EVERETT — A bad case of Husky Fever is due in town.
Hundreds of afflicted men, women and children in purple and gold are expected Wednesday inside a town hall meeting in Everett to hear about and cheer on where a proposed University of Washington campus may be built.
The choice is down to four final sites — two in Everett and one each in Marysville and Lake Stevens — and backers of each one are staging a pep-rally-like presence for state and UW officials who will be present at Comcast Arena at Everett Events Center.
From Marysville, they’ll be bused in carrying signs and wearing T-shirts emblazoned with “Real Huskies Go North (of Everett).”
“We have our act together and we’re ready to compete with the Everetts of the world,” Marysville Mayor Dennis Kendall said.
Upon arriving, supporters of the UW North Tri County Coalition can expect to pass through a gantlet of fans of the Everett locations and by a large banner bearing names of supportive businesses.
If they’re thirsty, Everett will provide them a bottle of water with a Husky label.
“The community is very excited and wants to show the colors,” Mayor Ray Stephanson said.
Those coming across the U.S. 2 trestle are coming as-is.
“We haven’t ordered any hats or T-shirts,” Lake Stevens Mayor Vern Little said. “They’re just going to be citizens of our communities expressing their support.”
Wednesday is the fourth town hall meeting in which state and UW officials will report on the search for a permanent location and development of an academic plan for the university that could begin offering some classes at a temporary spot as early as fall 2008.
Last week, town hall meetings were promised in Marysville and Lake Stevens for later this month.
Those coming are amped up for the competition for the campus.
In Everett, it could be either Everett Station or on former Kimberly-Clark land along the Snohomish River; in Marysville, it could be on acreage east of I-5 and south of Smokey Point Boulevard; and in Lake Stevens, it could be near the new mid-high school campus.
By Nov. 15, state-hired consultant NBBJ will give the Legislature and the governor a report on the pluses and minuses of each site and possibly recommend a preferred site.
Lawmakers are expected to choose one site during the 2008 session.
How many boosters in T-shirts show up Wednesday isn’t something NBBJ will track, but politicians may.
“I don’t want to discourage people or dampen their excitement,” said Deb Merle, higher education adviser to Gov. Chris Gregoire. “At this point in the process that’s not what matters with regards to evaluating the pros and cons of the four sites.”
Nonetheless, civic, business and political leaders are sensing now is the time for organizing their respective communities.
Everett is the most organized.
It jumped out first, hiring three high-powered lobbyists to push the city’s interest in a branch campus to legislators in 2007. The Everett Chamber of Commerce is visibly active rallying businesses and last week Boeing sent the city a letter supporting its sites.
Communities in north Snohomish County are starting to make up lost ground.
The Marysville City Council voted to spend up to $100,000 to hire Seattle-based Strategies 360 to help the city land the branch campus. The city also hired lobbyists to try to sway legislators when they tackle the decision on a site next year.
Kendall said the lobbyists will tell decisionmakers: ” ‘There’s Marysville. They’re anxious. They’re strong. They’re aggressive.’ “
Kendall spent last Friday drumming up support from Tulalip-Marysville Chamber of Commerce members.
“This is a grassroots effort, but we’ve got to do it now,” Kendall told them. “We have to put forward our best foot to be competitive. It’s time for Marysville to step up and to get this university.”
In recent days, the UW North Tri County Coalition formed with Kendall, Arlington schools superintendent Linda Byrnes and state Sen. Mary Margaret Haugen, D-Camano Island, as its leaders and the Arlington-Smokey Point Chamber of Commerce as its home base.
The coalition is also hiring Strategies 360 to run its campaign, said chamber Vice President Jim Lonneker.
“We want to make sure this property gets its day in court, its fair hearing,” he said.
The chamber is paying for the T-shirts and is mailing postcards today to drive up attendance Wednesday.
Also today, the coalition’s Web site should be up and running. It is online at www.RealHuskiesGoNorth.com.
The Arlington City Council is scheduled today to discuss a resolution backing the Marysville site. Financial support could follow in the future, Mayor Margaret Larson said.
“I definitely have a preference that it’s in north Snohomish County,” she said.
Lake Stevens is joining with the cities of Snohomish, Granite Falls and Monroe and the area’s chambers of commerce on its proposal.
“We really have a pretty good area, so why not us?” said Mayor Little.
State Sen. Steve Hobbs, D-Lake Stevens, said his and the other small towns can’t compete with the better financed efforts of Everett and Marysville.
“We’re going to win this by logic and by presenting the facts,” he said.
“I’m glad to see the enthusiasm,” he said. “I hope it doesn’t get out of hand and we lose sight of the big picture that a university is coming to Snohomish County.”
Reporter Jerry Cornfield: 360-352-8623 or jcornfield@heraldnet.com.
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