Snohomish County NewsThese boots are made for filling
Doug Ramsey Photo
Mukilteo fire captain Dan Harbeck works the ferry lane June 27 to collect donations for the Muscular Dystrophy Association. Twenty-three off-duty firefighters and family members raised more than $8,000 during the three day “fill the boot” event. Eddy Lindenstein of MDA Snohomish County said last year, Washington state firefighters collected more than $600,000 for MDA. Lindenstein said money raised by the firefighters helps fund everything from wheelchairs and braces for children afflicted with muscular dystrophy to sponsoring MDA summer camps.
Check Out our online publications
Monroe Wal-Mart?
In shaping North Kelsey, the giant retailer was once a concern among city officials
MONROE - If a developer brought a Wal-Mart to Monroe, would the City Council welcome it in pursuit of much-needed sales tax revenue to run the city?
It is too early to tell whether a Wal-Mart, Costco or Target store will go in, and the council will likely not know which one until after the property is sold, but the plan is clear that the northern half of North Kelsey will get a big box store.
Mayor Donnetta Walser said last week she would welcome a Wal-Mart. Council members were mixed.
“If (the developer) chooses Wal-Mart, we want the best one in the world,” Walser said.
Last month, Seattle-based Sabey Corp. presented plans to bring a big box retailer to the 24-acre site of the former Lakeside Gravel business located on the north North Kelsey site off U.S. Highway 2. The city owns the property.
The presence of any store with such regional drawing power would be a welcome sight, Walser said. The city found that it was losing money to other municipalities because it lacked a store like those mentioned, even with a Fred Meyer.
A Wal-Mart at North Kelsey, though, would be an abrupt turnaround from the decision the City Council made years ago to purchase another North Kelsey property.
When the Arkansas chain was eyeing what now is the southern half of North Kelsey when it was Snohomish County land, outcry from both citizens and the business community prompted the City Council, in part, to purchase the 35-acre parcel of land from the county for $16 million. At the time, there also were rumors a casino was eyeing the same spot.
The city took the gamble when the economy was strong. It still is paying off the debt from that purchase, refinancing $11 million of the loan in April. The city is losing money every day on interest on the loan.
Councilman Geoffrey Thomas said he realizes that the city is facing different financial realities today than it was then, but for him unless the community wants it, a Wal-Mart is a no go.
“Wal-Mart, no — that is out right now,” Thomas said.
Thomas is likewise concerned that the vision of North Kelsey is quickly becoming dismantled by the new addition of a 155,000-square-foot big box store on the north side. When the site was planned by the city in 2003, it was to have gathering spots so people could park and spend the day walking around.
“If (big box stores) were the ultimate build out for North Kelsey, we should never have bought it,” Thomas said.
The original plan did not include big box stores on the south side but that was the plan for the north side, Walser said. City planner Hiller West concurred. While the outcry in 2001 was over the south side of North Kelsey, placing a Wal-Mart on the north side would be fine, Walser said.
The original plan for North Kelsey, though, was a livable community, Thomas said. The large parking lots that a big-box store would create — Lowe’s parking lot on the south side is five to six acres — are not conducive to this, Thomas said.
“If a Wal-Mart goes on the north side, why did we buy the south side and put ourselves into debt?” Thomas said.
Councilman Mitch Ruth was fielding calls to his office all last week from citizens asking that same question.
Ruth is open to a Wal-Mart coming only if citizens want it.
“It does no good to open a business only for others to go dark,” Ruth said. “If we go this direction, I want to be very aware of and in tune of the residential and business communities,” Ruth said.
He does not want the city to act in the short-term.
“The plans would generate lots of revenue in the city but I wouldn’t want to be shortsighted to choose that with having others go out of business — those are families with mortgages,” Ruth said.
The Downtown Revitalization and Enhancement Association of Monroe (DREAM), representing downtown merchants, has no official statement yet on the scuttlebutt of a Wal-Mart coming, but personally DREAM member Vickie Mullen believes businesses can stand up to the challenge even as Wal-Mart is reaching for more moneyed demographics.
Personal service is critical, Mullen said. A Wal-Mart could even be a good thing because it attracts a regional draw, Mullen added.
The city could use that sales tax revenue, Walser said.
Councilman Kurt Goering is fine with a big box retailer coming, but he also wants to speak with his constituents before committing to allowing a Wal-Mart.
Councilman John Stima would be fine with a Wal-Mart. City government should not be able to decide who can come, Stima said. Cutting down the city’s debt also is important, Stima said.
“The fact is somebody’s going to have the big box store and it might as well be us,” Stima said. “We’re going to have the (traffic) impact if it’s in Snohomish or Monroe.”
Whether the store will be a Wal-Mart is uncertain. Usually a developer can only approach retailers only after the property is sold, although the city would have an inkling what is coming late in negotiations, West said.
While what flashed on screen briefly in a Sabey Corp. presentation June 16 was “Monroe Wal-Mart,” the real list of retailers is undefined.
Sabey Corp. representatives two weeks ago acknowledged that at least one company it is talking with wants to own its own building instead of leasing. While Costco likes to do this, Wal-Mart likes to do this as well, according to the 2006 book “Wal-Mart World,” edited by Stanley Brunn.
By MICHAEL WHITNEY