Snohomish may study need for new lodging
Published 11:03 pm Monday, August 20, 2007
SNOHOMISH — People come to Snohomish for its antique shops, restaurants and historic district. But most visitors don’t spend a night in town because the city has only one motel and only a few bed-and-breakfast places.
The city with a population nearing 9,000 needs more lodging so that visitors can stay longer and spend more money in town, City Councilman Larry Countryman said.
“I really believe if we build it, people will come to Snohomish,” Countryman said.
The City Council is set to discuss today whether to spend $10,250 for a study to assess the need for additional lodging in town. The study would find out where and how a hotel and motels could be built in the city if they are needed.
If the council approves the spending, the money would come from $55,000 that the city had originally set aside for a different project this year.
The city had planned to use the money for examining a 22-acre area along the Snohomish River.
City officials had planned to redevelop the industrial area between Highway 9 and Avenue D along First Street for other use. But the project came to a halt after the city learned that it can’t redevelop the area freely because of nearby Harvey Field.
The airport’s runway is located just across the river from the area. State regulations limit what can be built near an airport’s runway.
The proposed study for additional lodging came as a surprise to Bill Fulton, who owns the Inn at Snohomish, the only motel in the city. The motel with 22 rooms has few vacancies on weekends in summer, but not during weekdays, Fulton said.
“If I’m filled all the time, I’d be building something” additional, Fulton said.
Building more motels in town would hurt his business, Fulton added.
Countryman, who owns one of the four bed-and-breakfast places in the city, disagrees. The lack of lodging is now sending visitors to other cities, he said.
“I’d say we have to turn away at least three or four couples each weekend during summer time,” he said.
If more visitors spend a night in Snohomish, that would boost the city’s hotel and motel tax revenue, which would be used to promote tourism in town, Countryman said.
Snohomish built a $391,000 visitor information center in 2005 to promote tourism, said Debbie Emge, the city’s economic development manager.
It has other plans to attract more tourists in the future. City officials are hoping that the Spirit of Washington, a popular dinner train, would run between Snohomish and Woodinville.
The city also has floated an idea of Council meeting tonight
The Snohomish City Council is set to discuss tonight whether to spend about $10,000 for a study looking at how to attract a hotel to the city.
The council is scheduled to meet at 7 p.m. in the George Gilbertson Boardroom, 1601 Ave. D. For more information, call the city at 360-568-3115. building a boat dock at Kla Ha Ya Park in hopes of attracting boat tourists from Everett.
If those plans come true, Snohomish would need more places to keep visitors in town overnight, Emge said.
“If we are unable to serve them, they will have to go somewhere else,” she said.
Reporter Yoshiaki Nohara: 425-339-3029 or ynohara@heraldnet.com.
Council meeting tonight
The Snohomish City Council is set to discuss tonight whether to spend about $10,000 for a study looking at how to attract a hotel to the city.
The council is scheduled to meet at 7 p.m. in the George Gilbertson Boardroom, 1601 Ave. D. For more information, call the city at 360-568-3115.
