Regarding the Saturday article, “Petition seeks size limits on new Wal-Mart”:
I would like to extend my deepest sympathy to the political leadership and the staff in the city of Monroe. I have no connection whatsoever to Wal-Mart or anyone in Monroe city government.
I can count on one hand the number of times that I have been in a Wal-Mart. Nonetheless, it seems like reasonable people did some thoughtful work to bring it here. Wal-Mart is going to build in a place where it was planned and not in the middle of some floodplain or pristine farmland. It is said that there will be 300 jobs brought to this area — with the payroll going to people living locally. There will be taxes to be paid, which is something that should be welcomed by those in government who claim that they don’t have enough.
If this store had come sooner, maybe Monroe would not have erected those Big Brother speed cameras to collect revenue from hapless drivers that pass through. For those who say it would impact existing businesses in town, I would submit that Fred Meyer and Lowes — located in the same neighborhood — have already seen to that. There will be other small businesses that will open because Wal-Mart came to town.
In the meantime, the people who oppose the store would deny the working families in the valley access to goods and services from a retailer with a reputation for offering quality products at a competitive price. Instead of being reflexively anti-business, perhaps a more welcoming outlook should be encouraged as a way to improve the quality of life in our communities. The people opposed to this new neighbor have failed to offer a compelling argument to the contrary.
Dennis Wick
Snohomish
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