Lacey, Washington

Lacey, Washington
—  City  —
located at 47°1′35″N 122°48′26″W (47.026368, -122.807170)
Coordinates: 47°1′35″N 122°48′26″W
Country	United States
State	Washington
County	Thurston
Founded
Incorporated (city)	December 5, 1966
Government
• Mayor	Tom Nelson
• Deputy Mayor	Virgil Clarkson
• City Council	Jason Hearn Jeff Gadman Cynthia Pratt Andy Ryder Ron Lawson
• City Manager	Scott Spence
Area
• Total	16.5 sq mi (42.7 km2)
• Land	16.1 sq mi (41.7 km2)
• Water	0.4 sq mi (1.0 km2)
Elevation	203 ft (62 m)
Population (2010)
• Total	42,393
• Density	2,639.9/sq mi (1,019.3/km2)
Time zone	PST (UTC-8)
• Summer (DST)	PDT (UTC-7)
Zip Code	98516
Area code	360
FIPS code	53-36745
GNIS feature ID	1512362
Website	[1]

Lacey is a city in Thurston County, Washington, United States. Established as a suburb of Olympia, its population was 42,393 at the 2010 census out of a county population of 252,264.

History

Lacey was originally called Woodland after settlers Isaac and Catherine Wood, who claimed land there in 1853. The small settlements of Woodland and Chambers Creek consolidated into Lacey in the 1950s. Renamed for attorney and developer O.C. Lacey, the city of Lacey was officially incorporated on December 5, 1966. At the time, the main industries were cattle, milk, forest products, and retail. Lacey became a commuter town for Olympia, Fort Lewis and to some extent, Tacoma; in recent years, however, business developments, community groups, and population growth have led Lacey to develop into a city in its own right.

Business

Lacey sported one of the Northwest's first ever "indoor malls", South Sound Center. It has since been partially demolished and turned into an outdoor shopping center. Lacey now features a diverse array of businesses, ranging from retail to warehousing/distribution centers, a large retirement community, a major mushroom farm, and Weyerhaeuser's corrugated container facility.

As Lacey continues to grow, many businesses continue to feed into the city. Lacey now offers a Regal 16 Movie Theater, which is one of the largest theaters in the area. Other businesses that have recently come into Lacey include LA Fitness, Best Buy, Costco, The Home Depot, Lowe's, Cabela's and many strip malls and market squares. There is also speculation that NFL Washington Redskins Fullback Mike Sellers, a North Thurston High School alumni, may seek to build a multi-sport event center or football dome in Hawks Prairie, which could attract national competitions.^{[citation needed]}

Ecology

Lacey was the twelfth city to be designated an official "Green Power Community" by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for its use of renewable energy sources; 5% of its total energy use comes from green power sources. It is working to meet its Alternative Energy Initiative, which includes "using 100 percent green electrical energy in all of its municipal buildings, parks, utilities, and 3,000 streetlights and traffic signals; providing electric vehicle charging stations to visitors and employees at its city hall and library campus; and initiating conversion of its municipal fleet to energy efficient vehicles powered by electricity, hybrid technology, and 80/20 biofuel." In 2009, Lacey's Alternative Energy Fair was honored with the Award of Excellence for Events, Fairs, and Festivals by the Washington Recreation and Park Association. Lacey has received the "Tree City, USA" designation from the National Arbor Day Foundation for the past eighteen years.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 16.3 square miles (42.3 km²), of which, 15.9 square miles (41.3 km²) of it is land and 0.4 square miles (1.0 km²) of it (2.27%) is water.

Demographics

As of the census of 2009, there were 39,250 people, 16,459 households, and 10,148 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,557.8 people per square mile (755.9/km²). There were 16,160 housing units at an average density of 825.1 per square mile (318.6/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 75.19% White, 5.77% African American, 2.33% Native American, 8.76% Asian, 1.06% Pacific Islander, 2.16% from other races, and 4.72% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 5.90% of the population.

There were 12,459 households out of which 34.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.1% were married couples living together, 11.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.6% were non-families. 28.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.47 and the average family size was 3.02.

In the city the age distribution of the population shows 26.3% under the age of 18, 9.7% from 18 to 24, 30.7% from 25 to 44, 20.0% from 45 to 64, and 13.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 91.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.3 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $46,848, and the median income for a family was $54,923. Males had a median income of $41,053 versus $32,497 for females. The per capita income for the city was $20,224. About 7.1% of families and 8.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.5% of those under age 18 and 5.5% of those age 65 or over.

Education

In addition to being the home of many public and private schools, Lacey is also home to Saint Martin's University, and Thurston County's largest school district, North Thurston Public Schools. Lacey is also home to various faith based schools, such as Faith Lutheran (Elementary to Middle School) and Foundation Campus, which includes Community Christian Academy (Pre-school to Middle School) and Northwest Christian High School. Lacey will also be the home for the future Pope John Paul II High School. In addition, a new magnet middle school Aspire School will be completed by Fall 2009, and will focus on the performing arts, as well as offering a 7 period schedule. Timberline High School ranked in the top 4.6% of all schools in America.

Public Secondary Schools

Main article: North Thurston Public Schools

• Aspire Middle School (Magnet Middle School 6-8)[2]
• Chinook Middle School
• Komachin Middle School
• Nisqually Middle School[3]
• North Thurston High School
• River Ridge High School
• Timberline High School [4]
• South Sound High School (Alternative High School)

Sister city

Lacey has a sister city in Poland, Mińsk Mazowiecki.

Trivia

• USA Soccer Goalkeeper Kasey Keller grew up on an egg farm in Lacey; graduating from North Thurston High School in 1988. A street that is adjacent to the high school is named after him.
• The band Sleater-Kinney takes their name from a major street in the city.
• NFL Carolina Panthers Running Back Jonathan Stewart graduated from Timberline High School in 2005. He attended The University of Oregon, and was drafted by the Carolina Panthers in the 2008 NFL Draft. He was the 13th overall pick in the draft.
• NFL Washington Redskins Pro Bowl Fullback Mike Sellers graduated from North Thurston High School, and returns to Lacey in the off-season.
• NFL Tampa Bay Buccaneers Tight End Jerramy Stevens graduated from River Ridge High School. He was selected as the 28th overall pick in the 2002 NFL Draft by the Seattle Seahawks.
• MMA figher Brad Blackburn graduated from Timberline High School in Lacey.
• Former NFL Defensive End Ron Holmes graduated from Timberline High School.

External links

• City of Lacey
• Thurston County Chamber of Commerce
• North Thurston Public Schools
• Lacey-Thurston County Chamber of Commerce
• Thurston County Chamber of Commerce
• Economic Development Council of Thurston County