City of Hoquiam

City of Hoquiam
M A Y O R ’ S M E S S A G E
Healthy Hoquiam
recreational opportunities
Warmer weather is finally
here and I am
pleased to let you know
that there are several
opportunities for outdoor
recreation here in
Hometown Hoquiam.
For those who like to walk, jog or
bike, we have lots of scenic areas to
enjoy throughout the City. Options
include the new interpretive walking
trails in Elton Bennett Park, the two
mile boardwalk at Bowerman Basin, the
one mile waterfront trail at the mouth
of the Hoquiam River near the Train
Depot, the two mile Hoquiam River
Walk between the two bridges and the
hillside trails above the Polson Museum.
Throughout the City, you likely have
noticed miles of new sidewalks that
have been constructed over the last
year. The City has been replacing sidewalks
to improve pedestrian safety and
to encourage individuals and families to
get exercise everyday. While this project
was long overdue and will take
many more years to finish, we are
making significant strides to build a
walkable community.
Earlier this year, the Grays Harbor
Health Department published disturbing
statistics about the health of our citizens
in Grays Harbor. At the City, we
are committed to promoting Healthy
Hoquiam by giving citizens opportunities
to increase their physical activities
and establishing habits towards being
active for life.
For those who enjoy exercise
through gardening, the Hoquiam Community
Garden still has a few openings
left. If you are interested in planting
flowers, fruits or vegetables, please
contact Tracy Wood at 637-6040 to
purchase your plot today. The garden
not only provides a great opportunity
for physical activity, but it‟s a great
place to meet your friends and neighbors.
If boating or being on the water is
your favorite form of outdoor enjoyment,
Hoquiam has three boat
launches that provide recreational
access for kayakers, boaters, or fisherman.
The boat launches are located
on Endresen, Levee and 28 th
Streets.
For our children and youth, the
City will again have the summer parks
and recreation program at Art Pocklington
Central Play Park starting in
June. Please see our website
www.cityofhoquiam.com or contact
Tracy Wood about the specific programs
available for children. In addition
to these recreation programs, the
City is installing new playground
equipment at John Gable Park and
Ritchie Park this summer.
If you have ideas or suggestions
on how to make Hoquiam a healthier
place to live, please let us know. We
welcome your feedback.
Editors: Alissa Thurman and Tracy Wood
INSIDE THIS ISSUE:
Newsletter
May 2010
City employees are shown utilizing their lunch break to do the two mile “Hoquiam Riverwalk”
as part of the Wellness program. Local employees and citizens are encouraged to
join the staff on their walk, which takes place every Wednesday at noon.
Mayor‟s Message 1
Music Shows in Hoquiam 2
Downtown Historic Preservation Plan 2
City Announcements 3
Water Use Efficiency 3
Make it Happen in Hoquiam 4

Page 2
Major Music Shows Rock Hoquiam
Downtown Historic Preservation Plan
Do you like Country Music? How about Classic Rock and
Roll? Do you enjoy Blue Grass? What about local rock and
roll bands? If any of these styles or genres of music excite
you, we have an event for you right here in Hometown
Hoquiam.
Country music recording star Tracy Lawrence who has
eight number one singles, including “Find Out Who Your
Friends Are,” is performing at the 7 th Street Theatre on May
29 th . Tickets are available at brownpapertickets.com. Also
performing that weekend at the 7 th Street Theatre on May
27th and 28 th are 10 local bands competing for the grand
prize of $1,000 and the opportunity to play on the center
stage at the Satsop River Rock Festival on July 31 st at Olympic
Stadium. The Satsop River Rock Festival features Wishbone
Ash, Eric Burdon, a tribute to Jimmy Hendrix, a tribute
to the Doors and other local bands. Tickets are on sale
now at satsopriverrockfestival.com. In addition to all the
great music, the Satsop River Rock Festival includes a local
barbecue competition, food vendors and other family activities.
For information about the Battle of the Bands or the
Satsop River Rock Festival, please visit their website above.
The City of Hoquiam‟s annual Bluegrass Festival is slated
for August 20-22 at Olympic Stadium. This is a great outdoor
weekend event for the whole family to enjoy. Food
concessions are available as well as dry camping for those
wishing to come for the weekend in their RV‟s. For more
i n f o r m a t i o n p l e a s e s e e o u r w e b s i t e a t
www.cityofhoquiam.com.
Each year the Department of Archaeology and Historic
Preservation makes grant funds available to communities
who are a Certified Local Government. A Certified
Local Government is certified by the National Parks Service
and has its own historic preservation ordinance,
maintains a local register of historic places, and has a
Commission that is qualified to review applications. The
City of Hoquiam received Certified Local Government status
in 2007.
Last year the City applied for grant funding to hire a
consultant to prepare a “Downtown Historic Preservation
Plan.” The goal of this plan would be to determine the
boundaries of a potential historic district downtown, and
to set preservation goals for our community. We succeeded
in obtaining the grant and have hired BOLA Architecture
and Planning to conduct the study for us.
There are several benefits to designating a historic
district, including floodplain exemptions, property tax
incentives, and federal tax incentives. There is also the
potential for increased heritage tourism to our downtown.
As we move forward we are interested in hearing
from property owners, business owners, and members of
the community to gain their feedback about this project.
If you have any questions or concerns about the potential
designation of a historic district in downtown please
contact City Planner Alissa Thurman at (360) 637-6011 or
athurman@cityofhoquiam.com.
From left: Wastewater Treatment
Plant Operator Al Gregory, USDA
Rural Development Community
Programs Director Peter McMillin,
USDA Community Programs Specialist
Debbie Harper, City Administrator
Brian Shay, Congressman
Norm Dicks and Mayor Jack Durney
pose for a photo by the City‟s
wastewater treatment biosolid
lagoon. The USDA is funding a
loan for the City to remove biosolids
from the aging lagoon and
modify it for today‟s needs. The $9
million loan was made possible
through Federal Stimulus Package
funding. Congressman Norm Dicks
also visited the Hoquiam River Rail
Bridge where he and the City of
Hoquiam are responsible for obtaining
$300,000 in funding from
the federal government in order to
repair the bridge that was damaged
during a winter storm which
will ensure that industrial property
west of the Hoquiam River has
continued access to rail.

Page 3
City Announcements
Zoning Ordinance and Comprehensive
Plan Amendments:
Last year the City of Hoquiam updated
the Comprehensive Land Use Plan which is
the guiding policy document for the zoning
code regulations. This year the Planning
Commission has been working on revising
the Title 10: Land Development to reflect
the policy changes that were made in the
Comprehensive Land Use Plan.
After extensive review and two public
hearings, the Planning Commission has
voted to recommend adoption of the ordinance
to the City Council. The City Council
will hold a public workshop to review the
zoning ordinance and amendments to the
Comprehensive Plan on May 24 th at 7:00
p.m. The public is invited to attend. A copy
of the draft ordinance and amendments to
the Comprehensive Plan can be found
online at www.cityofhoquiam.com/
planning.php.
Major League Baseball Returns to
Olympic Stadium
A West Coast League game between
the Kelowna Falcons and the Kitsap Blue-
Jackets will take place on July 21st at 6
p.m. in historic Olympic Stadium in
Hoquiam, WA. All proceeds will be donated
to the late Ken Waite‟s two concerns - cancer
and Grays Harbor Community College.
“Baseball and education both will bring
great desires and determination out of us,
if we let them. Baseball and education is a
volunteered choice, cancer is not.
How can we not help?” said BlueJackets
Assistant GM Bill Anderson.
Proceeds from the event will be split
equally between the Non Hodgkin Lymphoma
charity Ken's family is supporting
through the Seattle Cancer Care
Alliance (http://www.seattlecca.org/)
and the Grays Harbor College Athletic
Department. Tickets for the event are
$5 and are now available at Grays Harbor
College, Aberdeen Parks and Rec,
City of Hoquiam, Harbor Drug, Rosevear‟s,
Coffee Bean Café and Popcorn
Factory and Stitches.
Further information about former
AHS Baseball Coach Ken Waite can be
found at the following website: http://
topshelfken.blogspot.com/.
The BlueJackets, in the Western
Division of the West Coast League, will
open up their 2010 season by hosting
the Corvallis Knights on June 4th at the
Kitsap Fairgrounds.
Are You Ready for Some
Football?
The Grays Harbor Bearcats Football
Team kick off their 2010 home schedule
with a game on June 5 th at Olympic
Stadium. The Bearcats are proud to
announce that they have partnered with
the United Way for the upcoming 2010
season. This season, the Bearcats will
be hosting several pre-game festivities
before all games including concerts,
cage fighting, the new Bearcats Marching
Band and prize giveaways, with a
portion of the proceeds benefiting the
United Way of Grays Harbor.
The Bearcats have partnered with
TicketsWest for both regular game and
season ticket sales. Regular season tickets
are $25 which gets you into all the
games, pre-season home games, half off
to all away games and admission to home
playoff games. Premier season tickets
are $40 and get you all of the above but
also gives you access to all pre-game
events hosted by United Way for all home
games and reserved seating. At the gate
ticket prices are $10 for general admission
and pre-game festivities access and
$15 for reserved seating and pre-game
festivities access. Free admission is available
for fans 12 and under and over 65!
Other regular season home games are
scheduled for June 19 th , June 26 th , July
24 th and August 14 th .
Did you know?
Persons who are Medicaid eligible and
who reside in a nursing facility, boarding
home, adult family home, or receive inhome
services are eligible for an exemption
in the Ambulance Utility Rate. If you
meet the criteria above, and see Ambulance
reflected on your utility bill or for
more information, please call (360) 637-
6022.
Community Garden
Get your garden plot now! Contact Tracy
Wood at 637-6040 to reserve your plot
and grow your own fruits and vegetables!
Water Use Efficiency Report
By Brian Shay, City Administrator
In 2003, the State Legislature adopted
the Municipal Water Law to address
the increasing demand on the state‟s
water resources. Through this law, the
Washington State Department of Health
established water use efficiency rules
and regulations related to all municipal
water systems that protect the state‟s
long term water supply. Within these
rules, the City of Hoquiam and all cities
are required to meter their water and
ensure that no more than 10% of
the water we collect from our drinking
water source is lost through water leaks
or unmetered water.
Over the last year, the City has
made a concerted effort to identify and
repair leaks in our water system. We
are happy to report to you, our customers
and the Department of Health that
over the past year, we were able to
meet the 10% requirement as our losses
totaled 9.7% of the 356,620,000
gallons we produced at the water treat-
ment plant. Two years ago, our losses
were 16% and we had hoped to achieve
the 10% standard by 2015, but have
already reached that milestone. Thanks
to our water efficiency efforts, our water
production for 2009 was down by
10,000,000 gallons compared to 2007.
For more information about the City‟s
water use efficiency plan or water system
improvements, please contact Public
Works Director Brian Shay at
bshay@cityofhoquiam.com.
Visit us on our website at www.cityofhoquiam.com
… and find us on facebook and Twitter too!

Do you want to „Make it Happen‟ in Hoquiam?
If you want to „Make it
Happen‟ in Hoquiam, please
attend one of the “Town
Hall” meetings scheduled in
your neighborhood during
June to share your thoughts,
ideas and feedback. The
City of Hoquiam has been
committed to meeting the
needs of our citizens since
the Hometown Hoquiam Project
which began in 2004.
To that end, we started
the residential sidewalk program,
invested significantly
to improve our water and
sewer infrastructure, established
Crime Watch and
community policing, increased
our abatement and
safe housing efforts, became
a Tree City USA, and focused
our community and economic
development efforts. We
are pleased with our success
to date and strive to continue
these efforts into the future
with your help and guidance.
All meetings are open to
the public and you are welcome
to attend any session
that meets your schedule,
regardless of location. The
meetings begin at 6 pm and
will be held at Lincoln School
on June 3rd, the YMCA
meeting room on June 7th,
and Central School on June
8th . This is your chance to
be a part of “Making It Happen
in Hoquiam.”
We have a new phone system and our numbers
have changed!
You may still call the direct line at City Hall (532-5700), but
your call will be answered directly by an operator. To directly
dial a department please use the following:
Brian Shay, City Administrator 637-6017
Mike Folkers, Finance Director 637-6022
Tracy Wood, Community Services 637-6040
Alissa Thurman, Planning 637-6011
Mark Davis, Code Enforcement 637-6013
Lon Howell, Building 637-6021
Bonnie Eisenhower, Municipal Court 637-6035
Robin Smith, Legal Department 637-6031
Al Telecky, Water Department 637-6036
Albert Watters, Street/Sewer Dept 637-6012
Julie Braaten, Business Licensing 637-6018
Angie Chapman, Utility Billing 637-6038
Darcy McCormick, Utility Billing 637-6033
Fire Department 637-6042
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