Mukilteo to tear down Rosehill

Published 11:25 pm Tuesday, March 4, 2008

MUKILTEO — Rosehill Community Center may not be historic, but it could soon be history.

The Mukilteo City Council voted this week in favor of building a new community center to replace the former school, which was built in 1928 when the original Rosehill school burned down.

The city plans to tear down the existing building when the new community center is finished.

“I’m just very happy that we’re moving forward,” Mukilteo Mayor Joe Marine said.

For years, Mukilteo residents have debated whether to renovate or replace the iconic building in Old Town.

The council’s decision this week was just as torn.

Council members Richard Emery and Jennifer Gregerson wanted to see the old building preserved. However, they both said they couldn’t overlook the results of February’s advisory vote, in which Mukilteo voters favored a new building by a margin of 52.3 percent to 47.7 percent.

“It was difficult, but I am proud that I did what I think was the right thing,” Gregerson said. “Even though I was pretty tormented up there, in the end, when I left council chambers and when I woke up this morning, I feel that I did what was best for the city.”

No timeline for construction has been set, but Marine said he would like for work to begin within six months. Constructions costs are low because of the slumping economy, he said.

The city had plans to spend between $13 million and $15.3 million to renovate Rosehill, depending on whether the building’s interior was gutted and rebuilt. To build a comparable community center from scratch would cost an estimated $16.2 million, city studies have shown.

More than 40 people filled the council chambers for the public hearing, which didn’t end until after 11:30 p.m. Monday.

Curt Shriner, who performs in community theater at Rosehill, was the first of more than 20 people who stood at the podium to talk about the community center. Many of the speakers debated whether council members should follow along with the advisory vote.

Shriner, who favored building a new community center, told council members they should have made the decision themselves.

“You had the chance to get it done, and you didn’t get it done,” he said. “The people who voted (for a new building) don’t have to be here. They spoke on Feb. 19.”

Mukilteo resident Pat Kessler, a longtime advocate of preserving Rosehill, urged council members to renovate the building. The city shouldn’t be spending millions of dollars more for a new building with the nation hinging on a recession, she said.

“An advisory vote is not a mandate to take bad advice,” Kessler said.

Some of the speakers described Rosehill as a rare piece of the city’s history, a reminder of Mukilteo as it used to be.

Others described it as an eyesore. Debby McGhee, who walks past Rosehill every day, said it looks like a prison.

“It could be a gem,” McGhee said. “The city of Mukilteo has a beautiful location for its community center.”

In the advisory vote, the highest concentration of voters who favored a new community center was in the area closest to Rosehill, according to precinct data collected by city staff.

Council members Tony Tinsley and Kevin Stoltz forced a vote to support renovating Rosehill, but the vote failed 4-3, with Council President Randy Lord also favoring renovation.

In the language of the final vote, the council directed staff to study incorporating features of Rosehill into the new building. The vote passed 5-2, with Tinsley and Stoltz opposing.

“That is the most disappointed I’ve ever been,” Stoltz said. “There’s just so much information that people clearly did not know about.”

Reporter Scott Pesznecker: 425-339-3436 or spesznecker@heraldnet.com.