100 gather to lobby for UW site in Marysville

Published 10:54 pm Tuesday, October 30, 2007

MARYSVILLE — More than 100 people gathered in Marysville on Tuesday night to campaign for their community to be the site of a new University of Washington campus.

“I understand why you saved the best for last,” Marysville Mayor Dennis joked with UW leaders and the state-hired consultant leading the search for the campus site.

Tuesday marked the final town hall meeting to take public input into the site selection. Nearly 1,000 people attended four Snohomish County town hall meetings in Everett, Lake Stevens, Stanwood and Marysville.

“We feel really good about the number of folks who have come out from the community,” said Deb Merle, higher education adviser to Gov. Chris Gregoire.

The choice is down to four final sites — two in Everett and one each in Marysville and Lake Stevens.

The plan for the UW campus includes an emphasis on science, technology, engineering and math and opportunities to gain job experience nearby. The Marysville site could offer students that chance at the nearby Arlington Airport industrial park, a planned Tulalip Tribes business and industrial park and in the cities of Everett and Marysville, city officials said.

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.

Backers of the Marysville property say it is big enough, close to I-5 and accessible to students in three counties.

With 349 acres of undeveloped land, boosters said their site should be attractive for the immediate and long-term future.

Caldie Rogers, president and chief executive of the Marysville-Tulalip Chamber of Commerce, said the Marysville site also makes financial sense. “We have the land,” she said. “We have the infrastructure in place. We have the room to grow.”