Updated March 14, 2012 — Kent Downtown Partnership and Kent Chamber of Commerce are hosting a community forum for area businesses to hear from Kent Hope and Union Gospel Mission (UGM) and to voice their support and/or concerns about the proposed location of the shelter. The business event will be held Wed., Mar. 13 at ShoWare Center from 5 to 7 p.m. For more information, call KDP at 253-813-6976.

In recent weeks, the City of Kent has restarted a discussion on how to best use the vacant Resource Center on the corner of 3rd and East Meeker in downtown Kent. The issue was discussed in 2011 but a citizen’s panel did not believe any proposals submitted were viable options. The City is looking at the issue again.

This time the idea of a homeless shelter has been proposed. While there is no question that homelessness is an important issue in our community, several issues need to be carefully considered. Is a homeless shelter the best use of the Resource Center? Is this location the best spot in Kent for a homeless shelter? How would it impact downtown residents and businesses? In addition, with the city’s budget so tight, does Kent have the funds to renovate, maintain and run the building? If not, is an organization like the Union Gospel Mission who has been named as a potential resource the best option for operating the building? Who will pay for the project?

The potential use of the Resource Center as a homeless shelter has been spurring discussions throughout downtown at local organizations like the Kent Chamber, the Kent City Council and the Kent Downtown Partnership.  I encourage you to visit the links below to educate yourself on the City’s options and to respond with your comments here. I also encourage you to contact your city council members to share your thoughts. As residents and business owners, we need to make our voices heard.

Thank you,

Dana Neuts, owner/publisher
iLoveKent.net

In the interest of full disclosure, my business is located on Kent’s East Hill. However, I am a member of the Kent Chamber and I serve as the Interim Secretary on the Board of Directors for the Kent Downtown Partnership.

Kent City Council, Feb. 21, 2012, Kent TV21

Kent Reporter, Letter to the Editor by Kent Chamber Executive Director Andrea Keikkala

Direct Link to Kent Chamber Letter

Kent Chamber Survey – What Do You Think?

Mayor Suzette Cooke will give her annual State of the City Address this year on Wed., March 7 at the Kent Chamber of Commerce membership luncheon:

State of the City Address

March 7, 2012
11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.
ShoWare Center
625 W. James St.
Kent, WA  98032

Chambers $20
Guests $30

Register online.

Sponsored by Valley Bank of Kent

The Kent Chamber of Commerce “Find It In Kent” event is scheduled for Wednesday, September 28 from 3-7 p at ShoWare Center, 625 W. James St. in Kent.

This is a great opportunity for local businesses to showcase their services.  There are multiple sponsorship opportunities available.  Please log onto http://www.kentchamber.com/ for more information.

The Taste of Kent Reception will feature 12 local restaurants with samplings of their finest cuisine from 5 to 7p, the closing of the Business Expo.  Interested restaurants are invited to register.  It’s a wonderful way to market your restaurant!  Please log onto http://www.kentchamber.com for information.

The cost of the Taste of Kent Reception is free for those participating in the passport program and you can do this by picking up a free passport at the Kent Chamber booth.  The passport also entitles you to be entered to win great door prizes.  The Taste of Kent is $10 admission for those that don’t want to participate in the passport program.

Come to ShoWare Center on September 28 to experience all of the things Kent offers!

Realtor® Marti Reeder of John L. Scott has been awarded the CRS designation – Certified Residential Specialist – by the Council of Residential Specialists, an affiliate of the National Association of Realtors®.  Reeder adds this designation to three others:  Accredited Buyers Representative (ABR), Accredited Sellers Representative (ASR) and Certified Foreclosure Specialist (CFS).

The CRS designation is earned by exhibiting the highest standard of ethics, achieving a high level of professional experience and sales, managing residential transactions and maintaining strong technical skills to keep up with today’s ever-changing real estate market. Fewer than 4% of Realtors® have earned the CRS designation. Reeder qualified for the designation by executing more than the minimum requirement of 75 transactions in the last five years plus the completion of numerous hours of continuing education courses in the field of residential real estate. As a Certified Residential Specialist, Reeder has specific training and expertise to help clients buy and sell their homes.

“I want my clients to know that I take my job – and their homes – very seriously,” Reeder said. “This is one more credential that exhibits my commitment to learning all I can to help them with their purchase or sale.”

Reeder is a broker/real estate agent with John L. Scott in Kent-Covington. She is an award-winning Realtor®, earning presidential honors from John L. Scott the last four years and “Best in Kent” in 2008, 2009 and 2010. Last December, Reeder also received the “Five Star Real Estate Agent, Best in Client Satisfaction” award from Seattle Magazine.  In addition to her work, Reeder is active in the Kent community as a member of the Kent Chamber of Commerce, Kent Downtown Partnership and Noon Kiwanis Club. This summer she is sponsoring a Relay for Life team called Friends 4 Life to earn money for cancer research.

For more information about Reeder, visit http://www.marti-realtor.com or http://johnlscott.com/martireeder. You can also find Reeder on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Biznik and YouTube.

Commercial real estate broker Chad Gleason recently announced that he has started his own commercial real estate firm, Gleason & Co., in Kent and Renton. As a full-service commercial realtor, Gleason provides property management, landlord representation, tenant representation and investment analysis services to businesses and property owners throughout the Puget Sound.

After four years with Retail Realty Services, Gleason left the Renton-based firm in January on amicable terms, stating that he was ready to fill the growing void in the Seattle-Tacoma-South King County area. Gleason provides a full range of commercial real estate services for small to mid-sized companies that utilize retail, office, industrial or multi-family space. Though other agencies service the same territory, Gleason focuses on personalized, one-on-one service and enjoys working in historic downtown communities like Kent and Renton.

“No one here is providing property owners with the service they need; everyone deserves first class service,” Gleason explains.

In addition to commercial real estate services, Gleason often serves as a project manager, connecting his clients with a team of experts like attorneys, property managers and other businesses who provide complementary services.

“I’m looking after my clients’ businesses all day long, so they can focus on what they do best,” Gleason says. “We make the connections so all of the pieces fit.”

In addition to managing Gleason & Co., Gleason is an active member of the Washington State chapter of CCIM in Kirkland and is a member of the Kent Chamber of Commerce, Kent Rotary and Kent Downtown Partnership. He is teaching a free leasing workshop as part of the business incubator series in Federal Way next month.

For more information about Gleason & Co., contact Chad Gleason at 253-656-5357 or chad@gleasonandco.com or visit him online at http://gleasonandco.com. Gleason can also be found on Facebook (http://facebook.com/gleasonandco and Twitter (http://twitter.com/gleasonandco).

Each year the Kent Chamber of Commerce hosts its annual awards banquet.

This year’s black tie event, Business Leadership Excellence Awards, is scheduled for Saturday, April 3 from 6 to 9 p.m. at the ShoWare Center.The event will feature a gourmet meal, awards ceremony and a live auction.

For more details, visit the Kent Reporter’s story by editor Laura Pierce or the Kent Chamber website.