Looking back on 2005 – March
Published 10:37 am Thursday, October 2, 2008
letcher bows out of politics
Snoqualmie Mayor Fuzzy Fletcher announced at a City Council meeting that he would not be running for mayor in November because he wants to spend more time with his family.
Before his two terms as mayor beginning in 1998, Fletcher served on the Snoqualmie City Council for more than two years. He won the mayoral seat in the 1997 election, beating out then-Mayor Jeanne Hansen.
Future of mill site explored
Waste Recovery Seattle Inc., an international, high-tech management consulting company with a focus on creating energy from waste, approached the Snoqualmie City Council with the possibility of building a waste-to-energy plant on the old Weyerhaeuser mill site.
Most members of the council were interested in learning more about the possibility, but no commitments were made or asked for, said Mayor Fuzzy Fletcher.
The consensus of the council was to set the issue aside for the time being.
New library location discussed
Officials with the King County Library System held a public hearing in Snoqualmie to present a list of possible sites for a new Snoqualmie library. The three sites, all in the Snoqualmie Ridge neighborhood, were gleaned from a list of possible sites put together last year after KCLS passed a $172-million bond that will fund upgrades or new facilities for all of its 43 branches. Snoqualmie was promised a new library, to be built in 2007, that could eventually grow to 10,000 square feet.
The King County Library Board of Directors selected the site at the corner of Center Street and Snoqualmie Parkway in late spring.
City considers new police contract
The Snoqualmie City Council decided to allow the King County Sheriff’s Office to make an informational presentation to the council on contract police services. But, even the discussion of the possibility upset many in Snoqualmie; several extra rows of chairs had to be added to accommodate all those who turned up at the council meeting.
The city brought in a consultant during the Snoqualmie Ridge Phase II deliberations to look at the city’s levels of service and the police department was the one department that was shown to have higher than normal costs compared to other departments across the state and nation.The council has set aside the contract issue and is evaluating the police department’s organizational structure.
Snoqualmie gets new fire hall
The nearly 50-year-old fire station on River Street was replaced by a $3.6-million project on Snoqualmie Parkway. The new 15,757-square-foot station on two acres includes plenty of office space, six bedrooms, a massive truck bay, a computer room, conference rooms and a large dayroom and kitchen.
The station is designed to accommodate the growth of Snoqualmie projected for the next 20 years, including room for more firefighters.
The conference room, wired for sound, can be divided into two rooms by a moveable wall and is used for Snoqualmie City Council meetings and training sessions. A new Emergency Operations Center will serve as the main hub of the city in the case of a major disaster. It was outfitted with a special radio system through a grant from the federal government.
The station also houses a large weight room with $10,000 worth of new equipment and a shower.
