Today, February 19, 2019 at the Pierce County Council meeting, Boojee Bowman, President of the Spanaway Historical Society, present the council with a $100 check, a map and a letter requesting the incorporation of the area known as Spanaway for incorporation as a city. Her presentation was followed by words of Marianne Lincoln, who was the primary sponsor of the incorporation of Spanaway 21 years ago.

After the presentation and the end of the meeting, which caught the entire council off guard, all the council members came  out to the audience and wished Boojee and Marianne luck. They were extremely supportive.

Pam Roach was the first and suggested helpful ideas to get the ball rolling.

Connie Ladenburg said, “It’s about time!”

Jim McCune shook both their hands and Amy Cruver whispered to Marianne, “I overheard you when I was at the copy machine. I recognized your voice and had to come in and see what you were up to.” Then they wished all the luck to Spanaway.

Doug Richardson reminisced about  incorporation and his initial city council position in the new Lakewood. He pointed out they contracted with the Pierce County Sheriff initially and inside the city they had three times the deputies that were on patrol outside the city.

You can see the presentation on video on the council meeting from the county web page.

spanaway2019   This is a link to the PDF Map, you can zoom in and see the parcels. The Political Action Committee has its own webpage here.

Boojee’s Address to the County Council

Howdy, my name Boojee Bowman, aka Barbara.  I am on my 3rd term as the President of the Spanaway Historical Society, which also manages our community Prairie House Museum. I extend my invitation to come for the free tours Wednesdays from 10-2, or by appointment.

My job is to save history of the prairie of Spanaway and surrounding areas.

The community of Spanaway has existed since the time of Fort Nisqually, when it was Spanueh Station of the Puget Sound Agricultural Company.  Former employees of the Hudson’s Bay Company and incoming settlers came to the area because of the expansive pastures of the Elk Plain and the plentiful waters in the lakes and streams.

It has become a struggle with the planning in our area and losing our sense of being.  More recently, citizens of Spanaway have been involved in years of community planning under the Growth Management Act. In spite of their toil and describing the lifestyle of the community, most of their community planning has been removed and our sense of history is being lost.

Spanaway is now part of a grand scheme to create urban level density in places that only 20 years ago were large pastures of horses and cows. Instead of placing urban areas in the already incorporated cities, Pierce County has allowed endless development over our seasonal streams and pastures. Trees have been replaced with apartments and townhomes.

Our only park in Spanaway charges entry fees most of the year, and is closed on the south end 4 months of the year so the county parks department can make money on Christmas lights.

Some local stores have closed and property crime has become unreasonably common.  Safety in our community is lacking!  It is scary to shop and wonder if we are going to be shot or attacked, or sitting in a restaurant when the pan-handlers comes to your table, it’s disturbing.  One of my neighbors had a house fire and later that night thieves broke in to take their possessions.  Homeless behavior is a large concern and our taxes need to stay here to help address our issues locally.

I am invested in this community.  I have been in this area for more than 20 years and am a current home-owner.  I have planted over 1500 bulbs in my yard and have no plans of digging them up to move.  We do not like the direction Pierce County has driven our community and the time has come to take our course away from Pierce County and guide our OWN destiny.

So I am presenting to you…

• an affidavit that I am a registered voter in the community of Spanaway
• a cashier’s check for $100 made out to the Pierce County Treasurer
• A map created in detail at the Assessor Treasurer’s office and
• A professional legal description from a licensed surveyor’s office,
• With the request to begin the process of incorporating Spanaway into a City in its own right.

The City of Spanaway Political Action Committee looks forward to working with you and the Boundary Review Board to complete this process in a successful fashion.

Thank you for your attention, and I would like to have Marianne Lincoln conclude this presentation.