City of Puyallup

Dear Neighbors and Visitors:

It is truly an honor to serve as your Mayor and a responsibility I take very seriously. My office is located on the 5th floor of city hall and I will be happy to arrange an appointment to meet with you. I also will be in my office on Thursdays from 10-4 available without an appointment and the first Thursday of each month I will host coffee with the Mayor at the Puyallup Activity Center (next door to Forza’s Coffee in downtown Puyallup).

I am very proud of our community, and I know you are as well. We have made many improvements to our city over the past several years, but we know that in the present economy we must continue to focus on economic development that will preserve and grow the level of services our community expects now and in the future. Your overwhelming support for our city and the collaborative efforts of our city staff, city council and our city partners will continue to make Puyallup a great place to call home, as well as a great place to visit.

In response to the nationwide recession, many jurisdictions around the state and country and indeed many citizens, businesses and other organizations have had to reevaluate the way they do certain things. Since 2008, the city of Puyallup has done a good job of tightening its belt while continuing to deliver quality services. In fact, even in these tougher-than-normal times, our efforts to establish and maintain important partnerships have helped keep Puyallup moving forward and making the kind of progress that our citizens expect, and deserve.

Some examples of recent successes include:

• $25 million LIFT Grant will help build much needed infrastructure that will attract the right kind of development in our city
• Federal appropriations - $1.461 to study EZRA, $500,000 to upgrade sanitary sewer pumps, money to complete Shaw Road Expansion
• WSU Puyallup partnership – $2 million in state grants have helped the city and university become the “go to” place to learn about new technologies in stormwater mitigation
• Property and Utility Tax cuts to citizens – The economic down turn has hit everyone and the city is doing its part to help its citizens. Council voted to reduce property taxes by $4.7 million and private utility taxes by $3.1 million
• More than a decade of clean audits
• Recent credit rating upgrades by Moody’s and Standard and Poor’s
• $400 million dollar upgrade to MultiCare Good Samaritan is helping to attract medical-related businesses to Puyallup. Four medical office projects—including an 80,000 square foot Good Samaritan medical Office Building scheduled to open in the summer of 2011.
• Three hotel projects are in various stages of planning—Fairfield Inn by Marriott, Hampton Inn and Liberty Inn. Best Western is in the midst of a major renovation.
• Saint Gobain Plastics and O’Reilly Auto Parts Distribution Center brought jobs and businesses to our area
• South Hill Mall invested its private funds in an extensive renovation and facelift. At the same time, the mall was able to attract Dicks Sporting Goods to its campus—one of the first of the franchise to open in the Puget Sound region.
• Benaroya Company has invested millions of dollars in once was an old Microchip plant. The 92-acre campus boasts several upgrade class-A office buildings.

Though we have accomplished much, we must not rest on our laurels, especially as we continue to weather the current economic climate. Council members are well aware that the economy affects all of us as residents and businesses. As we continue to work to provide our city with the best services for the money, there still many issues that must be addressed:

· Homelessness

· Flooding

· How to fund local street and infrastructure improvements

· Continued commitment to Public Safety includes new police and jail facility

My belief is our best and fastest path through this troubled landscape is to continue to support our local businesses, attract new businesses and opportunities for further growth in our commercial areas. We can all be recruiters of new neighbors and businesses. When our neighborhoods are full of families and our commercial locations are full of businesses, which are then full of shoppers and diners, we are a stronger, more viable, community with strong services and lower taxes.

When I reflect on Puyallup, my experience, and I hope yours, is one of great neighbors and great neighborhoods. Our community has terrific schools for our children with fun school events for our families. We have a fully engaged community of volunteers who care deeply for the causes they select. The spirit of volunteers throughout our various city committees, commissions, activities and events is outstanding. The many charitable events and causes reflect our heritage of “the Land of the Generous People.” We strive to have a helpful and high-service reputation in our city offices. We have a close, safe and walkable downtown and a great South Hill retail area and mall and we pride ourselves with our excellent police department.

We are excited about the expansion of MultiCare Good Samaritan. The hospital has not only made an investment in its campus by building a $400 million new patient tower, it has made a commitment to Puyallup to continue to provide a state-of-the arts regional medical center that will serve the needs of our growing population today and well into the future.

We love our city, and have created a warm environment for others to join. All of these attributes make Puyallup comfortable, value-filled, fun and secure. Those are attractive benefits whether you are a prospective community member looking for a new home or a corporate business looking to relocate your headquarters. Come to Puyallup and you’ll understand why we’re proud of being the “land of the generous people.”

Sincerely,

Mayor Kathy Turner

Contact Mayor Turner by emailing her at: kturner@ci.puyallup.wa.us
or calling 253-840-6673