Client Page: City Government of Mount Vernon

Executive Summary

The City Government of Mount Vernon commissioned Skagit IMS twice to assist the City Government's documentation of the historic downtown to help with permitting requirements before beginning efforts to protect the area from the Skagit River Flood Risk.  Both times, Skagit IMS capability was put to the test and earned a letter of commendation from the City Government of Mount Vernon Community and Economic Development Director Jana Hanson stating Skagit IMS' Josef Kunzler was "very conscientious, thorough and dedicated to performing excellent work".

Eddy's New & Used (319 Main) Documentation

In December 2006, Skagit IMS was commissioned by the City Government of Mount Vernon to research a building they had bought at 319 Main Street in the path of the City's proposed flood  control structures - a.k.a. Eddy's New and Used Furniture, J.B. Laughlin Building - for a Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) to their Downtown & Waterfront Master Area Plan published on 6 July 2007.  Skagit IMS took pictures to document the building and its history, as well as wrote an 18-page, 2,641-word report accepted after consultation using - among other sources - a search of Skagit County Government property data, a visit to the Skagit County Historical Museum as well as The Argus offices in Burlington.  This activity showcased Skagit IMS' photography and information brokerage capability.

The photos for this shoot are also hosted on a Flickr collection page if you would like to browse them individually and download full size pictures.  Also, below is a Flickr slide show showing many of those photographs as these are public record.  Clicking on an individual photo will bring up a short description.

The final report for Eddy's New and Used as accepted is available in a Adobe Acrobat PDF.  The FEIS, for the proposed new Mount Vernon waterfront and historic downtown revitalization is available here as a 29.7 MB PDF file from the City Government of Mount Vernon website.  This FEIS was recently complemented by City Council passage of a Downtown and Waterfront Area Master Plan and Comprehensive Plan covered by the Skagit Valley Herald and also by TV10 with video posted by Skagit IMS that will allow for flood protection, waterfront emphasis, historic preservation and additional parking.

Skagit IMS also would like to sincerely thank and wish well for their assistance:

• Jana Hanson and Rick Prosser of the City Government of Mount Vernon
• Janet Oakley of the Skagit County Historical Museum
• Tony Flynn, formerly of the Skagit Argus

Finally, the Washington State Government Department of Archeology and Historic Preservation (DAHP) required as part of the approval process for federal & state financial assistance for revitalizing downtown Mt. Vernon a request for determination of eligibility to the National Register of Historic Places.  Although the photographs are Cultural Resource Consultants, Inc.'s (CRC's), much but not all of the raw research was from Skagit IMS work product - especially on pages 7, 8, 16 and 17 of the submission form professionally put together by CRC's Susan Medville and recently accepted by DAHP as part of the mitigation process for 319 Main's upcoming demolition.

Mount Vernon Historic Inventory

In March 2008, Skagit IMS was requested to assist CRC in documenting for regulatory requirements imposed on the City Government the history of the Water Tower in South Mt. Vernon.  Below is a Flickr Slide Show of some of the photos taken during that documentation process, which has been of assistance to the City.

The 20 August 2008 presentation of the inventory is available HERE as an almost 5-MB PDF and below is the semi-professional video yours truly took of that presentation in widescreen format which also can be downloaded from Vimeo in Windows Media:

Semi-pro video of 2008-08-20 CRC Presentation to Mount Vernon City Council from Skagit IMS on Vimeo.

One can download the CRC presentation from this website in PDF.  There is also audio from KBRC taken during the August 20, 2008 meeting and posted below for archival purposes of Mount Vernon Mayor Bud Norris as well as Skagit IMS' CEO (many thank yous to KBRC) on the Mount Vernon historic inventory.

When the TV10 dub is available and online, that will be posted here as well on the Skagit IMS Vimeo page.  Skagit IMS would like to thank profusely the TV10 staff for all they do, but especially providing tech support to the 20 August 2008 presentation and making Mount Vernon City Council meetings truly accessible.