By Jon Nehring
About 100 people attended the State of the City at the Marysville Opera House and a little more than that at the Marysville Tulalip Chamber of Commerce breakfast.
Here are some of the highlights for those of you who didn’t get a chance to attend either event:
Public Safety
The city has a two-year, $352 million budget. About two-thirds of the general fund goes for law enforcement. Overall crime levels are nearly 9% below 2018 and as much as 35% below 2014. Last year Marysville Police handled just over 71,000 cases.
The Marysville Fire District responded to nearly 14,000 calls with an average response time of 6 minutes, 47 seconds.
Infrastructure and Economic Development
Many new businesses are choosing Marysville, including an aerospace composite supplier that expects to add 75 or more jobs in the Cascade Industrial Center.
The 1st Street Bypass will be completed this year. It will tie into a state project adding a new south Marysville I-5 freeway exit connecting to Highway 529. Construction is expected to begin next year on the new freeway interchange and an extension of the carpool lane from north Everett to Marysville.
Construction will begin soon to expand State Avenue from three to five lanes between 100th and 104th Streets NE.
We will start construction this summer on Olympic View Park and trailhead surrounding the Qwuloolt Estuary south of Harborview Park.
Mark your calendar for 10 a.m. March 28, when we will celebrate improvements at Cedar Field. New synthetic turf and LEF lighting will expand playing time
for the Little League season.
Construction is underway on the new Civic Center west of Comeford Park on Delta Avenue. In about two years, we will celebrate the opening of a modern, energy-efficient facility housing Police, Jail and Municipal Court, Public Works engineering and Community Development, City Hall offices and City Council chambers. I recently created a Task Force on Growth Management to help define and retain community values and provide input on how Marysville should evolve as we deal with population growth. Findings will be used to update the city’s Downtown Master Plan and prepare for the Comprehensive Plan update in 2023.
Quality of Life
As Marysville grows we still retain a welcoming community character and vibrant quality of life. The city makes it a priority to offer residents, families and visitors a variety of athletic and cultural offerings, most at low or no cost.
Highlights include Cedarcrest Golf Course, which had a banner year in 2019. The historic Opera House continues to host sold-out events. And city-hosted events include the Easter Egg Hunt, Fishing Derby, 4th of July fireworks, Touch A Truck and Merrysville for the Holidays.
Marysville receives so much community support from residents, service clubs, youth groups, the faith community and more. Your contributions are meaningful and appreciated.
Marysville’s future is bright. We have challenges like every community, but overall we are headed in a positive direction.
If you missed the State of the City, you will be able to watch the video soon on Marysville cable TV public access channels (Comcast Channel 21 and Frontier Channel 25) and on the city’s YouTube channel.
Jon Nehring is the mayor of Marysville. His column runs monthly.
