10 Years Ago 1997

Washington states first Boys and Girls Club on an Indian reservation opened Saturday, Feb. 15, at Tulalip. The $1.6 million, 20,000-square-foot building includes a computer lab, gymnasium, meeting rooms and a game room with pool tables, foosball tables and ping-pong. Chelsea and Celum Hath led Tulalip Tribal members in the Tribes traditional welcome song. During the ceremonial songs, tribal members asked the grandfather spirit to watch over and bless the new building. Roughly 300 people attended the Feb. 15 event, including the Tulalip Board of Directors, Mayor David Weiser, Snohomish County Sheriff Rick Bart, Marysville School District board members and teachers, representatives of the Greater Marysville Tulalip Chamber of Commerce, and many families and community members. Said Tribal member Sheryl Frybert, Its a coming together of two cultures. The 20,000-square-foot building was funded through a $400,000 grant from the Department of Housing and Urban Development, a $125,000 HUD Youth Sports grant and the Tulalip Tribes. Local donors raised about $160,000 for computers, desks and equipment. The Tulalip Housing Authority administered the construction contract, and Indian workers, including Tulalip Tribal members, performed the construction, including masonry, wiring and framing.

25 Years Ago 1982

Five possible plans for the downtown development project were presented to members of the commission Monday night, bringing the project one step closer to implementation. The plans were constructed from results of the various surveys conducted late last year. Four of the plans include the riverfront, an area not originally in the development area, however an area the public believed vital. Monday nights meeting was the first of three meetings devoted to choosing the most feasible plan. Final approval and review with property owners will be given Monday, March 15. The areas needed in the downtown area, according to surveys, include shopper goods, such as general merchandise stores, apparel stores, jewelry, books-stationary and toy stores, home decorator, convenience goods, local office service and entertainment. But the key to it all, said project consultant Tom Beckwith, is organization. He stressed the importance of placing anchor stores in key positions. Examples of anchor stores are a supermarket, a medical facility, a restaurant, a racquet club, a junior department or discount store. One thing you have to consider is where to put anchors, Beckwith told commissioners. If you have two anchor stores with sub-anchor stores between them, you are bound to walk through to get to the other. It benefits the small stores. Beckwith again stressed the importance of depth and uniqueness in the redevelopment area, in order to draw people to shop there. He said if enough depth was provided throughout the area there may not be a need for a junior department store. But this means collecting quite a few sub-anchor stores and organizing them well, Beckwith said. In devising the five plans, Beckwith said the proper number of parking spaces had to be considered. It is required to have 4.0 parking spaces per 1,000-square-feet of gross leaseable area. He noted if using the maximum amount of square footage, the area would need to be 27.6 acres, to include the stores and parking. But Beckwith said the redevelopment area was only 17 acres. Using the minimum would occupy 13 acres, not quite enough parking and stores to fill the area. Beckwith said a moderate use of land, 19.4 acres, would allow the area to be developed with almost all the needed uses. The 17 acres does not include the waterfront properties south of First Street. Since there is not enough land to accommodate the need, Beckwith said the commission may have to consider expanding the area or using two stories. Beckwith said plan five allows for the maximum option. It is designed to have a walkway down to the waterfront, with a possible major eating facility on the waterfront. He noted plan five had something for everybody and allowed for a lot of variety. The other three plans encompassing the waterfront include plan four, which locates a major entertainment site across First Street, a major office complex, and a pedestrian walkway to the waterfront. The number three plan, which allows for a moderate option, included a public park on the side of the marina. The minimum option plan one would use Third Street as a corridor working to First Street, where it limits itself. Plan two is basically the same scheme as number one, however it expands to the waterfront, calling for expansion of the marina. A public park was placed along First Street with offices and entertainment facilities drawing people to the waterfront. Beckwith said the five plans are block layouts and there were things that still had to be tested. He also said it should be determined exactly what is wanted for the waterfront properties. The important elements, Beckwith said, are a design where people can see their destination, a relatively short walk from place to place and a grouping of the retail area together.

50 Years Ago 1957

A change in the hall where the annual Firemans Ball is to be held Saturday night, Feb. 16, is announced by Whitey Lundstedt, publicity chairman. Instead of the 100F Hall, the usual location, the ball will this year be held in the show room of Walsh-Platt Motors, former location of the Big C store. A fine floor with capacity for more dancers is the promise. Both the hall and the orchestra are being furnished by Walsh-Platt Motors without charge to the Volunteer Firemen. Lundstedt announced that ticket sales are progressing satisfactorily, with city canvassing by firemen having begun last weekend. Those not reached then may expect a visit during the next week. Rural residents were contacted by mail this year and are asked to return their contributions and ticket stubs by the postal route.
Berry growers are invited to attend a one-day county school Thursday, Feb. 14. The meeting will be held at the Kellogg Marsh Grange Hall, 2 miles north of Marysville on the old Arlington Road. Principal tropics for discussion will relate to soils, fertilizers, and yields. Although emphasis will be on strawberries, much of the information will also be of interest to growers of other small fruits. Extension specialists and experiment station workers will participate. Time will be allowed for questions and the discussion of special problems. Ladies of the grange will serve lunch.
Councilman Earnest Vigil brought to the City Council meeting Monday evening a recommendation that city police personnel be granted one day off every third week. The move stemmed from a special meeting last month of the police committee, headed by Vigil, to consider a time off request made by the force. During discussion it was explained that, if passed, the decision would mean that each of the three patrolmen would get one day off each week, making necessary the employment of additional help on the force and added wages. At present, it was brought out, members of the Police Reserve have been called on to replace regular patrolmen for days off, at a cost of $10 per shift. No final action was taken on the proposal, awaiting the next meeting when all council members might be present.