Vol. 1, No. 1 | October 2022 | |
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Welcome to the first edition of Best in Business, the City of Marysville’s new e-newsletter tailored just for you. With 16 years of business and management experience in the private sector before I became Mayor, I understand firsthand your concerns and continually advocate for local businesses. Over the past several years, the City Council and I have worked to ensure that Marysville is a business-friendly city. Our goal is to provide excellent customer service and to streamline processes as much as possible. I truly hope that has been your experience.
As many local businesses continue to recover from the financial impacts of the ongoing pandemic response, our city leadership is focused on economic development. In a public survey last year for the Downtown Master Plan, economic development and business diversity ranked as the highest priorities. We are actively working to redevelop the city’s waterfront and attract key new businesses and attractions.
The goal for this newsletter is to celebrate Marysville businesses, provide updates about city projects, and share business resources that may be helpful. If you have news to share about your company, please let us know. Thank you for choosing to do business in Marysville!
Yours in partnership,
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Combat property crime with Business Watch
Gain the tools to crime-proof your property and reduce your chances of being a crime victim with Business Watch Program offered by Marysville and Tulalip Police.
Trends and types of crimes that affect local businesses include:
- credit card fraud
- forgery
- employee theft
- shoplifting
- burglary or robbery
- vehicle prowls and/or auto theft
- vandalism
Business Watch lets business owners take control of what happens in their community through education and cooperation.
To start a Business Watch group in the Marysville/Tulalip business community, contact:
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Commander Brad Akau at 360-363-8301 or email,
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Bob Rise, Business Watch Coordinator, at 360-363-8325 or email,
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Tulalip Chief Chris Sutter at 360-716-4608 or email.
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Resource spotlight:
Marysville Ready Business
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When a disaster strikes, will you know what to do? Will your employees or customers be safe? Do you have a plan for business continuity?
Marysville Ready Business is a free program for local businesses of all types and sizes. Our Emergency Management program encourages business owners to take preparedness steps to increase the likelihood that your business will be able to reopen after a disaster. When you sign up, your business will receive a certificate of recognition, aMarysville Ready Businesswindow cling, and the opportunity for recognition on the city website and social media.
| Twenty Marysville organizations are currently enrolled representing a variety of fields including non-profit, education, faith-based organizations, medical and retail. Will you be next? Visit our website to learn more and sign up. Or email Preparedness@marysvillewa.gov and we will help you through the simple sign-up process. | | | |
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Marysville Community Food Bank | |
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Grant: Go Global Website Development
Small business owners looking for online marketing support are encouraged to apply for the Go Global's Website Development grant. This program offers successful applicants up to a $4,000 budget for online marketing projects like:
- Designing a new website
- Upgrading an existing website
- Adding online ordering for merchandise
- Search engine optimization
- Social media marketing/management software
The application portal will be opened until funding will last, or May 31, 2023.
Go Global is an E-commerce Technical Assistance Grant Program that supports small businesses with the consulting, design and technical support required to develop and integrate e-commerce into their website.
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Resource: Startup 365
Whether you are a seasoned business owner, a budding entrepreneur or somewhere in between, Startup 365 is a great website with loads of resources and insights. Managed by the Washington State Department of Commerce's Office of Economic Development & Competitiveness, Startup 365 serves as a hub of information and resources to support business owners and entrepreneurs with resources and tools to grow their businesses- especially small or new business owners.
The site contains access to information and opportunities such as:
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Programs that support financial or logistical operations (such as the Go Global Website Development program)
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Trainings for new or refreshed skills and knowledge
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Tools to support existing or upcoming businesses
- Grant opportunities, such as specific grants for women-owned and veteran-own businesses
- Extensive library of information and insights from industry professionals
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Resource: Support for pandemic-impacted businesses
Across the local, state, and federal levels, pandemic relief resources remain available to support you and your organization during these uncertain times.
The Washington State Department of Commerce’s Small Business Flex Fund offers loans of up to $150,000 for small businesses and nonprofits that can be used for things like rent, payroll, marketing, building improvements, and more/ The state and federal government offer several other initiatives to support businesses; find a full list here.
Here are some additional resources that are available to support your business:
If you have questions or ideas on support for business and worker recovery, contact the Office of Recovery & Resilience.
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Training: BlueTech & CleanTeach Innovation Cohort
In partnership with CleanTech Alliance and WA Maritime Blue, the NW Innovation Resource Center (NWIRC) is convening a cohort of entrepreneurs and early-stage startups who have existing ideas for an innovative solution-based product or business business that will:
- reduce waste and pollution in industries such as (but not limited to) food & agriculture, smart buildings, energy efficiencies, and manufacturing; and/or
- benefit maritime and ocean economies, healthy marine and ocean ecosystems.
This is a great opportunity for like-minded innovators to build relationships with fellow and future industry peers in northwest Washington.
The cohort will meet virtually from 4 - 6 p.m. on Tuesdays, beginning Oct. 11 (with opportunities to meet at NWIRC labs). No prior education, training or experience is required.
Applications are currently being accepted and will remain open until the cohort is filled. Typically 8-12 applications are accepted into the program.
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Civic Center construction nearly complete | |
If you spend time in downtown Marysville, you may have noticed that the new Civic Center is nearly finished. City Police, Jail and Municipal Court have been operating there since earlier this summer. When the remainder of the building is completed this month, City Hall, Community Development, Public Works Engineering and City Council will also move in, creating a one-stop shop for customers in a modern, energy-efficient structure. | |
The former Municipal Court building is being remodeled to become the new community center and Parks, Culture and Recreation department offices. | |
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The city plans to sell the current City Hall building.
The Public Safety Building on Grove Street, which previously housed Police and Jail, is being acquired by the Marysville Fire District.
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State Avenue expanded north of 100th St NE | |
Roadway widening is complete on State Avenue between 100th and 104th with a five-lane roadway. The finished project includes new curb, gutter, sidewalks and street lighting to improve traffic and pedestrian safety. This project was awarded a $5 million grant from the Transportation Improvement Board (TIB) in 2018. | |
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Thank you for your patience during this extensive project that included building a new bridge spanning Quilceda Creek.
Beneath the bridge, work is underway this summer to remove the culvert and restore fish habitat.
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The last remaining stretch of State Avenue due for widening, between 104th and 116th, is a much more straightforward project; we plan to begin construction next spring. A $4 million grant from the TIB will help us complete this last section sooner than anticipated. | |
A brand new service center from Old Dominion
Old Dominion, a leading LTL (less-than-truckload) trucking company and carrier, opened its fifth Washington service center in Marysville in December 2021. Located on 140th St NE near Naval Station Everett's Family Support Center, the new facility sits on nearly 10 acres of land and has about 30 employees. Old Dominion is on the Forbes list of Top 100 large employers and has won the Mastio award for the top LTL carrier for 12 straight years.
City staff sat down with Brenden Moser, Manager of Sales and Service in Marysville, to learn more.
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Can you start with an overview of Old Dominion?
Old Dominion has been around since 1934. It started in Virginia with Earl and Lillian Congdon with one truck running one route. We're now up to 255 service centers nationwide, about 25,000 employees.
Can you give an overview of the services that Old Dominion provides?
We run an inbound and outbound line haul, and pickup and delivery operation, so there are trucks you see on the road that could have deliveries for 12, 15, 20 different customers on them. The trucks that most folks see on the road during the day are pickup and delivery drivers. They're the ones who are taking care of our customers every day.
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Why open a service center specifically in Marysville?
It's the growth up here. Until this location opened, we were servicing this area out of our Seattle service center. With the growth up here, we needed to establish a better presence here so we could service our customers in this area.
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How does this location compare to other service center locations?
I think Marysville’s done a lot of things right. They've got adequate housing here. They've got a lot of room for expansion as far as bringing in new business. The proximity to all the businesses is just incredible. Marysville has also been very business-friendly. The growth up here is just incredible. Marysville’s really set to boom.
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With current growth and looking toward the future, what do you see ahead for the Marysville service center?
There's definitely going to be growth here. Currently, we're at about 30 employees out of this service center. I wouldn't be surprised if that number goes up considerably over the next couple of years. We're going to need more employees to service our customers as we continue to grow.
What do you like about being in Marysville?
Well, I think one thing that's appealing to our employees about living in the area is the proximity to so much. They’re half an hour from the San Juan Islands and North Cascades National Park. For the guys who like to ski, they’re an hour from Stevens Pass; or if they want to go to Seattle, they're an hour away. The proximity to everything, and Marysville’s got everything that you could want, if it's restaurants, stores, housing - it's got everything.
| Watch the short video interview: | | | | | | | |
