By Dennis Box, The Courier-Herald

Mark Hamilton is scheduled to be sworn into office - an at-large position on the Bonney Lake City Council - on Nov. 25. Results from the Nov. 4 general election will be ratified today (Wednesday).

This is the first public office Hamilton has held and he credits his brother Matt, a business owner in Sumner, with encouraging him to run.

"He told me I had get into this," Hamilton said "He was seeing the same thing I was, unending growth running over us like a steamroller. What we need is the right type of growth."

The 49-year-old Hamilton is president of Network Support Inc, a support company for small businesses. He said he is excited about taking office, working with the mayor and City Council.

"I'm hoping I can get in there and do some good," he said. "I don't want to get in there and disappoint the people that voted for me."

He said reaching out to all the people, meeting and communicating with as many groups and individuals as possible was important to a successful term.

Economic and growth issues will be top priorities for the new council member. "The mayor is suppose to appoint an economic committee and I hope to be on that," he said.

A parks and recreation impact fee is high on Hamilton's list of actions that the City Council needs to consider. "I want to set up parks and rec impact fees as soon as possible. Any development eats up local space and the fees help to mitigate that," he said. " I don't want to see the same mistake we made with traffic impact fees. Those fees should have been enacted in 1999 rather then 2003."

Hamilton also believes the Pierce County proposal that Bonney Lake consider annexation of the South Plateau areas of Prairie Ridge, Rhododendron Park and Ponderosa Estates may not be a happy marriage.

"I'm not so sure those folks would be all that excited with the arrangement," Hamilton said. "I know that area has a lot of issues, but that would be some heavy lifting. It has to be a mutual agreement. The county should do a survey before we even bother."

Dennis Box can be reached at dbox@courierherald.com