By Stephanie Smith

The Northeast Tacoma neighborhood's steep slopes overlook the busy Port of Tacoma and some rather stunning views out onto the Sound and dramatic natural features. The neighborhood includes the Hylebos Waterway and part of Blair Waterway and runs up along the remarkable Dash Point State Park. Some community features include the Center at Norpoint a MetroParks community center and the Kobetich Library. It’s a neighborhood set aside from the bulk of Tacoma which has a times proven to be difficult in terms of resources like police officers. The major economic feature of the area is without a doubt the Port of Tacoma.

Port of Tacoma Commissioner Don Meyer was presenting a PowerPoint on some of the happenings down at the Port and the basis that some decisions are made. The port is approximately 2400 acres with about 200 of it set aside for non-trade purposes like mitigation.

What do they mean by mitigation? Mitigation is essentially land set aside to attempt to counter or balance the environmental impacts that businesses in the Port have upon the surrounding environment. So, some of that mitigation includes the Wapato Creek site and if you are curious about the Ports activities around the environment some information can be found HERE. Obviously, many have differing opinions about the effectiveness of the efforts and really beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

Commissioner Meyer did provide insight into the decision-making process involved in new businesses being brought into the port. One question that he asks when assessing new business at the Port is, Does the new business support the strategic plan? Oh great, another fancy title, strategic plan. A strategic plan, if you don’t already know it, is simply a document that outlines the direction a company or organization is looking to go and how they plan to get there. Many government agencies have a strategic plan, and the Port of Tacoma Strategic Plan can be found HERE.

Another question he considers when evaluating new business in the Port is, what is the company's track record? This includes environmental issues and in terms of finances. Commissioner Meyer seemed particularly concerned with the impacts and difficulties around cleaning up the Port and not falling backward in terms of the effort and money spent working to get to the point the Port is at now. New businesses must fit what the future is and not cause the Port to go backward in terms of environment or economics. Keep in mind that this is in terms of new businesses and that existing businesses are not always evaluated the same way.

Speaking of existing businesses at the port…I think many in Tacoma are concerned about the upcoming potential for the Darling Ingredients Incorporated aka the rendering plant to renew its lease and resume operation. The plant is essentially closed after a fire at the facility in 2022 and Darling is making lease payments despite this. Commissioner Meyer presented that if the company was looking for an extension there would have to be changes. They cannot continue to do things the same way expecting a different smell, I mean result. Because we can all agree that is crazy.

After WestRock, the Darling rendering plant is another Tacoma Aroma that residents are happy to have relief from and quite a few have begun raising a stink about the potential for the lease renewal and resumed operations.

If you aren’t familiar, this unpleasant aroma from Darling is like the smell of burning dog poop and many have complained about the impact of this on their ability to enjoy their homes and yards. That subject could eat up the entirety of this segment, so we’ll set that aside for a while.

Commissioner Meyer also brought up PSE or Puget Sound Energy and the withdrawal of a permit for pilings. There is certainly a little confusion as to the reasoning for this withdrawal. The LNG plant has been a long-standing issue and many who fought against methanol were and still are dead set against the LNG plant in the port. The plant has been in operation since 2022.

The Commissioner was asked a question by Northeast Neighborhood Board Member, Geoff Cribb, regarding vehicle carrier ships and the concerns around fires due to electric vehicles. The commissioner agreed that the idea is scary and that the port is working on improving emergency responses through better emergency planning and there were concerns around the response to the Trident fire. If you aren’t sure what the heck I’m talking about see this article for reference, THIS ARTICLE.

Part of the reason that Geoff asked this question is due to the planned deepening and widening of the Blair Waterway. The goal of this is to get bigger ships into the port to expand possible uses and improve economic opportunities. In other words, more money due to more possible uses of the waterway.

Another member of the Northeast Neighborhood Council, Sandy, asked about more buildings in the Port having solar panels. Commissioner Meyer responds that there is some work being done towards this.

Another hot topic that gained a lot of discussion amongst even the youngest attendee Tre Parish, a teen attending TCC through Running Start, was pedestrian safety. There was some discussion around the ability to get crosswalks and improve pedestrian safety around the Kobetich Library and Center at Norpoint Community Center. The message to Tre and others who walk the area is to be careful out there. If you want more information about pedestrian safety in Tacoma you can check out THIS SITE.

It's the Vision Zero dashboard for the City of Tacoma. For general information about Vision Zero and traffic safety goals in Tacoma check out the City website.

For more information about the Northeast Neighborhood Council meetings, you should check out https://www.netnc.org/ and attend the meeting held every third Thursday at 6 pm on Zoom.

[[image]] Tacoma Map

Many Tacoma residents are more than a 10-minute walk from a public park. Metro Parks Tacoma is developing a System Master & Strategic Plan that will guide planning over the next 6 years.

If you live in one of the five neighborhoods below, we want to hear from you! Join us for an upcoming community conversation where we will spend about 90 minutes together, eating and talking about where you go to relax or spend time outdoors.

Metro Parks Tacoma will host the meeting and provide food, children activities, and $50 gift cards available for participants. Attendance is limited.

Learn More and RSVP Here

The South End Neighborhood Council is pleased to announce it has been approved by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) for a Challenge America award of $10,000. This grant will support the 72nd and D Mural Wall that SENCo began installing in 2023 as part of a Community Improvement and Greenspace Development project.

In total, the NEA will award 257 Challenge America awards totaling $2,570,000 that were announced as part of its first round of fiscal year 2024 grants.

“The NEA is delighted to announce this grant to SENCo which is helping contribute to the strength and well-being of the arts sector and local community,” said National Endowment for the Arts Chair Maria Rosario Jackson, PhD. “We are pleased to be able to support this community and help create an environment where all people have the opportunity to live artful lives.”

"It takes all of us to start fixing problems where we can so that we can work toward the bigger problems," said SENCo Chair Andrea Haug. "That's how I like to look at it – what do I have control of in my environment? What can I do to produce a positive outcome and bring other people out? We just want all our neighbors to be healthy, happy, safe and cared for – all of them.”

The 72nd and D Mural and Greenspace project is a volunteer-led, local agency supported, grassroots community effort to beautify a blighted right of way behind Fred Meyer. Nine murals were installed on the 930 foot retaining wall running adjacent to South D Street. The murals include a mix of grant-funded murals, and donated murals in community art spaces. 32 trees, 1052 understory plantings, a sensory garden and a wildflower meadow were planted in 2023 through several community engagement activities, and with the help of many city and county agencies and local non-profits. SENCo has selected four new artists to install grant-funded murals, and two new community art projects for 2024. Local artists interested in being considered for the project are encouraged to email SENCo at senco253@gmail.com.

For more information on other projects included in the NEA’s grant announcement, visit https://www.arts.gov/news.

In a significant move toward sustainable transportation, the Tacoma City Council has greenlit the allocation of $4 million in federal grants for the procurement of two zero-emission locomotives. Read the full story HERE.