Economic summit highlights north Snohomish County

Published 1:35 pm Thursday, May 5, 2011

TULALIP — The Tulalip Tribes and the cities of Marysville and Arlington will tell how their cooperative planning efforts have paved the way for economic recovery at a forum on May 25.

The North Snohomish County Community Partners Economic Development Summit, hosted by the tribes, the ci

ties and consultant Strategies 360, will showcase sustainable growth opportunities and achievements in north Snohomish County. A similar summit was last held 10 years ago, said Strategies 360 senior vice president Al Aldrich.

“It’s timely to talk again, coming out of the recession,” Aldrich said. “Plus it’s appropriate to have a meeting on what all three jurisdictions did to be ready to come out of the recession.”

The idea of this month’s summit is to attract new business to the area, he said.

“Arlington is quite a little job generator itself,” said Aldrich, adding that the city also has the capacity to take on more development.

One compelling site ripe for development is the 800 acres NASCAR eyed as a speedway site in north Marysville east of Smokey Point Boulevard several years ago. Aldrich said the Boeing Co. could develop the land into a new assembly plant for its eventual 737 replacement and consolidate its major airplane manufacturing operations in Snohomish County since Boeing’s existing 737 plant in Renton has no space for expansion.

Mary Swenson, now a Strategies 360 senior adviser after a long career as Marysville city administrator, said the north Marysville site is unique in that only five to seven people own the parcels. She also cited Arlington and Marysville’s cooperation on improvements to the area’s streets and utilities.

The cities and the Tulalips have cooperated on other mutual priorities, she said. They agreed to pursue funding for improvements to 172nd Street NE before seeking money to expand the 116th Street NE interchange on I-5.

Swenson said she sees that cooperation continuing into the future.

Aldrich said the summit is designed to answer questions entrepreneurs may have about working with the Tulalip Tribes while highlighting how the Tulalips and both cities have prepared to come out of the recession.

“There’s been so much work done in the downtime,” Swenson said. “The three jurisdictions haven’t been sitting around doing nothing.”

The summit’s panel discussion topics during the day will include land use and infrastructure, workforce development and a business development practices session with Marysville Mayor Jon Nehring, Arlington Mayor Margaret Larson and Tulalip Tribes Chairman Mel Sheldon. Bob Drewel, executive director of the Puget Sound Regional Council and former Snohomish County executive, will add his perspectives throughout the day.

Washington State University President Elson Floyd has been confirmed as the keynote speaker for the summit’s lunch, Aldrich said. Floyd is expected to focus on the role of four-year institutions in economic development, but he’ll probably discuss WSU’s coming control of the University Center of North Puget Sound at Everett Community College. University Center is a consortium of six public four-year schools, including WSU, and two private universities that offer bachelor-degree programs through EvCC.

“The timing couldn’t be better for WSU to speak about their venture,” said Swenson.

Learn more and register

The summit costs $75, which includes lunch and a post-event reception. Registration is due by Tuesday, May 17. For more information , call 206-282-1990 or email info@strategies360.com.

For secure online registration, click here.