Letters to the Editor

The citizens of Auburn may not be aware, but there will soon be built a $6 million Taj Mahal fire station to be located on the most southeasterly border of the city. This station is supposedly being built to service the Lakeland homes area. Are there really that many calls in the Lakeland area to warrant this type of expense? Prior to planning this station the Valley Regional Fire Authority could have used East Pierce Fire and Rescue to help with calls to the area and reduce response times.

I believe that the VRFA is positioning themselves as close as possible to the north Lake Tapps area in hopes of eventually annexing the area to the city of Auburn. The north end of Lake Tapps including Tacoma Point and Evergreen Point are on Auburn’s urban growth map. In the last 10 years the city has grown considerably taking over areas in Pierce County and Lea Hill. It seems that the mayor has annexation dreams for the entire area.

I have been told that the only way that the VRFA would service the north Lake Tapps area would be if the city annexed the area.

The only change that annexation would bring to the residents of the area would be higher taxes on their homes and higher taxes for businesses. Do you realize that just owning a rental home in the city of Auburn means you have to purchase a business license? That is the most ridiculous annual fee that I’ve ever heard of. I have been involved in the rental business for over 35 years and as far as I know, Auburn is the only city to require that. Water and sewer fees in the city of Auburn are the highest in the region. These are just the tip of the iceberg; Auburn has many other taxes and fees that we haven’t even heard of.

East Pierce Fire and Rescue is the fire district responding to the north end of Lake Tapps and has been an excellent department for many years. They have paramedics on board their response vehicles so that immediate help can be obtained instead of waiting for an ambulance to come from who knows where.

Lake Tapps residents beware. The quiet giant is making a huge imprint in the mud very close to you. Do not let them get mud on your doorstep, or track it into your home. There is absolutely no benefit in having an Auburn address over a Lake Tapps address.

Karlyne McGinnis

Lake Tapps

Councilman

Winona Jacobsen and her wonderful husband together can’t find anything with both hands. They should look up the many memos between the mayor and others about the debts owed by the city and the over-budget problems. The mayor and his council, except Bowen and Decker, will do anything to mislead the public. The city administrator states in public we are in the black, we owe no money. Yet the memos say we are over budget, in the red, we owe big money.

Anyone that wishes to see the memos I speak of can e-mail me at dan98391@yahoo.com. Winona and Fred are owned by the mayor. After all, he appointed them to spots of importance; they are both commissioners servicing the mayor at his whim. What a shame it is to see two fine individuals so blind to what they have become. It seems they must name call and live with their serpent.

Poor old George Brown he admitted to violating the law. I wonder who that person was that he and his business friends harmed. I wonder if he is a real person and not fiction from George’s old mind. I looked George up in the state records and could not find any business he owned. Nothing came up under his name. Maybe George could supply me with his UBI number(s).

I feel sorry for the type of person that finds happiness in harming others. Shame on you Winona, Fred and George. Shame on you!

Dan Decker,

City Council member Bonney Lake