Top 10 Stories of 2008

Photo by meghan erkkinen

A BOY PLACES A ZIPLOC BAG OF LETTERS ON TOP OF THE CITY OF FIFE TIME CAPSULE BEFORE IT IS BURIED. The capsule was piled with sand on the city’s 51st anniversary Feb. 11.

1. Fife buries history

Fife concluded its Golden Jubilee 50th Anniversary Feb. 11 by sealing and burying a 25-year time capsule to be opened Feb. 11, 2032. The time capsule included letters from city council members and students, council agendas, a brick from the Sterino’s produce stand building, a phonebook, a BlackBerry cell phone, photos and newspapers from Feb. 11, 2007 – the city’s 50th birthday.

At a burial ceremony on the city’s 51st birthday, present and former city representatives reviewed the progress the city has made during its existence. Students read letters they wrote, predicting what life would be like in 25 years. The capsule was sealed in a fiberglass container and buried in a four-foot hole.

2. Edwards resigns, Johnson new Fife mayor

Councilmember and Mayor Pro Tem Kory Edwards resigned Jan. 7, just one day before he was expected to be named mayor, citing personal reasons.

In a letter to fellow council members, Edwards said he decided to pursue other interests in his life and that he no longer had the ability to serve the city with the time and energy he felt necessary. Edwards, who took office in 2002, focused much of his energy as a council member on public safety projects such as traffic lights and crosswalks, as well as raising awareness of public safety issues.

At a meeting Jan. 8, council members selected Barry Johnson, a 12-year veteran of the council, to be mayor and Rob Cerqui to be mayor pro tem. In February, Glenn Hull was selected by the council to fill Edwards’ seat until it expires at the end of 2009.

3. Brookville project underway

The development of Fife’s first open-space park took off early this year. The designs for Brookville Gardens, off of Valley Avenue, have been worked and reworked over the past year to match the desires of citizens and the city council. The 14-acre site will consist mostly of lawn area and landscaping, as well as trails, restrooms and picnic facilities.

“I love the idea of passive use just because you don’t want to over-develop, but it’s a place where someone could go read a book,” said Park Board Chair Melanie Reimer. “I love the idea of a gazebo, the trails connecting to more of Fife, and I love the idea of serenity.”

4. Proposed noise walls have some businesses upset

The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) considered erecting walls along Interstate 5 to mitigate extra noise caused by added high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes.

The walls were controversial – on the one hand, they would create a quieter environment for residents along the freeway, but on the other hand, several businesses would be blocked out in part or in full by the walls. For example, on the southbound side, a 1,550-foot-long wall would mitigate noise for residents of the Chateau Rainier Apartments, but would also significantly decrease the visibility of the Fife Business Park complex and Korum RV of Fife.

Construction on the HOV lane project, which extends from Port of Tacoma Road to the King County line, is set to begin late this year. Construction will continue through 2012.

5. Vision for 20th Street corridor

Over the past year, the city of Fife has steadily progressed toward its vision of making 20th Street a downtown, pedestrian-friendly area.

The city council made a major decision at its meeting July 8, when council members approved street design standards that will make it more pedestrian-oriented. This decision comes after one made in December 2007 that made the 20th Street corridor between 70th Avenue and 54th Avenue a commercial mixed-use zone. The decision was one of many to set the stage for builders to come in and develop the area.

The city also took another big step to create design guidelines. While the street design standards dictated that the sidewalks should have room for benches, trashcans, signage and lights, the design guidelines dictate what those will look like.

“We’ve really done a lot to encourage the downtown that we want and the rest has to happen from the private side,” said former Community Development Director Carl Smith. “There are no guarantees. We’re reliant on [developers] to come in.”

6. Fife mourns loss of Fabulous Firwood

It is not every day that a town loses a piece of its history. But on May 16, that is exactly what happened in Fife when the Fabulous Firwood Roadhouse burned down, leaving only smoke and debris in place of a building with 85 years of history.

The fire was discovered a little before 5 a.m. by a Fife police officer on his way to work. By the time the police and fire departments arrived, the fire was too hot to fight. By the time the fire flamed out, all that was left standing was the tavern’s outdoor smoking section.

Later that day, the Fife Police Department and other agencies launched a joint investigation into the incident. On May 19, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms announced that the cause of the fire was arson, started in the back of the building with some sort of accelerant. So far, no charges have been filed. The Firwood owners have pledged to rebuild the business.

7. Residents want library services, survey shows

A survey of Fife residents shows that a library within the city limits is something that interests a lot of community residents. The Fife City Council decided to set a public information session to better explain the costs and benefits associated with a library, followed by a public hearing for residents to share their questions or comments.

More than 82 percent of residents felt that library services were either somewhat important or very important, rating the importance between six and 10 on a scale of one to 10. But only 25 percent of respondents felt the city was doing a somewhat adequate or adequate job at meeting the community’s needs for a library service.

The city council has been exploring options for offering citizens more access to library services. Currently, the city is focusing on services through the Pierce County Library System, which has 17 branches around the county. If Fife residents voted to annex into the library system, they would have access to all of the branches’ materials and would eventually get a branch within the city.

8. Land claims settlement forever changed the tribe and its neighbors

Last year marked the 20th anniversary of the Land Claims Settlement between the Puyallup Tribe of Indians, local governments and the state of Washington. The settlement granted the tribe land that once belonged to their ancestors.

Fife played a key role in the Land Claims Settlement, as it was the only jurisdiction totally contained within reservation boundaries. The main concern of the city during negotiations with the tribe was to maintain primary jurisdiction over its land. Since the settlement was signed, the relationship between Fife and the tribe has flourished.

The settlement paved the way for many of the tribe’s economic development projects, including the Emerald Queen Casino locations in Fife and Tacoma and a planned shipping terminal at the Port of Tacoma.

9. Auto sales slide amid rising gas prices, slowing economy

As gas prices rose this summer and as the economy turned downward, Fife’s Finance Director Steve Marcotte, predicted a sales tax shortfall of about $1 million, a significant portion of which was due to a falloff in auto and recreational vehicle sales, on which Fife is heavily reliant.

About 53 percent of the city’s general fund comes from sales tax, and about half of the city’s sales tax comes from auto sales. To combat the shortfall, City Manager Steve Worthington implemented an expenditure reduction plan that included delaying hiring and capital expenditures, as well as a 2 percent across-the-board reduction in spending for all departments except police.

10. No grocery store for Fife – yet

Early last summer, Fife put a parcel of land on the corner of 70th Avenue and 20th Street up for bid in the hopes that a developer would come in and build a grocery store on the site. By the July 18 deadline, no developers placed a bid on the 3.97-acre site.

The city council began bidding at $1.9 million for the site, and indicated that a developer who purchased the land must build a store of at least 20,000 square feet that had departments for produce, meat and seafood, dairy, baked goods and frozen foods.

Several grocery store operators expressed interest in the site before it was put up for bid, but none ended up taking the bait. Still, council members remained optimistic that a grocery store may soon come to the city, and plan to continue seeking opportunities to draw developers in.

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