Missing Woman Found At Park

A bit of news out of Point Defiance Park this morning... a missing woman found in the water... read the News Tribune account here...

Point Defiance Books

As I have time, I want to introduce you to some of the local shops in our Ruston-Point Defiance Business District area. Not all will be business district members, but each one puts everything on the line to run a business at our doorstep. Stop in, say hello and spend a few dollars to support our local economy.

The feature today is on Point Defiance Books, aka Primary Source Books. Proprietor Jim Bennett has been a visible part of the storefront along our Pearl Street core for several years now. Jim is the current president of the Business District and gives much of his time to make our community better. Here are his answers to my questions:

1) When did you get started? What is your background prior to this business? I have my bachelor's from Central Washington and my master's in education from UPS. For 30 years I worked as a teacher and a middle school transition coordinator in the Tacoma District at the 8th grade level. I taught health, English and US history at Hunt and Jerry Meeker middle schools. I retired for health reasons in June of 2002. I began collecting books in the late 1960's.

2) Describe what your business is/does. I sell used, rare and out of print books focusing primarily on non-fiction and particularly US history, although I have a bit of everything except romance and modern travel guides.

3) What motivated you to open a business? Thinking to have a bookstore as a retirement business to augment my non-cost-of-living-adjustable pension I put together a catalog and advertised in publications such as American Heritage, American History Illustrated, Civil War Times, etc. in 1996-7. I broke even. I began selling on Ebay in 1998 and eventually ABEBOOKS.COM and ALIBRIS.COM as well as my own website: PRIMARYSOURCEBOOKS.COM. These were very profitable. After retirement I began looking for a place to open a 'brick and mortar' bookstore.

4) Why did you locate here? Well, honestly, my first choice was Proctor, but then Jerry Culpepper opened a shop a couple of years before I was ready to take the plunge. I decided the Ruston area showed promise. It was close to my home and I expected decent shopping traffic due to the antique stores and the Antique Sandwich Company. I felt that with the clean-up of the Asarco site the area would experience a boom as new development came in.

5) How would you describe your success? Quite frankly while the first couple of years were good, the last three have been tough, not only are in-store sales down, but also internet sales have suffered from the massive increase in online selling competition and the increasing fees the listing services charge.

What are your primary markets? My regulars tend to be folks from the North End, Ruston and Vashon ferry-riders. Online, the bulk of buyers are from New York, Washington DC, Virginia, Florida and California. I also sell at various specialty shows.

6) Any plans to expand or are you satisfied with your current operation? I am not satisfied with my current operation, but cannot afford to expand as originally planned until the economy picks up. Also, we are planning on moving to the Tri-Cities when my wife retires in a year or two. As of now, the business is no longer prosperous enough to pay for someone to manage it or to attract a buyer. I am planning on opening another store over there.

7) What has the business district done for your business and for the local businesses as a whole? What do you see as the primary goals for the district over the next year? I think the Ruston Business District has helped to make more folks aware of the shopping available here through the Music Fest and group advertising. Our participation in City of Tacoma tourism programs has brought more tourists through my doors. In fact, some of my biggest sales each year are to tourists who find my prices for rare and collectible books too good to pass up.

The biggest challenges for the district remains upgrading the appearance and pedestrian-friendliness of the area. We have a lot of auto traffic, but not many places where it is convenient to stop and park. In the next five years, it is unlikely that all of the current smaller businesses will remain as rising rents become too much for sales to support. A major challenge will be integrating the "new" Ruston center developing on the smelter site with the businesses of the "old" core centered at 51st and Pearl Streets. It may be that the "old" core will not be able to participate in the draw of the "new" center resulting in business along Pearl becoming relatively marginalized. Developing strategies to avoid this outcome will be important for long term success of these businesses.

8) Anything else you think folks would like to know? At present I am looking to buy books in nice shape in the areas of hunting/firearms, and American military and political history.

Point Ruston In The News

The News Tribune reported today that Point Ruston has expanded labor agreements with even more labor groups, winning positive words even from Jobs With Justice. You can read more here....

Ruston's Property Tax Revenues

Ruston's town clerk has verified the amount of tax revenue the town received from property taxes each year. I had asked for more details after my research posted a couple of days ago.

Here are totals:

• 2006: $154,857
• 2007: $165,560
• 2008: $168,991
• 2009: $200,000 anticipated

That's not much out of the $1.35 million dollar budget for 2009. More food for thought.

Karen

Point Defiance Casino Vs. Ruston

The News Tribune is reporting more on the on-going saga of the Point Defiance Casino and Ruston lawsuits. Both have filed for summary judgement, asking the judge to rule in their favor before a trial. If the case proceeds to trial, a hearing on July 10th has been set. Read more here...

New From Point Ruston

We are excited to announce that for the next few months the Point Ruston Sales Center has moved to our Model Home at Stack Hill!

Touring this furnished model will give you all the opportunity to see first hand the design, craftsmanship, and pride we put into our homes, which is very similar to the finishes we plan for the Copperline Condos.

This is a temporary move while we ready the ferry and new dock that will permanently moor our floating showroom to Point Ruston's waterfront property.

The Model Home at Stack Hill will be open Thursday through Monday, between noon and 6pm. It will be closed on Tuesday and Wednesday. The phone number for the sales team remains 253.759.8400.

We look forward to seeing you soon at Stack Hill!

Point Ruston Sales Team

253.759.8400

http://www.pointruston.com/

NEW!

Point Ruston Showroom

Model Home at Stack Hill

5229 North 49th Street

Ruston, WA 98407

253.759.8400

OPEN Thursday - Monday

Noon to 6pm

For Kids, By Kids

One of the items on tonight's council meeting agenda is this request to allow the kids to have a kid's parade on July 4th. Isabella Davis is taking after her mom and dad, not afraid to ask and willing to put effort behind her words. And she's quite an artist to boot! Let's hope the council gets on board tonight and waive the $100 parade fee.

Council Meeting: June 15, 2009

Here is the agenda for tonight's meeting. On the docket is another executive session at the beginning of the meeting to discuss litigation, and a wonderful request for a 4th of July parade from Isabella Davis. The full packet of information should is available on Ruston Reports.

Thank You Isn't Enough

I had an inspirational conversation with Joanne Bergman tonight about what really matters in life and the value of living in a small town. First the basics: Joanne and her boys are staying with her mom until July 1st. They are moving into a new place then and she'll have a better idea of any specific household needs at that point. Right now she doesn't have storage space for physical donations.

She and her family are deeply grateful for the outpouring of support and help. It's when she considers how the community has responded that she gets emotional. "Stuff is stuff" she says. She considers herself lucky. Everyone made it out safe. They had time to grab the cat, but nothing else.

But she said they got everything that was important. She has her family, great friends and neighbors who care. Life goes on, one foot in front of the other. It's the love and support that are getting her through this.

She wants everyone to know she is doing well. Even in the midst of all the loss, she sees the good. She appreciates the efforts of the fire fighters who went into her burning home to make sure she and her family were safe. The fire fighters are the ones who give selflessly every day, risking their lives she says. She is thankful everyone made it out safe and no other houses were involved.

I'll keep you posted on future needs. Joanne is right, they have the most important things - life and family. But if you want to help her rebuild, you can contribute to the Bergman Family Fire Fund at the Tacoma Narrows Credit Union or drop a donation in the jars at Town Hall or Don's Market.

These challenges are when being a community means more than just living in a neighborhood; we make a difference in a meaningful, powerful way. Thank you for all you do, neighbors!