• Editor’s note: Mayor Foster has held no public Town Hall’s since first being elected to office in Nov. 2017 (Foster was appointed as interim mayor in 2016), yet based on what he said Feb, 28, 2017, “Open Government, best run government,”…reaching out to our community.”
• Standing in front of the Yelm Chamber Forum on Feb. 12, 2020 for his annual State of the City address is not a Town Hall where citizens can engage with the Mayor.
• Mayor Foster spoke of challenges at his State of the City Address, yet does nothing to “reach out to the community” and invite the public to join in an interactive discourse.
• IS Mayor Foster afraid of facing his fellow citizens?
• The day after the Mayor’s State of the City, Sunbird had a surprise NVN Shopper ad in our mailboxes that they were closing.
• Was Mr. Foster caught off-guard, for he said nothing of this huge loss?
• Now, two national chains with Yelm stores may declare bankruptcy in 2020, GNC and Rite Aid, leaving their Yelm locations in doubt!
• With Sunbird gone, can the city’s budget withstand the coming recession from an economic downturn due to the coronavirus?
• For example, what is the mayor doing to be proactive in preparing his community and educating citizens on the coronavirus?
• WARNING: As of today, the city can not continue to spend money like drunken sailors with the world economy on the verge of hemorrhaging!

“Here are the fastest growing cities in Washington that have grown the fastest over the decade”

“Over the past decade, cities in King County and across Washington have grown significantly.”

“But Seattle itself didn’t rank as one of the fastest growing cities in Washington according to its growth rate, the report found.”

“Yelm ranks ninth on the list for the cities across Washington that have grown the fastest since 2010. The city has a growth rate of 41.8% and a population of 8,772, according to the most recent Census data,” by Becca Savransky, Seattle P-I. Read more

“Yelm Continues to Thrive, Mayor Says in State of the City Address, But There Are Challenges Ahead”

“Over the next decade, the city will face a number of notable challenges. It will have to face escalating growth of population and find solutions to the issue of housing diversity and availability. The city will need to address a failing water reclamation facility and collaborate on long-term solutions. Yelm must also work with legislators and regional partners to improve the sensitive transportation corridor that runs through the city’s streets and address issues related to limited water rights,” by Eric Rosane, Nisqually Valley News. Read more

“These 20 retailers may go bankrupt in 2020”

By Jeremy Bowman, The Motley Fool. Read more

GNC and Rite-Aid are two national chains that have Yelm stores. Will those remain open in a bankruptcy reorganization and downsizing? Or will they be empty, too?