County considering closing road to historic Salcich Juntion in Frederickson

Proposal No. R2013-20, A Resolution of the Pierce County Council Initiating Vacation and Road Closure Proceedings for a Portion of 180^th Street East in the Frederickson Area; and Requesting that the County Engineer Prepare an Engineer’s Report and Recommendation to the Council Regarding Said Vacation and Closure.
Sponsored by: Councilmember Jim McCune
Department Contact Person: Kevin Klegg, Economic Development; (253) 798-6639
Council Contact Person: Hugh Taylor, (253) 798-3665
Date of final Council hearing:  April 9, 2012

Hugh Taylor on the council staff noted the procedure for this road closure. This will affect 180^th Street East in the Frederickson are from 47^th Avenue to 50^th Avenue. Hardie Lumber has proposed this road be closed and already had Heath & Associates conduct an impact study which has been transmitted to the County Traffic Engineer. The engineer has not completed his review. Hardie wants to expand this business across the street without having to cross traffic.

There is a proposed plat on the Randall gravel pit along 176^th Street that includes and easement to extend 50^th Avenue East all the way to 176^th. Mind you, this extension of 50^th Avenue is proposed and not a reality at this time.

A road vacation/closure is not required to pass through the local Land Use Advisory Committee (LUAC) or the Planning Commission. It passes from the county engineer to the County Council for action.
The County Council Economic and Infrastructure Development Committee had a hearing at 9:30 a.m. March 26 on this issue.

If you live in Frederickson, particularly near 180^th, you need to call your council. Councilmember Jim McCune, the local councilman, proposed this closure. If you know other council members, you might try calling them too. It takes 5 to pass this. Call the others as well with your opinion.

180^th Street turns and becomes 52^nd Ave. which is where the old general store and post office called Salcich Junction operated. The building is still there being used as a residence.

In the 1960’s Shady Acres Airport tried to close a portion of 208^th Street East for use of a runway and failed. The neighbors rallied and won to keep the road open. It will take community involvement to make this work for everyone, not just the lumber company. Get involved if you use this road and make this work for you too.

FCCCC Update

February meetings you might want to attend:
Feb 6th:  Events Committee - 3:30 PM @ Ricky J's Restaurant
Feb 16th:  FCCCC Meeting - 9AM - Christ Community Baptist Church - 8016 176th St. E.
Feb 18th:  Cross Park - Annual Meeting - 7PM - Central Pierce Fire and Rescue - 176th & 22nd Ave E
Feb 19th:  Frederickson Business Connections Breakfast - 8AM - Ricky J's Restaurant

FRIENDS OF STAN & JOAN CROSS PARK:

The Cross Park Group will hold another Spaghetti Feed on May 31^st at Clover Creek Elementary School. The meetings for Jan & Feb will be held at the Central Pierce Fire & Rescue on the 3^rd Mondays of each month. The meeting time is 7PM. In March, the meetings will be back at the Pierce County Skills Center on Canyon Road.

LAND USE ADVISORY COMMISSION:

The next item for the commission will be a joint meeting  to be held on March 5^th for all Presidents and Vice Presidents of the various LUAC’s to meet with Pierce County Planning to go over all of the new proposed changes to the counties land use plan. The county has an online permit system for those seeking permits. Tracking and email alerts are also available for both the applicant and the general public.

  

EVENTS COMMITTEE:

The Events Committee is meeting about every other week. Most meetings are held at Ricky J's Restaurant. Look at our web site for future meeting times. Three community events are scheduled this year -- the Eggstravaganza, Family Movie Night, and Freddie Fest. The Events Committee Chair is Kate Lowry, owner of Ricky J’s. Mike Goodell is the co-chair of the Events Committee. The Events Committee really will need more help when it comes to the Freddie Fest Event so we encourage those who may want to volunteer to help for a couple of hours to reach out to them. We need more businesses to partner with us to make each event a success for the community. 

POSSIBLE FUTURE AQUATIC CENTER VIA THE BETHEL SCHOOL DISTRICT: The Bethel School District is considering building an Olympic-size swimming pool complex. The district apparently has about $7 Million in a fund that could be used to help finance a pool complex estimated to cost nearly $15 million. The proposed site of the pool would be on the same seven acre site as the new Bethel Learning Center on 38^th Ave E. across from Bethel Middle School. The 723 Group (Spanaway) and the FCCCC are supporting the pool and have each submitted letters of support to the school board at their last meeting.

Snow falls in Frederickson

Snow fell on Monday afternoon in the Frederickson area and continued overnight, giving this winter season somewhat of an official kickoff.


Snow on a local street in Frederickson

On Sunday, the threat of high winds and heavy precipitation caused the Pierce County Emergency Operations Center (EOC) to increase staffing preparedness levels to Level 2 (basic staffing), but just before 9 a.m. on Monday morning with only minimal damage reported, sporadic power outages and several roads closed in the County, the EOC returned to Level 1 operations as the high winds started to die down.  Level 1 means the duty officer will continue to monitor the situation.

Icy roads greeted drivers during the evening commute, but few major issues were found as drivers smartly slowed down and were cautious.  Emergency management officials had snow plows and salt trucks on the major thoroughfares early.

Many Frederickson residents awoke to a winter wonderland on Tuesday and children welcomed the news that more than a dozen schools would either be closed or on a two-hour delay.  Bethel School District reported that there would be no half-day kindergarten programs, no preschool, ECEAP, or Head Start.  All were cancelled, including all late start and early release programs.  There would also be no out-of-district transportation.  Morning classes at the Pierce County Skills Center were also canceled and there would be no Challenge program and no transportation for Challenger Secondary School. 

Around 9:15 a.m on Tuesday., Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) reported that winter driving conditions had forced the closure of the ramp from southbound I-5 to I-705, or exit 133, in Tacoma.  The ramp from northbound SR 7 Extension to northbound I-705 is also closed after two school buses that were involved in a collision at the intersection.  Emergency responders were on the scene to help guide traffic. 

The early morning snow and slush led to dozens of accidents around western Washington.  The driver of a van had trouble on the new flyover ramp from State Route 18 to I-5 in Federal Way. The van ended up sideways on the ramp, but avoided colliding with other vehicles.  The Washington State Patrol reported over two dozen collisions in Pierce and Thurston counties alone.  A Kennewick man was killed in a collision with a truck in snow and slush on Interstate 90 Monday night eight miles east of Cle Elum.  The Washington State Patrol says 38-year-old Cristoval Martinez lost control of his car and rear-ended a semi-truck. 

Van spins out on SR 18, near I-5.

Areas of Snohomish County, east King County and south of Puget Sound were hardest hit by the overnight snow.  Snow flurries continued to fall on Tuesday morning, leading to growing concerns of more icy roads, increased tree damage, and possible power outages.  Pierce Transit began using snow routes for their buses as well, cautioning riders that “service on all routes may be running much slower than usual.”
  

King 5 weather forecaster, Keisha Burns, says snow showers will continue through Monday afternoon, with a few spots seeing possible light accumulations this morning, but widespread accumulations are not expected.  In fact, showers will be decreasing later today as the upper level trough responsible for the inclement weather tracks off to the east.  Burns says to expect high temperatures to struggle into the upper 30's.  Meanwhile, wind will be on the increase tonight with a threat of snow showers.  Low temperatures will fall into the 30s.

Bus near the University of Washington-Tacoma.

Burns states further that as a warm front approaches on Wednesday, the presence of cold air near the ground could cause precipitation to begin as snow or a mix of snow and rain.  Warm air moves in pretty quickly, therefore most areas should not see much if any accumulation.  The exception is the Hood Canal area, where a few inches could fall before snow changes to rain later in the morning.  High temperatures will be in the upper 30's to near 40.  From Thursday onward, more rain is possible, but the snow levels will retreat upward.  Expect high temperatures mostly in the low 40's.

Around Town: Road work and new businesses

Road construction seems to be all around town if you live or work in Frederickson.  The various street upgrades are each in different stages, but should wrap up by mid-December as wintery weather begins to roll in.


Utillity work at 176th St and 22nd Ave

Currently, there are three different road projects affecting the Frederickson area , with the largest being the widening of 176^th St from Waller Road to 14^th Ave.  The widening on 176^th St is part of the continuing project to create a thoroughfare from Meridian Ave to Pacific Ave, and eventually connecting to the controversial Cross-Base Highway.

On Wednesday, Nov 28, Totem Electric of Tacoma began moving the lines and changing out the traffic lights at the 22^nd Ave intersection to set up lighting during construction.  Other utility companies are working in the area also during what is called the “utility window” prior to road destruction and paving expected to take place in the Spring of 2013.

The traffic light change, accompanied by moderate rain, slowed travelers a little as flaggers motioned for cars to lower their speeds, but didn’t stop utility workers from making the necessary moves.

There will be a single weekend road closure of the intersection at 176th St and 22nd Ave to allow the contractor, Tucci and Sons, to widen, re-grade and pave the entire intersection at once. Dates for the weekend road closure have not yet been determined, but detour routes during the road closure will be posted and the public notified in advance.


Rain did not stop workers near 22nd Ave

The second area of road work is also along 22^nd Ave, from 184^th St to 187^th St.  The road is being torn up and repaved, leaving an unfinished road for commuters on this stretch of road. 

The construction is being done for Lennar Northwest Inc. to update access to the new Brink Ranch development.  The project will be adding a center turn lane at the site to assist with the traffic flow.  There will also be curbs, gutters and sidewalk along 22nd Ave at the site.

Ryan McGowan, a spokesperson for Lennar Northwest, told the Pierce Prairie Post the target date for completion is December 11, but with the potential for weather delays could be as late as December 15.

22^nd Ave is has become a heavily traveled north-south corridor in the past few years and is the western boundary of Frederickson and part of the eastern boundary of Spanaway.  

Work being done near Boeing entrance

A third stretch of construction is near the entrance of the Boeing Wing Plant on Canyon Road, just south of railroad tracks that cross 176^th St.  Utility work is being done, plus curbs and sidewalks are being added in a continuation of Canyon Road’s march southward.  Little disruption to traffic has been seen due to Canyon being a four-lane road with a center turn lane.

Utility work looks to have completed at the updated 196^th St/Canyon Road intersection for the entrance to the newly built 400,000 square-foot Carlisle Construction plant inside Randles Business Park.  The Carlisle facility is dubbed an “insulation super plant” in the company’s newsletter that states the facility will manufacture Polyisocyanurate (Polyiso), Expanded Polystyrene (EPS) and Structural Insulated Panels (SIPs) and “will be unlike any other in the roofing and construction industries.”

The roofing and wall insulation company will transfer its headquarters for the Insulfoam EPS brand of insulation to the Frederickson plant from Tacoma in the first quarter of 2013.  Additional features of the facility include 13 shipping bays, three conference rooms and a fully functional training room where Carlisle’s customers can receive up-to-date training on every Carlisle product.