Vision

Imagine walking out your front door in 2020: what does Mukilteo look like? Are you able to walk safely down the Speedway to the waterfront, separated from car and bus traffic? Is the ferry terminal running from its new location on the former tank farm? What’s across the street from Ivar’s at the former ferry holding area? Farther south in the city, what do we see at the corner of 44th and 76th, known today as the Precht Property (and current home of the Mukilteo Community Garden)? Are there other new parks and trails in the City? If you’re traveling down to Picnic Point Beach, are you still inside the city limits? What kind of development has happened in the ten years since 2010 in those neighborhoods?
The City Council, Planning Commission and Parks and Arts Commission attempted to answer these questions at a Vision Workshop last Thursday. With the help of some talented consultants, we created the beginning of a vision for Mukilteo.
We began with some images created to illustrate the history of Mukilteo. This 4x8 foot illustration should be available soon for perusal: there are great details about important moments in our history! Some of my favorite details include the drawings of the treaty signing and the home of Fowler, one of Mukilteo’s founders, as well as the salmon smoker, brewery and cannery from Mukilteo in the 1870’s through 1920’s, and the images of today: our new City Hall, ranking among the best places to live, and the Sound Transit station on the waterfront!
As we discussed visions, priorities and ideas, we developed future priorities for the city.
Short term priorities (3-6 years) included:
--Create a sustainable Financial Policy in 2010 (Finance)
--Implement Trail Plan (Parks)
--Improve/preserve Infrastructure on an on-going basis (Transportation)
--Develop a Waterfront Master Plan (Transportation)
--Enhance and extend trails and promenade (Waterfront)
--Facilitate Parking & Ride for commuters with bus service (Transportation)
--Clarity on Annexation (Finance)
--Connect decision makers with citizens through technology (Finance)
--Adopt Precht Property Master Plan (Parks)
--Build pedestrian walkway (and bikepath) down SR 525 from 92nd Street Park to Waterfront (WF)

The illustrator supporting our work created some images to communicate these ideas. She’ll be finishing this (4x8 foot) drawing and delivering it to the City later. Great ideas that I liked include daylighting Japanese Gulch Creek so salmon can truly spawn there again, finding a home for a park and ride both for Mukilteo residents and ferry commuters, creating an intentional plan to support retail and commercial business centers in the City (our long geography means that we have several centers).
The final image from the night was the poster portrait of the team assembled to create this idea, featuring the things we love most about Mukilteo. I tip my hat to the great efforts from Mukilteo elected and appointed officials. Our City is lucky to have such smart, caring and dedicated people providing the guidance and vision for the City.
edited on June 15 for layout adjustments