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• Preserving our Historic Maritime Character, Protecting our Natural Beauty & Supporting Recreation.  ​As a Gig Harbor Parks Commissioner, I know how much our community values preserving green-spaces, trees and water views/access as well as creating healthy recreation opportunities for young and young at heart! 

  • Protecting Nature - I've represented you on the Pierce County Conservation Futures Citizens Advisory Board for 3 years. We all pay property taxes into this fund yet we haven’t had any land conserved through this program in over a decade. I would champion the solicitation of funds to preserve critical habitat around Donkey or Crescent Creek or funds to purchase future park-sites in under-served areas of our community.

  • Downtown Historic Buildings & Sidewalks - Protecting our historic buildings, quaint street-scapes, friendly sidewalks and beautiful accessible parks and the Cushman Trail is key to sharing the amazing character of our community. I’m excited to advocate for widening sidewalks downtown and “finishing/expanding” sidewalks and bike paths around town (Burnham, Peacock Hill, etc.) to help residents access different parts of town.

  • Ancich Park Piers & Docks - Providing access to the water for our boaters and bringing our fishing vessels home are key priorities. The Commercial Fisherman’s Home Port Pier will support our fishing families, bring economic development from moorage revenue and will be a draw for visitors to watch fishing operations at work. A lot of us kayakers and Stand Up Paddle Boarders need access to the water as well so having a human powered float (and storage lockers) will promote the safe use of our beautiful harbor. I support Resolution 949.

  • Sports Complex - As a Parks Commissioner I am excited to see the fruition of years of planning for the new Sports Complex. As Chair of the Parks Commission (April 2017-May 2019) my fellow Parks Commissioners and I reviewed public comments and presided over public hearings attended by hundreds of our valued stakeholder groups and private residents resulting in our final master plan. 

  • Senior Center - Gig Harbor needs a new Senior Center! I'm a huge advocate for finding a location for seniors to recreate and receive services.

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• Supporting responsible, well-planned growth that accounts for infrastructure needs of a growing population.We must plan new growth and development in a way that ensures we are taking infrastructure needs into account so that all Gig Harbor residents can travel safe roads and have high quality services near their homes.

  • Addressing Traffic - We need to do a better job ensuring that new developments don’t increase gridlock on our roads and we need to fix current issues by prioritizing our transportation improvement plan and addressing real choke points first.

  • Regional Collaboration - Traffic is not all caused by City development. Congestion on 16 and development in the county also adds to congestion. We need to work with the State and County to address and solve traffic problems. I am endorsed by our County Commissioner and will work hard collaboratively to execute solutions.

  • Solving The “Village/Town and Country” Issue - Getting the Village in Harbor Hill/Gig Harbor North area built is a priority of mine. Ensuring that all our neighborhoods have close, safe access to high quality shopping, restaurants, schools and recreational opportunities is important to help Gig Harbor retain its small-town feel.

  • Schools Matter! As a Board member for Communities in Schools of Peninsula, and a member of the PSD Trades Council, I know how hard our schools work to meet the needs of our students. I’ll work to ensure PSD is has as much notice as possible about potential student-population surges in different areas of our city so they can plan accordingly. We should also be planning ways for how kids can get to schools safely with great sidewalks, bike paths and safe bus routes.

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• Our Local Economy is Important to the Health of Gig Harbor - I started my career in economic development and am now a small business owner myself. It is critical that we support the wonderful businesses that have invested so much in our community. Economic development initiatives that improve our quality of life and bring needed services and amenities are essential to our successful future. 

  • Support our Business Community - We need to support the wonderful businesses who have invested in Gig Harbor. We can have a friendlier business environment by creating more clear and less onerous regulations and generally having an attitude that we want to help our businesses succeed.

  • Maritime Fuel Dock/Float - ​I’ll work on convening a group to figure out how we can bring a maritime fuel facility to Gig Harbor. This will increase economic vitality and provide a service to our resident and visiting boaters. We need a realistic business-minded approach and plan which involves the public sector to make this happen.

  • Supporting our Commercial Fishing Community - Our fishing boats make us an authentic maritime city. The Parks Commission made progress on this issue a few years back with the construction of the Maritime Pier so fishermen can offload nets and gear. I want to now allow more of our fishing vessels to come home to the Harbor by providing opportunities for moorage at Ancich Park (the Commercial Fishing Pier). The significant moorage fees paid by fishing and visiting boats will help pay for this pier over time. This industry is a big part of our heritage and contributes significantly to our local economy. Having a busy working waterfront will increase the attraction for residents & visitors to the waterfront area, thus increasing our economy.

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     Gig Harbor residents like me choose to live here because we want to make our homes in a place with a friendly and safe small-town feel. We want to be able to walk down safe sidewalks along the waterfront or within our neighborhood communities, allow our kids to run and play at a nearby park or send them safely to a local market for an ice-cream. We desire close and convenient access to high quality stores, restaurants, and schools and want ample opportunities for our young people to grow and learn, and for seniors to congregate and socialize. 

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      I have been honored to be of service to our city and our residents. I am so proud of the parks developed and expanded during my time on our hard-working Parks Commission and know that these are lasting community assets that will be enjoyed for generations. As a councilperson I look forward to more accomplishments for the Gig Harbor we love. 

 

We CAN balance responsible growth while holding on to the things that make Gig Harbor so special - our heritiage, our beauty and our small-town feel.

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Through thoughtful consideration, making sure all voices are heard, I’ll always work to make sensible fact-based decisions in the best interest of our City as a whole.

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I'd love to hear your ideas! Like "Friends of Robyn Denson" on FaceBook or email me at friendsofrobyndenson@gmail.com

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