Community

We’ll be following these stories in 2023

From construction projects to elections to sports, it looks like 2023 will be a busy year. Here are some of the stories we plan on following in this New Year.

PenMet 

It’s shaping up to be a big year for PenMet Parks. Among the projects we’ll be watching: 

The parks district will study the feasibility of two major projects: A senior center and a community aquatics center. Steering committees will help consultants study the two projects, with completed studies due to PenMet commissioners in late summer. The studies, however, don’t commit PenMet to doing anything. One option would be to identify community partners that could work with the park district on the projects. 

Sketch of PenMet Parks’ community recreation center looking from the north with the existing Performance Golf building in the background. Courtesy of PenMet Parks

The district will ramp up work on its Community Recreation Center, with Phase 1 expected to open early this year. Phase 1 includes renovating the existing building — the former Performance Golf Center — which will become PenMet headquarters and a multipurpose community space. Depending on permitting, work should begin this year on Phase 2. That includes a 58,300-square-foot building containing an indoor turfed field, three multipurpose gymnasium courts, an elevated track and more community space. PenMet expects the new building to open in the early part of 2024. 

Pierce County

Robyn Denson will begin her first year as the Pierce County Council member representing Gig Harbor, Purdy and the Key Peninsula. Denson, a Democrat, was elected Nov. 8, defeating Republican Paula Lonergan with nearly 58 percent of the vote. The former Gig Harbor City Council member succeeds Derek Young, the council chair who left office at the end of 2022 after two terms. 

Pierce County will add the Fox Island Bridge to its transportation improvement program and begin a $1.8 million Type, Size and Location study. The study won’t be finished until 2024, but work on it will begin this year. In 2022, the county public works department recommended replacing the aging bridge instead of refurbishing it. 

The Fox Island bridge is 68 years old and will need to be replaced or retrofitted.

State parks and highways 

The state will begin a renovation of Kopachuck State Park, but it won’t be everything planners hoped for. Work is expected to begin early this year and take about 12 months. Plans call for, among other things, a welcome center and lodge-like multipurpose building; an ADA-compliant picnic area, amphitheater, play area, parking and restrooms; and utility improvements. Work on the lower beach area of the park will be delayed due to funding issues. 

A Washington State Department of Transportation project that will build a bridge to replace a concrete culvert under Highway 302 is expected to begin this spring. The project will require closure of Highway 302 where it goes over Purdy Creek. Traffic will be diverted onto an improved Purdy Drive. Further upstream, state contractors will continue work on a similar fish passage project under Highway 16. That’s expected to continue through all of 2023. 

City of Gig Harbor 

Sports complex: It’ll be a big year for the Gig Harbor Sports Complex. Construction on Phase 1B of the project is expected to begin in summer. That phase includes bocce ball courts, pickleball courts, an event lawn, parking and more. Permitting for Phase 1A — that’s the sports fields — is expected to wrap up in June, with construction due to be finished by the end of 2024. The complex, a partnership of the city and the YMCA, will be located near the Y on Harbor Hill Drive. 

Short-term rentals: A city moratorium on new applications for short-term or vacation rentals is due to expire in March. The city council enacted the moratorium in September 2021 and issued six-month extensions in March and September 2022. 

The city lacks specific regulations for short-term rentals, which have become increasingly popular with both property owners and vacationers. Creating new regulations has proven challenging, with staff and elected officials grappling with definitions and recent court rulings. 

The council got a first look at draft regulations at a Dec. 15 study session. Discussions ran long, however, and the council opted to continue its consideration at a subsequent study session. 

Fireworks ban: A ban on sale or use of fireworks inside Gig Harbor city limits goes into effect this year ahead of the Fourth of July. 

The city council approved the ban last spring, but the ordinance required a yearlong waiting period. The narrow, 4-3 council majority that approved the ban cited fire hazard, risk to pets and wildlife, and other factors. 

Legislature 

The city of Gig Harbor’s legislative agenda for the 2023 session, which starts Jan. 9, includes: 

$2 million for the Sports Complex. The money would cover a portion of the $5.25 million Phase 1B. That phase would include pickleball courts, bocce ball courts, a playground, event lawn, performance stage, parking and picnic areas. 

$2.28 million from the transportation budget for Highway 16 in the Gig Harbor area. Projects would include adding a westbound Wollochet onramp right-turn lane ($830,000); adding an eastbound Wollochet offramp right-turn slip lane ($550,000); signalizing and metering the eastbound Burnham Drive approach to Borgen Boulevard in advance of the Burnham-Borgen westbound Highway 16 offramp ($500,000); and adding a northbound Pioneer Way right-turn lane at the Wollochet-westbound highway 16 onramp ($400,000). 

The city is asking the Legislature to relax rules restricting law enforcement pursuit of suspects; enact a “simple possession criminal offense statute” for possession of illegal drugs that incentivizes “treatment and accountability.” This last request is a response to the State vs. Blake court decision, which effectively legalized possession of drugs. 

Elections 

Three Gig Harbor City Council positions will be on the Nov. 7 ballot: Those occupied by Le Rodenberg, Mary Barber and the position being vacated by Denson. The council will select a replacement for Denson later this winter. Whomever the council picks will need to run in the fall if they want to keep the job. 

School levies 

The Peninsula School District will seek voter approval of two levies on the Feb. 14 ballot. 

The levies include: 

• A three-year Replacement Educational Programs and Operations Levy, which replaces a current levy due to expire at the end of this year. The levy rate is an estimated $1.13 per $1,000 of assessed property value. Proceeds are used to fund educators, nurses and counselors, and to supplement funding for activities like sports, arts, music and club. 
• A six-year Safety, Security and Technology Levy, which will cost an estimated $0.25 per $1,000 of assessed property value. The levy would provide enhanced safety, security and technology services. 

The district will host three meetings this month to provide more information on the levy. They are 6 p.m. Jan. 11 at the Peninsula School District office, 4015 62nd Ave.; 6 p.m. Jan. 18 via Zoom; and 6 p.m. Jan. 24 at Evergreen Elementary, 1632 Key Peninsula Hwy. in Lakebay. 

Fire training facility 

Gig Harbor Fire & Medic One expects to begin work this spring on projects funded by an $80 million bond approved by voters in August 2022. The first priority will be a new training center located on the district’s campus on Bujacich Road. GHFMO firefighters could be using the facility to conduct live-fire training as soon as 14 months after construction begins. Replacement of Station 51 and extensive renovation of other district stations is expected to begin in 2024, with work continuing into 2030. 

A rendering of Gig Harbor Fire and Medic One’s new training center. Gig Harbor Fire & Medic One

Business news 

We will monitor the situation with the Patterson family, whose Patterson’s Market farm stand was evicted from its longtime home on 38th Avenue at the end of 2022. The market operated in that location for decades and was a local landmark. News of the eviction brought offers of help and possible new locations, but as of the first of the year there was no word on what the future holds for the Pattersons. 

We will keep tabs on the future of the Peninsula Shopping Center on Judson Street. The commercial center appeared to be nearing a deal with a grocer to become its new anchor tenant last spring, but Town & Country Markets opted against moving forward in July. 

7 Seas Brewing should move back into its location at 2905 Harborview Dr. this fall. The local brewery moved out of the old building in September, with demolition beginning soon after. A new, 6,000-square-foot replacement building is under construction. In the meantime, 7 Seas is once again operating out of the building where it began, sharing space with Locust Cider at 3207 57th St. Ct. 

An artist’s rendering of the new 7 Seas building hangs in the current taproom.

Sports news 

Some stories sports reporter Dennis Browne will be watching in the next 12 months: 

Winter sports: The 9-1 Gig Harbor boys basketball team is a favorite for another South Sound Conference title and a state tournament contender for the second year in a row. The Tides, led by seniors Luke Browne and Will Landram, own a home winning streak that dates back to the 2020-’21 season. 

Spring sports: The spring season will bring a number of state title contenders, including Peninsula golfer Hailey Graf and Gig Harbor sprinter Ben Stevens. Peninsula senior Ali Kimball could be a contender for state fastpitch player of the year. She threw two perfect games as a pitcher and hit .520 with six homers last year for the Seahawks. 

Fall sports: Peninsula football, coming off a state playoff appearance, looks to win its eighth straight Fish Bowl over Gig Harbor. Both girls soccer teams return good talent from state tournament teams, while the Peninsula volleyball team will look to bring home a state volleyball trophy for the third consecutive year. 

Key dates

Feb. 14: Two Peninsula School District levy requests will be on the special election ballot. 

April 10-14: Peninsula School District spring break 

June 1: Opening day of the Gig Harbor Waterfront Farmers Market 

June 3-4: Maritime Gig Festival 

June 17: Peninsula and Gig Harbor High School graduation 

Nov. 7: General election. Several Gig Harbor City Council seats will be on the ballot.