Unveiling Carnation: Festivals, Trails, and a Valley Full of Surprises Await Explorers. with Mayor Jim Ribail

Meet Jim Ribail.

Now, Jim’s not your typical politician, He’s actually the most reluctant one you’ll ever come across. See, around 10 years ago, Jim started getting all worked up about what was happening in his city. So, what did he do? He started attending all these meetings, especially those city council ones. And let me tell you, he didn’t just pop in once or twice – he was there for a solid two years, complaining and questioning everything. At some point, Jim thought to himself, “Hey, maybe it’s time I back up my words with action.” So, he decided to dive right in and get involved in the political game. Man, talk about putting your money where your mouth is, or maybe your foot where your mouth is – whatever works, right?

Now Jim is the Mayor of Carnation.

Here are some things you will learn in this episode.

Downtown Remodel: Jim Ribail’s top priority for Carnation is a downtown remodel that includes wider sidewalks, new planting areas, and upgraded street lights. Phase 2 of the remodel, involving new sidewalks and an asphalt overlay on highway 203, is already underway. The town is investing in enhancing its infrastructure to make the downtown area more vibrant and welcoming for locals and visitors alike.

Economic Diversification: As the smallest city in the Snoqualmie Valley, Carnation’s long-term goal is to diversify its economy. By attracting new businesses, such as incubator light industry businesses, the town aims to create opportunities for growth and prosperity. It’s exciting to see their proactive efforts to bring in smaller businesses and provide a supportive environment for entrepreneurs.

Hidden Gems and Outdoor Recreation: The Snoqualmie Valley, including Carnation, offers a wide range of outdoor activities for adventure enthusiasts. From hiking and biking along the picturesque Snoqualmie Trail to exploring the local parks and engaging in sports like pickleball and skateboarding, there’s something for everyone. Carnation’s hidden gems can only be discovered by spending time in this charming town, making it a must-visit destination for nature lovers.

Tune in to this episode to dive deeper into our conversation with Jim Ribail and learn more about the exciting developments happening in Carnation. You won’t want to miss it!

Connect With Jim

Carnation City Council

Jim Ribail Carnation Mayor Episode Transcript

Hello, friends, and welcome to the Exploring Washington State podcast. My name is Scott Cowan, and I’m the host of the show. Each episode, I have a conversation with an interesting guest who is living in or from Washington state. These are casual conversations with real and interesting people. I think you’re gonna like the show. So let’s jump right in with today’s guest. Welcome back to this episode of the Exploring Washington State podcast. I’m with the mayor of Carnation, Jim Ribail.

Scott Cowan [00:00:31]:

Jim, I I said it right. Correct? I mean

Jim Ribail [00:00:33]:

You did.

Scott Cowan [00:00:34]:

All my intros lately have started with a guest. I said it right. Correct? It’s really bad. So Jim is, like I said, the mayor of Carnation, And I have never had a politician on the show yet. We talked about this a little bit when we talked before. And I saw, you know, you you came, recommended, and we’ll talk about that in a little bit. And so Sure. Welcome.

Scott Cowan [00:00:59]:

And why don’t you give me a little bit well, let me ask you this. I’m just gonna I’ll start with a question. What what got you into politics?

Jim Ribail [00:01:10]:

That’s a good question, because I’m probably the most reluctant politician that you’ll interview. You know, I was, I was concerned about some things that were going on in the city, you know, 10 years ago. I went to a lot of meetings, went to a lot of city council meetings. I was there for probably 2 years, you know, off and on, but In a big way, and I was always there complaining and asking questions. And finally, I said I should probably put my, Out of my money where my mouth is or my foot where my mouth is. One of the 2.

Scott Cowan [00:01:43]:

Or both, maybe. I don’t know.

Jim Ribail [00:01:45]:

And run. And so, I ran. I lost the 1st time by 27 votes, which was kind of interesting. And then I, I ran again, And I ran on a post that time, and so I’ve been on city council going next year will be 8 years, so I’m in my 2nd term right now.

Scott Cowan [00:02:03]:

Okay. And Can you please explain how the city council incarnation works? Because when I did a little bit of quick research, it seems like The mayor is appointed by the city council.

Jim Ribail [00:02:19]:

That’s correct. So there’s 2 forms of government in Washington. 1 is a strong mayor, and 1 is a weak mayor. So I happen to be a reluctant politician and a weak mayor. So add that all up. But what the weak mayor is is basically that your peers on city council vote for you to be mayor. You hold that position for 2 years

Scott Cowan [00:02:39]:

k.

Jim Ribail [00:02:40]:

Once you’ve been there.

Scott Cowan [00:02:41]:

So I know very little about politics. So is it am I accurate that you missed the meeting, and since you weren’t there, they not they made you mayor? Is that how it works?

Jim Ribail [00:02:52]:

This time I was there, but that is how it works a lot of times with committees.

Scott Cowan [00:02:55]:

So excited. Well, you weren’t there, so we appointed you.

Jim Ribail [00:02:59]:

Right. Right.

Scott Cowan [00:03:00]:

So as a weak mayor and that’s a that’s a terrible term. It is. I’m sorry. It’s just it’s it’s a terrible, terrible term. But as as an appointed mayor how about that? I’ll call you an appointed mayor.

Jim Ribail [00:03:12]:

There you go.

Scott Cowan [00:03:13]:

What as as the mayor, Do you have an extra vote at city council? How does what does this work?

Jim Ribail [00:03:22]:

No. No. So, really, it is It’s kind of a ceremonial role where I get to run the meetings, sign proclamations, sign official documents. K. But all the votes on city council are equal. And so that’s the nice thing about it is with, you know, a 5 member council. It in order to get anything, you know, accomplished or passed through city council, you have to get 3 votes. So we’re all on the same playing field.

Scott Cowan [00:03:43]:

Okay.

Jim Ribail [00:03:44]:

So it’s, it’s nice. And then we have a city manager who takes direction from our votes and our and our councilmatic decisions, And then she implements those that direction.

Scott Cowan [00:03:53]:

Alright. So you’re kind of the steering committee and the city managers, the The person that executes the the over you know, the decision? Exactly. Okay. Alright.

Jim Ribail [00:04:06]:

Exactly. Yeah. Yeah. Typically, at the beginning of the year, we will have a retreat in January, February. We’ll set out a list of of objectives that we’d like to accomplish that year, And then the city manager really works off those along with all the other surprises that happen along the year that come up. But we we have a good set of 10 goals Usually, we wanna accomplish.

Scott Cowan [00:04:27]:

Alright. Well, let’s talk about those 10 goals. What what 10 goals did the the city of Carnation hope to accomplish in 2023?

Jim Ribail [00:04:36]:

You know, the full list is I’ll try to remember it as I go, but our our our number one priority that we have Wanted to do was we’ve done a downtown remodel. So we just finished 2 years ago our part of our main street, which is called our CBD or our central business district. New sidewalks, wider sidewalks, planting areas, new street lights. It’s really been a huge upgrade to the city. We wanted to complete a phase 2 of that. So in the next couple weeks, we will be we just got new sidewalks in phase 2, and we’re doing an asphalt overlay, on highway 203 Mhmm. To con to do to take phase 2. And then after that, our goal has really been kinda economic diversification In the city, we are the smallest city in the Snoqualmie Valley.

Scott Cowan [00:05:23]:

K.

Jim Ribail [00:05:23]:

By far, we have about 23 100 residents. And but we’re kinda unique where we’re kind of in the middle of the valley, and we are we converge on 2 river rivers, the Talt River and the Snoqualmie River. We have a lot of outdoor recreation activities. We have a great park system. In fact, not in our city limits, but just outside of our city limits is the largest Park in King County, which is Toll McDonald Park.

Scott Cowan [00:05:47]:

That’s the largest park. I did not not that I am the expert King County park sizes, but I did not I wouldn’t been surprised by that answer. Okay.

Jim Ribail [00:05:54]:

Yeah. Yeah. So it’s it’s a great park. And so we like to do there’s a lot of recreational activities. And in the last few years, we’ve really developed into, a music location for in the Valley. And it’s what we’re really trying to promote. And a lot of one of the things we’re trying to promote in the Valley and incarnation itself, what we’ve what we got to offer with that.

Scott Cowan [00:06:17]:

What was the inspiration to become focused more on music?

Jim Ribail [00:06:23]:

You know, I would love to say that we were geniuses on city council, and we thought it all up, and we implemented a fantastic plan. And, It’s all going to our plan accordingly, but, sometimes we’re lucky. So and I really need to give credit a lot To, Morgan Henley. Morgan Henley has been a lifelong resident of the Valley, and Morgan Henley presents. And Morgan Henley has done 2 main, festivals incarnation. 1 is Brodie Nation, And that’s July 11th through 14th. And then there’s a Carnation block party, which is on June 22nd. And Brodie Nation, I think this year and Morgan will call me if I get this wrong, but he either had 30 or 50 bands at, Brodie Nation.

Jim Ribail [00:07:11]:

And it’s a multiday event, and it’s it’s a very cool event that happens. And then Morgan was also responsible for Bill for booking a lot of local bands in the local restaurants and bars in the area in incarnation. And then since then, we’ve had, Remlinger Farms, who has gotten more into the music venue. Mhmm. So now they have a facility when they put in a brewery, And they have live music there Friday Saturday nights generally with the brewery, which has been a great addition. And then we had, a local event center kind of It’s a gathering place, and that’s what they like to call it. And it’s Miller’s, a gathering place. Mhmm.

Jim Ribail [00:07:47]:

And they are booking a lot of cool acts that come through Carnation, generally on a Friday or Saturday night. It’s a small venue. It’s very it’s it’s very cool. And so it’s a small intimate type setting, but the The bands that they get going through there, you’re gonna see them, you know, become famous in the next 2 to 3 years. It’s it’s really cool.

Scott Cowan [00:08:08]:

Okay. I know Other than I know Remeliers. I had Nathan on, recently. In fact, that’s how you and I got introduced is is Nathan for you under the bus. And Yes. I do. But and and I do think, you know, Remmers has changed since I would take my kids out there 25 to 25 years ago, it’s changed. And I haven’t been to Roamingers in a while, so it’s, like, the changes that have, you know, been happening there pretty Significant.

Jim Ribail [00:08:39]:

Yes.

Scott Cowan [00:08:39]:

And he also mentioned they’re, they’re gonna have an outdoor amphitheater now type thing.

Jim Ribail [00:08:46]:

Yeah.

Scott Cowan [00:08:46]:

And he’s also, it seems like he’s trying to get Remongers to be a good supporter of of music too, which I’m I think this is awesome. Yes. Why so how does How does Carnation bet the town of Carnation benefit from having more Tourists I’m I’m of tourist dollars. We understand that. But as a music location, how is the town benefiting from this? What what are you seeing as positives of People coming into Carnation for festivals of 30 to 50 bands.

Jim Ribail [00:09:24]:

You know, it’s introducing a lot of people to the valley Ali and a lot of people to things that we have going on out here. So when they come out here for a music venue, they usually will stay for, you You know, a couple hours, take a look at things. Another good example is our, if you’re a Lego fan and you’re watching the show The Lego Masters on TV right now. The gentleman that helped us redo our street project was our project engineer, Joden Perry, is actually on that show right now As a as a contestant, and he had a big kickoff party at Miller’s, and there were people from all over the Seattle area that came over to watch this, show that was debuted at Miller’s, and I’m talking to them and they’re from Kirkland and from Seattle, and they’re saying, hey. We’ve never been here, but this is a great little town. We We went we had a drink over at the Mexican restaurant, and then we walked down to the little pizza place and had a slice of pizza and some ice cream, and And we came down here to watch this, and we wanna come back out here. And what else do you guys do? Well, you know, we have great access to the Snoqualmie Trail. So you can actually go from North Bend all the way to Duval on a trail.

Jim Ribail [00:10:30]:

So whether you’re running it or biking it or ebiking it, it’s a great little back way to see The Snoqualmie Valley in a big way. We have a great park system that I mentioned a little bit earlier. We have a Frisbee park in downtown Carnation that people come to. We have Memorial Park that has pickleball courts and a bass a new basketball court that we put in. We actually have one of the best skate bowls in the area, Which is unheard of, but we’ve had that for about 20 years. But people travel all over the place to come to our skate bowl that’s in Memorial Park. So you just kinda find little hidden gems and carnation that you don’t know unless you actually come here and spend some time. And so that’s why I think, you know, People coming in and enjoying the Valley is is pretty cool.

Scott Cowan [00:11:13]:

That is that is very cool. I mean, I wasn’t aware of any of that. So I I knew about the trail. I mean, I’ve Yeah. I haven’t stepped foot on the trail personally because it would involve activity, and I don’t do that well. But no. I was aware of the trail, but I wasn’t I wasn’t aware of any of these other things. I’ve driven through Carnation, you know, from North Bend to Duvall, from Redmond through the vault.

Scott Cowan [00:11:39]:

You know, I’ve I’ve driven through I’m familiar with carnation in the sense of I’ve been there before. I I’m not trying to say I’m familiar with it. Obviously, the things you’re sharing with me. I stopped at the where why’d we go through there the other day? Oh, we’d, dropped our dog off in North Bend, and we went and saw some live music up in Conway. So

Jim Ribail [00:12:03]:

Okay. In

Scott Cowan [00:12:04]:

Skagitka. And on the way home, we went to get the dog. We went we went the back way, and we stopped at Carnation. It we’re gonna get something we topped the grocery store, you know, drop through. That was the last time I was through there. And then So it’s not a surprise to me. Like, we you say when people go, we’ve never been here before. I’m like, Yeah.

Scott Cowan [00:12:24]:

But Yeah. But I wouldn’t I wasn’t aware of all these things. So What do you know about the history of Carnation?

Jim Ribail [00:12:33]:

The history of Carnation is it’s a long one. It is I’ve been out here since 2007, so I’m still not a local.

Scott Cowan [00:12:42]:

And you never will be.

Jim Ribail [00:12:44]:

No. No. That’s fair enough.

Scott Cowan [00:12:46]:

He never will be, probably.

Jim Ribail [00:12:48]:

But, we actually have a great historical society that’s incarnation That they have a museum house that’s opened up on the weekends Yeah. Down at, Carnation Tree Farms. But, you know, we started out as the city of Toldt. And before that, the Stokoli Valley tribe, they this was, some of their sacred grounds down here. Actually, the city of Carnation, it’s it’s very important to them. And when the city was incorporated, it’ll be incorporated to the city of Tolt.

Scott Cowan [00:13:15]:

Mhmm.

Jim Ribail [00:13:16]:

And we were told for several years. At one point in time, we changed our name, I think, for a year to the city of Grand Rapids, which we don’t know how that happened. But since we’re on the convergence of 2 rivers, someone thought Grand Rapids. Oh. And then back to Talt. And then we had a company, that moved in called Carnation. And you might have heard of Carnation Farms and Carnation Milk, And it’s a facility a great facility. It’s just outside of Carnation.

Jim Ribail [00:13:47]:

And back in the day, they, had a great partnership the city and the name was changed to Carnation to kind of follow Carnation Farms. And so whenever I’m traveling around the country, around the world, If they say if I say I’m from Carnation, they’re like, well, what’s that all about? Where’s that? I’m like, well, do you remember the evaporated milk? Oh, yeah. That’s where I live.

Scott Cowan [00:14:08]:

I thought I read somewhere that when they changed the name from Toll to Carnation, there was there were some unhappy folks. They did they this is why we this predates you and I. This is, you know Oh, yeah. Way, way, way before us. But I thought I read somewhere that they changed the name back to Talt, But they left the name of carnation on the on the city hall and all of that. So I was a little I’m still a little confused if You you’re calling it Carnation. I’m calling it Carnation, but I thought that the name was officially changed back to Talt. And this has been, like, in the thirties.

Jim Ribail [00:14:40]:

I think it’s no. I think since then, it’s always been Carnation.

Scott Cowan [00:14:43]:

Alright.

Jim Ribail [00:14:44]:

But, yes, there is still, there’s still a movement to change it back to Tolt. In fact, we have yeah. In fact, we have a couple markers that are still in town that have tolled. And so, we have some t shirts and stuff like that that are made up, which city of tolled. And, it’s great. It’s a great little local controversy kind of kind of kind of not

Scott Cowan [00:15:02]:

Okay.

Jim Ribail [00:15:03]:

On what it to be called.

Scott Cowan [00:15:05]:

So you you earlier, you just said you moved to current tote Carnation, Grand Rapids, you know, somewhere there. I’m pretty sure. You you moved there in 2007. Where were you at before?

Jim Ribail [00:15:15]:

So I originally grew up in Eastern Washington in a little city just outside of Yakima called, well, the West Valley area of Tandem. Grew up in that area and then moved to, Camas, Washington to Gig Harbor and then to here.

Scott Cowan [00:15:28]:

And, I mean, you gotta I’m gonna I’m I’m asking you a loaded question, but how do you like living in Carnation?

Jim Ribail [00:15:36]:

I like it a lot. And the reason, that we found this place is I actually moved my office to Bellevue when I was doing the commute from Gig Harbor to Bellevue every morning. And that was I’d get up at I I’d leave at 6 o’clock in the morning, and I’d get home at 8 o’clock at night. And I had 2 small kids at the time, and that was not working. And so my wife and I found the little town Carnation, and it was really similar to little towns that we grew up in Eastern Washington. K. She grew up in a little town called Natchez in Eastern Washington, and I was in a tandem. And we just kinda fell in love with it.

Jim Ribail [00:16:06]:

And it was just quaint, small town that had a grocery store, had enough amenities, And was actually really close to Seattle and Redmond. So if you wanted to go in and just watch a baseball game or a football game or anything, It wasn’t that bad of a commute, and

Scott Cowan [00:16:21]:

it was great. So is your office still in Bellevue?

Jim Ribail [00:16:24]:

No. Okay. Okay. Yeah. Okay. No. Long story, but no no longer in Bellevue.

Scott Cowan [00:16:29]:

So, how was the let me ask you this. So so when you when you moved to Carnation, you’re, you know, you’re gone 14 hours a day. What what was the commute Carnation to Bellevue Fort like for you?

Jim Ribail [00:16:40]:

Hour, maybe hour and a half, and that’s with heavy traffic.

Scott Cowan [00:16:43]:

Yeah. Still a long that’s still a long time to see the car to go somewhere. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. So the city what when you started this, you said every year you have, like, the city council comes up with, like, 10 A 10 idea thing. So as we’re recording this near the end of 2023, what do you think is on the horizon for 2024?

Jim Ribail [00:17:04]:

You know, 2024, we’ve really started our economic development campaign k. Where we are really trying to bring more businesses into the City of Carnation. And so that has really started last year in a big way, and we see it continuing. We just approved, a sale of 8 acres of property to commercial. And because of a lot of businesses getting kicked out of the Bellevue, Redmond area because of light rail coming There is a big need for kind of light industrial like commercial for smaller businesses, incubator businesses to to come into, And that’s what we’re hoping to to capture with that.

Scott Cowan [00:17:44]:

And so what role is is the city taking so what is the city doing to to try to attract these these type of businesses? What How does it I I guess the question is, I you know, I don’t I’ve never you know, like I said, I’ve never talked to a politician before. So You’re sitting there and you’re thinking you guys are discussing this, and this is how the story is playing in my head. Well, we think it’d be good to have these incubator light industry Businesses come out to the valley here. What are you doing? How do you how do you market Carnation to that type of Client.

Jim Ribail [00:18:15]:

You know, there’s a few things. The the developer that, is part of it already has people that wanna move out to Carnation because they’re already losing their spaces In areas. So there it’s so it’s kind of proactive when we thought about this going knowing this was gonna happen, you know, going with a developer that knew that there were gonna People that needed to move and wanted to move.

Scott Cowan [00:18:35]:

Mhmm.

Jim Ribail [00:18:35]:

So that’s the biggest thing. The other side of it is King County has came out with their, What they’re calling an they’re I’m trying to think of the right term that they’re calling it. It it’s,

Scott Cowan [00:18:51]:

I’ll I’ll think of it

Jim Ribail [00:18:52]:

in a second, Scott. It’s okay. Give me me right now. But creative economy.

Scott Cowan [00:18:56]:

K. So

Jim Ribail [00:18:57]:

the creative economy. So the creative economy is really speaking to the arts and crafts And actually, movie industry that’s happening in Washington state. And so what we’ve done is try to partner with King County, and we’ve developed A flyer that we’re sending out of just, like, movies that have been filmed in Carnation. Movies and videos and stuff like that because we actually have a pretty good track record of Things that have been filmed in Carnation.

Scott Cowan [00:19:20]:

Share share share a couple titles with me.

Jim Ribail [00:19:23]:

So, the music video white walls From Eminem, that was portion of that was filmed incarnation.

Scott Cowan [00:19:30]:

Wasn’t White Waltz wasn’t white I’m sorry to curse you, but wasn’t White Waltz Macklemore?

Jim Ribail [00:19:34]:

What did I say?

Scott Cowan [00:19:35]:

M&M.

Jim Ribail [00:19:36]:

Yeah. That’s Macklemore. So That was my fault. Oh, well,

Scott Cowan [00:19:43]:

you’ll leave that in. But okay. So Macklemore came out there. Okay. So Macklemore came out and okay. What So let help me out on that video because I don’t remember that video very well. What part did he film incarnation?

Jim Ribail [00:19:55]:

So the brick wall That he’s singing the backup against. Yeah. That is the back that’s the brick wall for Miller’s incarnation right there in that parking lot. So And it’s actually been kind of a famous, picture area right now for senior pictures and things like that. So you’ll see a lot of people taking pictures out there Alright. I think because of Macklemore. Okay. Which is the case.

Scott Cowan [00:20:14]:

So so Macklemore has done the that video out there. What what else has been filmed out there? This is

Jim Ribail [00:20:19]:

in in 2000 12, safety not guaranteed with Aubrey Plaza. Let’s film a portion of it out here. Captain Fantastic, which is a 2006 feature film.

Scott Cowan [00:20:30]:

Okay.

Jim Ribail [00:20:31]:

Portions was filled out here. Lucky them in 2005 13 was Johnny Depp

Scott Cowan [00:20:37]:

Okay. Who

Jim Ribail [00:20:37]:

was actually and it filmed a portion of it, in a local house that’s just right around the corner from city hall, actually. Really? Which is pretty cool. Yeah. A lot of scenes from Twin Peaks From the TV show and the movie was filmed out here. In fact, The Grange, which is now apartment complex or an apartment building, they transformed to local Grange and apartments, was actually, Twin Peaks of City Hall.

Scott Cowan [00:21:01]:

Oh, good. It was

Jim Ribail [00:21:02]:

filmed in there.

Scott Cowan [00:21:02]:

Okay.

Jim Ribail [00:21:03]:

Yeah. Okay. And then in 2012, the movie Bigfoot with Alice Cooper and, was filmed incarnation in a big way. So a nice I think it was a b movie.

Scott Cowan [00:21:16]:

Well, I had Alice Cooper. It had to be

Jim Ribail [00:21:17]:

a b movie. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Just Fiercey, but it was it was a trip to see a lot of things.

Scott Cowan [00:21:22]:

Oh my god.

Jim Ribail [00:21:23]:

Some of just some of the stuff That’s

Scott Cowan [00:21:25]:

that’s kinda cool. Those are all kinda cool. So Yeah. Does is the city involved? I mean, how does a community I mean, when I think of films, I’m thinking that they they’re blocking the streets or they’re, you know, they’re asking locals to be, you know, extras and things like that. So is the city involved in these type of projects?

Jim Ribail [00:21:43]:

You know, we’re we’re involved in the sense that we would like to promote what we have in the valley for People to be able to shoot and stuff like that. Mhmm. If they need permits and stuff like that, we definitely try to to streamline them as much as we can. And then just getting out and helping promote as much as we can with our local partners. You know, a good example of that was Rumblinger with Seattle Theater Group. And Seattle theater group wanting to, you know, come out here and start to do more concerts and partnering with them and with King County Mhmm. In helping say, Saying, hey. This is something that we wanna bring to the Valley and helping even Ramin or clear some of the hurdles with the county as far as getting permits to do that.

Jim Ribail [00:22:21]:

Okay. We’re working in a very similar fashion with Carnation Farms. Carnation Farms is actually starting up their concert series also again next And they had, a lot of acts come out next last year to do that. So, they started a Sunday concert, Sunday afternoon concert, Which was very cool. And so we’re just trying to help parlay that as much as we can.

Scott Cowan [00:22:43]:

I like I like to hear that you guys are being very, you know, cooperative. You know, so so many communities have whether it’s fair or not, communities have a a bad wrap of not wanting to Not in my backyard type thing or, you know, they’re not. And I think as communities Evolve, you said your your your wife’s from Natchez.

Jim Ribail [00:23:06]:

Yeah.

Scott Cowan [00:23:08]:

You know, they have that music festival there now. Yeah. You know, does it benefit the community? I I think it does. Those dollars go into Natchez. And the last time I drove through there, there’s not A lot of reason to stop in Natchez, if I’m being honest. It’s Yeah. Great location. Just Yeah.

Scott Cowan [00:23:27]:

Whereas if you No. Yeah. I think

Jim Ribail [00:23:29]:

it’s a good point. And we talk to our local retailers, our coffee shops, our restaurants, our grocery store and say, hey. When these events come into town Mhmm. You know, how does it affect your business? One of our biggest events that we have every year is Carnation 4th July.

Scott Cowan [00:23:42]:

Mhmm.

Jim Ribail [00:23:42]:

And I’ll tell you with our 4th July, I didn’t go to it for, like, the 1st 3 years That I lived incarnation. We always went to the ocean with my wife’s family. And for some reason, somebody was sick, and we happened to stay And 1 4th July, and I went down there with my wife and kids. And I looked at my wife, and they said, we’re staying here every 4th July.

Scott Cowan [00:24:02]:

Yeah. So So what was what was so compelling for you that that

Jim Ribail [00:24:05]:

It was it was just classic Americano, 4th July.

Scott Cowan [00:24:08]:

K.

Jim Ribail [00:24:08]:

It was a giant parade in downtown. The whole the whole town kinda just shuts down. There were 3 and 3 basketball tournaments for kids and adults. There was A whole kind of market festival area.

Scott Cowan [00:24:22]:

K.

Jim Ribail [00:24:22]:

A great traditional fireworks show at the end of it. And basically, from 10 o’clock at night till 10 o’clock in the morning till 10 o’clock at night, there’s something to do with the 4th July incarnation. And it’s a it’s was just a blast. And so We stayed here, and and that is even a huge economic boom to our local businesses because it draws people from all over the place k. To come and visit Carnation.

Scott Cowan [00:24:48]:

Approximately, how old are your kids? Are they are they teens?

Jim Ribail [00:24:51]:

No. So my daughter just went college. So my daughter’s 18, and my son is 21 now.

Scott Cowan [00:24:56]:

So they grew but they they were teens incarnation.

Jim Ribail [00:25:00]:

They went through elementary school all the way through.

Scott Cowan [00:25:03]:

Yep. How in your in your opinion, how did they as kids like living incarnation?

Jim Ribail [00:25:10]:

It was great. It was it is just kind of a small town. You could, my kids and all the other kids in our little subdivision, We call it the herd, and we would just make phone calls about where the herd’s at at any given point during the day. And they were at one of my neighbor’s house or that neighbor’s house. Okay. And at the end of the day, they came home. So it was a lot of fun.

Scott Cowan [00:25:32]:

K. That’s that’s good. Yeah. You got Yeah. And so your daughter’s off to college? Yes. Well, in in Washington State?

Jim Ribail [00:25:40]:

Both of them in Oregon. So Okay. Yeah.

Scott Cowan [00:25:42]:

See, we don’t talk about Oregon on the show. Sorry about that. I asked. My problem. I was kidding.

Jim Ribail [00:25:49]:

Right. Right.

Scott Cowan [00:25:50]:

Alright. What And so I told you when we were gonna do this, these would be a little bit shorter than my usual episode. So Sure. Because it’s it’s designed I really wanna, like, We’re talking less about you, and we’re really talking about carnation. Yeah. But I’m gonna ask you some questions I ask my normal guest. So I’ve got I got 3 questions I wanna ask you, and I’m gonna ask 2 now, and we’ll save 1 up for them. So this is where you get to put your your cheerleader hat on for for Carnation.

Jim Ribail [00:26:17]:

Perfect.

Scott Cowan [00:26:17]:

So I’m gonna get to Carnation, and I’m gonna want I I drink coffee. Coffee is my thing. I love coffee. Where’s a great place for me to get a cup of coffee in Carnation?

Jim Ribail [00:26:26]:

You know, we have 2. 1 is Sandy’s Espresso.

Scott Cowan [00:26:29]:

K.

Jim Ribail [00:26:30]:

And that is the local coffee shop, and it is right on the corner. They just did a great remodel, and they have a nice outdoor sitting area with a porch and heaters if you need them. There’s a drive through also k. For CNDs. They put in a little conference room also. So if you need to have, like, a little meeting with somebody, you can go into little kind of private, conference room. It it’s a great little, like, local treasure.

Scott Cowan [00:26:53]:

So one thing I didn’t ask you before I asked that question, are you a coffee drinker?

Jim Ribail [00:26:56]:

I am.

Scott Cowan [00:26:56]:

Okay. So what’s your go to coffee? What do you when you like, you and I are gonna go to Sandy’s, what are you what are you ordering?

Jim Ribail [00:27:03]:

That’s a really good question because I change all the time. So the baristas look at me and just kinda go, What what are we doing today? Yeah. So Alright. I will go from Americano to a mocha, typically depending on what the scale looks like next That morning, my

Scott Cowan [00:27:17]:

stuff on it.

Jim Ribail [00:27:17]:

So So

Scott Cowan [00:27:19]:

I’m I’m I’m the, you know, I’m the plain black coffee drip pour over, all do Americano. I don’t I have nothing against more artistic drinks, but Right. I my scale just tells me it’s always plain coffee for you, Scott. It’s just okay. Alright. So part 2 of this question are are same same vein. I’m gonna get there around lunchtime, so I’ve now had coffee. Now I’m gonna wanna get something to eat.

Scott Cowan [00:27:42]:

Where should I try for lunch in Carnation?

Jim Ribail [00:27:47]:

Well, we have Carnation Cafe, which is the Famous home of the standing sandwich, and so you’ll have to go to Damn. Go to their website and take a look at that.

Scott Cowan [00:27:56]:

I don’t know. I’m you’re you’re I love open hooks, but I’m gonna we’re gonna close this loop. What what on earth is a standing sandwich?

Jim Ribail [00:28:05]:

It’s how they slice it and put it up on edge.

Scott Cowan [00:28:07]:

Okay.

Jim Ribail [00:28:07]:

It’s It’s it’s presentation. It’s it’s pretty cool, but it’s, Don does a great job over there.

Scott Cowan [00:28:13]:

Alright.

Jim Ribail [00:28:13]:

So, that’s a great place to eat. Stopa, which is our local Mexican restaurant, is fantastic. There’s, there’s a few there’s a few Xtampas in the valley, And it seems like everybody kinda has their favorite one, but we have people that will travel from other places to come to the 6th stop up, because they like how they do things a little bit differently.

Scott Cowan [00:28:32]:

Okay.

Jim Ribail [00:28:32]:

Which is They’ll do stuff a little bit differently, so it’s kinda unique.

Scott Cowan [00:28:35]:

Right.

Jim Ribail [00:28:36]:

And then I would be remiss if I did not shout out, a couple pizza places because Both of my kids worked to compete in pizza places in the city. So my son worked at Red Pepper Pizza, and my daughter worked at Blake’s. And they’re both fantastic places to grab a pie.

Scott Cowan [00:28:52]:

So Alright. I’m putting you on the spot. Yeah. You’re the mayor.

Jim Ribail [00:28:57]:

Yes.

Scott Cowan [00:28:57]:

I’m not gonna ask you to pick a favorite. That’s that’s I don’t wanna harm your political career. But I will ask you this. At those 2 pizza places, what are you ordering? What’s your go to pie?

Jim Ribail [00:29:09]:

So at Blake’s, I actually like their grinders a lot.

Scott Cowan [00:29:12]:

Okay.

Jim Ribail [00:29:12]:

They do a great they do a great grinder, And it’s called the T Ferno, which is a spicy pepperoni hot sandwich, which is great. They also do a fantastic meatball sub there, which is

Scott Cowan [00:29:26]:

Solid.

Jim Ribail [00:29:27]:

Awesome. Yeah.

Scott Cowan [00:29:27]:

Very solid. Alright.

Jim Ribail [00:29:29]:

Yeah. And red pepper, I just like their pepperoni. So

Scott Cowan [00:29:32]:

Alright. So you got you got pretty classic. Yes. You’re not you okay. Yeah. All solid. Those all sound solid.

Jim Ribail [00:29:40]:

Yeah.

Scott Cowan [00:29:41]:

Okay. Alright. Your what do you hope to see Carnation do in the next couple 3 years? What do you hope To see you know, we’re we’re forecasting out a little bit. This is where you get to put on your your your mayor hat and be a politician type But what do you hope to see Carnation do in the future?

Jim Ribail [00:30:01]:

You know, the biggest thing for me is Just economic diversification for Carnation.

Scott Cowan [00:30:07]:

K.

Jim Ribail [00:30:07]:

Because single family homes don’t produce the tax revenue that you need in order to keep Streets maintained, public works going, all of that. You need more of a commercial entity To help make that happen

Scott Cowan [00:30:24]:

k.

Jim Ribail [00:30:24]:

You need more retail presence. You need more, commercially zoned areas that can actually help with that economic diversification. If you don’t get that in a city, and and I think I’ve seen other cities kind of look at this is I personally think that single family homes, you need to have a diverse economic footprint in the city to make it sustainable. And right now, we have really been you know, had a lot of single family homes go in.

Scott Cowan [00:30:53]:

Mhmm.

Jim Ribail [00:30:53]:

And we need that diversity for a couple reasons. 1, on the commercial side of things for higher tax revenue to help us with things. But also and I think in Washington State, something that we’ve really missed is that smaller footprint starter home. And it’s for those people that wanna you know, they can’t afford, you know, the classic McMansion that you’ve heard for the last 5 or 10 years out there.

Scott Cowan [00:31:16]:

Mhmm.

Jim Ribail [00:31:16]:

But, you know, townhomes, things like that that’ll actually give people a realistic entry point into owning a home that they can gain, you know, equity in and later on start to move up in.

Scott Cowan [00:31:27]:

Yeah. So I

Jim Ribail [00:31:28]:

think that that’s the big thing.

Scott Cowan [00:31:29]:

I’m yeah. Yeah. A 100% agree with that. That’s, throughout Western even Eastern Washington, housing prices have become very Yeah. Inflated, and very difficult for people to to be able to to purchase a home Any more?

Jim Ribail [00:31:46]:

No. And it’s and it’s tough because I I see it all over my my other job that I my real job that I have. I deal with a lot of, Fire departments around Washington State.

Scott Cowan [00:31:56]:

K.

Jim Ribail [00:31:56]:

So I get to see the growth around Washington State. And the one thing that concerns me is We’re getting a lot of top down direction from the state and the counties to build homes and to do things,

Scott Cowan [00:32:07]:

but

Jim Ribail [00:32:07]:

that’s a two way street. They also have to provide the infrastructure at their level In order to support those homes so there’s, you know, there’s something when the state calls us up and says, hey. You have to build, and this is a true story. I I sat in a meeting, and the state said, hey. You have to build 800 new homes in Carnation. And I said, well, you’re crazy, because I said, I’m sure this makes a lot of sense in a boardroom in downtown Seattle on a whiteboard, but out here with our infrastructure, it doesn’t make sense. So until the state and the county can improve their infrastructure and their capacity, we’re not building 800 homes in Carnation. That’s just it’s out of the question.

Jim Ribail [00:32:46]:

And I think they’re starting to hear that a little bit, but it needs to be a it needs to be a wholesale change At the state and the county level, to listen to smaller cities about what they really need with infrastructure in order to I’m just gonna call them these unfunded mandates that we get handed down from state and county

Scott Cowan [00:33:04]:

Well, 800 homes, that’s 3,000 new new people incarnation ballpark, you know. Yeah. And that’s, you know And we’re and we’re 700 cars

Jim Ribail [00:33:17]:

Yeah.

Scott Cowan [00:33:17]:

And On a road that

Jim Ribail [00:33:20]:

It’s a two lane road.

Scott Cowan [00:33:21]:

Mhmm. And Yeah. You’ve got, you know, sewer capacities. You you got a lot of A lot of things to take into account versus just, you know, selling a developer of 200 acres and letting them split it up into, you know, Yeah. 400 homes and then, you know

Jim Ribail [00:33:40]:

Yeah. And I’m and I’m really glad that this council, I think, in particular, has really taken a step back and has looked at this and said, You know, what’s realistic with what we can do? Okay. Yes. There is there is a housing crisis in Washington State. It is it’s true.

Scott Cowan [00:33:54]:

Mhmm.

Jim Ribail [00:33:55]:

But What what’s our obligation with the level that we’re at with all of our concerns as a city that we could realistically, you know, accomplish in a In a city without endangering people, frankly.

Scott Cowan [00:34:06]:

Right.

Jim Ribail [00:34:07]:

And so we’ve we’ve taken a we’ve taken a strong stance with it. And I just I I hope other cities hear that too because I think it’s gonna take a lot of cities going, hey. We need we need focus from the state level to fix some of these things.

Scott Cowan [00:34:21]:

Fair enough. K. Two questions to go. Sure. Great. I’ll ask you and I’ll this is my get out of jail free card. What didn’t I ask you that we I should have asked you? What didn’t we cover today?

Jim Ribail [00:34:37]:

I’m Trying to think what we didn’t cover. I don’t, you know, probably our biggest tourist season is happening right now in the valley, And that’s where all of the, the pumpkin patches are up and going. And so we have everything we have pumpkin patches From fall city to Duvall that everybody kind of congregates to and and travels this weekend, on the weekends, and even in the evenings, And goes out and grabs their pumpkins and all of that. And so it’s a it’s a pretty exciting time in the valley. It’s where we really get really busy out here.

Scott Cowan [00:35:11]:

Mhmm.

Jim Ribail [00:35:11]:

And, But it’s it’s a fun time. There’s local fire pits that you can rent and hang out with your family, and there’s pumpkin patches and sunflower mazes, and it’s it’s pretty cool.

Scott Cowan [00:35:22]:

I was talking about it. Okay. Yeah. Alright. This last question. And I want you to understand the implications of it. This your whole Your political career is probably hanging on the answer to this question because if we’re gonna record it, and it’s gonna be public, and when you go to be Reelected people will have your answers. So

Jim Ribail [00:35:41]:

Sure. I’m

Scott Cowan [00:35:41]:

gonna think long and hard about it. Alright? Alright. Cake or pie? Oh, pie. Why?

Jim Ribail [00:35:51]:

Pie. It’s an e it’s an easy one. So, because I’m not a big frosting fan, and that’s where it’s at. But, and I’ve always grown up loving pie. In fact, I’ve Told my family you could get me a birthday pie instead of a birthday cake in a year.

Scott Cowan [00:36:08]:

Alright.

Jim Ribail [00:36:09]:

Yeah.

Scott Cowan [00:36:09]:

This question some people are like you. Just boom. Here’s my answer. I’ve got it locked down. Other people are like, you want me to pick between my children?

Jim Ribail [00:36:16]:

I can’t.

Scott Cowan [00:36:20]:

But the last part follow-up to this question. So your your folks, just for clarity, he’s camp pie. He’s strongly pie. So when you when you vote, This this bandits pro pie.

Jim Ribail [00:36:31]:

Perfect.

Scott Cowan [00:36:33]:

What type of pie?

Jim Ribail [00:36:35]:

I like a lot of berry pies. So anything from marianberry to mixed berry, That’s that’s my wheelhouse in place.

Scott Cowan [00:36:41]:

Okay. Alright. I started asking this. I I I’ve shared this question or this ant This story before, but for you, just so you hear it. I I was talking to a guest, and this episode never was published because the recording crashed. And this guest was telling me, She shared this, like, well, this is what we ask people, and it was, like, cake or pie? That’s that’s a great question. I’m gonna steal that, and I I I have. And, you know, unashamedly, I’ve stolen this question, and I think because it’s just it’s good natured fun, And but I need to keep what I need to do is go back to the episodes and keep track and see see where we’re at.

Scott Cowan [00:37:23]:

Unofficially unofficially, I think pie is in the lead. That’s great. Unofficially, I would say apple’s probably in the lead of the Pies. But it’s always but there’s been some guests that are, like Their eyes get big, and they’re like, you asked me what? I can’t answer this question.

Jim Ribail [00:37:48]:

It’s like That’s great.

Scott Cowan [00:37:50]:

Oh god. It’s a it’s a cake or pie. There’s no wrong answer here. You know?

Jim Ribail [00:37:53]:

We’re not

Scott Cowan [00:37:53]:

gonna you know, there’s no wrong answer. Right. But I Jim, thank you for taking the time to Yeah. Give us a little bit of More information on on the is it is it the city of Carnation or the town of Carnation?

Jim Ribail [00:38:10]:

It’s a city of Carnation.

Scott Cowan [00:38:11]:

It is the city. So From a from a naming standpoint, when when does a town cross over to become a city? When they decide to? Like, we wanna grow up and be called a city, or what is it?

Jim Ribail [00:38:22]:

You know, that’s a good question, and I don’t know because we were just talking about this kind of off the cuff a couple weeks ago at council. And I don’t think we ever got the answer to it because we were We are wondering just what the difference is when people start talking about that Yeah.

Scott Cowan [00:38:36]:

I’ve talked

Jim Ribail [00:38:36]:

and forth. But, yeah, I don’t know the answer to that.

Scott Cowan [00:38:38]:

I don’t know if there’s, like, a threshold. Like, You hit a 1,000 people, and you’re now a city? Or Yeah. Is there a benefit to be a city versus a town?

Jim Ribail [00:38:47]:

You know, I don’t know if that’s anything in the chart or anything like that that makes a difference, really, what you’re calling it.

Scott Cowan [00:38:53]:

Yeah. I never knew. So, yeah, but thank you for shining a light on on Carnation, and, really appreciate your time.

Jim Ribail [00:39:00]:

Thank you. I appreciate it.