Coalition isn’t giving up on UW campus

Published 8:29 pm Saturday, September 8, 2007

LAKE STEVENS ­— Community leaders in Lake Stevens and Snohomish aren’t giving up their quest to plant the University of Washington flag in their corner of the county.

A group led by the mayors of the two cities is revising its pitch for a UW campus in hopes of earning a spot alongside nine locations now under serious consideration.

“We feel really good about our proposal. We are going to work very hard to get ours on the list,” said Lake Stevens Mayor Vern Little, a founder of the Snohomish County Coalition for Higher Education.

He’s encouraged because those heading the search for a permanent site haven’t stopped looking for candidates.

On Aug. 29, the committee composed of staff from the Office of Financial Management, the University of Washington and Seattle contractor NBBJ identified six properties in Marysville, two in Everett and one in Arlington as potential permanent homes for a new four-year college.

The state is paying $1 million for NBBJ to analyze options and by Nov. 15 recommend a site for the campus.

But the final choice may not be one of those nine already identified.

The committee will accept offers through Sept. 14 on properties located between Arlington and Everett, within five miles of I-5 and with a minimum of 25 acres. Land must be in or near an urban growth area, and owners of the land must be willing sellers.

The coalition, which includes the cities of Monroe and Granite Falls and the Greater Lake Stevens and Snohomish chambers of commerce, hopes to meet the criteria.

Initially it suggested constructing a campus somewhere on 1,100 acres stretching north from the intersection of U.S. 2 and Highway 9 to 20th Street SE.

That wasn’t detailed enough.

The revised version will focus on about 100 acres close to 20th Street; 20 acres is owned by the Lake Stevens School District, and the remainder is privately owned.

State Sen. Steve Hobbs, D-Lake Stevens, who’s been integrally involved in the coalition’s efforts, said an adviser to the governor told him it’s a good area but blanks in the proposal need filling before it gets advanced study.

“I’m fully confident the coalition will get the information needed,” Hobbs said.

Little said he also understood those leading the site selection “liked the general area” but wanted the location narrowed down and greater assurances that property owners would be willing sellers of their land.

The revamped proposal may also contain an offer to let UW conduct the college’s first classes in fall 2008 on the new Cavelero Middle High School campus. School board members will consider the matter at a meeting Wednesday.

Superintendent Dave Burgess said he’ll recommend they support making the 20 acres and campus space available.

“There are a lot of variables. The board has not signaled its intent,” he said.

“We’ll be discussing what we might be able to do as a district and what they might be able to do as a board of directors,” he said.

Reporter Jerry Cornfield: 360-352-8623 or jcornfield@heraldnet.com.