Lacey’s future is bright

Recently, John Dodge, a columnist for “The Olympian” wrote a story which seemed to imply that Lacey was an urban planner’s nightmare and prone to sprawl.  His article implied that Lacey could only be saved by the creation of an urban village.

He also questioned why anyone would live in Lacey.

John made his observation on the fact that he lived in Lacey until 1967 and appeared before a meeting of the Lacey City Council that same year.   He currently lives in East Olympia on his gentleman’s farm.

The city tore down his elementary school and his favorite burger place and he can’t seem to get over that traumatic experience.

More than 40,000 people now call Lacey their home.   In another five years Lacey will be the largest city in the county.   These people move to Lacey for a number of reasons.  The city has new and modern parks.   City streets are resurfaced on a regular basis and most streets are new.   The Lacey school system is the largest in the county with top quality teachers and up-to-date modern facilities.

Lacey is also close to Joint Base Lewis McChord and nearly 13 percent of the residents of the city are active duty military.   They settle in Lacey because the community respects and honors their commitment to our nation’s security.

Lacey is the leader in the South Sound Community in protecting its history.  The city has a museum dedicated to Lacey’s history and is in the process of planning a new history museum to celebrate 50 years of city hood.

It would be to John’s advantage to take a tour of Lacey with me.   I would be happy to show him the changes in the city since 1967.