Gig Harbor Undressed

Spring is in bloom in Gig Harbor

I know I wrote an article about a month ago that it felt like spring was coming, but it still feels like spring.  We’ve had some rain, and the temps have cooled a bit, but it’s still be amazingly beautiful weather for Gig Harbor this time of year.  You can really tell it’s spring now, though, as the flowers are blooming which means allergies for me!  It also makes it really pretty, though.  Below are a few attempts at me being artsy with a tree flowering out my front window and a flowering shrub on the downtown waterfront.

Easter Sunrise Service at Gig Harbor’s Haven of Rest

For more than 20 years now, the Haven of Rest funeral home on HWY 16 in Gig Harbor will be holding an Easter Sunrise service beginning at 7am.  Haven of Rest has a gorgeous view of Gig Harbor Bay and Mt. Rainier.  The service features staff from many different Gig Harbor churches combining together, and offers a great place to go for those who may have recently lost a family member or friend.  Everybody is welcome.  Dress warmly, as it can be cool and wet!

Condo market growing in Gig Harbor

Gig Harbor does not have a ton of condominiums available, though recently there have been several “Condo Conversion” projects that have boosted the Gig Harbor condo market. There are currently 74 condos available for sale in Gig Harbor and Fox Island (77 if you count the 3 boat slips, which are listed as condos). The range of these condos is extremely vast, from waterfront luxury to affordable waterview to converted apartments to spacious condos on acreage.

Condos can have several advantages over single family homes.  Many Gig Harbor residents choose to enjoy our sunny summer months and migrate to sunnier weather during the winter time. Condos provide a safe, easy way to lock up and travel without the worries of maintenance. Most condominium complexes charge homeowners’ dues that cover a wide range of things, from insurance, landscaping, exterior maintenance, and even some utilities. Be sure to check with your real estate agent to find out the specifics before you purchase a condo.

Condos can also be an affordable way to buy into the Gig Harbor housing market, though as you’ll see, not all of our condos fit the bill of “affordable.” For those looking for a low maintenance, often rent-able Gig Harbor residence, our condo market may have just what you are looking for.

This list is certainly not complete, as there are many more condo complexes than these and many of the above complexes have multiple units for sale. If you’d like a complete list of the condos available in Gig Harbor, please give me a call. Ranging from $179,950-$2M, there’s sure to be something for you!

Beauty of Gig Harbor and Fox Island

I wanted to share a couple of photos with you. These are courtesy of Joseph Becker. You can view more of his amazing shots at his website, www.seldomseenphoto.com.

The top photo is looking at Mt Rainier and Fox Island. That is the view you would have from the Fox Island bridge, which is the only way to get onto Fox Island unless you have a boat.

The bottom photo is the original Tacoma Narrows Bridge, taken prior to the second bridge being built.

If you lived on Fox Island and worked in Tacoma, you’d get both of these views each day!

‘08 Whiskers Wine and Dine a Success!

The 2008 Whiskers Wine and Dine was held this past Friday night and was another fun success. Whiskers Wine and Dine is the annual auction and dinner fund raiser for the Peninsula Spay and Neuter Project, which is now known as Coalition: HUMAnE. This is a pretty amazing group that is dedicated to helping Gig Harbor and the surrounding area control our pet population. Make sure you check out their website to see all of the cool things that they are doing.

Here are a few photos from the evening, as well as a portion of the slide show that was shown highlighting the opening of their new spay and neuter clinic.

One of the many cool pieces of art that was donated for the live auction. This lazy susan was one of the most popular items of the night.

My favorite table of the night!

Laura Michalek is an energetic and fun professional fundraising auctioneer.  If you have any fundraising auctions in the Gig Harbor, Seattle, or Puget Sound region, you may want to look her up.

Police K-9 Foster Program

Officer Dennis of the Gig Harbor Police Department is unveiling a new K-9 program that is beneficial for multiple people.  The Gig Harbor community is going to have the opportunity to help Officer Dennis raise police service K-9’s! 

It doesn’t take much time being around Officer Dennis before you understand his passion for dogs.  He dreamt and developed this program and is taking it to Gig Harbor, looking for your help.  His goal is to strengthen the community participation in understanding and raising police service dogs.  This program will benefit the Jaycox Gig Harbor Police Benevolent Fund which supports youth and families in Gig Harbor during their times of need. 

Officer Dennis is donating 3 puppies from his dog Tabor’s litter to begin this program.  He is looking for volunteers from the Gig Harbor community to raise these German Shepherd puppies from 8 weeks until they are 14-16 months old.  Volunteers will work closely with Officer Dennis in providing these pups with a loving environment in which they’ll grow and learn and become socialized. 

Through various donations and his own provisions, Officer Dennis will provide the volunteer families with everything they’ll need to raise these pups.  Multiple crates, a kennel with covering, toys, leashes, food bowls will all be provided to the families.  Diet is a raw, natural diet that will be provided by a local company  at no cost to the foster families.   All veterinary care will be provided by the Purdy Animal Hospital.  This is truly a community project!  Those who are selected to raise the pups will join Officer Dennis frequently for training and socialization exercises. 

Volunteers don’t necessarily need a great deal of experience raising dogs.  Officer Dennis will work with you closely to ensure that you have everything that you need.  He is remarkably flexible and wants to work with families to make sure that the dog and the family is as comfortable as possible.  This program is about the dogs and about the Jaycox Fund, so Officer Dennis will do anything possible to make sure that this is a success.

If you are interested in learning more about becoming a foster parent for a police service dog, you are encouraged to attend an informational meeting on April 8th at 6pm at Gig Harbor’s Civic Center.  You can also view the Jaycox Fund Foster Program’s website for more information.  Downloadable brochures and applications are available on that site, as well as Officer Dennis’ contact information. 

This first year two puppies will be raised by foster families, one by Officer Dennis.  He hopes that this will become an annual program, benefiting the Gig Harbor community, other police departments in need of K-9 dogs, and The Jaycox Fund.  If (my wife says “when”) Sebastian passes away, this is a program I’d love to participate in.

The pups’ mom, Tabor, sniffing the grounds.

How could you not want to foster one of these guys?

Gig Harbor’s Open Houses This Weekend

Here’s the weekly look at Gig Harbor’s open houses.  Information is from the NWMLS, so it is reliable but not guaranteed.  If you find a home that you like, and have questions about the process of purchasing the home, please feel free to contact me.

Pierce County, Here’s Your Sign

Have you ever heard Bill Engvall’s “Here’s Your Sign” routine?  It’s a very funny take on people doing and saying things that Bill Engvall feels warrants that they should wear a warning sign around their necks so the rest of us can be alerted to their lack of intelligence.  Well,  Pierce County gets a sign from me.

You may have noticed that there are far fewer “For Sale” signs around the Gig Harbor area now than there were a few days ago.  It’s not that our housing market has picked up significantly and hundreds of homes magically sold this past weekend, but rather Pierce County has confiscated hundreds of real estate signs, small business signs, and other signs posted around the area.

Now let me be really clear on this point: I am actually GLAD, and I applaud Pierce County for taking the initiative to clean up our city and remove the multiple signs from around town.  Tuesday morning as I drove to a meeting in Gig Harbor, there was a gated development with 9–yes, 9–For Sale signs in front of the gates.  That wouldn’t be terrible, except there were only 4 homes for sale in this neighborhood.  One agent had 4 signs for 2 listings.  It looks trashy.  The neighborhood looks undesirable with all those “For Sale” signs out front.  Good for you, Pierce County, for cleaning them up and getting all those signs, and the small directional arrow signs, and other small advertising signs, off of our streets.

Here’s where I have the issue, and grant Pierce County their “sign.”  This was done with no warning to anybody.  Pierce County tax payers have had their money go to cover the costs to pick up literally hundreds of signs.  I know that one phone call, one email, one letter to ANY of the real estate offices in Gig Harbor would have been enough to alert ALL of Gig Harbor’s Realtors.  We would have gladly picked up our own signs at no cost to the tax payers. 

And the biggest problem?  All of these signs were dumped directly into the landfill.  Thousands of pounds of re-usable and recyclable posts, signs, flyer boxes, and fliers dumped into our landfills.  Agents weren’t given a chance to pick up our own signs (which would have saved us and Pierce County tax payers money), and we were not given the chance to come pick up our signs after they had been removed (which would have saved us money and saved our environment lots of needless waste). 

Again, kudos to the County for taking the initiative to clean up Gig Harbor.  The agents and businesses and sign installation companies should have known the long-standing sign ordinance and abided by it.  But good grief, Pierce County, a little communication and we could have saved money, waste, and hard feelings.

Here’s your sign.

Whiskers Wine and Dine

Tomorrow night I get to be the MC for the Peninsula Spay/Neuter Project’s annual Whiskers Wine and Dine Auction.  I love dogs, I want to see the pound problem go away, I enjoy auctions, and I love being in front of people with a microphone, so this is a fun night for me.  Hopefully I’ll have time to get some photos and post those on Saturday.  The auction/dinner is sold out, but if you want to know more about this cause, please visit PSNP’s website.

More fun photos

A friend of mine, who also happens to be my preferred lender for those of you who are looking to buy a home or perhaps refinance a home, sent me these photos that he took.  Thanks Bill!

A group of harbor seals bum a ride on a log jam as it gets towed underneath the Tacoma Narrows Bridge!