My wife’s family has had a presence in the East Lewis County town of Mineral for four generations having the first ancestors arriving around 1900, with ancestry names of Vanning, Seymour, La Point and Alcrige to name a few.
Descended from German, French and Native American Ojibwa from Drummond Island, Michigan, many family members still own property in and around Mineral and nearby Elbe. They are among those who oppose the YMCA development on Mineral Lake for various reasons.
As shown by those previously attending the county commissioners meetings on this matter, it can easily be said that a majority of people at the meeting are opposed to this development.
Notable of the reasons opposing this project, the most critical would be the infrastructure necessary to support this, and future development of the lake. A drive around the lake, around the town of Mineral, will easily illustrate the road issues that, at this time, will not support the traffic without significant improvement. The law enforcement presence in East Lewis County is minimal and is not feasible without a huge increase in their budget, thus probably requiring an increase in local taxes to support this endeavor.
The same can be said about fire and emergency medical services’ increased needs. The local well water systems often contain arsenic, requiring additional filtering systems. This brings a question as to what happens to the residents’ wells with a great increase of water usage by this project.
The last meeting brought up the fact the lake is fed by spring water and most likely this project will interfere or disrupt this flow. Has a study been completed on this? Has EPA reviewed the environmental impact of this development?
In the name of “progress,” this project, and others on and around Mineral Lake, will eventually prevail. Memorandums of agreement will be agreed upon by various fire, law enforcement and schools with financial incentives. Money will flow into political candidates more favorable toward development. The YMCA will be built, followed by possibly a resort lodging hosting a fantastic view of the lake and Mount Rainier (why not?), and tax revenues from these properties for the county will cease due to existing exemptions or laws.
Mineral residents will see property values increase, thus an increase in property taxes. Many will be forced to sell, replaced by million-dollar homes. Water systems and possibly roads will be improved, thereby increasing building development.
This lake is mostly undeveloped and probably the last, largest, pristine property nearest the metro areas of Tacoma and Puyallup. As stated above, eventually progress will prevail.
Just not this year.
Steven Craig
Centralia
