLE

Dogs have their day at Marysville Poochapalooza

Sarah Weiser / Herald file photo, 2011 Jaden Curtis, then 1, of Snohomish, reacts as Francy, an Irish wolfhound, licks him during the Best Kisser Contest at Poochapalooza at Strawberry Fields Athletic Park in Marysville in July of 2011.
Sarah Weiser / Herald file photo, 2011 Jaden Curtis, then 1, of Snohomish, reacts as Francy, an Irish wolfhound, licks him during the Best Kisser Contest at Poochapalooza at Strawberry Fields Athletic Park in Marysville in July of 2011.

Source: The Herald

MARYSVILLE — The seventh annual Marysville Poochapalooza dog festival is planned from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday at Strawberry Fields Park, 6100 152nd St. NE in Marysville.

Snohomish County’s largest dog event includes a fashion show for rescue dogs, canine flying disc tournament, flyball exhibitions, pie-eating and pet contests that give dogs their moment to shine.

“This year, we’re adding our ‘Running of the Wieners’ wiener dog races to the schedule, and invite dachshund owners to bring out the champion in their dogs,” said Leslie Buell, Poochapalooza founder and coordinator, in a news release. “See these energetic low-rider pups give it their all for trophies, prizes and glory.”

Poochapalooza is free, but a suggested $5 per person donation provides goodie-filled “wag bags” to the first 400 visitors. All proceeds support Strawberry Fields for Rover Off-Leash Park, which is maintained year-round by Marysville Dog Owners Group volunteers.

The pie-eating contests and fashion show will be emceed and sponsored by Dining Dog Café and Bakery of Edmonds and owner Dorothy Moore.

Food and refreshments will be sold by the Marysville Kiwanis Club in support of youth programs, and by other vendors. Parking is free. Rare Birds and Rosemary will provide live music from 4-5 p.m.

Visit the Poochapalooza website at http://poochapalooza.org for forms and schedule. For more information, contact Leslie Buell at 360-651-0633, email labuell@frontier.com. The event[‘]s Facebook page is www.facebook.com/poochapalooza.

Concern at Kmart in Marysville after man threatens to start shooting

Source: The Herald

MARYSVILLE — Police here were looking for an angry man Wednesday evening after he reportedly threatened to start shooting people at Kmart.

No one was injured.

The incident began about 6 p.m. at the store in the 9600 block of State Avenue. It didn’t end until after the building was emptied of customers, the SWAT team had swept the store and surveillance video was reviewed to confirm the man had left.

He reportedly became angry when he overheard an employee talking about store security. He apparently believed the statements were directed at him. Police say there weren’t. Either way, he became enraged, claimed he had a gun and was going to start shooting people.

“Officers were unable to identify anyone in the store that had actually seen a gun or any type of weapon in the possession of the suspect,” police Cmdr. Robb Lamoureux said in a press release.

The man was described as white, heavy set and approximately 6 feet tall. He was wearing a gray buttoned shirt and a black bandana around his head. He may have been accompanied by a woman with blonde hair.

Detectives planned to further study the video in an attempt to identify the suspect, Lamoureux said.

Firms partner to push broad use of solar panels

M.L. Dehm / For The Herald Business JournalFrom left: Susan Mattison of Silicon Energy, John Westerfield of CrystaLite and Silicon Energy President Gary Shaver examine translucent solar panels that are part of the roof of a new picnic shelter across from CrystaLite's Everett plant. The two Snohomish County-based companies recently formed a partnership to manufacture solar panel patio coverings, picnic shelters and electric-vehicle charging stations for homes and businesses.
M.L. Dehm / For The Herald Business Journal
From left: Susan Mattison of Silicon Energy, John Westerfield of CrystaLite and Silicon Energy President Gary Shaver examine translucent solar panels that are part of the roof of a new picnic shelter across from CrystaLite’s Everett plant. The two Snohomish County-based companies recently formed a partnership to manufacture solar panel patio coverings, picnic shelters and electric-vehicle charging stations for homes and businesses.

By M.L. Dehm, The Herald Business Journal

Solar power is about to become more accessible for home and businesses owners. Two Snohomish County-based companies, Silicon Energy in Marysville and CrystaLite in Everett, have teamed up to create pre-engineered, customizable solar panel patio coverings, picnic shelters and electric-vehicle charging stations.

What makes these green energy structures unique is that the transparent solar photovoltaic panels actually serve as the roof. The attractive multiuse structures offer the ability to charge electric vehicles, run outdoor lighting or use other electric and communication systems in an off-the-grid capacity.

They also can increase property values in a time when energy costs are uncertain and the number of electric cars is on the rise.

“What we have been able to do by working together is to combine two outstanding products to give greater value to the consumer,” said Silicon Energy President Gary Shaver. “They have the expertise in the substructure and we have the expertise in the PV modules.”

This is a part of the solar market that is under-served, Shaver said. Most people don’t think beyond putting solar panels on the roof of their home or business. This concept expands the number of places where solar panels can be installed and expands the possibilities for the use of the power that is generated.

Home owners, businesses and municipalities looking for shade structures or shelters of any kind can now get a better return on their investment by making those structures work for them to generate electricity.

For electric-vehicle owners, there is the added benefit of knowing that even if the cost of electricity increases, the cost of the fuel to power that vehicle will not.

“When you put an EV charging station in, you’re literally creating your own e-gas for your electric cars,” Shaver said.

The energy can also be diverted for use inside the home or business. This can reduce or even eliminate electricity bills depending on the size of the PV system. In some circumstances, a home or business can put the excess power they produce onto the grid.

PV systems reduce demand on grid resources, which benefits the community as a whole. You could view it as supporting national energy security, Shaver said. The more people who are able to produce their own energy, the more robust the grid as a whole becomes without any additional upgrades. It’s also a green renewable energy source.

Currently there are state and federal financial incentives for adding solar energy to your property, which makes installation of integrated PV structures even more feasible. They also come with an added aesthetic benefit.

“What really makes these different and exciting is that it is an attractive product,” said Susan Mattison, national sales and marketing specialist for Silicon Energy. Silicon Energy’s tempered-glass solar panels are transparent. The PV modules blend in to allow the eye to focus on CrystaLite’s sleek railing system. The structure can be customized to complement the existing architecture on the home or business.

The glass-like PV panels are also suitable for diverting rain water for collection. The panel’s double glass construction is durable and the panels come with a 30-year warranty.

The idea of combining solar panels with carports, covered patios and picnic shelters is not new. It’s something that customers had been requesting of both companies’ installers for some time.

“There was a driving force for a partnership after we had done a handful of these jobs,” said John Westerfield of CrystaLite. In fact, talk of a partnership to develop this product line has been going on for about three years but it was only officially announced at the Seattle Living Future unConference in May.

Response has been positive. Since the announcement, both companies have been swamped with inquiries.

“It took off way faster than we thought,” Westerfield said. “They’re off and running.”

Both companies are also pleased that their partnership will benefit other local firms. Since the two businesses don’t sell directly to the public, Westerfield said, other firms will get work by doing the installation so the money stays local.

Both firms are also strong believers in using as much locally sourced materials as possible. The companies do all their manufacturing in the U.S. and source almost all materials from the U.S.

Interested customers can see photos of a number of existing projects at Silicon Energy’s website, www.silicon-energy.com, which also lists a contact page for installers.

But for an up-close view of a practical project installation, look no further than the picnic shelter across from the CrystaLite plant at 3320 Pine St. in Everett.

More from The Herald Business Journal: www.theheraldbusinessjournal.com

Community supports Relay For Life

Kirk BoxleitnerCancer survivors kick off the 2013 Marysville Tulalip/Relay For Life with the opening lap at Asbery Field on June 29.
Kirk Boxleitner
Cancer survivors kick off the 2013 Marysville Tulalip/Relay For Life with the opening lap at Asbery Field on June 29.

Kirk Boxleitner, The Marysville Globe

MARYSVILLE — The 2013 Marysville Tulalip/Relay For Life benefitted from warm weather and clear, sunny skies on June 29-30 to raise $119,037.35 from its 50 teams and 416 participants, who generated roughly $50,000 toward that total in the past month alone.

Kristin Banfield, event chair for this year’s Marysville/Tulalip Relay, welcomed those teams of walkers to Asbery Field on Saturday, June 29, by noting how the overnight Relay is meant to reflect a day in the life of someone who is facing cancer, with the darkening of night eventually giving way to the dawn of a new day, and added that this year’s Relay marked a pleasant change of pace from the cold and rain that’s greeted local walkers and volunteers in previous years.

“I’m here not just as the Relay event chair, but also as a cancer survivor,” said Banfield, who was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2008, and while she’s since made a recovery, she’s described herself as a direct beneficiary of the money raised by Relays not just in Marysville and Tulalip, but all around the world. “So I just want to say thank you to all the companies and sponsors who have provided for this event, whether through financial support or donating goods and services. We’re so fortunate to have so many caring companies, in addition to our incredible elected officials.”

While Banfield works as the assistant city administrator for Arlington, she introduced Marysville Mayor Jon Nehring, who asserted that cancer has touched the lives of everyone in some way, whether they’ve fought it themselves or known those who have been faced with that fight.

“To my mind, this is one of Marysville’s most important events of the year,” Nehring said. “I salute everyone who’s battled cancer. Your stories are so heart-wrenching. The city of Marysville is glad to partner with the Marysville/Tulalip Relay to try and beat back this disease, and it’s great that you all have come out as a community for this cause.”

Teresa Stubrud is the mother of two cancer survivors, Austin and Kate, who are not only still children, but also diagnosed with Down Syndrome. Before Austin and Kate led the survivors’ lap to kick off this year’s Relay, Teresa compared her children’s journeys, since Kate was diagnosed with cancer shortly after Austin was finally declared cancer-free in 2005, after his own series of treatments.

“Kate was two and a half years old at the time, and it took two years before her treatments ended in 2008,” Teresa Stubrud said. “Six months later, it had returned.”

Kate’s only option was a bone marrow transplant, which is a painful and life-threatening procedure even for adult patients, never mind for a child with Down Syndrome, and Teresa recounted how she and her husband Jon had agonized over their decision, knowing how much Kate would suffer.

“The strength and courage and will to live that she’s shown ever since has been amazing,” Teresa Stubrud said. “She’s taught me more in her 10 years than I’d learned in my entire life.”

Stephani Earling, community relationship manager for the Great West Division of the American Cancer Society, took the time to pilot the wheelchair of her grandfather, Jim Perin, who had been diagnosed with Stage 4 kidney cancer only two weeks before, which has metastasized in his lungs.

“This has given my work for the American Cancer Society a whole new meaning,” Earling said.

“This is just a great outfit,” said Perin, 85, who was once the chief of police for Everett. “I mean, what else can you say about the work that they do? Their volunteers are unbelievable.”

 

Marysville, Tulalip police start Business Watch program

Rikki King, The Herald

MARYSVILLE — A Business Watch program is being launched in Marysville and Tulalip.

Police in both communities are looking for business owners who want to organize crime prevention efforts, Marysville police Lt. Mark Thomas said.

The program is tailored for smaller businesses, but all business owners are welcome to participate, he said.

“It’s basically taking an interest in protecting yourself and reducing the possibility of being a victim of crime,” he said.

Participants will learn about crime prevention and will work together as neighbors to keep an eye out for one another, Thomas said.

Police officers will be there to help along the way. Officers also will be available to address special areas of concern such as burglaries, shoplifting, fraud and computer crimes.

For more information, contact:

Marysville Lt. Mark Thomas, 360-363-8321, mthomas@marysvillewa.gov

Bob Rise, Business Watch coordinator, 360-363-8325, MVP@marysvillewa.gov

Tulalip Deputy Chief Carlos Echevarria, 360-716-4608, CEchevarria@TulalipTribalPolice.org

Rikki King: 425-339-3449; rking@heraldnet.com

Use fireworks in safe, legal manner

Source: Marysville Globe

MARYSVILLE — While the cities of Arlington and Marysville encourage their citizens to celebrate the upcoming Fourth of July holiday in a festive manner, the cities’ police officers and firefighters want  to make sure that those who choose to use fireworks do so in a safe and legal fashion.

The city of Arlington allows fireworks to be sold from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Friday, June 28, through Thursday, July 4, whereas the city of Marysville allows fireworks to be sold from noon to 11 p.m. on June 28 and from 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. from Saturday, June 29, through July 4.

Marysville residents may discharge their fireworks between 9 a.m. and 11 p.m. on July 4, while Arlington residents may discharge their fireworks between 9 a.m. and midnight on July 4.

Neither city allows its residents to discharge their fireworks on any other day, outside of the New Year holiday, and both cities limit their legal fireworks to Class C, or “safe and sane” fireworks. Neighboring Native American reservations may sell fireworks that do not conform to these laws, but such fireworks must be detonated on reservation lands.

The retail fireworks stands of “Boom City” on the Tulalip Tribal Reservation also provide a lighting and detonation area on site for customers, since not all of the fireworks sold at Boom City are allowed to be detonated off the reservation. Security personnel will monitor the area to ensure that children aged 12 years and younger have adults aged 18 years or older present.

According to Marysville Fire District Division Chief and Fire Marshal Tom Maloney, 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 explosive devices, and those who possess or use such illegal explosive 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. In Washington state, fireworks must be purchased from a licensed retail fireworks stand during the legal sales period. Orders for fireworks cannot be placed over the Internet, or posted on websites such as Craigslist

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 of these laws seriously and will be citing those caught with illegal fireworks between now and the Fourth of July. Under state law, possession or discharge of illegal fireworks is a misdemeanor offense punishable by a fine of up to $1,000, up to a year in jail and a mandatory court appearance. City of Marysville Public Information Officer Doug Buell pointed out that Marysville police can issue criminal citations to violators or civil citations, the latter similar to a standard ticket.

Marysville police may issue a civil infraction, or fine, in an amount up to $500, instead of a criminal citation. The criminal misdemeanor fine is consistent with the standard state penalty of an amount not to exceed $1,000 and/or 90 days in jail. Gross misdemeanor offenses carry a fine of up to $5,000 and/or a year in jail, and a person with three or more civil infractions within a two-year time period will be cited for a misdemeanor.

Marysville Police Cmdr. Robb Lamoureux explained that such civil infractions enable officers to spend more time on the streets responding to fireworks complaints, and less time processing criminal citation paperwork. He added that the safety of individuals and property is the police department’s utmost concern.

“Use caution and follow safety rules for responsible use of fireworks,” Lamoureux said. “Illegal fireworks in particular pose a public safety and medical hazard, and they have the potential to cause property damage in the Marysville area.”

Although Arlington Assistant City Administrator Kristin Banfield believes that Arlington police are more likely to try and educate those using illegal fireworks, or those using fireworks illegally, she warned that, “If they have to make a repeat trip to your place for fireworks, it’ll probably result in a fine.”

Officials in both cities urge Fourth of July holiday revelers to clean up their fireworks after they’re finished.

“After you light it up, clean it up,” Buell said. “Discarded fireworks the days after the Fourth are a neighborhood eyesore, and smoldering, spent fireworks can still pose a fire hazard if not disposed of 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 to soak them thoroughly. Those who use fireworks should keep a bucket of water or a running water hose close by in case of a firework malfunction or fire.

“First and foremost, our fire and police chiefs strongly encourage our residents to stay safe by attending the local public displays, such as the one at the Arlington Boys & Girls Club sponsored by the Arlington-Smokey Point Chamber of Commerce,” Banfield said. “If you do use fireworks, however, only use them as intended, and use common sense. Don’t try to alter them or combine them, and never relight a ‘dud’ firework. Spectators should keep a safe distance from the shooter, and alcohol and fireworks do not mix, so have a ‘designated shooter.’ Only those older than 12 years old should be allowed to handle fireworks, especially sparklers of any type.”

For more information, visit the city of Marysville’s fireworks website at http://marysvillewa.gov/index.aspx?nid=362 and the city of Arlington’s fireworks website at http://arlingtonwa.gov/index.aspx?page=419.

For more information about fireworks safety, public fireworks displays and the fireworks laws for your area, check the Celebrate Safely website at www.wsp.wa.gov/fire/fireworks.htm.

Program could eliminate some crime around businesses

Christopher Anderson, North County Outlook

To help business owners combat property crimes that can potentially drive away customers, a new Business Watch program is being unveiled for the Marysville and Tulalip communities.

The program will be similar to Marysville’s Neighborhood Watch program which has helped residents keep watch for their neighbors for more than two decades, according to Doug Buell, the city’s Public Information Officer.

Marysville and Tulalip police have partnered for the program.

The Neighborhood Watch program has been successful because it helps in many objectives including: “getting neighbors to know one another, identifying common issues, setting shared goals, building a familiarity among each other, which allows for greater crime prevention through awareness,” explained Mark Thomas, the Marysville Police lieutenant who will run the program.

By getting neighboring businesses to work together, Thomas feels that the Business Watch program can also be successful and help businesses identify suspicious behavior faster.

The program is meant to help business owners control their own fate when it comes to crime in their community, said Rick Smith, Marysville’s chief of police.

“The philosophy of Business Watch is to take control of what happens in your business community and lessen your chance of becoming a victim,” said Thomas.

“It is going to be imperative that we work together,” he said at the Greater Marysville Tulalip Business Before Hours Breakfast at the Tulalip Resort on May 31. “These have been difficult times of uncertainty for businesses and the economy. We want to bring certainty back into your lives.”

Business Watch provides a way to actively reduce and prevent crime through cooperation and education, said Thomas. “It provides a platform to help teach merchants to ‘crime-proof’ their own properties, watch over their neighbor’s property, and report and document suspicious behavior.”

Thomas says it’s often the simple day-to-day things that can prevent crime, like being vigilant or instituting changes inside and outside the office that make it difficult for criminals to operate.

Establishing a Business Watch requires continued commitment and dialogue, noted Buell.

“Business Watch, like Neighborhood Watch, is a program that is run by you, the group. It can be as involved and complex or as simple and straight forward as you want it to be,” said Thomas.

The first steps include forming a planning committee to discuss needs and problems, conducting a business survey, planning a kickoff event and convening an initial meeting to identify members and name officers.

If you’re interested in starting a Business Watch group in the Marysville/Tulalip community, contact Lieutenant Mark Thomas at 360-363-8321 or mthomas@marysvillewa.gov, Bob Rise at 363-363-8325 or MVP@marysvillewa.gov, or Tulalip Deputy Chief Carlos Echevarria at 363-716-4608 or cechevarria@TulalipTribalPolice.org.

Victory Car Show benefits Food Bank

Lauren Salcedo, Marysville Globe

MARYSVILLE — Victory Foursquare Church will host its third annual Victory Car Show to benefit the Allen Creek Community Food Bank, on July 27, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

“All the proceeds go to the food bank, and we are trying to get something together to help seniors and widows get small car repairs as well,” said Robin Taylor, who started the event three years ago.

“I’ve always liked hot rods and cars, ever since I was a little kid. I thought that the grounds of the church had a nice property for a car show, and that it would be a good way to connect with the community in Marysville.”

The car show will host a silent auction and give trophies to winners of four different categories.

“We will also have a cash drawing done by car registration number for one $500 prize and 10 $100 prizes,” said Taylor. “It gives people the chance to win something just for bringing a car even if it’s not the best car in the lot.”

Visitors can fill up at the Famous Dave’s barbecue truck on burgers and hot dogs, all the proceeds of which will also be donated to the food bank. The car show’s first year saw 35 vehicles, a number which doubled the following year. Taylor is hoping for more than 100 cars this year, and $2,500 in donations.

Victory Foursquare Church is located at 11911 State Ave. in Marysville. For more information call 360-651-1110.

Marysville vet biking the U.S. to help the wounded

submitted photoKit Wennersten, of Marysville, takes a practice ride in Skagit Valley before embarking today on a cross-country trip to raise money to help veterans.
submitted photo
Kit Wennersten, of Marysville, takes a practice ride in Skagit Valley before embarking today on a cross-country trip to raise money to help veterans.

Gale Fiege, The Herald

MARYSVILLE — On his recumbent tricycle, veteran Kit Wennersten plans to make a cross-country ride to raise money to support veterans.

The 65-year-old Marysville man is scheduled to begin his trip today in Astoria, Ore. His goal is to ride with a group across 4,250 miles to Yorktown, Va.

Wennersten served in the Navy and the Marine Corps. After 23 years in the military, he retired as a Navy lieutenant and then worked as a police officer for 17 years. “I understand what our injured service members are going through as they return home,” Wennersten said. “My goal is to support our wounded veterans and their families. During the Iraq and Afghanistan wars many Marines sustained life-changing injuries and they need our help more than ever.”

Wennersten is raising money through the Semper Fi Fund while participating in the Ride Across America for Charity 2013. He is riding an ICE Adventure tadpole trike, he said.

People can donate to the cause at fundraising.semperfifund.org/kitwennerstenRideAcrossAmerica.

“Any amount people can give will help. No donation is too small, even 1 cent a mile is great,” Wennersten said.

Wennersten, who did a lot of his training rides on the Centennial Trail in Snohomish County also plans to maintain a blog for the trip at www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/12286.

Outlet mall expansion to open June 20

More than a dozen new stores to be added in Tulalip

M.L. Dehm / For The Herald Business JournalThe expansion to the Seattle Premium Outlets was designed to ensure a new promenade would meld with the original 2005 structures.
M.L. Dehm / For The Herald Business Journal
The expansion to the Seattle Premium Outlets was designed to ensure a new promenade would meld with the original 2005 structures.

By M.L. Dehm, The Herald Business Journal

TULALIP — Several retailers in the Seattle Premium Outlets‘ new promenade expansion are scheduled to open for business on June 20, with additional retailers following in the coming months.

The project is anticipated to bring more visitors to a complex that already draws more than 6.5 million annually.

“We are excited to welcome wonderful brands and stores that have proven to be so popular in other centers of ours,” said Mark Johnson, general manager of Seattle Premium Outlets.

Those stores include the Armani Outlet, Max Studio, The North Face, Clarins, Vince, Diane Von Furstenberg, American Eagle Outfitters and Forever 21. Existing stores that will be relocating from the original 2005 wings into the new promenade are Coach, Columbia Sportswear Co., DKNY, Hugo Boss, Polo Ralph Lauren and Tommy Bahama.

“Additional stores joining the center, in the suites of the relocating stores, include White House Black Market, Saucony, Sperry Top-Sider, Swarovski, Victorinox Swiss Army and Disney Outlet store,” Johnson said.

He anticipates that the addition of those stores will satisfy shoppers’ demands for greater selection, more brands and the chance to find more deals.

The expansion added more than 100,000 square feet of retail space to the approximately 400,000 existing square feet that opened near Quil Ceda Village and the Tulalip Resort Casino in 2005. A parking garage opened in 2012 on the east side of the mall.

“Being next to the Tulalip Resort and Casino is a great complement to our shopping options and a benefit to area visitors,” Johnson said.

Tourists spent about $876 million in Snohomish County last year, and being near other tourist destinations is a bonus for Seattle Premium Outlets as it tries to capture tourist dollars.

Simon Property Group, the S&P 100 company that owns the complex, stated that the property was producing sales in excess of $700 per square foot before the start of the expansion.

Last quarter, the company posted a 5.3 percent increase in tenant sales per square foot overall in its family of outlet malls.

Simon Property Group owns 77 outlet malls worldwide, including 63 of the fewer than 200 facilities in the United States. That makes the organization one of the largest outlet mall groups in the world. The company holds a long-term lease on the Seattle Premium Outlets’ land owned by the Tulalip Tribes.

There were always tentative plans for a possible expansion of the Seattle Premium Outlets that preceded the official opening in 2005. However, the current expansion wasn’t actually announced until August 2011 and work did not begin until 2012.

“Our growth began with the completion of the new parking garage in late 2012 and continues with the opening of the promenade,” Johnson said.

The parking garage compensates for the areas of parking that were lost with construction on the expansion. During the last holiday season when expansion construction was in full swing, the outlets made a point of letting shoppers know that the parking garage was available and that stores were open for business.

According to Johnson, the parking garage has been working out well since it opened. Some shoppers seek out the lower, sheltered level of the garage in inclement weather.

The soon-to-open expansion, which is the new face of the facility as seen from I-5, has been built to complement the original site both in appearance and convenience. Director of marketing Michele Osgood pointed out the way in which similar structures and materials were used to offer a seamless feel to shoppers coming to the Outlets.

A new visitor would probably not notice the subtle differences between the new promenade expansion and the original buildings. Both areas feature wood elements and rock facings. Colors and landscaping are similar and the hardscape under foot at the entrance is the same.

Benches have been added at intervals along the front of the structure and secure locker rentals are available outside the management office at the northwest corner of the facility so shoppers don’t have to go all the way back to their car to stow purchases.

Many of the shoppers who visit the outlets come from Canada. They stay at one of the hotels, such as the Tulalip Resort Casino, or make the visit a day trip from Vancouver, B.C.

“The center serves area residents, both locally and regionally, and area visitors from all over the world,” Johnson said. “Our goal is to meet the needs of a wide range of shoppers.”

The more than a dozen shops opening on June 20 should help to do that. There are no plans for further expansion of the property, Johnson said.