SNOQUALMIE – Sometimes it’s hard to believe anyone would volunteer to sit through long, extraneous meetings, mulling over dry ordinance amendments for hours on end.

But, fortunately for Snoqualmie, a few such saintly individuals still exist.

In mid-October, Charles Peterson and Katherine Prewitt answered the call for two additional City Council members willing to kiss many a month goodbye.

When the population of Snoqualmie reached 5,000 last summer, the state required that two more members be added to the City Council. Peterson and Prewitt were appointed in mid-October out of the 11 who applied.

Peterson, now retired, has lived his entire life in Snoqualmie, contributing to the original heart of the city – its mill. Peterson worked as a warehouser and an electrician in the saw mill. Later he worked as a business agent for the Lumber and Sawmill Workers Local 1845 union and then served as president of the Western Council, a parent body of all lumber industry unions on the West Coast. He covered Washington, Montana and part of Oregon.

In addition to these important posts, Peterson was a City Councilman and mayor of Snoqualmie for eight years. He served on the Planning Commission for five years.

Peterson and his wife Carol still live in Snoqualmie, while their adult children have moved to Seattle and Wenatchee.

“I’ve always tried to do things to help the city out and I have some spare time,” Peterson said. “I had been attending council meetings off and on, I just thought I had time to help the city again.”

Peterson was back on the council for his first city meeting in many years Nov. 8. He said, “It was kind of fun.”

“It takes a lot of time to get brought up to speed again,” Peterson said. “There are a lot more rules and regulations, a lot more to do … it’s a big city now compared to then.”

Peterson said the biggest change he’s seen in Snoqualmie over the years is the tremendous amount of growth with the annexation of new areas into the city.

“It brings in a lot more money, but there’s also a lot more responsibility.”

Peterson feels that fiscal responsibility and caring for the environment are very important concerns for the city due to its unique situation with flooding, as well as growth in areas that used to be rural.

Both Peterson and Prewitt will serve a one-year term, then another election will be held to fill their seats for a longer term.

Prewitt, a business manager for HomeStreet Capital, was also approached by a few people from the Valley who encouraged her to apply for a council seat.

“They said they didn’t have representation from the historic area,” Prewitt said.

Prewitt has lived in Snoqualmie five years with her husband Lee and two daughters, ages 13 and 7. She has served as president of the Snoqualmie Library Board and says there’s much to love about the town.

“We’re right at the gateway of the mountains, the recreation it affords, the small-town feel of it,” she said.

But she added that one challenge the council faces is managing growth in a “really responsible way so when all the development is done, the city functions well.”

Prewitt said it’s nice to see some business practices in government that she didn’t think still existed.

“I think the city takes on a lot of acceptability in what it’s doing. It’s careful about how it spends money in order to do the right thing for the city,” said Prewitt”

As for her first City Council meeting – a four-hour foray into everything from budget hacking to funding for giant public art – Prewitt said, “It went fine, but it’s a lot of material to come up to speed on.”

Staff Writer Melissa Kruse can be reached at (425) 888-2311 or by e-mail at melissa.kruse@valleyrecord.com.