Kent, Washington

Kent is a city located in King County, Washington, United States, and is the third largest city in King County and the sixth largest in the state. An outlying suburb of Seattle, Kent is also the corporate home for companies such as REI and Oberto Sausage. Nearby towns include Renton and Tukwila to the north, Covington, and Lake Youngs to the east, Federal Way, Des Moines and SeaTac to the west, and Auburn, Federal Way, unincorporated King County and part of Covington to the south. The population as of April, 2010 was 92,411 according to the 2010 census. The total grew to an estimated 120,916 as of July 1, 2011, owing primarily to annexation.

History
The Kent area was first permanently settled by westerners in the early 1860s, and originally called Titusville (there is still a 'Titusville Station' sign on Gowe St).

During the 1880s the town discovered hops production as the major source of income. Due to an aphid invasion which affected hops crops in Europe, hops from the Puget Sound area were commanding high prices. Hops were shipped from Titusville either by the river or via rail. Eventually the town was even renamed for Kent County in England. Hops production in the valley would come to an end due to an invasion of aphids.

Kent was officially incorporated on May 28, 1890 with a population of 793, the second city incorporated in King County after Seattle.

After the turn of the 20th century the area turned to dairy farming, and was home to a Carnation Condensed Milk plant. Flooding from both the Green and the White Rivers was a constant problem. In 1906, flooding changed the course of the White River, which reduced the flood hazard by half. The Green River continued to present problems until the creation of the Howard A. Hanson Dam at Eagle Gorge in 1962.

During and after the Great Depression, Kent was known as the "Lettuce Capital of the World." After WWII, Kent began to grow more rapidly. From 1953 to 1960 the city's size grew twelve-fold. In 1965 Boeing began building in Kent, followed a few years later by other aerospace and high-tech companies.

Throughout the 1980s, Kent residents had a reputation for being "rednecks". The city was frequently parodied by the Seattle sketch comedy show Almost Live. Sketches included Cops in Kent, where officers would stop a woman for not having big enough hair or stop a man for not wearing a John Deere baseball cap. In 1994, the show's producer announced that they would stop making fun of Kent, a promise they kept for three days.

In 1992, the Greater Kent Historical Society was formed with the intent of promoting the discovery, preservation and dissemination of knowledge about the history of the greater Kent area. In 1996, the City of Kent purchased the historic Bereiter house, the home of one of Kent's early mayors, for use as the Kent Historical Museum. The museum is operated by the Greater Kent Historical Society.

In 2009, Kent got its first sports team, with the addition of WHL's Seattle Thunderbirds moving into the city-owned ShoWare Center.

Geography
Kent is divided into three major regions: East Hill, the Valley, and West Hill. Downtown Kent is located on the east side of the valley; the rest of the valley is almost entirely covered by warehouses. There is a good view of Mt. Rainier to the southeast.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 29.19 sqmi, of which, 28.63 sqmi is land and 0.56 sqmi is water. Major waterways include the Green River, which flows north through Kent on its way to Puget Sound. The largest lake is Lake Meridian on the city's East Hill.

Transportation
There are several major freeways and highways in or near Kent, including Interstate 5, State Route 167, and State Route 18, and, as a result, a much greater traffic density during rush hour. Kent is also central to King County Metro transit, with the Kent Station providing service to many destinations, including downtown Seattle by multiple commuter buses, the Sounder Commuter Rail, and local bus service. Heavy rail service includes two major north-south lines through the Kent Valley, with freight traffic operations by the BNSF and Union Pacific railroads.

Parks
Kent's extensive park system includes 73 parks, miniparks, playfields, skateparks, greenbelts, and other related facilities. These parks range in size from as little as 4300 sqft to over 160 acre.

City landmarks
Kent has designated the following landmarks:

Government
The city is governed by a mayor-council government, with a directly elected mayor and a seven-member city council. Each is elected at-large (i.e., by the entire voting population, not by districts) to four-year terms. The current Mayor is Suzette Cooke and the current city council members are:
 * Elizabeth Albertson - was first elected to the council in 2005. She is chair of the Public Works committee and is a member of the Parks and Human Services committee.
 * Jamie Perry - a Kent attorney was appointed to the Kent City Council on July 15, 2008.  She is currently serving as chair of the Economic and Community Development committee and member of the Operations committee.
 * Dana Ralph - was elected to her first term in 2011. She is serving on the Parks and Human Services, Public Works, and Public Safety committees.
 * Dennis Higgins, Council President - was elected to his first term in 2009. He is on the Operations and Public Works committees.
 * Deborah Ranniger, Ph.D., - is serving her third term. She is chair of the Parks and Human Services committee and a member of the Economic and Community Development committee.
 * Bill Boyce - Bill was elected to his first term in 2011. He is chair of the Public Safety committee and also serves on the Economic and Community Development committee.
 * Les Thomas - Thomas serves as chair of the Operations committee and a member of the Public Safety committee.

The city maintains its own municipal police department.

Public education
Public primary and secondary education in Kent and a number of neighboring cities and unincorporated areas is governed by the Kent School District. The district includes four high schools, seven middle schools, twenty-eight elementary schools and two academies. Federal Way Public Schools also has several schools within the city limits. Residents of far east Kent are zoned in the Tahoma School district. A branch of Green River Community College opened in Kent Station in 2007.



Annexation
In keeping with the King County Annexation Initiative, which seeks to annex large urban unincorporated areas into city limits or incorporate new cities out of those areas, the Panther Lake area (known officially as the Kent Northeast Potential Annexation Area) was proposed for annexation to the city of Kent. The annexation was voted on by residents of the potential annexation area on November 3, 2009; the area was officially annexed July 1, 2010. The city grew in area by approximately 5 sqmi and 24,000 residents.

Economy
In addition to R.E.I., Oberto Sausage Company, and Seattle Bicycle Supply(owner of Redline Bicycles) all being headquartered in Kent, Boeing operates a plant in the city. Kent also hosts many warehouses in its once fertile farmland, due in part to its proximity to key transportation routes. The warehouse district has started to sprawl as far as nearby Sumner, Washington. Whirlpool Corporation and General Electric Appliances are two companies with regional distribution centers in Kent.

Kent is home to the fourth largest manufacturing and distribution area in the United States.

Boeing
Kent was the historic home for Boeing Defense. The former headquarters for Boeing Information, Space & Defense Systems. The Kent plant was responsible for engineering the wings on the Boeing/Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor.

Boeing has operated in Kent since at least 1969, when the Kent plant began building the lunar rovers used for the Apollo program.

Steel
Kent is home to a large steel industry dating back to the early 20th century. Steel and metal manufacturers include:


 * Salmon Bay Steel Company: Operated in Kent for 50 years before closing down. Birmingham Steel purchased Salmon bay in 1991. Salmon bay went on the buy Bethlehem Steel (Seattle Steel) in West Seattle. Years after the purchase, complaints were made of pollution in the Green River valley about pollution from the Salmon Bay melting facility and the facility was shut down.


 * Puget Sound Steel: Puget Sound Steel is an independently owned and operated-unique specialty fabricator of reinforcing steel and a supplier of related reinforcement products, since 1961. Puget Sound Steel has been the Northwest’s select supplier of fabricated rebar, and steel reinforcement to commercial, highway, industrial and residential building contractors. Works include large scale projects including bridges skyscrapers.


 * Pacific Metal Company: In 1947, started in Seattle and opened a 19,000 square foot plant. The business and facilities continued to grow for 30 years to meet local needs as well as the emerging markets of Alaska. The "expanded" 40,000 square foot warehouse and sales office was bursting its seams. . In 1979, a 80,000 square foot facility was built south of the city of Seattle in the Kent Valley at Tukwila. In September 2010 PMC moved to a new location just 3 miles SE in the city of Kent, Washington. Pacific Metal Company is a stocking distributor of non-ferrous metals specializing in stainless steel, copper, aluminum, and brass products as well as ferrous products specializing in Cold Rolled, Coated (Zinc and Aluminum) and pre-painted coils and sheets.


 * TMX Aerospace: TMX Aerospace, a division of ThyssenKrupp Steel North America; provides materials including steel, brass, and copper as well as exclusive supply chain management support for the Boeing Commercial Airplanes group.

Largest employers
According to the City's 2012 Economic Development Report, the largest employers in the city are:

2010 census
As of the census of 2010, there were 92,411 people, 34,044 households, and 21,816 families residing in the city. The population density was 3227.8 PD/sqmi. There were 36,424 housing units at an average density of 1272.2 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the city was 55.5% White, 11.3% African American, 1.0% Native American, 15.2% Asian, 1.9% Pacific Islander, 8.5% from other races, and 6.6% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 16.6% of the population.

There were 34,044 households out of which 37.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.6% were married couples living together, 14.3% had a female householder with no husband present, 6.1% had a male householder with no wife present, and 35.9% were non-families. 28.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.67 and the average family size was 3.31.

The median age in the city was 33 years. 26.2% of residents were under the age of 18; 10.1% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 30.6% were from 25 to 44; 24.3% were from 45 to 64; and 8.8% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 49.9% male and 50.1% female.

2000 census
As of the census of 2000, there were 79,524 people, 31,113 households, and 19,601 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,836.7 people per square mile (1,095.4/km2). There were 32,488 housing units at an average density of 1,158.9 per square mile (447.5/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 70.81% White, 8.23% African American, 0.98% Native American, 9.42% Asian, 0.76% Pacific Islander, 4.7% from other races, and 5.37% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 8.13% of the population.

There were 32,998 households out of which 35.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.1% were married couples living together, 12.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.0% were non-families. 28.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 5.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.53 and the average family size was 3.15.

In the city the population was spread out with 27.7% under the age of 18, 10.3% from 18 to 24, 35.0% from 25 to 44, 19.6% from 45 to 64, and 7.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females there were 98.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.2 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $50,053, and the median income for a family was $61,016. Males had a median income of $43,136 versus $36,995 for females. The per capita income for the city was $21,390. About 8.7% of families and 11.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 16.7% of those under the age of 18 and 9.3% of those 65 and older.

Recreation and entertainment
In 2003, Kent was named Sports Illustrated's Sportstown of the year for Washington. In January 2006, a major new entertainment center, known as Kent Station, opened in downtown Kent adjacent to the transit station of the same name.

The 2012 Skate America figure skating competition will be held in Kent from October 19 to 21, 2012, at ShoWare Center.



Events

 * Canterbury Faire, an arts festival in mid-August every year at Mill Creek Canyon Earthworks park, which stopped in 2006.
 * Kent Cornucopia Days in July.
 * Kent Farmers Market
 * Kent Saturday Market

Entertainment

 * Kent Station
 * ShoWare Center

Notable people

 * Earl Anthony, professional bowler
 * Josie Bissett, actress who appeared in Melrose Place
 * John Bronson, former NFL player
 * Ernie Conwell, former NFL player
 * Daphne Loves Derby, indie-pop rock band
 * Kai Ellis, CFL player
 * Shannon Higgins-Cirovski, former soccer player and member of the National Soccer Hall of Fame
 * Jeff Jaeger, former NFL kicker
 * Stefano Langone, American Idol contestant
 * Kenny Mayne, ESPN analyst
 * PZ Myers, biology professor at University of Minnesota Morris and intelligent design critic
 * Brenda Raganot, professional bodybuilder
 * Rodney Stuckey, basketball player for the Detroit Pistons
 * Courtney Vandersloot, basketball player for the Chicago Sky
 * Cam Weaver, professional soccer player Houston Dynamo
 * Kelly Bachand, contestant of the History Channel's Top Shot Season 1 was raised in Kent
 * Alameda Ta'amu, NT, University of Washington Football
 * The Fung Brothers, comedians/rappers/food personalities were raised in Kent

Sister cities
Kent has the following sister cities:


 * 🇨🇳 Yangzhou, China
 * 🇯🇵 Tamba, Japan
 * 🇲🇽 El Grullo, Jalisco, Mexico
 * 🇳🇴 Sunnfjord, Norway
 * 🇺🇦 Kherson, Ukraine