Gig Harbor Mayor Chuck Hunter gave something of a State of the City speech Thursday morning.

“I think you know it’s my goal to maintain the character of Gig Harbor,” he told the audience at the Gig Harbor Chamber of Commerce’s weekly Public Affairs Forum at Cottesmore of Life Care.

Because development in the city is inevitable, Hunter has recommended the preparation and adoption of a “Downtown Historic Inventory and Characterization Report” to guide future planning within one of Gig Harbor’s most sensitive areas: the downtown View Basin.

Some of the highlights from Hunter’s address:

•  The city’s new maritime pier will be built over the footprint of the original pier that used to be there, Hunter stated. The new pier, which will be located at 3303 Harborview Dr., was named the “People’s Dock” by a Feb. 13 vote of the Gig Harbor City Council.

“This project should start in the spring,” Hunter reported.

•  Regarding the project to “daylight” a hidden stretch of Donkey Creek, restore the Austin Estuary and improve safety at a nearby intersection, Hunter described the frustration of attempting to comply with multiple-level government requirements on the project.

The Donkey Creek Daylighting and Roads Project includes obtaining 14 local, state and federal permits, he said.

“It’s a complex project to carry out,” Hunter noted. “It’s got a lot of moving parts.”

He said the next step is getting a more firm estimate of the project’s cost, adding he was hopeful work would start on the project in early fall.

•  Hunter praised the new Safeway grocery store on Point Fosdick Drive NW, which opened in December, as part of a planned complete shopping center makeover at Point Fosdick Square by Property Development Centers, a subsidiary company of Safeway.

A Kohl’s department store is currently under construction, Hunter said.

Kohl’s is tentatively set to open this fall.

As for possible tenants other than Kohl’s, Hunter described that as being “played close to the vest.”

•  Several sections of various roads are slated for asphalt and chip sealing, Hunter said, including portions of Burnham Drive, Peacock Hill, Borgen Boulevard, Canterwood Boulevard, Skansie Avenue and the Sunnybrae Subdivision.

City Finance Director David Rodenbach gave an update on Gig Harbor’s 2012 budget.

“We’re looking really good for 2012. We’re on solid footing,” he said. “We’re sitting pretty right now going into 2012.”

Gig Harbor’s relatively firm financial status is the result of budget tightening during the worst time of the still weak economy, Rodenbach said, explaining the city is conservative when it comes to estimated revenues and expenditures.

The city’s 2012 total budget is about $55 million, he said, a $15 million increase from the 2011 budget, mostly due to an increase in capital outlays of $8.7 million.

The city collected about $5 million in sales taxes last year, Rodenbach said, adding he expected that figure to stay the same for 2012, although he did note that if recent sales tax trends continue that would mean the city’s revenue from that source could be down 2 or 3 percent.

Gig Harbor Police Chief Mike Davis was on hand to talk briefly talk about matters pertaining to law enforcement.

“The thin blue line is still here,” he quipped.

Property crime is static, and violent crime is down, he said.

Davis gave an update on the city’s interlocal agreement with the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department and the state Department of Natural Resources to have the city’s police department be responsible for removing derelict or abandoned boats that have been anchored in Gig Harbor Bay for a long time.

The process of putting notices on vessels in violation of the derelict vessel law and having owners move their boats has been fairly smooth, Davis reported.

“It’s been a very successful program,” he said. “We’re very happy with it.”



Reporter Brett Davis can be reached at 253-853-9243 or by email at brett.davis@gateline.com. Follow him on Twitter, @gateway_brett.