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| Mark Wimley, COO EvergreehHealth Medical Group |
Adopting a neighborhood storm drain is easy (and fun!) and can help reduce street flooding and keep pollutants like yard chemicals, pet waste, and garbage out of our lake and streams. Most stormwater in Redmond flows into a storm drain—the metal grate in the street – and is carried to a nearby waterway. By spending just 15 minutes a month removing leaves, garbage, and debris from the top of the storm drain, you can help prevent flooding and protect the waterways that are home to salmon, frogs, and other critters.
Sign up to adopt a drain
Help Redmond keep soap, oil, dirt, and other pollutants out of our streams, lake, and underground drinking water sources. Call the City's Water Pollution Hotline any time you see pollutants on the ground, in the street, or in the natural environment. Working together, we can stop pollution in its tracks. Report environmental concerns to Redmond's Water Pollution Hotline: 425-556-2868
Learn more about keeping our water clean
-- redmond.gov Posted by Yoder, 10/25/24
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| A drive-through voter ballot drop-box is at City Hall |
The City Clerk sent me the Budget calendar after I asked for it. IMO, the calendar could have been written during one of their many briefing meetings to engage the public with the budget early on; but the calendar wasn't formalized until the second, October 1 Hearing .... "kinda bas akwards."
THE PROCESS: Three budget hearings are required; and a 4th is optional. Council decided the public would have its usual 3 minutes, instead of 4 minutes to speak in these important Hearings. Of interest, I remember Councilmember Stuart once saying on the Dais that no more than 1 minute for public comment was necessary.
Resources:
Upcoming Events | Redmond, WA – November and December classes are listed to dive deeper into sustainability topics. Sam Wilder teaches the classes.
What Goes Where Tool | Redmond, WA – What goes where tool for specialty items. Plug in the item you would like to know what to do with.
Residents | Redmond, WA – A complete guide of what goes where in Redmond recycling, composting and garbage carts. A reminder, composting is free (as part of garbage service) for all residents- including condos and apartments and businesses.
BNProject | Home (buynothingproject.org) – This was the group for donating Items you no longer want or receiving items for free from your neighbors that one of the members discussed.
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| Redmond City Hall |
Community members may present oral comments during the public hearing or provide written comments at budget@redmond.gov. All members of the public are invited to attend the Hearing whether they comment or not.
BUDGET RESOURCES: Preliminary Budget Summary; Preliminary Revenue Forecast
INVITATION TO COMMENT: COMMENT DUE DATE BY: NOVEMBER 12, 2024
Description of Proposal: Construction of a six-story mixed-use development including 100 units of permanent supportive housing property management offices, resident services, interior and exterior resident amenity spaces, and approximately 2150 sf of commercial space.
The building and surrounding fenced structure is located in Downtown Redmond across from Anderson Park and not far from Redmond Elementary. It will permanently house 65% homeless individuals from the Eastside and 35% homeless from the Seattle area. The facility has "no barrier" to entry.
To view more information about this project, click the link below.
Plymouth Supportive Housing | Redmond, WA
To comment contact the city planner:
info@nami-eastside.org
--Bob Yoder, NAMI member
10/10/24
Gov. Jay Inslee and leaders from the state Department of Social and Health Services break ground on the new Forensic Center of Excellence on the Western State Hospital campus.
On Thursday morning, state leaders gathered in Lakewood to break ground on a new hospital to be built on the Western State Hospital campus. The hospital will be a secure facility with 350 beds to serve forensic patients (those accused of a crime and ordered by a court to receive treatment before trial).
Construction of the new Forensic Center of Excellence will complete by 2029.
This project turns a page in state history. Washington state is a different place than it used to be. Western State Hospital is a different place than it used to be. And under the direction of Gov. Jay Inslee, the state’s approach to behavioral health care is different than it used to be.
It’s all change for the better.
Read the full story on Gov. Jay Inslee's Medium
Posted 10/18/24
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| License Plate Reader / Flock |
THE PROGRAM: Strategically located intersections are identified within the City to place the "Flock" cameras to capture the most license plates entering and leaving the City limits.
Councilmember Steve Fields made a point to say the program will not infringe on people's privacy.
The concept of this approach is for officers and dispatchers to be alerted whenever a “Wanted” or “Hot List” vehicle or vehicle used in the commission of a crime is captured on a Flock camera. Officers will respond to the area and look for the vehicle based on the last known location. Vehicles typically placed on “Hot Lists” include stolen vehicles, wanted persons connected to vehicles, and missing persons.
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| Credit/John Reinke |
Councilmember Stuart asked: what steps are needed to plan for the anticipated water storage deficit in Overlake, especially in light of anticipated growth in the area. CM Stuart expressed the importance of addressing potential storage shortfalls ahead of growth.
Staff Comment: Given the ability to move water supply within the system as needed, the needs identified in Overlake can be met by adding storage in multiple locations in Rose Hill and Overlake. The well service area (including the Education Hill Tanks) can be fed by the higher Rose Hill/Overlake pressure zones but the higher Rose Hill/Overlake pressure zones cannot be fed by the well service area.
Additional storage in Rose Hill will directly benefit the Overlake area. The WSP specifically identifies adding a third storage tank on Education Hill. The total estimated cost to add the needed storage is $24 million (in 2023 $).
To provide the total volume identified in the current plan, a new reservoir site will be needed to meet the 20-year demand. 9/16
Source: 10/8 Council memo: Councilmember Comment Councilmember Fields requested information on the key risks facing Redmond’s water distribution and storage system and asked how the Water System Plan addresses or mitigates such risks. READ MORE:
Vote "yes" on I-2066. Washington residents and restaurants deserve a choice on using gas and/or electricity. It's estimated the average consumer would have to pay ~$35,000 to convert all their appliances from gas to electric. If I-2066 passes gas won't be banned from use by restaurants and households.
Washington State has placed a ballot measure before the voters. Initiative Measure No. 2066 concerns regulating energy services, including natural gas and electrification. Initiative 2066 is scheduled to go to the voters at the General Election on November 5, 2024.
The City Cou the Council to take action on the resolution to declare its official position in opposition to I-2066.
"COUNCIL TOOL" RCW 42.17A.555(1) authorizes the Council to take action to express a collective decision, or to actually vote upon a motion, proposal, or ordinance, or to support or oppose a ballot measure so long as (a) the agenda includes the title and number of the ballot proposition, and (b) members.
(Same Tool used by Council to validate their I-2117 Hearing)
Source: 10/8/24 Study Session "hopper."
Council will hold a hearing at the October 15th, 2024 Business Meeting for the Council to take action on the resolution to declare its official position in opposition to I-2066.
"COUNCIL TOOL" RCW 42.17A.555(1) authorizes the Council to take action to express a collective decision, or to actually vote upon a motion, proposal, or ordinance, or to support or oppose a ballot measure so long as (a) the agenda includes the title and number of the ballot proposition, and (b) members.
(Same Tool used by Council to validate their I-2117 Hearing)
Source: 10/8/24 Study Session "hopper."
Bob Yoder, Opinion: 10/17/2024
Indigenous Peoples were forcibly removed from ancestral lands, displaced, assimilated, and banned from worshiping or performing many sacred ceremonies. Yet today, they remain some of our greatest environmental stewards. They maintain strong religious beliefs that still feed the soul of our Nation. And they have chosen to serve in the United States Armed Forces at a higher rate than any other group. Native peoples challenge us to confront our past and do better, and their contributions to scholarship, law, the arts, public service, and more continue to guide us forward.
Am I enough to be seen as an indigenous person? Watch a short video HERE of students celebrating "Am I Enough."
Mary Wilber, Program Coordinator of the Eastside Native American Indian Association organizes events for our Salish Sea indigenous youth. She invites indigenous students from three school districts to her Monday evening classes at Lake Washignton High.
Some or all of the LWSD School Board of Directors will tour schools in the district on Tuesday, October 15, 2024. Open to the public Board members will not conduct business of the district an no decisions will be made. The board provides a community report about their site visits at their regularly scheduled board meetings. Schedule:
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| Redmond City Hall |
1) $1,024,475 to replace several miles of aging, brittle asbestos water main pipe on Avondale Road NE. In addition, pavement will be re-surfaced for a total cost of $3.3M.
The pipes "are brittle," with numerous breaks in the last five years. Key concerns are:
2) $618,000 for 1,700 sf city service space ("Mini City Hall") in the Overlake Bellwether building. With State funding the following services would be provided by 2028:
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Unlike its neighboring cities, such as Mercer Island, Bellevue, Kirkland, Woodinville, Bothell, and Sammamish, which ALL have a council-manager form of government, City of Redmond has a strong mayor-council form of government. Under the strong mayor form of government, mayor has too much power: while the council has legislative power, the mayor has veto power; the mayor is the chief executive officer, centralizing executive power. We have all witnessed the damages done allowing downtown homeless housing in Redmond and the entire Eastside when the mayor has too much power yet free from checks and balances.
Facts about the Plymouth homeless building in downtown Redmond:
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| Credit C.O.R. |
In response to this post the City posted this advisory on their website front page.
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| Redmond's pollution truck advertises their pollution hot line: 425-556-2868 photo by Yoder |
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| Downtown Park COUNCIL CONVERSATIONS, The Safety Table / photo Yoder |
I sat in at three tables conversing with councilmembers and residents at the busy Safety table, Environmental Sustainablity table and Miscellaneous table. Council V.P. Jessica Forsythe presided over the Safety Table. Feedback from a resident/family living in a downtown apartment was especially interesting. He wanted stop signs placed on Cleveland Street intersections and other downtown intersections -- said he saw pedestrians getting mildly brushed. He said Uber drivers were the worst; always looking at their cell phones. Another guy complained about gangs that prey on residents for their belongings. He thought only 4 - 6 police officers patrolled the whole city and asked for 16 more officers. I think Jessica said the department had over 140 officers (traffic, patrol, detective, drone, criminal, crime etc.) with plans for 4 more. CM (councilmember) Fields asked why the need for 16 more officers? I questioned the need for council taxing their city utilities and raising the business tax to fund a $6 million dollar public safety gap. IMO, the .25% city excise tax on construction was funding enough.
