The bright future outlined by Everett Mayor Ray Stephanson on Tuesday in his first State of the City address could be dismissed as spin if it wasn’t backed by so much substance.
Stephanson’s vision of an economically vibrant city, one that determines its own destiny by taking a hands-on approach to development, is supported by a record of savvy moves he and the City Council have made during his first year in office.
From the aggressive marketing of the city’s riverfront property – a former mill and landfill site that could soon be home to classy retail and residential space and a branch of Bastyr University – to the city’s willingness to kick-start downtown revitalization by buying key buildings and selling them to developers, Everett is taking bold, exciting steps toward a bright future.
The city has reacted quickly and smartly to opportunities. Its recent bid to bring a multi-million-dollar Joan and Ray Kroc recreation and community center here represented a positive and creative partnership with the Port of Everett. It lost out to a bid from Seattle – barely – but the experience should pay dividends down the line as the pursuit of a community center continues.
In such an atmosphere, talk of building a four-year state university in Everett, an effort launched jointly by the city and Snohomish County, has credibility. And the Pentagon is hearing regularly from city and county officials who tout not only the area’s high quality of life, but its strategic military significance, as reasons to keep Naval Station Everett operating long-term.
Even the most positive steps, of course, mean change, which can cause disruption. A regulation passed by the City Council in November requires food banks, social service agencies, churches, tattoo parlors and other establishments to get a special permit from the city planning department to locate downtown. The idea is to maximize the potential for strong economic development in the downtown core, an outcome that would benefit everyone.
No matter how you spin it, Everett has embarked on a path of economic opportunity that offers a promising future to all its residents. The mayor and council should stay on it.
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