Letter from Tom Seigel Bethel School District Superintendent
DEAR BETHEL COMMUNITY MEMBERS
From: THOMAS SEIGEL <tseigel@bethelsd.org>
Date: Tue, Apr 18, 2023 at 11:18 AM
Subject: Lack of progress in providing County Resources to Support the Bethel area
Dear Bethel Community Member,
The following is an email I sent to the County Council this morning. I am forwarding a copy to you because you have a stake in the quality of life here for yourselves, our families and our students. Nothing has changed and there is no perceived urgency to provide a fair share of county resources to this neglected part of Pierce County. On top of that, recent zoning changes will result in as many as 40,000 additional residents coming here in the near future. The priority of the County needs to shift to backfill the shortfall of services and resources here and then begin expansion to accommodate the rapid growth that is coming. The following County Council membership information is provided for your convenience.
DEAR PIERCE COUNTY COUNCIL MEMBERS
Dear Pierce County Council Members,
About a year ago I shared with you a briefing on the lack of resources, especially County resources, in the Bethel School District area. Since we are rapidly approaching the end of another school year I wanted to provide you with a simple synopsis of the progress toward attainment of the key issues of County support to this area. The following table provides that summary. As you can see not much has changed.
There has been no movement to reestablish Pierce Transit routes to this area. The lack of public transportation is a tremendous hindrance to the poor in trying to access services. The needed services do not exist here. The current 3 miles of bus service is inadequate to allow access to vital services elsewhere.
There has been no new funding for sidewalks. Our request via "Safe Routes to School Program" was not approved.
Phase 1 modernization of Sprinker Recreation Center is in progress, but that will not compensate for the fact that there are only three parks for 124,000 residents. There should be many more.
Pierce County Village has been approved but it will take years to build and, while it is targeting the highly visible homeless population on the streets, it does nothing for the bigger problem of homeless families. We have 730 McKinney Vento qualified students and of that number 70+ are truly homeless. (E.g. We have a family of five living in a Passat, with four school age children and one 10 month baby).
Blue Zones may have some impact, but the infrastructure other communities have to support such an effort is lacking here (limited sidewalks, no trails, no swimming pool, no senior center, etc.).
In summary, this is the area of the County with the highest inequity; it has experienced generational governmental neglect, amounting to what may be considered effects similar to "redlining", and there is still no perceived urgency for action. Yet, rezoning will be directing as many as 40,000 more residents to this area in the near term, but County resources are already inadequately resourced for the current population.
I call for action. Serious action, now.
Yours, Tom Seigel
Tom Seigel
Superintendent
(253) 800-2011