MARYSVILLE Marysville is turning the heat up in the campus selection stakes, approving up to $100,000 for a public relations consultant to help fine tune their proposals before the Nov. 15 final deadline.
The Marysville City Council approved the request by Chief Administrative Officer Mary Swenson at its Sept. 10 meeting, where Swenson said the city would likely only spend $60,000, but wanted to have approval in hand before hiring a firm.
That would allow us to speed up the process, Swenson told the Council. Were moving very quickly, we cant wait around.
Councilman Jeff Seibert said other cities like Lake Stevens and Snohomish are revamping their proposals for resubmittal and supported the money for the consultant. His peer Lee Phillips said he hated to spend the money but that a college was worth it. Swenson noted that its important for the city to be on its toes as eyes are on the city, much like during the NASCAR site selection. Marysville has learned a lot from that process, noted Councilman Jeff Vaughan.
This isnt the time to mess around, this it the time to do it right, Swenson said.
Mayor Dennis Kendall said the firm should ink the contract this week. They are not a lobbying firm, but a public relations firm with a great deal of experience working with the state legislature. The firms main task will be getting information to the state house and senate, who will have final say along with Gov. Christine Gregoire.
Kendall said the state would to be able to use sovereignty to trump UGA requirements, but would have to follow the same rules as other projects. UGAs are state laws, administered by counties, he added.
They might be able to expedite stuff, Kendall laughed.