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Newspaper Archive of
Shelton Mason County Journal
Shelton, Washington
June 14, 2007     Shelton Mason County Journal
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June 14, 2007
 
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I ;0 I I A family tradition Sean Brehmeyer gives a lift to Gage Bane moments be- fore graduation ceremonies begin at Mary M. Knight School in Matlock. Sean's graduation ends his fam- fly's 74-year winning streak. A member of the Breh- aeyer clan has attended every year at MMK since 1933. There's more about the graduation of eight se- niors there on page 20. Unemployment | tdown in Mason pltP )loyment in Mason Coun- i84 a bit in May, according State labor economists. The Washington State Depart- o# of Employment Security re- that approximately 23,900 , Ple here had jobs last month d approximately 1,280 were un- I IF'aPloyed. |  State officials report that the IEi°°th"de t° l l00reak ground I ballfleld A groundbreaking ceremony at | new baseball field at South- |¢le School will be held there on r |turday, June 16. , ,, The Southside Booster Club wiiJ ld a bake sale from 10 a.m. to 2 ta., with an assortment of baked ds including cookies, pies, |'es and brownies. The ground- |'king event will be at 11 a.m. |, The baseball field will be con- |Icted over the summer and |:ileduled to be ready when school -7t| s in the fall: jobless rate was 5.2 percent last month, which is down from both the 5.5 percent rate in April and the 5.7 percent rate in May of last year. In the state as a whole the job- less rate inched up to 4.6 percent in May from April's rate of 4.4 per- cent, but the rate remains at his- toric lows. Washington employers added 6,400 nonlhrm jobs, and of- ficials said the uptick in the unem- ployment rate primarily reflects more people looking ibr work last month. There were increases in employ- ment for most industry sectors in May compared to the two previous months. The largest job gains in May were in professional and busi- ness services, with 1,900 new jobs; construction, up 1,200; wholesale trade, up 800; and education and health services, up 800 new jobs. Among major industry sectors, the largest decline was reported in in- formation, down 400. Since May of last year, 59,300 net new jobs were created in Wash- ington, and last month 3.2 million people were reported to be em- (Please turn to page 9.) SPOONER FARMS is back in SHELTON! STRAWBERRIES HERE NOW! For more information call Olympia 456-4554 Builders group says fees would affect affordability A public meeting Monday night about proposed school im- pact fees brought out more than 20 people in Shelton. Currently, school districts in Mason County are seeking to have Mason County and the City of Shelton adopt ordinances es- tablishing impact fees on new homes to help pay a portion of school costs. Developers would be charged such fees on a one-time basis to help increase capacity in schools to offset the effects of residential growth. Proposed impact fees by district per single-family unit include: Shelton, $3,553; North Mason, $2,528; Grapeview, $2,384; Pioneer, $2,369; Hood Canal, $2,122; and Southside, $730. Joan Zook, superintendent of the Shelton School District, ex- plained there are two funding scenarios - impact fees or miti- gation fees. IMPACT FEES, which would be incorporated into ordinances by the county and city and col- lected by those jurisdictions for the school districts, would enable districts to buy portable class- rooms and have them installed by the time additional students arrive. Growth helps pay for growth, under that scenario, she said. Mitigation fees would affect de- velopments of five or more units in most areas and 10 or more in the Shelton School District and would be negotiated between developers and a school district. Unlike impact fees, no money would be available for hous- ing new students when needed. School districts would have to rely on bond measures and there would be a three- to five-year lag between when a bond measure is approved by voters and when new classrooms are completed. Under the mitigation scenario, current homeowners would pay for most of the cost of growth. Will Stakelin of the Olympia Master Builders said while the organization supports schools and education, it is concerned about the fhirness of impact fees. The responsibility for funding education really lies upon the state, he added. Ultimately, the cost of impact fees will be passed on to the ho- meowner and will increase the cost of housing, Stakelin said. The building industry feels im- pact fees are a regressive tax. The fees won't slow growth, but some people won't be able to af- ford houses as a result, he said. MONEY COLLECTED from impact fees does not go into a school district's general fund, Zook said. It would be used to build new classrooms. There were other comments from attendees and, aler two hours, the consensus of city and county staff members was there needs to be more diah)gue and public meetings. Allyn rules now in place It's been about five years in the making, but the Mason County Zoning Code for the Allyn Urban Growth Area, or UGA, has final- ly passed muster. That's not to say it didn't pass without a final touchup or two - and there are still plans for more revisions - but during a public hearing on Tuesday the Mason County Commission voted unan- imously to authorize the zoning plan. "We are happy to at least get this adopted," said Jeff Carey, president of the Allyn Commu- nity Association and secretary of the Allyn Urban Growth Area Planning Committee of the asso- ciation. "At least the foundation now is laid for things for later." Several people spoke at the hearing, mostly in favor of ap- proving the zoning code, though some suggested additional changes. Rob Drexler, president of the Mason County Association of Realtors read a letter listing the association's recommenda- tions for Allyn development reg- ulations. WORK ON ALLYN'S UGA began in February 1997 with the commissioners adopting a com- pleted comprehensive plan last November. Work on the zoning component started in 2003 and an interim plan was adopted in July 2004. Some of the areas still need- ing to be addressed include the sign ordinance and streetscap- ing and landscaping regulations. The county provided some stan- dard regulations for these com- ponents, but they really didn't fit Allyn's specifications, explained Carey. Other matters still with room for improvement deal with views, particularly in the eastern third of the UGA, and parking in the business core, Carey added. One additional change the commis- (Please turn to page 9.) FULL SERVICE AUTO REPAIR Specializing in brakes, exhaust and custom work FREE ESTIMATES & FLUID CHECKS "Quality and Trust That's Hometowne Service" NO TIME LIKE THE PRESENT TO KEEP YOUR FUTURE ON TRACK. Now is the time to schedule your free portfolio rcvi('& r. (i:all .r visit h.lav. lemls Byrd www.edwardJones.com Mmber SIPC FInancla Advisor 1717 Olympic Hwy. N. Sbelton3NA 98584 360-432-896S CONGRATULATIONS TO THE CLASS OF 2007 Past memories Present moments Future accomplishments • Come in, we will gladly check and clean your jewelry for FREE. 1 st & Railroad, Suite 108 * Free Gift Wrapping Monday-Friday 10:00-5:30 /n-Store Professional Jewelry Repair 426-5811 * One year Interest Y'EE w/Pcquired Minimum Purt:ltace O.A.('. Saturday 10:00-2:00 Thursday, June 14, 2007 - Shelton-Mason County Journal - Page 3 I ;0 I I A family tradition Sean Brehmeyer gives a lift to Gage Bane moments be- fore graduation ceremonies begin at Mary M. Knight School in Matlock. Sean's graduation ends his fam- fly's 74-year winning streak. A member of the Breh- aeyer clan has attended every year at MMK since 1933. There's more about the graduation of eight se- niors there on page 20. Unemployment | tdown in Mason pltP )loyment in Mason Coun- i84 a bit in May, according State labor economists. The Washington State Depart- o# of Employment Security re- that approximately 23,900 , Ple here had jobs last month d approximately 1,280 were un- I IF'aPloyed. |  State officials report that the IEi°°th"de t° l l00reak ground I ballfleld A groundbreaking ceremony at | new baseball field at South- |¢le School will be held there on r |turday, June 16. , ,, The Southside Booster Club wiiJ ld a bake sale from 10 a.m. to 2 ta., with an assortment of baked ds including cookies, pies, |'es and brownies. The ground- |'king event will be at 11 a.m. |, The baseball field will be con- |Icted over the summer and |:ileduled to be ready when school -7t| s in the fall: jobless rate was 5.2 percent last month, which is down from both the 5.5 percent rate in April and the 5.7 percent rate in May of last year. In the state as a whole the job- less rate inched up to 4.6 percent in May from April's rate of 4.4 per- cent, but the rate remains at his- toric lows. Washington employers added 6,400 nonlhrm jobs, and of- ficials said the uptick in the unem- ployment rate primarily reflects more people looking ibr work last month. There were increases in employ- ment for most industry sectors in May compared to the two previous months. The largest job gains in May were in professional and busi- ness services, with 1,900 new jobs; construction, up 1,200; wholesale trade, up 800; and education and health services, up 800 new jobs. Among major industry sectors, the largest decline was reported in in- formation, down 400. Since May of last year, 59,300 net new jobs were created in Wash- ington, and last month 3.2 million people were reported to be em- (Please turn to page 9.) SPOONER FARMS is back in SHELTON! STRAWBERRIES HERE NOW! For more information call Olympia 456-4554 Builders group says fees would affect affordability A public meeting Monday night about proposed school im- pact fees brought out more than 20 people in Shelton. Currently, school districts in Mason County are seeking to have Mason County and the City of Shelton adopt ordinances es- tablishing impact fees on new homes to help pay a portion of school costs. Developers would be charged such fees on a one-time basis to help increase capacity in schools to offset the effects of residential growth. Proposed impact fees by district per single-family unit include: Shelton, $3,553; North Mason, $2,528; Grapeview, $2,384; Pioneer, $2,369; Hood Canal, $2,122; and Southside, $730. Joan Zook, superintendent of the Shelton School District, ex- plained there are two funding scenarios - impact fees or miti- gation fees. IMPACT FEES, which would be incorporated into ordinances by the county and city and col- lected by those jurisdictions for the school districts, would enable districts to buy portable class- rooms and have them installed by the time additional students arrive. Growth helps pay for growth, under that scenario, she said. Mitigation fees would affect de- velopments of five or more units in most areas and 10 or more in the Shelton School District and would be negotiated between developers and a school district. Unlike impact fees, no money would be available for hous- ing new students when needed. School districts would have to rely on bond measures and there would be a three- to five-year lag between when a bond measure is approved by voters and when new classrooms are completed. Under the mitigation scenario, current homeowners would pay for most of the cost of growth. Will Stakelin of the Olympia Master Builders said while the organization supports schools and education, it is concerned about the fhirness of impact fees. The responsibility for funding education really lies upon the state, he added. Ultimately, the cost of impact fees will be passed on to the ho- meowner and will increase the cost of housing, Stakelin said. The building industry feels im- pact fees are a regressive tax. The fees won't slow growth, but some people won't be able to af- ford houses as a result, he said. MONEY COLLECTED from impact fees does not go into a school district's general fund, Zook said. It would be used to build new classrooms. There were other comments from attendees and, aler two hours, the consensus of city and county staff members was there needs to be more diah)gue and public meetings. Allyn rules now in place It's been about five years in the making, but the Mason County Zoning Code for the Allyn Urban Growth Area, or UGA, has final- ly passed muster. That's not to say it didn't pass without a final touchup or two - and there are still plans for more revisions - but during a public hearing on Tuesday the Mason County Commission voted unan- imously to authorize the zoning plan. "We are happy to at least get this adopted," said Jeff Carey, president of the Allyn Commu- nity Association and secretary of the Allyn Urban Growth Area Planning Committee of the asso- ciation. "At least the foundation now is laid for things for later." Several people spoke at the hearing, mostly in favor of ap- proving the zoning code, though some suggested additional changes. Rob Drexler, president of the Mason County Association of Realtors read a letter listing the association's recommenda- tions for Allyn development reg- ulations. WORK ON ALLYN'S UGA began in February 1997 with the commissioners adopting a com- pleted comprehensive plan last November. Work on the zoning component started in 2003 and an interim plan was adopted in July 2004. Some of the areas still need- ing to be addressed include the sign ordinance and streetscap- ing and landscaping regulations. The county provided some stan- dard regulations for these com- ponents, but they really didn't fit Allyn's specifications, explained Carey. Other matters still with room for improvement deal with views, particularly in the eastern third of the UGA, and parking in the business core, Carey added. One additional change the commis- (Please turn to page 9.) FULL SERVICE AUTO REPAIR Specializing in brakes, exhaust and custom work FREE ESTIMATES & FLUID CHECKS "Quality and Trust That's Hometowne Service" NO TIME LIKE THE PRESENT TO KEEP YOUR FUTURE ON TRACK. Now is the time to schedule your free portfolio rcvi('& r. (i:all .r visit h.lav. lemls Byrd www.edwardJones.com Mmber SIPC FInancla Advisor 1717 Olympic Hwy. N. Sbelton3NA 98584 360-432-896S CONGRATULATIONS TO THE CLASS OF 2007 Past memories Present moments Future accomplishments • Come in, we will gladly check and clean your jewelry for FREE. 1 st & Railroad, Suite 108 * Free Gift Wrapping Monday-Friday 10:00-5:30 /n-Store Professional Jewelry Repair 426-5811 * One year Interest Y'EE w/Pcquired Minimum Purt:ltace O.A.('. Saturday 10:00-2:00 Thursday, June 14, 2007 - Shelton-Mason County Journal - Page 3