Monroe

Monroe is a city in Snohomish County, Washington, United States. It is located at the confluence of the Skykomish and Snoqualmie rivers near the Cascade foothills, about 30 miles (48 km) northeast of Seattle. Monroe was originally founded in 1864 as the town of Park Place among several existing settlements in the Tualco Valley. Park Place was renamed to Monroe in 1890 to honor U.S. President James Monroe, and was moved northeast to be near the tracks of the Great Northern Railway, which was constructed in 1892. The city was incorporated in 1902 and was selected as the home of a major condensed milk plant and the state reformatory. Monroe became a suburban bedroom community in the late 20th century, serving commuters to Everett, Seattle, and the Eastside. Monroe's population was 19,699 as of the 2020 census and was estimated to be 20,209 in 2021. The Evergreen State Fair, which runs annually in late summer, is located in the city of Monroe and is run by the Monroe Correctional Complex, which absorbed the original reformatory in 1998. The fair is the largest state fair in the United States, with more than 100,000 visitors each year. It was founded in 1913 and is one of the oldest state fairs in the world, having been founded by the state of Washington in 1913. It has been the site of the state fair for more than 30 years. It also hosts the Washington State Open Days, which is held in June and July.

History

The Skykomish were among the tribes to sign the Treaty of Point Elliott in 1855, effectively ceding their traditional territories. The area around modern-day Monroe was surveyed by George B. McClellan and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers during their expedition to find a suitable pass for a railroad across the Cascade Mountains. The first American settlers had already arrived and claimed squatters rights to homestead in the SkyKomish Valley. The Great Northern Railway chose a route over Stevens Pass in the late 1880s for its transcontinental railroad connecting Seattle to St. Paul, Minnesota. Monroe at Park Place was platted in 1890 and gained several new businesses, including a blacksmith, grocery store, a second hotel, and a butcher. The original Park Place post office and general store were abandoned and replaced by a new building that opened in 1890. "Monroe" was chosen by John Vanasdlen, with the input of Henry McClurg, to honor President James Monroe. After the relocation of the general store and post office, Monroe became known as the settlement of Monroe. In late 1892 and early 1893, several merchants moved their buildings to the south of Tye City, using a steam thresher and a steam team of oxen, using horses, horses, and oxen to threshen the land. Jack Stretch platted a small settlement on the north side of the tracks that he named "Tye City" for the Great Northern's locating engineer.

Geography

Monroe is located in south-central Snohomish County near the confluence of the Skykomish and Snoqualmie rivers. The area is in the western foothills of the Cascade Range and is bisected by U.S. Route 2. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 6.11 square miles (15.82 km²) The city limits are generally defined by Lake Tye and Fryelands Boulevard to the west, the SkyKomish River to the south, Woods Creek to the east, and to the north by Milwaukee Hill and other foothills. Monroe also has an urban growth area that includes 251 acres (102 ha) of unincorporated areas on the north side of the city limits. Monroe sits on a local fault line that produced a pair of minor earthquakes on July 12, 2019, that were felt as far as Seattle and Vancouver without causing damage. On March 30, 2017, an EF0 tornado struck Monroe and damaged several recreational vehicles at a dealership, but did not injure any people. The highest recorded temperature, 102 °F (39 °C), occurred on July 29, 2009, and the lowest, 3 °C (19 °C) occurred on January 18, 1950. Monroe rarely receives significant snowfall, with an average of 8 inches (20 cm) per year since 1929. The majority of the region's precipitation arrives during the winter and early spring, and Monroe averages 177 days of precipitation per year.

Economy

Monroe has an estimated workforce population of 7,644 residents and an unemployment rate of 7.2 percent as of 2015. Only 15 percent of employed residents work within city limits, while the rest commute to other cities for work. The most common occupations for Monroe residents are in the education and health care sector (19%), followed by manufacturing (15%), retail (13%), and professional fields (12%). The city's largest employer is the Washington State Department of Corrections, which operates the Monroe Correctional Complex and provides more than 1,100 jobs. Other large employers include the Monroe School District, the Cadman quarry, the Evergreen State Fair, EvergreenHealth Monroe, and large retailers. The largest non-industrial job sectors include professional services, government, and retail, particularly big-box stores along the U.S. Route 2 corridor. The city also has a large industrial park in the Fryelands area that was established in the 1990s and was fully developed by 2008, providing 24 percent of jobs in the city and 2.2 million square feet (200,000 m2) of space. The average one-way commute for the city's workers was approximately 30.8 minutes in 2015; 75 percent of commuters drove alone to their workplace, while 14 percent carpooled and 3 percent used public transit. It is estimated that Monroe will have a population of 8,000 by the end of the year. It will be the first city in the state to reach the population threshold of 10,000.

Demographics

Monroe is the ninth largest city in Snohomish County by population, with an estimated 20,209 residents in 2021. It has a large Hispanic and Latino population that trends higher than the rest of the county. The city's population grew rapidly in the years after it incorporated in 1902, but leveled off under 2,000 until the 1970s. Suburban development following the completion of State Route 522 and expansion of U.S. Route 2 caused large increases in Monroe's population, peaking in the 1990s and early 2000s. The inmate population at the Monroe Correctional Complex has been included in census statistics since 1996. Over 65 percent of homes in Monroe are single-family detached structures, while over 15 percent are multi-family residential units. The average household size was 2.83 and the average family size was 3.26. In the city, the age distribution of the population shows 27.4% under the age of 18, 8.9% from 18 to 24, 41.2% from 25 to 44, and 8.0% from 45 to 64. For every 100 females, there were 126.7 males, and there were 137.3 males and over. The median income for a household in the city was $50,390, and the median age for a family was $55,793. About 5.6% of families and over were below the poverty line, including 9.7% of those under 18 and over 14.7%.

Government and politics

Monroe is a non-charter code city with a mayorcouncil government. The seven-member city council typically meets once a week at the city hall. The city government has 113 employees and an annual budget of $27.1 million in 2017. The Washington State Department of Corrections operates several prison facilities in the city, which have been consolidated into the Monroe Correctional Complex since 1998. Monroe is part of Washington's 1st congressional district, which has been represented by Democrat Suzan DelBene since 2012. At the state level, the city ispart of the 39th legislative district, including rural areas between Sedro-Woolley and Skykomish. The state legislature's proposal to close the complex in 2009 due to its high costs was withdrawn and replaced with cuts to capacity at other facilities. It is the largest prison in the state, with capacity for 2,500 inmates and detainees, and is divided into five units across a 365-acre (148 ha) campus that is staffed by 1,185 workers. The 467-inmate minimum-security unit opened in 1997 and an intensive management unit was opened in 2007 to house 144 inmates at higher security levels. Other services, including the fire district (based in Monroe) and public library, are contracted out to regional authorities and agencies. Monroe's mayor is Geoffrey Thomas, a former councilmember and city planner who was elected in 2013 and re-elected in 2017 and serves four-year terms that are staggered.

Culture

Monroe has 14 parks with a total area of 207 acres (84 ha), of which 62.6 acres (25.3 ha) is designated as usable space. The city is home to the annual Evergreen State Fair, a county fair which takes place in late August and early September at a fairground located northwest of downtown Monroe. The Reptile Zoo, formerly the Washington Serpentarium, is a roadside animal park for reptiles that is located on U.S. Route 2 east of Monroe. A scene in the pilot for the web television series The Man in the High Castle was filmed at the Lewis Street Bridge on State Route 203. The Monroe Monitor and Valley News is a local weekly newspaper published in Monroe by the Pacific Publishing Company. It was founded in 1899 as the Monitor and later acquired two other newspapers operating in the Skykomish Valley: the Monroe Transcript in 1908 and the Valley News in 1985. The area is also served by The Everett Herald and The Seattle Times, the daily newspapers in the northern Puget Sound region. In 2014, the city government proposed constructing a seven-mile (11 km) pedestrian and bicycle trail to Snohomish that would connect with the regional Centennial Trail. The largest community park in Monroe is the 64.5-acre (26.1 ha) Lake Tye Park, which comprises sports playfields, a skate park, and an artificial lake that is stocked with fish. Monroe also has 14 miles (23 km) of multi-use pedestrian and bike trails that connect neighborhoods and parks.

Education

The Monroe School District operates public schools within the city and serves several surrounding communities, including Maltby and Woods Creek. The school district had an enrollment of approximately 7,096 students in 2016, with 303 total teachers and 170 other staff. It has one high school, Monroe High School, that is located next to the Washington State Reformatory and was opened in 1999 after six failed ballot measures to fund the $30 million construction cost. The district has one middle school and three elementary schools within Monroe city limits, several of which were renovated in 2018 using $111 million in bonds. Its administrative offices are located in the former Central Grade School building, which opened in 1916. The Sky Valley Educational Center was the subject of several lawsuits filed by 200 students, parents, and teachers against Monsanto over exposure to toxic chemicals, including polychlorinated biphenyls, at the building. The lawsuit was settled with $247 million from Monsanto awarded by a jury and $34 million offered by the school district, who were found to be negligent in their slow cleanup of toxic materials. Monroe is also home to the East Campus of Everett Community College with 400 enrolled students. The branch campus opened in. 1999 as part of an agreement with the Monroe School district and relocated to a new building near Lake Tye in 2010. The East Campus was relocated in 2010 and opened in a new location near Lake. Tye. It is located on the east side of the city, near the town of Everett, and has a campus of 400 students.

Infrastructure

Monroe is located at the intersection of three highways: U.S. Route 2 (US 2), State Route 203, and State Route 522. The city is bisected by the Scenic Subdivision, a major railroad owned by BNSF Railway that is used for freight and Amtrak's Empire Builder passenger service. Public transit in Monroe is provided by the countywide Community Transit system, with two local bus routes traveling along the US 2 corridor between Everett and Gold Bar. Monroe has a 112-bed general hospital operated by EvergreenHealth and formerly known as the Valley General Hospital. The largest customer for the city's water services is the Washington State Department of Corrections, which also has its own sewage treatment system. Monroe's tap water is purchased from the City of Everett and sourced from Lake Chaplain in the Sultan River basin, which travels via a pipeline to the north of the city. Puget Sound Energy provides natural gas service to Monroe's residents and businesses using a pipeline from Canada. Telecommunications services, including telephones, cable television, and internet, are split between Verizon and Comcast. Monroe also has a privately owned airfield, First Air Field, located adjacent to the Evergreen State Fairgrounds. The single-runway facility handles an average of 50 takeoffs and landings per day and has 73 aircraft based there. It was opened in 1949, replacing a facility at the State Poor Farm, and was expanded several times with funds from voter-approved tax levies. In 2014, it was merged into the EverGreenHealth system, based out of Kirkland, in 2014 and renamed to Evergreen health Monroe Medical Center.

Air Quality, Water Quality, Superfund Sites & UV Index

The Air Quality index is in Monroe, Snohomish County, Washington = 30.7. These Air Quality index is based on annual reports from the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The number of ozone alert days is used as an indicator of air quality, as are the amounts of seven pollutants including particulates, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, lead, and volatile organic chemicals. The Water Quality Index is 53. A measure of the quality of an area’s water supply as rated by the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The EPA has a complex method of measuring the watershed quality, using 15 indicators such as pollutants, turbidity, sediments, and toxic discharges. The Superfund Sites Index is 20. Higher is better (100=best). Based upon the number and impact of EPA Superfund pollution sites in the county, including spending on the cleanup efforts. The UV Index in Monroe = 2.7 and is a measure of an area's exposure to the sun's ultraviolet rays. This is most often a combination of sunny weather, altitude, and latitude. The UV Index has been defined by the WHO (www.who.int/news-room/questions-and-answers/item/radiation-the-ultraviolet-(uv)-index) and is uniform worldwide.

Employed

The most recent city population of 19,699 individuals with a median age of 33.1 age the population grows by 24.12% in Monroe, Snohomish County, Washington population since 2000 and are distributed over a density of 3,243.56 residents per square mile of area (1,252.39/km²). There are average 2.85 people per household in the 5,222 households with an average household income of $65,914 a year. The unemployment rate in Alabama is 10.20% of the available work force and has dropped -0.89% over the most recent 12-month period and the projected change in job supply over the next decade based on migration patterns, economic growth, and other factors will increase by 28.02%. The number of physicians in Monroe per 100,000 population = 133.

Weather

The annual rainfall in Monroe = 48.5 inches and the annual snowfall = 8.4 inches. The annual number of days with measurable precipitation (over .01 inch) = 184. The average number of days per year that are predominantly sunny = 165. 77 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily high temperature for the month of July and 32.8 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily low temperature for the month of January. The Comfort Index (higher=better) is 72, where higher values mean a more pleasant climate. The Comfort Index measure recognizes that humidity by itself isn't the problem. (Have you noticed nobody ever complains about the weather being 'cold and humid?) It's in the summertime that we notice the humidity the most, when it's hot and muggy. Our Comfort Index uses a combination of afternoon summer temperature and humidity to closely predict the effect that the humidity will have on people.

Median Home Cost

The percentage of housing units in Monroe, Snohomish County, Washington which are owned by the occupant = 58.58%. A housing unit is a house, apartment, mobile home, or room occupied as separate living quarters. The average age of homes = 12 years with median home cost = $240,370 and home appreciation of -18.01%. This is the value of the years most recent home sales data. Its important to note that this is not the average (or arithmetic mean). The median home price is the middle value when you arrange all the sales prices of homes from lowest to highest. This is a better indicator than the average, because the median is not changed as much by a few unusually high or low values. The property tax rate of $10.94 shown here is the rate per $1,000 of home value. If for simplification for example the tax rate is $14.00 and the home value is $250,000, the property tax would be $14.00 x ($250,000/1000), or $3500. This is the 'effective' tax rate.

Study

The local school district spends $4,632 per student. There are 26.1 students for each teacher in the school, 756 students for each Librarian and 391 students for each Counselor. 6.64% of the area’s population over the age of 25 with an Associate Degree or other 2-year college degree, 15.23% with a master’s degree, Ph.D. or other advanced college degree and 4.82% with high school diplomas or high school equivalency degrees (GEDs).