Represents: 4th Ward
Term: Jan 2010 - Dec 2013
Stan Snapp was elected to the City Council in 2007. In 2009 and 2010, Stan was selected by the Council to serve as the Council President Pro Tempore. Stan currently serves as Chair of the Council's Finance and Personnel Committee, and is a member of the Council’s Lake Whatcom Reservoir Committee, Public Works/Public Safety Committee and Transportation Committee. Stan's additional assignments include serving as a Board member of the Bellingham/Whatcom Tourism Bureau, the Opportunity Council and the Tourism Allocation Subcommittee. Additionally, this year Stan will serve on the Comcast Franchise and Public Access Television Review panel, the Capital Facilities and Bonding Capacity Task Force and the Council Legacy and Strategic Commitments Metrics Task Force.
Stan Snapp moved his family to Bellingham in 1967 to attend Western Washington University He graduated in 1971 with a BA degree and a Secondary Education degree. He joined the Bellingham Fire Department in 1974, retiring after 25 years of protecting and keeping Bellingham's citizens safe. He spent 17 years as Division Chief in charge of training and facilities. He is most proud of keeping firefighters injury free in all those years of training exercises. His management of the planning and construction of the Broadway headquarters fire station led to "cutting the ribbon" on time and under budget.
During his years at the Fire Department, he began a second career as a volunteer at United Way including several years on the board. Since retiring twelve years ago from the Bellingham Fire Department, he has been active in the community volunteering to serve on many community boards including; Greenways, Parks Master Planning Steering Committee, Watershed Advisory Board, Parks and Recreation Advisory Board and currently serves on the North Coast Credit Union Board.
He raised five children here and most have gone elsewhere to make their homes that now include 10 grandchildren and one great grandchild. He and his wife Marian have made their home in the Silver Beach neighborhood for the past 18 years.
Safe Drinking Water - Stan believes that strong leadership is necessary to address the causes of decline in water quality in the Lake Whatcom Reservoir. Stan is dedicated to the development of strong and effective policies that will reverse this decline and is working to see a Restoration Plan in place that provides a road map on restoring this reservoir so there will be clean drinking water for future generations.
Responsible Growth - Stan feels strongly that neighbors should be supported to help guide growth so that the unique and special characteristics of each neighborhood are enhanced. Growth has brought both positive and negative changes. Stan will work to encourage those changes that improve livability and mitigate the negative impacts. Urban villages are being designed and approved each year as we work to improve the quality of our lives within our city limits.
Fiscal Responsibility - City Council has final responsibility for all expenditures made by the City. Bellingham is at a cross roads with many challenges and opportunities. The economy declined so rapidly in 2009 that we find our selves beginning 2010 down 64 public employee positions. We continue to struggle to provide high levels of services that our citizens expect with revenues that continue to decline. All the while we have major capital needs that the Task Force will be indentifying early this year as we map out our long range future.
I look forward to working with individual citizens, neighborhood groups and others as we work to maintain our wonderful quality of life right here in the Fourth Corner. I look forward to hearing your ideas. Call or email me any time.
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2620 Shepardson Street
Bellingham, WA 98226
Phone: 360-305-0607
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Stan Snapp
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