Lots to be thankful for in Gig Harbor this year

It’s that time of the year where people like to count their blessings.

Besides the obvious ones that come to mind for me when I think of Gig Harbor — mainly driving down Rosedale St. and the great view of the harbor every morning — I thought I’d chronicle a few that I believe the community has to be thankful for this year.

An end to the grocery store saga

My inbox (mainly concerning our Cheers and Jeers section) got flooded when the news came down that the Safeway in Uptown was going to transition to a Haggen store.

Calm down, folks! It wasn’t like they were going to bulldoze the store and put up a used car lot!

But I quickly found out folks here like their grocery choices — and prices, for that matter — and many felt offended when they couldn’t find exactly what they were looking for in the place on the shelf of the store where they were used to finding it. Things got a bit worse in the short-term when the QFC across the street announced it was going to close for several months as part of a rebranding effort. A double whammy!

Our story about a group of employees whose job status was going to be up in the air after Haggen announced it was going to close the store got more than 6,700 clicks on our website, making it one of the most read stories in the month of October.

There looks to be brighter days ahead, however, as Albertsons purchased the Haggen/Safeway store in Uptown, and it will revert back to the old Safeway store soon. City officials were so excited for citizens that they sent out a press release welcoming Safeway’s return within the hour that news broke of the acquisition.

And while those longing for Trader Joe’s to come to town will likely have to keep crossing the bridge for University Place in the foreseeable future, it is exciting that Town and Country Market will be breaking ground in Gig Harbor North next year.

A city that likes to vote

Coming into the election, my staff and I knew that the Michael Perrow vs. Jeni Woock race for a seat on the Gig Harbor City Council was going to be an interesting one. It didn’t disappoint.

There was even some great hype to it. I attended the Chamber Affairs Forum at Cottesmore of Life Center where Perrow and Woock hosted a debate. It was standing room only, and all eyes were focused on the candidates while they talked about the issues and took questions from the audience.

Woock, despite not having run for public office before, held her own. Perrow leaned on his previous experience on the council. It made for an entertaining and informative debate.

And citizens rallied for their candidates. It showed in the polls, where Perrow eked out a 23-vote victory.

Perhaps the best thing that came out of this election was that the city of Gig Harbor had 48.4 percent of ballots returned during this year’s election, a high number throughout Pierce County. Pierce County ranked 34th out of 39 counties in voter turnout, according to News Tribune columnist Matt Driscoll.

Countywide, only 34 percent of registered voters turned out. Gig Harbor stands out for its activism.

A community that seems open to change

One thing I discovered quickly after taking the helm of The Gateway nearly two years ago is that there are those in Gig Harbor who are thirsting for change and those who want things to stay the same.

Are we beginning to see folks coming together to find a happy medium?

I think so. There was so much debate — and bickering — about the future of the Waterfront Millville section of Harborview Drive and the zoning change that would allow for restaurants to come in.

Some residents don’t want it, others would love to see more places to eat along the waterfront.

At public hearings back in April, opinion was split right down the middle.

Potential redevelopment of the Peninsula Shopping Center has also been talked about. Developers hosted community meetings asking for feedback from residents about how they would feel about a possible mixed-use development going in.

At the end of two public forums, the developers said they felt good about the process. What they do with that feedback in the new year is still unanswered, but it looks like they feel confident going forward.

This story was originally published November 25, 2015 at 11:07 AM with the headline "Lots to be thankful for in Gig Harbor this year."