Snohomish County NewsArtists in action
Doug Ramsay photo
Blacksmith and fine metal artist Steve Bryant of Mount Vernon works to shape a metal rod into a piece of art Aug. 16 at the Everett South Marina. The annual weekend event, Fresh Paint, sponsored by the Arts Council of Snohomish County, turns the marina promenade into a huge outdoor studio and gallery with a variety of artwork for sale as artist demonstrate their talents.
Pioneers of the Year
The Mukilteo Historical Society chose Alice Marie Andersen and Phyllis Sherar Anderson to be the 2009 Pioneers of the Year. These two women have been friends for more than 80 years and they still enjoy getting together to reminisce about growing up in Mukilteo. Pictured: Anderson has a conversation with an old friend prior to the Mukilteo Historical Society’s Aug. 13 meeting at Rosehill Community Center.
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City considers buying flood prone motel
Residents would need to move
MONROE - Tired of constant flooding and fearing that the government may pull flood insurance coverage on the property, Monroe is eyeing a Federal Emergency Management Agency grant to buy out the flood prone Monroe Motel on Old Owen Road along Woods Creek.
One stumbling block may be the approximately 30 mobile home residents who also live on the property that would require relocation.
The city has not applied for the FEMA grant yet, but if Monroe won it, the grant would pay the full cost for buying the property, city engineering director Brad Feilberg said last week. FEMA’s Severe Repetitive Loss Grant Program was formed in 2004 as a way to buy properties and cease paying for damages on them. The idea was introduced at last week’s City Council meeting.
In last year’s big flood, the Monroe Motel had water come up to its windows and 20 people had to be evacuated.
This year the grant has $10 million to give away, Feilberg said. There is no known cost on how much the motel property purchase would cost through the grant, but it could be around $1 million, Feilberg said.
Once bought, the property would be converted into a park or natural setting and the buildings would be demolished, Feilberg said.
One concern, though, are the mobile homes that also are on the motel property. There are seven mobile homes owned by the motel owner and seven owned by individuals.
“I’m very hesitant about it, like the rest of the council, relocating the lives of those seven mobile home (owners),” Councilman Geoffrey Thomas said.
The Monroe Motel has flooded regularly and FEMA has lately been interested in shaking off such properties from its insurance rolls.
“I think there’s a real possibility the government might not pay out — and at that point people would be in worse shape because if FEMA did not pay out, they would get nothing,” Mayor Donnetta Walser said.
Councilman Mitch Ruth said there will be people who are displaced, and he is in support of helping them relocate.
“I know this is an issue of affordability — that needs to be considered,” Ruth said. Ruth said he would need to know how providing relocation would be rectified before he could approve of the idea.
Relocating the mobile homes would be difficult because they are more than 25 years old, Feilberg said. Demolition costs would be paid by the grant.
The motel owners have indicated they are interested in considering selling the property, Feilberg said.
The manager of the Monroe Motel, Nancy Hill, had not heard that yet when contacted by the Tribune. A request to receive a call back from the owners of the motel property was not responded to by press time.
The City Council will take action on the option at this week’s meeting after press time. The grant application is due Sept. 15.
By MICHAEL WHITNEY