Citizens Are Asking . . . 

The first Saturday in May is Hometown Heroes Day in Roy.

Volunteers from the community and from the 555th Engineer Brigade help around town with clean-up, maintenance and beautification projects. Please contact Roy City Hall to volunteer!

There will be a ceremony after lunch to honor Deputy Daniel McCartney.

The first Saturday in May is also Spring Clean-Up Day, when LeMay /Pierce County Refuse generously brings dumpsters for trash and yard debris. The dumpsters will be across from City Hall from 8:00 a.m. until full. This service is for city residents only (not Roy addresses in unincorporated Pierce County) and is limited to one pick-up truckload per household. No household trash or hazardous waste/material will be allowed. To determine if an item is hazardous, look for the words POISON, DANGER, WARNING or CAUTION on the label. (As you sort through your unwanted items, keep in mind that there will be a citywide garage sale August 4!)

There will be a Pierce County Shredding Event at City Hall from 10 a.m.–1 p.m.  If a lot of people participate, you may be limited to three grocery-sized bags per person. When the truck is full, the event is over.

The Roy City Council approved amnesty from late fees on new and renewed 2018 dog licenses paid by close of business on Monday, April 2, 2018. This is a savings of $30 per dog!

It is unlawful for any person to own, keep or have control of a dog over the age of six months without having a current license tag. Each dog must be licensed within thirty days of the date the dog is obtained. Licenses must be renewed each year by January 31. Noncompliance is subject to penalties as provided in Roy City Code Chapter 1-4.

The best reason to license, though, is to help us help your loose dog find its way home to you. The annual fee is $20, or $10 with proof of spay/neuter. There is a 20% discount with proof of microchip or registered tattoo.

The Roy City Council’s work session on November 13 was on the topic of managing our small water system. The newsletter sent with water bills in early October invited water customers to attend and listen. Jennifer Kropack from the state Department of Health braved the stormy weather to share knowledge with the members of the Council. Roy’s water system faces many challenges that are similar to those faced nationwide. Infrastructure is aging, and decades of keeping rates pleasantly low have resulted in deferred attention to planning for necessary improvements and replacements. Those lower rates did not reflect the true cost of operating water systems. Exclusive reliance on grant funding cannot continue, because that pool is drying up. Roy’s extra difficulty is that there are presently fewer than 325 connections to support its
system.

Handouts from the session are available below. New rates took effect December 1 and will show up on bills sent in January. The Council adopted a resolution suspending 1% of the utility tax for a year to mitigate the effect on bills a little. City officials will be looking at how best to move ahead in the coming weeks. Watch for notice soon of our consulting engineers’ presentation of the update of our Water System Plan.

Roy Rodeos this year will be June 3-4 and September 2-3. The Roy Pioneer Rodeo Association, a private non-profit organization, holds it on the rodeo grounds just outside city limits. It is a big event in Roy, and we welcome the participants and fans to town!

Rodeo information is available at royrodeo.com, and the Rodeo Association handles additional questions from its Facebook page. The City always gets questions about vendor booths and camping when rodeo weekends are coming up. Both types of questions usually involve additional questions about the railroad property.

Vendor booths: The City issues Special Event Limited Business Licenses for $15 for four consecutive days (instead of $45 for a regular annual City Business License). You need a state UBI number, written permission from the property owner, and any additional licenses or permits that are applicable (such as from Pierce County Health Department for selling food). Roy City Code 4-1A-5.C

Camping: Camping requires written consent from the property owner and a permit from the Chief of Police. (Large assemblage of campers on one property requires a special event permit.) Roy City Code 7-3-6 and 4-10 Railroad property: The parcel across from City Hall belongs to Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad Co. BNSF authorizes the Roy Police Department to enforce the law on the property. Anyone who wishes to use the BNSF property needs written permission from BNSF. Since the City does not own the property, the City cannot give permission to use it, and the City cannot charge anyone to use it.

Aaron’s employment with the city ended November 15. He was the staff member responsible for citywide maintenance tasks as well as daily water operations. The city decided to wait to make a hiring decision for water operations while we complete the periodic update of our Water System Plan.

Clearwater Utility Services will perform satellite management services for our water operations. Meanwhile, we are very happy to announce that one of our great volunteers, Charlie Ashman, has stepped into the maintenance position and will also assist with administrative water tasks such as reading meters and connecting/ disconnecting service.

What’s a porch pirate? It’s a thief who follows the postal, UPS, FedEx and other carriers around as they deliver holiday packages to your doorstep. Take precautions when ordering things to be delivered during this season. Consider having items shipped to your employer, a neighbor who is always home, or telling the delivery company to deliver at a specific time when you will be home.

A New Tradition Begins! For many years there has been a huge Christmas tree beside City Hall, cut and delivered by our JBLM Community Connector, the 555th Engineer Brigade. City staff and caring volunteers decorated it, and on the first Friday of December, the community participated in the lighting ceremony. We will always treasure the memories of that tradition, and there is a wall full of plaques in City Hall made from cross-sections of the trees to commemorate this.

The 555th was ready and willing to repeat the tradition this year, but they also supported the suggestion of a sergeant major to plant a living tree in memory of fallen soldiers, friends, family and loved ones who cannot be here with us during the holidays.

Concurring with this sentiment, and appreciating the environmentally friendly aspect of a living tree, we accepted a caring citizen’s donation of a tree that was raised from a seedling by a 93-year-old tree farmer in Olympia.  More info >>

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