MARYSVILLE – The city plans to have some type of event on the Fourth of July this summer.
They are not quite sure what it looks like yet. But to get the fireworks started, it applied for tourism dollars from its Hotel-Motel Tax. A committee agreed to fund the event for $15,000. The City Council likely will be voting on it Monday at its regular meeting.
At this week’s work session of the council, the committee recommendations were released. It awarded $110,953 of $135,000 available. Amounts include:
•Marysville Strawberry Festival – $20,000.
•City police special events services – $20,000
•City public works special events services – $18,205
•City parks 4th of July – $15,000
•City Great Girls’ Getaway – $12,000
•Chamber Brew and Cider Fest – $7,975
•City parks Tour of Lights – $7,473
•Snohomish County Tourism Bureau – $5,000
•Poochapalooza – $3,000
•Red Curtain – $2,300
Also at the work session, the council decided it will have a public hearing Nov. 27 on a law to continue to prohibit supervised drug consumption facilities in town. The resolution says a ban would help prevent the spread of opioid addiction and address concerns of residents and businesses. It also says there are safety issues due to inadequate regulations. The ban is better for public health and safety, morals and general welfare of citizens, it concludes.
The meeting included presentations on the 2018 legislative session, along with videos for recruitment of police officers and businesses for economic development.
Mayor Jon Nehring said Tuesday in an interview that the city has some top priorities for the session. One is a railroad overcrossing on Grove, a $22 million project. “There’s no way the city can afford that” on its own, Nehring said. A second project is to continue work on the trail system on the waterfront.
The city also is working with 360 Strategies lobbyist Al Aldrich to make sure the state continues to help fund police and other local needs. He said the legislature may be tempted to take money away to help pay for education because of the Supreme Court’s McCleary decision. “It’s a short session so we have to be ready prior to January,” he said.
As for the recruitment videos, with the booming economy Nehring said this needs to be done to help the town stand out.
There are police positions in the budget, but they cannot be filled. People are choosing other careers. The city would like to attract police from other communities so they can go right to work instead of having to attend the police academy. So the video plays up the quality of life in town.
Same goes for the business recruitment video. He said it’s one more tool to try to increase interest in the Manufacturing Industrial Center. Once the Puget Sound Regional Council approves the MIC in the first half of next year, that should spur private development, Nehring said.
In other news:
•The city will receive a grant to purchase a utility trailer, along with an ATV to be used for patrolling parks and areas where the homeless camp.
•A proposal provides for a three-year extension of the professional services agreement between the city and Feldman & Lee, P.S. for public defender services for indigent criminals charged in Marysville Municipal Court.
•The city was awarded $500,000 in state funds to connect Marysville’s Bayview Trail to the 30-mile Centennial Trail.
•The Decant Facility Addition project includes construction of a 44×26 foot bay. The addition will improve waste-handling processes, increase storage areas and create new standard operating procedures that will increase the amount of material that can be processed. The project is funded 75 percent by a Department of Ecology grant; construction was originally estimated at $317,000.
