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Taking pride in their city, one step at a time Local residents ‘AdoptA-Street’ and promise to keep it clean of litter
Lone ‘no’ vote still believes latecomers agreement is wrong way to go
By Brian Beckley Staff Writer
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Every quarter for more than eight years now, Jim Snyder has walked a mile up Locust Avenue and a mile back, picking up litter along the way. And sometimes the orange vest and hard hat confuse some of the drivers who pass him on his route. “One guy said, ‘What did you do wrong?’” Snyder said this past week with a smile growing across his face. Snyder told the man he hadn’t done anything wrong and was picking up litter as part of his civic duty. “He looked at me like I had two heads!” he said with a big laugh. Since 2005, Snyder has held the city’s first adopt-a-street contract on Locust Avenue, where he lives and runs Snyder’s Piano Service out of his home. “Since I live on Locust Avenue, I thought it was a good idea to pick up litter,” he said with a shrug, though he also admits to hoping to get a little advertising for his business. According to administrative specialist Christy McQuillen, who runs the Adopt-A-Street program for the city of Bonney Lake, there are 25 active contracts presently in the city, including Snyder’s who added a second route — along the outside
Council sets public hearing on Eastown ULA By Brian Beckley Staff Writer
Jim Snyder poses near his sign on Locust Avenue, holding in his picker the certificate of recognition he received from the city. Photo by Brian Beckley of Inlet Island — in October. She said Snyder, like most of the residents, business owners and service clubs that maintain the contracts, takes his responsibility seriously and told McQuillen the sign — and the cleanliness of the street — is a
reflection on him. “They’re conscious about their commitment and they’re conscious about the reflection on their name,” she said. McQuillen took over the pro-
See Adopt, Page 4
The Bonney Lake City Council on Tuesday took the next step toward putting pipes in the ground in Eastown by setting a public hearing on the proposed Utility Latecomers Agreement negotiated with a group of landowners in the area. The public hearing in the agreement, which calls for a 5 percent buy-in, or about $97,000 on the $2 million project, from the landowners is Randy McKibbin scheduled for 7 p.m. Jan. 22. The motion to pass the public hearing passed 6-1 with Councilman Randy McKibbin voting against the measure. McKibbin’s no vote came as something of a surprise since McKibbin, who was part of a block that voted against a larger ULA in July, has been working with Deputy Mayor Dan Swatman to bring the issue of sewers in Eastown back in front of the council. Reached for comment on Wednesday, McKibbin said he was still opposed to a ULA for the region because he thinks the cost to developers is still prohibitive. A ULA allows for a municipal-
See ULA, Page 4
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