☀️Summarizing Sun
Friday, February 9 - 2024 Week 6
Have you been looking out for the Sun? Look no further.
☀️Bullets for Busy People
Inigo Montoya once said, “Let me sum up.”
We’re all busy people. Of the 73,780 residents in Marysvile, less than 50 attended last week’s State of the City address in person while a few more viewed online. The Sun linked to the video, and that got ONE click, while the YouTube watch count is now at 106. As usual with these sorts of things, a thousand percent more effort and time went into preparing remarks and pie charts than was spent paying attention to all of it. And, fine. So how about a summary?
In Summary, Then
Marysville is the 2nd largest city in the county and the 18th largest city in the state.
The city budget is $127 million, and $58 of that goes to services (such as sewer, water, and garbage) that can’t really be re-allocated. Also, only 14% of our property taxes go to the city, and that percent has not increased since 2012.
The city (still) believes in fighting crime, which has required fighting some state legislation, especially in the last few years. Most property crimes are drug related. The police department hired at least a dozen new staff last year. Marysville’s municipal jail is only one of two municipal jails in the county (along with Lynnwood), which is a critical tool for actually having consequences for crimes.
The city believes in inviting and encouraging more businesses, especially that can provide “family wage jobs” and enable residents to live and work and dine and purchase in their own community. The Cascade Industrial Center has been a 20-year-long project, and companies such as Tesla and Gravatics are already providing paychecks (and purposeful work) for our own people.
Transportation and Infrastructure efforts should complete State Avenue’s widening later this year, and the I-5/529 interchange work will soon be in full swing.
Waterfront development continues, though the youth sports complex is still in concept phase and waiting on a private developer.
Comeford Park playground, Strawberry Fields turf installation, Ebey Waterfront Trail expansion, the new Pump Track (with the nearest similar tracks being in Bellingham and Leavenworth) all give families places to play and hang out.
It’s Not Business, It’s Personal
The actual quote from “The Godfather” is in reverse. Business and personal are not really mutually exclusive. The stats on all the Mayor’s slides included a lot of numbers.
But Mayor Nehring is just likable. It also seems to be true that he likes Marysville. Unheard of! Maybe you’ve seen some of the city videos with the text transition from “M y” to “Marysville.” The Mayor himself shows that kind of personal care more than an exertion of control. He consistently shares credit with many city employees as well as volunteers. He wants Marysville to be better more than he wants to be Boss. Novel.
He is also perpetually patient with all the petty problems the people put to him. He has amazing bedside manners, so to speak, with figurative cancer patients who are irritated that all the bed corners aren’t equally tucked in. “Good point,” says the Mayor, “thank you for bringing that to our attention. We’ll have to see what we can do about that if you survive your chemo.” (The italicized part is how I imagine he might want to conclude the conversation.)
No Nonsense
What was gloriously missing from the State of the City—and yet another reason why Marysville is becoming more of a destination—was ANY hint of platforming victimhood. There are layers of victim playing or promoting that are lacking.
The Mayor did not complain at all about what anyone around us is or is not doing. He acknowledged that he and the Council have done (extra) work seeking legislative changes for criminal pursuit and prosecution, as well as (extra) work seeking more of our state tax dollars returned through various grants to spend on local projects. He acknowledged signifiant problems in the local state schools, yet without throwing the Superintendent under the bus.
While speaking of compassion for those with drug addictions, he also spoke of real goals, and how tools such as incarceration, medical treatment, counseling, and training may accomplish great changes, all while holding the line in protecting other people’s property.
In this address he made ZERO mention of nonsense such as Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) training or quotas. There was no token apology for meeting on land that used to be inhabited by natives, no groveling guilt over being a white male, no regret for supposed climate catastrophes. Instead he spoke with conservative and even Capitalistic assumptions that private property is good, that people should expect personal protection in public, that working for wages and building businesses and having a community to share are GOOD for people.
One More Question
I’m not (as is obvious) a professional journalist, but we have covered the Where and What and Who of the State of the City report. And I really appreciate most of it; I am a thankful citizen who applauds the work to Make Marysville Great Again. That said, I am wondering about the Why?
Arresting law-breakers is right, and it used to be common sense, it used to be dependable. That’s not the case these days, certainly not in WA or even a number of Marysville’s neighboring cities. Why?
Bringing in businesses, so that they can make more profit and pay more workers, that builds a productive city is fantastic but, again, it seems rare in our region. Why?
State-run and funded schools in our city are in a crisis, the Mayor knows it and said in the Q&A time that he’s giving advice to the MSD Superintendent for changes, but what is the standard? There are big problems. Why?
This is not a criticism, not at all, at least not for now. But the Why? needs answering as part of civic education. People are busy, but we want them to care. We need them to care about cultural fruitfulness more than their piddling annoyances. Our kids and our grandkids need to know Why, and this is a huge opportunity we cannot take for granted for the future state of our city.
☀️Around Town
Well, the governor (against whom we have many grievances) visited Marysville on Tuesday. If I cared at all about this governor’s brand of “green” policies I might have been more excited, but the city showed off some of our “sustainable” Civic Center stuff.
The governor also visited Gravitics, though Ben Smith’s previously reported tour for the Sun was better.
On Tuesday The Herald reported on the passing of Carol Perry from Marysville who bowled a 163 at the age of 105. It’s a great story.
☀️Coming Events
Cupid Shuffle 5k Fun Run - TOMORROW, February 10, 9:00am at Ebey Waterfront Park. See here for more info and to purchase enrollment. If nothing else you can get into a calorie deficit before a week of consuming Valentine’s candy and chocolate.
☀️Friday Fun
Impressive. Ingenious. Could also work as an answer to, “Will you be my Valentine?”
The Marysville Sun provides news and perspective—with a little bit of fun—for Marysville's stakeholders about what's at stake.
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