Community Government
Gig Harbor Council makes Juneteenth an official city holiday
Gig Harbor city offices will be closed Monday, June 20, in honor of Juneteenth.
The city council voted unanimously on June 1 to officially make the day an holiday observed by the city.
Juneteenth – short for June 19 – is the oldest known celebration commemorating the end of slavery in the United States.
Juneteenth commemorates June 19, 1865, the day enslaved people in Galveston, Texas, learned of the Emancipation Proclamation. That was more than two years after President Abraham Lincoln issued the proclamation.
The day is also called Emancipation Day, Freedom Day, Jubilee Day, Black Independence Day and Juneteenth Independence Day.
In a press release announcing the new holiday, the city noted that “Juneteenth reminds us of the horrors of our country’s past, commemorates African American freedom, acknowledges the resilience and determination that African Americans have shown, and pays homage to those who have paved the road to freedom in America.”
Juneteenth became an official state holiday in Washington in 2021, and since then many cities in the state have formally adopted it as a legal holiday.
Because June 19 falls on a Sunday this year, the holiday will be celebrated Monday, June 20.
Wetlands mitigation
Also Wednesday, the council unanimously approved a plan to mitigate impacts to wetlands affected by roadway improvements on Burnham Drive between the Eagles Club and 96th Street. The project includes adding new curbs, gutters, a planter strip and a shared-use path plus replacement of a culvert under Burnham Drive south of 96th Street.
The mitigation plan consists of preserving land near the Cushman Trail under a conservation easement and removing invasive plants from the area and replanting with native vegetation.
Water system plan
The council also authorized a $87,692 contract with Carollo Engineers to bring the city’s Water System Plan into compliance with requirements of the state Department of Health and the federal Environmental Protection Agency.
The city last updated its Water System Plan in 2018, according to Public Works Director Jeff Langhelm. At that time, staff was unaware that the federal Risk and Resiliency Assessment and Emergency Response Plans would need to be updated in 2022.
Last month, EPA notified the city that those documents are past due and issued a deadline for updating, with a risk of fines of more than $58,000-a-day for non -compliance.