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Progress
Sunday, March 24, 2002
THE PEOPLE
LIONA TANNESEN THE OLYMPIAN
LACEY -- Opinions about Lacey's downtown are more diverse than the community -- the county's most diverse city.
Car repairs, a Valentine's Day present, a job hunt, a Cinnabon job and a visit to friends and a former home brought people into downtown Lacey one rainy February day.
Some liked Huntamer Park, the places to eat and the diversity. Others wanted more shops, fewer cars or more restaurants. None lived downtown.
"I think it's grown well over the years," said Karen Rollman, who grew up in Lacey and recently moved to Tumwater with her husband, 4-year-old daughter and 2-year-old son.
Rollman said she does most of her errands in Lacey, and she likes the Lacey Fun Fair and the movies and other events at Huntamer Park in the center of the downtown.
"I'd like to see that grow," Rollman said.
Rollman also would like to see shops for browsing in downtown Lacey.
Not like New England
Sisters Linda Medcalf and Nikki Meagher said Lacey doesn't match their image of a downtown: walkable streets, a park and shops.
"Everybody has the image of a New England town when they think downtown," said Medcalf, who is a Lacey resident.
The sisters walked out of Fred Meyer with a shopping bag and were discussing where to go to lunch.
Lacey was not on the menu.
"Do you ever eat lunch in Lacey?" said Meagher, who lives in Issaquah.
"Not very often," Medcalf said.
The sisters were awaiting an oil change at Jiffy Lube.
Danny Turner of Lakewood ate a burrito and a taco while waiting for a repair shop to figure out why his Honda's engine light is on.
"It's the only place I could get it fixed," Turner said.
Turner said he comes down to Lacey sometimes, and he likes the downtown.
"It's quiet," Turner said. "A lot of shops. I just like the area. I don't see any problems."
'All spread out'
Brian Thorn of Lacey wasn't as happy with the city.
Thorn was trying to sell paintings on the sidewalk when police told him he would have to leave because he didn't have a business license.
Thorn, who has been unemployed for two years, was picking up job applications.
He's lived in Lacey for three months. "It seems like everything is all spread out," Thorn said.
Thorn was talking with Toby Jones, who was on a 10-minute break from his job at Cinnabon.
"I think it's hard to have a downtown when you don't have a good historic district," Jones said. "It's pretty much a suburb of Olympia."
Jones said he would like to see more for young people to do.
Emilio Vela stopped by the cash machine at Fred Meyer during a break from his state job in the Division of Alcohol and Substance Abuse in the Department of Social and Health Services.
Parking in Lacey has become more difficult, said Vela, who lives in southeast Olympia.
Vela, who often bikes to work, would like to see fewer cars.
But other than that, the city offers everything Vela wants, from a park for summer days to places to eat.
Joanne Shields, a Johnson City, Tenn., resident, stepped into Fred Meyer and out of the rain to talk on the phone to her daughter in New York.
Shields worked for the state when she lived in Lacey, and she had returned for the Northwest Flower & Garden Show in Seattle.
Shields also was visiting Lacey friends and stopping by to see a Realtor about selling the home she has been renting out since she moved away in 1998.
One set of renters stole all the landscaping plants when they left.
"Only the Lacey Police Department would let you come cry on their shoulders," Shields said.
Shields said she likes the city.
"It's diverse," she said.
Liona Tannesen covers Lacey for The Olympian. She can be reached at 360-754-5427 or ltannese@olympia.gannett.com.
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