The Mayor Visits KSER

Maybe he's the mayor that brings the weather extremes.

The last time Everett Mayor Ray Stephanson visited KSER, we were digging out from a January snow storm.  Friday he arrives and we're suffering through what people in the Northwest call a heat wave.

Mayor Stephanson getting ready for questions.

KSER's Ed Bremer interviewed the Mayor for a full hour Friday afternoon on Sound Living.

The Mayor said he is closely monitoring the plans to tear down the now closed Kimberly Clark plant on the Everett Waterfront and the plans to sell the land.

Mayor Stephanson said it is industrial zoned land with a deep-water port.  He wants to make sure the public has input on the plans to replace Kimberly Clark on the 66 acre waterfront property.  The Mayor told Ed that Kimberly Clark is hopeful the building can be torn down, the land cleaned and one developer will purchase the land. But it probably won't be that simple.

There will probably be several buyers and developers.  The mayor says so far the ground contaminants in the area are not greater than Kimberly Clark had projected and expected and he says that's very good news.

The City Planning Department will have a public workshop on the land and it's use next Tuesday. You can find more information here.

The Mayor says the opportunity to build and maintain fishing fleet ships at that site would be an attractive option.  He also thinks some aerospace assembly could be realistic.  But he wants to avoid uses that would lead to odor, smoke and noise but could still provide a significant number of jobs.

KSER's Ed Bremer talks with Mayor Stephanson

Mayor Stephanson said one thing he doesn't want the land used for is a ferry terminal.  He says such a use would lead to major traffic congestion with very little economic benefit. He's hopeful we can end up with land use that will lead to new jobs and public access of the land.

The Mayor says he's hopeful that over the next 6 months we'll get a clearer picture of how the land will ultimately be used.