Fred Meyer economics weighed

PALMER -- Fred Meyer's ears must have been burning Tuesday night, as Palmer property owners and city officials continued to discuss the pros and cons of the box store coming to town.

More than 20 people showed up at Tuesday's Palmer City Council meeting expecting to see a Fred Meyer representative there with diagrams, designs and revised plans for a 66,000-square-foot grocery store on Cobb Street near the Palmer post office. When they learned that the man of the hour had been unable to make it, some openly wondered if the corporate representatives hadn't intentionally dodged the meeting because he had heard there was going to be a crowd.

"There are a lot of rumors going around … The sense of mistrust in the community is growing," said Michelle Church of Friends of Mat-Su, who helped organize the large attendance at the meeting. She and others said they felt the city hadn't been public enough with the process and that there hadn't been fair opportunity for dialogue between the city, its residents and Fred Meyer.

With the company planning to break ground as soon as the end of June, Church said she wondered if Palmer and Fred Meyer weren't just paying lip service to the residents when they gathered public input.

Apparently in response to the speakers' concerns, the council scheduled a work session dedicated to the Fred Meyer development, set tentatively for 7 p.m. Wednesday, June 4, in the council chambers. City Manager Tom Healy said he would contact Fred Meyer to see if a representative could attend the meeting and provide an update on the plans. The meeting is open to the public and a firm date will be advertised in advance.

Palmer officials said they shared many of the speakers' worries about how the box store would fit into their small town and that they will do everything in their power to make sure the development is responsible and compatible. At the same time, they seemed to bristle at the accusation that they weren't putting everything on the table for the public's eyes.

"The city's policy is one of providing information," Healy told the audience. He said reports and other documents regarding Fred Meyer are always available to the public at city hall. "If anyone is interested in seeing these … please let us know."

Councilman John Combs said he was disheartened by the accusation that the council was somehow in cahoots with Fred Meyer and had known for some time that the development was coming. Like everyone else, Combs said, he had heard rumors of the box store setting up shop in the Palmer and Four Corners areas for years. But Combs said he didn't know anything more definite until December when Councilwoman Kathrine Vanover, as a member of the church that owned the property, told the council that Fred Meyer was interested in purchasing the lot.

Less than six months later, the company owns the land outright and appears to be moving quickly on the development. Healy said Palmer is working with Fred Meyer to come up with a development agreement that will address issues such as traffic, landscaping, lighting and many of the other concerns vocalized at recent public meetings.

"They do own the property, so they can begin to clear it," Healy said. At the same time, he said Fred Meyer cannot begin actual construction of the building until it receives the necessary permits from the City of Palmer. Palmer does have some ordinances on the books that will apply to the development, including landscaping, traffic, parking and sign requirements.

"We do have the ability to review the plan … and provide approval for those," Healy said.

At the same time, council members admitted the city's ordinances do not have as many teeth as they would like, and the city attorney is in the process of developing a so-called "box store ordinance" that would provide Palmer with more protection in the event of large developments in the future.

As for Fred Meyer, the city council indicated it wouldn't change the rules part way into the development.

"This horse is already out the barn door," Councilman Tony Pippel said. "We do have to be fair to everyone involved."

But council members agreed with speakers that Palmer should ask for everything it wants, such as quality landscaping, pleasing lighting, pedestrian-friendly access, a compatible design and other improvements, and while the city might not be able to force it to happen, the council seemed hopeful that the corporation would do the right thing.

"I think Fred Meyer is willing to do anything that we want that's reasonable to do," Pippel said. "I think they would like to come to town and have people like them and come to their store."

Pleasing landscape or not, subdued lighting or not, some Palmer residents said they would prefer the box store never come to town at all.

"If I wanted a Fred Meyer, I would move to Wasilla," one person said. "I don't mind driving to Wasilla … I don't need one in my backyard," another said.

Others contend that the chain store will do irreparable damage to the small-town feel of Palmer, possibly putting small operations such as the locksmith, hardware store and bicycle shop out of business.

But not everyone seemed to see Fred Meyer as the corporate bogeyman and argued the development, if done right, could be good for the community.

"I certainly welcome the opportunity to be able to shop in Palmer and retain tax dollars," Councilman Brad Hanson said.

Others said while Fred Meyer's location will most likely create a traffic headache, it is one the city would be forced to deal with even if the box store weren't being built there. The downtown area would be facing a much more significant problem, Councilman Pippel argued, if the corporation had chosen a 15-acre site just outside of city limits that drew the focus away from the city's now-thriving core.

Instead, Fred Meyer will be sandwiched in between the Palmer post office and one of the town's busiest streets -- Evergreen Avenue.

"Ultimately they are going to make the choice as to what kind of corporate neighbor they want to be," Combs said.