Stanwood leaders see ingredients for success in city’s downtown

Published 11:06 pm Thursday, February 28, 2008

STANWOOD — The ingredients for success are all there in downtown Stanwood.

A highway brings loads of potential customers through town. The buildings have character, and the scenery is beautiful. There’s open land. Merchants want change.

A group of business owners and community leaders want to use those assets to improve the city’s financial future.

“I would like to see small business be able to grow and thrive in a community like this,” said John Russell, owner of The UPS Store and chairman of the Economic Development Citizens Advisory Committee.

The committee, formed by the Stanwood City Council, is working on a set of guidelines to help the city determine what kind of businesses should be promoted in Stanwood. The group also plans to discuss where business growth should occur.

A rough draft of the committee’s guidelines could be finished by early summer. A final draft is expected by late summer, Russell said.

So far, the group has met four times, mainly to brainstorm ideas and study the city’s demographics.

“We’re all trying to define what our shared vision is,” Russell said. “Like other cities, we’re trying to find the economic model that will help us survive and maintain this quality of life.”