Community Development Building, Planning, Parks and Recreation

Volume V, Issue 12 — December 5, 2014

Emil Pierson, Director, Community Development

Norman Vincent Peale wrote: “Christmas waves a magic wand over this world, and behold, every-thing is softer and more beautiful”.

In 2011, the City started a new tra-dition: for two weekends in Borst

Park you can see the park in lights with a drive-thru Christmas dis-play. This year will mark the 4th anniversary of the Borst Park Christmas lighting display. Dates have been extended—you can enjoy this display December 13th through the 28th—every day! What a great tradition that has been started!!

This will be the fourth year I have brought my family to view the lights. We have started a new tra-dition coming to see the new light displays and reading the holiday greetings from the local business-es. New light displays are added by sponsors (families or business-es) or by proceeds from the previ-ous years’ donations after all of the expenses are paid.

This year will be a real treat be-cause we are seeing a number of new business sponsors and many new lighting displays, including a Sea Monster!

Start your own tradition and come enjoy the 4th annual Borst Park Drive-Thru Christmas Lights. There is a small fee of $3 fee per car or a can of food or a toy and $2 per car. Patrons can drive through Borst Park in their heated car and enjoy the beautifully light-ed displays and holiday greetings.

Mark Your

Calendar!

Park Board Meeting for Decem-ber has be been cancelled. Jan-uary’s meeting: Jan. 12, 2015 at

5:00 p.m.

Historic Preservation Meeting Monday, December 8, 2014 at

5:30 p.m.

City Council meeting Tuesday, December 9, 2014 at 7:00 p.m. ~

Council Chambers

Planning Commission Thurs.

December 11, 2014 at 6:00 p.m.

Borst Park Drive-thru Light Dis-play December 13 through De-

cember 28, 5:00—9:00 p.m.

“A Christmas Story” at the FOX

Theatre at 2:00 and 7:00 p.m.

5th Annual Downtown Lighted Tractor Parade Saturday, De-

cember 13th—6:00 p.m.

Agendas for all meetings are available on our website. And for more details on upcoming events, please check the calen-dar on our website:

www.cityofcentralia.com

Centralia College in the first snow of

the season!

Entries in 2013 Lighted Tractor Pa-

rade. 2014 Parade —Saturday Decem-

ber 13th at 6:00 pm Be sure to check out this new display on the shores of Borst Lake!

Historic Preservation

Commission

Summary of building permits issued

through November, 2014

9 for new single family residenc-es

5 for a Manufactured home in a park

1 for a Manufactured home on a city lot

46 for residential remodels

53 for commercial remodels

16 for new commercial buildings

7 for Accessory Bldgs.

11 for additions

82 reroofing permits

25 plumbing permits

12 sign permits

17 demolition permit

52 mechanical permits

21 Misc. Permits

34 Code Enforcement Actions

Total value for the permits that were issued through November, 2014 is: $8,257,370.00.

people or family on the door.

Lost key cover: If you lose your keys, change the locks immediate-ly.

If you're going away …

Neighbors: Either... Ask a trusted neighbor to help make the house look occupied: to call in every now and then, to turn the lights on and off, draw the curtains, collect the post etc.

Security measures: Or... Visible burglar alarms, exterior security lighting, indoor timer lighting switches and leaving the radio on will all help to give the impression that somebody is at home.

Deliveries: Cancel your newspa-pers, magazines, vegetable boxes and milk deliveries.

Rubbish bins: A home without rubbish shows burglars no-one is at home. Ask a neighbor to put rub-bish in your bin whilst you are away.

Car on driveway: Leave a car in your driveway while you are away.

One last check: Don't forget to lock everything and set your bur-glar alarm before you go away!

Holiday Home Safety Tips...

Celebrate the Season!

The Historic Preservation Commission will be holding its regular meeting on December 8

th. On this month’s agenda

are:

Borst Park Christmas Lights-December 28

th 4 to

9PM. This is being done to give the HPC an opportuni-ty to promote preservation efforts of the Fort Borst Blockhouse.

Discussion with the Com-mission about a breakfast or spaghetti feed to benefit the Fort Borst Blockhouse restoration.

Discussion of action items for next year.

At the HPC meeting in Novem-ber the Commission unani-mously voted to recommend placement of the Wilson Hotel and Annex and the Centralia Square on the Centralia Reg-ister of Historic Places. On No-vember 25

th the Council ap-

proved both of these resolu-tions.

Doors and windows: Lock all doors and windows, leave a light on and draw the curtains if you go out after dark. Keep your doors and win-dows locked from the inside even when you are inside your home.

Alarm wiring: For the most effec-tive alarm system, check that all wiring is fully concealed. A burglar could look for places to disconnect the security system.

Outbuildings: Don't leave spare keys outside or in a garage or shed. Keep garden sheds and garages locked at all times.

Fire guard: Have a spark proof guard in front of all open fires.

Smoke detectors: Make sure your smoke detectors are working cor-rectly. 1 in 3 smoke alarms fail to work mainly due to missing or dead batteries.

Burglar alarm: If you have a faulty alarm that frequently goes off, get it fixed immediately and tell your neighbors that it's been repaired. 25% of people ignore an alarm that goes off regularly!

Messages: Don't leave "I'm out" or "Back in 5 mins" notes for service

Planning Division Report ~ Tammy Baraconi

Boundary Line Adjustments

1225 Ham Hill Rd: The applicant

is purchasing 31,000 square feet

from an adjoining parcel. It is go-

ing through staff review.

159 Sandy Blvd: The applicant is

reshaping adjacent parcels. It is

going through staff review.

Critical Areas Review

None at this time.

Planned Unit Development

Parkins Landing: 1500 N. Pearl.

The applicant is applying for a

28 unit apartment complex. This

project will be presented to the

Site Plan Review Committee

and the Planning Commission in

January 2015.

Short Plats

Stillwaters: 0 Stillwaters Ave. A

three lot short plat.

Non-Permit Related Projects

Hazard Mitigation Grant 2008—

$1.7 M grant to elevate 28

homes ongoing.

Hazard Mitigation Grant 2009—

$500,000 for property acquisi-

tion—ongoing.

Shoreline Master Plan update. We

are currently at the beginning of a

three year process that will in-

clude the State and Lewis County

to update Centralia’s outdated

shoreline master plan.

In the pipeline—Mellen Street

Gateway zoning and updates to

RV and Motorhome zoning regula-

tions.

Borst Home Christmas Open House Saturday, Dec. 13, 2014

1:30—3:30 p.m. This will be the last open house until April, 2015—

Don’t miss it!

City Hall will be closed on: Thursday, December 25 2014 and Thursday, January 1, 2015

2015 Goals for Borst Home Site

The Borst Home Advisory Committee held their annual meeting on Friday, November 14th. Members met to discuss his year’s accom-plishments and to plan for next year’s goals.

We held many special tours for schools and various groups this pas year, including a group of 60 students and staff from The Evergreen State College.

Move and repair the Borst Block House;

Update wiring to the site; redo drains around buildings

Add a handrail to the stairs on the porch where people enter;

Add additional lighting to Carriage House – input requested;

Have more volunteers in costume during tours;

Have some costume items available for children to try on when they are there;

Have more reenactment events;

Contact local schools and/or Centralia College to solicit younger vol-unteers;

Make presentations to local schools;

Solicit more donations for the Carriage House Museum

Solicit donations for the restoration of the Fort Borst Block House

Parks and Recreation ~ Julie Liseth

Boys and Girls Saturday Bas-ketball programs for kids 3rd grade and older started up in November with several funda-mentals clinic sessions. In all, 163 kids will play on 26 teams across the age and gender divi-sions, with their league seasons starting December 6 and run-ning through January.

Sixty youngsters ran for poultry prizes at the annual Turkey Trot, held in Borst Park on the Sunday prior to Thanksgiving.

After the run, participants en-joyed hot chocolate and donuts during the awards presenta-tion. Each age and gender cat-egories were awarded turkeys for first, chickens for second and game hens for third place finishers, with candy and rib-bons for all.

The holiday season in Centralia kicked off with the Tree Lighting Ceremony, held at Washington Park on Friday, November 28. New lights were placed on the tree this year, making it es-pecially bright and beautiful when the tree, along with other park lights were turned on.

Park patrons enjoyed coffee and hot chocolate provided by Santa Lucia Coffee, as well as cookies and hot cider provided by the City of Centralia while listening to the holiday musical entertainment. Santa arrived on a fire truck, greeted the crowd, then headed over to the Fox Theatre, where children were invited to visit with him.

A Breakfast with Santa was also held the following morning at

the depot multipurpose room.

Nine teams are participating in City League Basketball this year. This adult basketball league will start its season on Sunday, December 7 and will run through mid-March.

The first planning meeting for

4th Annual Lighted Tractor Parade

December 13th 2914 at 6:00 p.m.

Two of our new light displays!

the 2015 Arts Jamboree was held on December 3.

Other upcoming events and ac-tivities in December include the Drive-Through Light Display at Borst Park, and registration for K-3rd grade basketball pro-grams.

Mark your Calendars!

Photos above courtesy of The Chronicle

Jeff LeDuc, Parks Tech-

nician and Santa’s Help-

er, strings the lights on

the Centralia Downtown

Association’s tree in

Washington Park. The

Tree Lighting Ceremony

was held Friday, No-

vember 28th. Check it

out!