10 years ago 1998
Arlingtons water supply increased 63 percent following a decision made by city officials Monday to connect the citys water system with a Snohomish County PUD water line. The city began negotiating the purchase of water from the PUD in February following a county decision to install a new 12-inch water main at Burn Road, three miles south of the citys boundary, to accommodate it customers. Because of the addition of the Arlington connection, the county will instead install a 16-inch pipe to handle the added load and Arlington will pay the difference between the two different sized pipes. Ken Reid, public works director for Arlington, said the decision to connect to the countys line at an initial estimated cost of $700,000 came sort of suddenly, but it is a commitment that needed to be made.

25 years ago 1983
The Board of Commissioners of Snohomish County PUD Friday voted unanimously to suspend the April 1 rate increase, which had been implemented to pay the utilitys share of the debt service on WPPSS plants 4 and 5, and voted to petition King County Superior Court to return to the PUD the money that had been paid into the escrow account established by that court. James Langus, president of the commission, requested the special meeting as a result of last Wednesdays Washington State Supreme Court ruling which said the PUDs did not have authority to enter into the WPPSS 4/5 Participants Agreement and, as a result, the agreement is not enforceable against the PUD. Langus told the audience attending Fridays meeting that it was pretty obvious how they felt and that their PUD Commission feels the same way. It was understood at the time we implemented the rate increase that if the courts ruled we did not have to pay, we would rescind the increase and return it to our customers, he said. Our action today should be in keeping with out promise to our customers to take that action.

50 years ago 1958
A second Pioneer pond is being developed between the two highways at the Pioneer Park; and the present pond will be enlarged, according to Bill Wallis, owner of the land adjacent to the Pioneer park. Mr. Wallis, one of the group of Pioneers who have been developing the Pioneer park into a beauty spot and keeping it in shape, recently purchased from the Birckemeier estate the land adjacent to the park. Through a deal with the Pioneers he traded a strip of land south of the present pond for the piece of land which has been of no use as part of the park, which lies in a triangular shape at the junction of the two roads. Mr. Wallis has cleared of underbrush most of the land he acquired, and has had a dragline and bulldozers, as well as his team at work leveling off the area and making an excavation for a second pond, which will lie between the roads and fed by Portage Creek.