Redmond Neighborhood Blog: Ives

Showing posts with label Ives. Show all posts

Sunday, November 11, 2007

8/25, "Race for Mayor" Reporter article reviewed

Today's Redmond Reporter "Race for Mayor" article by Mary Decker provoked me to express some thoughts I have for the candidates and for Ms. Decker's reporting.

In general, I found Ms. Decker's reporting balanced and fair. She gave the front page color photos to the finalists - Marchione and Robinson; with the larger front page photo of "first-place winner" John Marchione hugging his child with a warm smile on election night. I felt this photo made up for the less expressive one taken by the Reporter prior to the Primary.

Some key points reported by Decker and paraphrased (in color) worth repeating and my comments, as follows:

JOHN MARCHIONE -

most voters favored Marchione's message of "living within your means - households have to stick to a budget, so why not the city? I absolutely agree on that one. Just look at what's happening to the mortgage markets today from all those easy, 0-down loans!
most voters approved of Marchione's proactive plan to keep more density in the Overlake and downtown areas. Yes, I agree! and said so at recent city council meeting. Hopefully, our chances to preserve some of the open space we enjoy in the neighborhoods will increase by focusing density downtown.
Mr. Marchione is concerned about Robinson's idea of raising business taxes. John thinks that if businesses get driven out by higher taxes the residential property taxes may be raised to make up the difference. Holly Plackett also had no intentions to raise business taxes.
Marchione continued to emphasize the need for a transparent budget with the community knowing where the money is going. hear! hear! Read my blog ON "THE SHELL GAME" (Tag "aaa") describing how the city shifts operating funds and capital funds back & forth at will, frequently for political purposes.
Mr. Marchione emphasized being proactive in managing land use, growth, and housing choices. GOOD! Zoning Amendments need to be done with thought and scrutiny so as not to create further "Perrigo Heights" and "Tyler Creek" zoning oversights. The Development Guide needs to be updated to eliminate the scores of "Exceptions" to land-use approval and unrestrained PRD uses affecting neighboring communities. Holly brought some of these ideas out , as well.
Marchione promotes a more active and lively downtown with dining, etc. Yes! I'd like to see some sidewalk cafe's and book stores and an cooperative art gallery and jazz restaurant.

JIM ROBINSON -

Jim's central campaign platform is "do you want a hometown or simply an employment center? This tagline brings to attention the growing influx of workers who work in Redmond but don't live here. (I think we have a resident population of 50,000 with another 30,000 commuting to Redmond for work everyday.) So what's the answer to this plateform statement? Quite simple: by building more dwelling units and homes more commuters become residents and our "hometown" will grow. The fact is we have to grow to meet Growth Mangaement requirements. A fallacy is to believe our "hometown" won't change. It's already morphed from horse farms to suburbia & according to the Planning Commisssion (apointed by Ives) will evenually grow to an urban mass-transit center with 6-12 story buildings.
Mr. Robinson attributes much of the traffic and congestion to commuters and a need to lessen it around Education Hill and around town. True! No doubt the commuters add to congestion. Unfortunately, even if you build homes to mitigate commuter traffic (and build our hometown) the traffic will still run through our neighborhoods and congestion will only get worse on Education Hill and around town.
Robinson "sticks to his belief that public safety should have been funded as a priority all along while reserving Levy lifts for road infrastructure and other things". I agree with Jim, as do Marchione and Plackett. But, it seems it's been a standard of practice over the years to put safety out for levy vote. Mr. Robinson's been been a councilman for 16 years. Why haven''t we been able to improve our funding priorities for safety by now?
Robinson associates citizen concern over our environment with the severe weather we've had in December and our lack of control over it. I think the Public Works Dept. has done an excellent job planting native shrubs and trees along river and stream areas--these shrubs help to reduce stormwater flows and preserve habitat and water quality. Jim is Council Chair of Parks. I'd like to see our Chair encourage the Parks Dept. and Police Dept. to pick up and remove their Proposition signs....to help our environment. To "take control" of our climate extremes citizens need to know where the young, old, and disabled can go to find a city shelter.
Jim's supporters are pleased with the idea of updating Hartman Pool. Sure, it's a good idea. I love to swim. It's great excercise and soft on the joints.
Robinson stresses "sustainability". The levy propositions are short term solutions when considering inflation is 5-6%. Jim proposes sit-down sessions and discussions to sort it all out and re-balance the revenues.

HOLLY PLACKETT -

Saddened by the loss but vows to stay involved.
Will keep working on behalf of the Family Resource Center
and work for Grass Lawn neighborhood
and work with Council to advocate for other HOA's
concerns about Costco impacts to SE neighborhoods.
and she's actively following the campaigns to ensure a robust democratic process during the election.

Hey! another neighbor just posted a comment. Press "Comments" below

HOLLY PLACKETT -

Saddened by the loss but vows to stay involved.
Will keep working on behalf of the Family Resource Center
and work for Grass Lawn neighborhood
and work with Council to advocate for other HOA's
concerns about Costco impacts to SE neighborhoods.
and she's actively following the campaigns to ensure a robust democratic process during the election.

BOB THEA:
I have to say, I’m glad it(voter turnout) increased, but it is still a paltry percentage of registered voters. Where is civic pride? Responsibility?Thanks for keeping us updated and informed Saturday August 25, 2007

RICHARD MORRIS:
Robinson's theme of "coming home" feels very nostalgic. There was a time, several years ago, when hot air balloons could safely land in open fields around town. No more hot air ballons.His question "do you want a hometown or an employment center?" has little to do with growth in Redmond. Redmond is currently a hometown *and* an employment center. Redmond is a thriving hometown with strong schools, churches, parks, and plenty of retail outlets. Redmond is, of course, an employment center with manufacturing, retail, and services. Redmond has seen tremendous growth in both homes and employment over the past 25 years. Growth management must accomodate both home (residential) and business needs. Each time Hwy 520 is extended, widened, and ramped more people will want to move into Redmond and work in Redmond. Is Jim Robinson proposing that a fence should be erected to keep out new residents or new businesses?

8/6/07 - Ives campaign endorsement - Where is HER record?

Dear Neighbors -

Yesterday, my neighbor showed me a campaign post card Mayor Ives mailed to selected citizens. (I was not one).

Rosemarie promotes her candidate - Mr. Robinson - as "backed by a proven voting record, not just rhetoric". It appears as if Mayor Ives is insinuating that John Marchione and Holly Plackett have don't have a proven voting record?! I don't think Ms. Ives statement is fair.

Is this an instance of Mayor Ives withholding information to her advantage? Probably...but, why? The truth is neither Robinson, Plackett or Marchione have identifiable voting records on file throughout their term in office.

Several weeks ago I asked the Administration for a tabulation of each councilmember's ongoing voting record during their term. According to the City Clerk. no such records are kept. (see below). Mayor Ives -- in standing behind Mr. Robinison -- hasn't proven a wit about her candidate's ongoing voting record or his word. What counts to voters is what the broader community thinks. For answers, try: 1) the Muni League of King County ratings and 2) recent TIMES editorial recommendations. Both pieces are posted here. Your vote counts on August 21! And, it will be tabulated!

Best regards, Bob Yoder, 8/8-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

CITY CLERK:

Mr. Yoder,Thank you for your suggestion regarding the voting record spreadsheet. Currently, I am in the process of reviewing meeting management systems that will allow votes to be tallied electronically and be posted to the Redmond website in the context of the subject that they refer to. However, given constraints in the City's budget, it is unclear when such a system could be implemented.In the mean time, as you are aware, all votes are recorded in the meeting minutes for each Council meeting.

*These minutes are posted on the web for the public to view at http://www.redmond.gov/insidecityhall/citycouncil/minutes.asp.

Regards,

Malisa Files
City Clerk
City of Redmond
425.556.2190 phone
425.556.2198 fax

* archived monthy to 2005 - "hunt and peck for each vote".

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EXTRA! FOLLOW THE CANDIDATES' CONTRIBUTION MONEY HERE: http://www.pdc.wa.gov/Public/Campaign/Default.aspx

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FROM BARB THOMPSEN, Education Hill neighbor & community volunteer - "I saw some deer while out walking my dogs on Education Hill this morning. I can’t help but feel sad for them—they have nowhere to go. Which of the candidates is going to do something about saving our green spaces and stop catering to the big builders like Cam West? I am so glad that Rosemarie Ives is leaving; I’ve been saying for a long time that being in office as long as she has, results in building relationships and being influenced by them regardless of good intentions." - Barb Thompsen, Education Hill neighbor. 8/5/07

Thursday August 9, 2007 -
RICHARD MORRIS: When I attended the recent Community Meeting held July 31, Mayor Ives indicated the budget she proposed was not adopted by the Council. She said she preferred her budget, and was unhappy with the budget approved by the Council. At one point in the Community Meeting, Councilwoman Kim Allen jumped up to explain that there was a minority position on the budget. She indicated she was part of the minority. The nature of the minority position was not made clear in the Community Meeting. Council President Nancy McCormick said more than once that the Community Meeting was not about "Budget 101", however the nature of the disagreement between the Mayor and the Council is all about the budget. The disagreement is so wide, that the seeks more millions in tax revenues from property owners by means of increasing levy lids, named Proposition #1 and Proposition #2. This budget fight has brewing for a few years, as the Mayor has consistently increased city employees. On the other hand, Council members have consistently promised to hold the line on increasing taxes, staying within the State tax rates. When asked why the City spent so much money on the City Hall building, Nancy McCormick mentioned that the number of increased city employees demanded a larger building. Certainly Redmond has experienced huge growth over the past 15-20 years, yet total tax revenues for city operations would also increase. In my household budget, I must live within my earned income. Why can't the City operate within its tax revenues?

Thursday August 9, 2007 -

YODER: Many claims are vs. Marchione for his 5-2 voting "gang". Here's one that's not - Marchione voted to save Anderson Park 4-3. Jim Robinson voted against it. I hope we will start thinking of 5-2 voting or 6-1 voting as "consensus" rather than a "gang up".

Tuesday September 4, 2007 -

8/5/07, Robinson response to his "GOOD" Muni-League rating

Jim Robinson's comments on his "GOOD" Municipal League Mayoral Rating:

"I was very disappointed with my Muni-League rating. The candidate questionnaires (submittals) can be found on the Muni-League website and I encourage anyone interested to read them and then make your own judgment. The ratings are just one of many data points that can be used in evaluating a candidate. I still strongly feel that on a facts and data basis I am the most qualified of the Mayoral candidates."
--Jim Robinson, mayoral candidate, 8/3/07

BARB THOMPSEN:
"I saw some deer while out walking my dogs on Education Hill this morning. I can’t help but feel sad for them—they have nowhere to go. Which of the candidates is going to do something about saving our green spaces and stop catering to the big builders like Cam West? I am so glad that Rosemarie Ives is leaving; I’ve been saying for a long time that being in office as long as she has, results in building relationships and being influenced by them regardless of good intentions." - Barb Thompsen, Education Hill neighbor. 8/5/07
Tuesday August 7, 2007 - 12:02pm (PDT)

Saturday, November 10, 2007

7/25/07 - My last Redmond Reporter column - never published

Below is my last "Citizen Watch" column --unpublished by the Redmond Reporter after the Ives Administration sent an Advisory to discontinue my column.

ABREVIATED HISTORY OF OUR CITY OF REDMOND MAYORS

After 16 years in office Mayor Rosemarie Ives has called it quits. Voters now have a huge opportunity to shape Redmond's future in our vote for either Marchione, Plackett or Robinson on August 21. To understand the challenges facing our next mayor we must look to our past.

Since 1912, Redmond has had nine mayors. All were "strong" or "executive" mayors – meaning they managed the city's business, carried out council policy, performed ceremonial duties and were elected representatives.

Redmond's first mayor was *Fredrick Reil (1913-1918),the son of a German immigrant, a school teacher and Redmond's first merchant and postmaster. The town was incorporated in 1912 to tax the numerous taverns and build a waterworks. Besides mayor, Reil was city clerk, police chief and justice of the peace. Now that's efficiency!

Our second mayor, Bill Brown (1919-1948) was a saloon operator and land developer. The population was only 500! He shared his open- air buses to transport rabid Redmond H.S .basketball fans to Seattle games. Perhaps, his top achievement was purchasing our 800 acre Watershed Park, for $6000. After 30 years of service Mayor Brown lost his office when he refused to annex Education Hill – a neighborhood impoverished from lack of city water.

Three of Redmond's next four mayors – Green, Graep and Young were pro- growth Chamber members. Louis Green (1949-1952), a car dealer, built the first City Hall, appointed our first Parks Director, and drilled the first city well. Brown's old "city hall" is now a bathroom at Anderson Park!

Mayor Gary Graep (1955 – 1967) was a dairyman of Happy Valley Farms. Redmond's first traffic light was turned on and first modern shopping center opened. Churches flourished, the NIKE Missile site on Ed. Hill was completed, Evergreen Point Floating Bridge opened, and the Sammamish River was straightened. The population approached 11,000.

Mayor Bud Young (1968-1979), a Mormon, owned an electric shop and trailer park on Avondale. Eddie Bauer and Physio-Control were built. A second City Hall and library and the Leary Way Bridge was built. The population doubled to almost 23,000. Like today, a significant number of citizens felt quality of life and the environment was compromised by rapid growth.

"Hurricane (Christine) Himes" (1980 – 1983) was Redmond's first woman mayor. Himes replaced most of the city staff directors (except John Couch – Parks Director of 30 years) ushering a new era of open government. During Park's Director John Couch's tenure, Himes and three other mayors acquired over 16 city parks and trails. Chris was busy mother and avid horsewoman.

In the midst of a struggle between saving the Redmond Golf Course and building Town Center, Mayor Doreen Marchione (1984-1991) emerged as Redmond's "consensus builder". Marchione, a native of Seattle, proved to be an excellent administrator giving Redmond a strong voice in regional issues and negotiating the Town Center annexation. Marchione was first to adopt a human services program and establish a program for seniors. John Marchione, Doreen's son, is running for mayor this summer.

As for Rosemarie? A few paragraphs doesn't do her justice. Unfortuantely, I can't do a column on Mayor Ives [1992-2007] since her Administration advised the new Reporter editor to discontinue my column.

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,Reference 1: "Redmond Reflections – from settlers to software", Naomi Hardy, 2006. Redmond Historical Society. To order book call: 425-885-2919

Reference 2: "Our Town Redmond", Nancy Way. 1989

Reference 3: Redmond Historical Society http://www.redmondhistory.org/

If you liked the "Citizen Watch" column and want it back please write the City Ombudsman at council@redmond.gov and Bill Christianson, Editor of the RR. letters@redmond-reporter.com

* Naomi Hardy, co-founder of the Redmond Historical Society, found a likeness in Mayor Frederick Reil to Jim Robinson

Friday, November 9, 2007

6/07, City Hall front desk - it's significance

6/07, City Hall front desk - it's significance

Things must be pretty bad for the Administration -- when you have to use two fake plants to welcome visitors at the vacant front desk in our new City Hall.

Yet, this Hall didn't come cheap to taxpayers. The Administration will be paying their landlord $71 million over a 40 year period to acquire the city hall building. The building costs $600,000/year just to maintain.

For all the money spent on City Hall, you'd think the Administration could do a better job on their front desk than a "self-help" notebook and plants to "talk to".

To a visitor, this empty front desk sends a strong message. Who's at the helm and where are our priorities?

4/26/07, Breakfast with Mayor Ives & the arts commission

scoll down for updates.

This breakfast was announced to the public in the Wednesday Redmond Reporter. Two staff members were present plus the Mayor and about 6 arts commissioners. My wife and I and possibly another citizen were the only general public in attendance. This "breakfast" had the attributes of a "public meeting". "

The Mayor did most of the talking. Lots of reminiscing about her accomplishments, travels, challenges, success, and then some talk about her retirement, legacy gifts, among other things. (Hint: Rosemary likes water fountains. hint-hint: especially at the city hall "Civic Park".) Of course, art was the focal point.

Utility box artwork by schoolchildren seemed the topic of interest. Note the above photo of Redmond's "trial box" -- near the public library & Wells Fargo bank. (the boxes were painted by adults, not schoolchildren). Last year, when I surveyed our city outdoor art scattered around Redmond (tag "art" to find earlier blog). I, too, felt a strong attraction to the utility box artwork. So does Pam.

I do have a few concerns, though. At breakfast, the Mayor told the table, in so many words, that the city would be moving ahead with painting 93 utility boxes with art and we one last chance to comment on it. I was surprised the city could move so fast. I raised my hand with three concerns:

1) not to create a Fremontish look by randomly painting all 93 boxes

2) paint with a theme and

3) pick utility boxes with safety in mind - for the children and drivers.

I didn't know how much conversation the arts commissioners had with the Mayor and staff on this venue, but it sounded like the mayor considered it a done deal. A few commissioners suggested painting on "skins". A staff member recommended a process of culling the art at schools to select it (as they had done for the Mayor's office art).

Rosemarie referred to Santa Fe and other proven utility box art. Rosemarie's already been in touch with Bill Campbell, new Public Works Director, for moving the project forward. I love the art concept. My only concern is the lack of public involvement on how it's rolled out and that the arts commissioners aparently not entirely vetting the project.

Citizen-commissioner "focus groups" including a relavent Council committee chair member (in this case, Robinson) and limited staff would be a positive step towards reaching decisions of related to city culture -- and public notice.

The city heron LOGO we now have was launched unbeknownst to the public. I think neighborhoods deserve a better chance to engage on long-standing decisions of cultural impact.
I never had a chance to ask all of the commissioners for their thoughts.
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UPDATE, 4/28/07 A citizen close to the commissioners confided there was no vetting (in-depth appraisal or review) by the arts commisioners of utility box art prior to the mayor's "proclaimed" breakfast decision.

UPDATE, 4/30/07 - FROM Parks Director, Craig Larsen: "let's not get ahead of ourselves... re: the utility boxes. We are not moving ahead on anything at this point. The first one was a test. So far the response is negligible and mostly positive. I think it is a worthy effort to try to make the boxes that festoon the city a little better looking. I am not sure of the best way to do that."

Update, 5/2/07 - The ex-arts commissioner got up at Items from the audience and explained how they are still working on utility box art and that it's still in the testing phase; false alarm from Ives.

Comment to: celarsen@redmond.gov 425-556-2311
Comment to: mayor@redmond.gov (Mayor Rosemarie Ives)
Comment to: jrobinson@redmond.gov (Jim Robinson - Council Park (& Art) Chair)
RAC@redmond.gov (Redmond Arts Commission)

Redmond Historical Society - "Saturday Speaker Series" Events

Old Redmond Schoolhouse Community Center houses
the Redmond Historical Society office and artifact depository

For those citizens lucky enough to sit in on a Redmond Historical Society (RHS) Saturday Speaker series program they might describe their experience "an awakening" to the treasure trove of Redmond history.

Some past series were: two presentations by retired Park and Recreation Director John Couch, one that focused on Recreation; the turkey farming industry and moonshine operations. I especially liked Evergreen Hospital Chair Al DeYoung's story on the lumber business and a recent "Redmond Space District" presentation.

You don't just see lots of brown & white stills at Series events. Years ago, co-founder Miguel Llanos weaved a rich fabric of multi- media into the Series. Today, the Series is a mix of live and remote presentations published on YouTube.

Miguel was jack-of-all-trades playing a role in writing and editing the society newsletter with honorable Naomi Hardy. Nao created the society's foundation with her history recordings and zest for people. She coined the phase "History is happening," Mayor Marchione recognized her contributions with a tiny park and kiosk on the corner of Leary and Redmond Way!

Some background:

The honorable Mayor Chris Himes (1980 - 1984) stands out as the most influential and dedicated co-founder. Mayor Rosemary Ives cum laud, and Judy Lang played big roles. I'm not sure John Couch is a co-founder. I do know he's doing invaluable work digitalizing the "Sammamish Valley News." I like to remember Doris Scheibel. She wasn't a co-founder, but a longtime member and Chair of RHS Community Relations; known for her work as City Clerk to four Redmond mayors,1969-1995.

John Oftebro is the current President of RHS and continuing the tradition of the Saturday Speaker series. He re-developed Redmond's museum and is moving the society to the Redmond's Senior & Community Center. More on John later!

-- Story / opinion / photo by Bob Yoder, 3/29/2007, edited and updated 5/10/20/24

2/2/07, Debt financing - Could council be so bold?!

-- at this time, Mr. Marchione has no campaign website 03/28/07

Council member John Resha led discussion on the city's Capital Improvement Program (CIP) last meeting. However, all eyes pointed to Council member John Marchione for his professional advice and recommendations on the use of debt financing. After all, Mr. Marchione is the Director of Finance and Administration at the Meydenbauer Center in Bellevue.

Why even consider debt financing when the CIP is awash in cash? [Marchione reminded council that 50% of this cash is tied up in utility reserves.] Besides, the city has rarely borrowed in the past. Marchione came up with three limited situations when debt financing is justified:

to fund growth (to pay for growth)
to pay for long term assets greater than 30 years out. (not parks)
when money is cheap
John agreed with Council member Kimberly Allen's reasoning - in times of escalating costs, debt financing can fix costs; and opportunities can be realized.

Council member Jim Robinson reasoned borrowing can move capital projects faster towards completion. For instance, without borrowing funds the Bear Creek Parkway project ($36M) and stormwater/sewer project ($40M) could never be built at the same time.

The political will of Council to focus development on the downtown - first and foremost - is strong. North Redmond infrastructure needs (NE 116th St.) may be put on hold, though debt financing may per chance free up funds for roads.

The only Council member adamantly against debt financing is Richard Cole, CPA. Mr. Cole didn't see the value while frequently fretting about "the burden borrowing will place on future Councils." Surrounding municipalities disagree. They've successfully been borrowing to leverage growth opportunities for years.

Times change, and as Mayor Ives stated, it helps to be flexible with caution. Council member McCormick had little to say.

2/1/2007

1/11/07 Election 2007! Let the games begin!

scroll down for updates

2007 is a BIG YEAR for our city with the elections just around the corner. Four council positions are up for grabs (Cole, Marchione, Resha, Robinson), all with terms expiring 12/31/07. Last year Mayor Rosemarie Ives announced she would not to run again. With the thin line-up of mayoral candidates filing many hope the winds will change for Rosemarie. They Mayor's salary has been raised to over $125,000, plus travel perks.

One cannot dispute THE GAMES ARE ON! Political undercurrents of the pending elections will pitch and roll the governing process for the rest of the year. Accurate assessment of the activities of mayor, council, commissions and yes, staff, necessitates factoring in election politics.
A significant segment of our city population works for Microsoft, other high-technology companies or are Microsoft retirees. If YOU or a Microsoft contact is exploring the idea of running for an office, please contact:

The King County Board of Elections, 500 4th Ave. Rm 533 Seattle, WA. 98104 206-296-8683, elections@metrokc.gov ; http://www.metroke.gov/elections/

High-technology workers have never been represented on council; and to the outside world, Redmond is Microsoft! 12000 new MS workers will work here soon! Citizens, please consider service to your city. Encourage your friends. ["Perks": You'll be on TV every week, recieve admiration & recognition, be entrusted with power, shape the city, and receive the princely salary of $800/month! J ]

UPDATE: Microsoft employee and Redmond native, Brian Seitz is running for Council vs. Mr Carson. I wish Brian well. EMAIL: brianseitz@hotmail.com

With all that's up for grabs this year we can expect quite a commotion, some good head fakes and not-so-good moves from our “The Starting Line-Up” , The Bench, and the Coach's Draft.

“THE STARTING LINE-UP” FOR COUNCIL:
Richard Cole – filed to run for council; as of 4/15 unopposed POSITION #5, TERM EXPIRES 12/31/07 Member, Public Administration and Finance Committee Member, Public Safety Committee Richard Cole, now in his fifth term on the Council, was first elected to a term beginning in 1988. Originally from Logan, Utah, Richard has resided in Redmond's North Redmond and Education Hill neighborhood for over 24 years.
VS.
Michella -----------

John Marchione – filed to run for mayor ; Brian Conlin is running for Resha's seat; Hank Myers is running unchallenged for Marchione's seat.

Position #1 POSITION #1, TERM EXPIRES 12/31/07 Marchione is Chair, Public Administration and Finance Committee Member, Planning and Public Works Committee
WEBSITE: http://www.johnmarchione.com/ NEW VIDEO !

John is Director of Finance and Human Resources at Meydenbauer Center. He has experience in local government finance and management. He holds a Masters of Public Administration from the University of Washington and a BA from Seattle University. John grew up in Redmond and lives on Education Hill with his wife and two children. This is his first term on the City Council.

John Resha * 5/16/07 - announced he will NOT be running for re-election. POSITION #3, TERM EXPIRES 12/31/07 Chair, Planning and Public Works Committee Member, Parks and Human Services Committee John has served on the Redmond City Council since January 2004. Originally from Southern California, he has lived in Redmond since 1998 and currently resides in the Education Hill neighborhood. John works for UrbanTrans Consulting.

"Hank" Margeson announced in today's 5/12 Reporter he would be running for John Resha's council seat. Mr. Resha has yet to make an announcement if he would run. Hank has put in many years of service as a Park Board Member and is currently Vice-Chair. Recently, he took a leadership role on the levy proposal to Council (tag "parks-commission" for the story). Hank is a 14 year resident of Redmond and lives on Education Hill where he was an active Education Hill CAC member. He wants to build a spirit of teamwork with the council and mayor and values being in close touch with his neighbors. Hank has been active in youth sports as a coach and umpire.

Jim Robinson * 2/21 announcement he is running for Mayor - in the "Redmond Reporter" POSITION #7, TERM EXPIRES 12/31/07 Chair, Parks and Human Services Committee Member, Public Administration and Finance Committee. http://robinsonformayor.com/ NEW VIDEO !!

Jim has been a member of the Redmond City Council since January, 1992. He has lived in Redmond since 1983 and resides in the Grass Lawn neighborhood west of Marymoor Park. Jim was born and raised in Everett and works for the Boeing Company as a financial analyst. He has a BA Political Science from Willamette University, a Master of International Management from American Graduate of International Management, and a MBA from Seattle University.
Dave Carson running for Robinson's council seat

INTERNET PAGE: http://youngrepublicans.meetup.com/86/members/435937/
vs.
Brian Seitz is running for Robinson's council seat EMAIL: brianseitz@hotmail.com
WEBSITE: http://www.electbrianseitz.com/ NEW VIDEO !!
Holly Plackett - filed for Mayor (past Redmond Council member (4 years), Planning Commissioner (6 years); supports our present Strong Mayor form of government. http://www.hollyplackett.com/ VIDEO!

"PLAYERS ON THE BENCH” and well-prepared to enter the Game:
Suzanne Querry, (Planning Commissioner for years; moderate, Starbuck's executive)
Lori Snodgrass (Parks Board Chair, parks commissioner- 9 years- resigned 6/07)
Other than Ms. Holly Plackett, none of the above 'benched' players have told me they are ready to play at this stage of the game, if at all. To say the least, the roster is thin.

Possible recruits for "THE COACH'S DRAFT" and being bantered around:
Kimberly Allen, Council member – for mayor
a civic-minded MSN "butterfly" or 2
Who did I miss? Hopefully, and for the good health of our fair city of Redmond, qualified candidates will step forward!!

If you or someone you know is thinking of running or an office or have questions about how to run, please contact : The King County Board of Elections, 500 4th Ave. Rm 533 Seattle, WA. 98104 206-296-8683, elections@metrokc.gov ; If I can help you, please email me at redmondblog@gmail.com

I will be updating this site on a regular basis. Of final note, some encouragement from Council member Jim Robinson: " ...in 2007 there will be four council positions open and the mayor’s position open. I would encourage one and all to run for council or mayor." -Jim Robinson,
Council Member, 12/30/06

Election commentary by Korby Parnell, Redmond Planning Commissioner http://blogs.msdn.com/korbyp/archive/2007/03/07/passing-the-community-torch-in-search-of-a-new-chief-executive-in-redmond.aspx#comments

Holly Plackett, mayoral candidate, 2/22/07. ..."on filing, we (candidates) don't have to indicate which council seat is being selected --- the same is true for the Mayor's seat -- until the first week of June we can switch and run for a council seat if we chose. ...We can't file for two offices at the same time however -- if we chose to run for Mayor the first week in June, then we are committed to that race."

The Redmond Neighborhood Blog is not endorsing mayoral or council candidates at this time. 4/27/07

11/16/06,School Resource Officers - a bargaining chip for the Mayor's budget?

School Resource Officers - a bargaining chip for the Mayor's budget?
At the City Council Public Hearing tonight on the Mayor's proposed budget several citizens brought up concerns as to why the School Resource Officers (SRO) were unfunded and now absent from the schools.
Councilmember John Marchione is the Council Finance Chair. He responded to these citizen complaints directly by stating the Council did indeed approve funds for the SRO staff. John stated the Administration (Mayor & Police Chief) never implemented the SRO program even though adequate funds had been approved.
This put the Mayor on the spot as she tried to explain why SRO service were not implemented by her administration. The Mayor was visibly nervous and rambled on for minutes. The Mayor finally concluded she would implement the SRO program IF she got funding from Council for "so many" (20?) police officers. It was clear, the Mayor is using our valued SRO program as a bargaining chip for her budget.
A second claim given by the Mayor for not implementing SRO was her Police Chief felt cyber-crime enforcement was more critical and necessary than SRO. It is most unfortunate the Administration's SRO program is being tossed around like a two-bit poker chip. Federal and State funding requirements also compete for SRO dollars, according to councilmember John Resha.
One citizen asked why our budget couldn't afford something as small as SRO's when we could afford to build this $40M City Hall. Councilmember Jim Robinson agreed the City Hall expense was enormous for so little pay-back. He quoted a government document that the city won't have a positive return in the lease vs. buy case for almost 30 years! $20M savings are projected 30-43 years from now....not our time! After inflation $20M won't be worth a pot to p in. (say I) considering what we lose in cash flow and quality of life services. In addition, the building will be obsolete in probably less than 30 years or prior to payback.
Someone joked the City Hall scenario is like someone driving a Town Car to the welfare office.
On a side note: Last week at a budget meeting the city Finance Director claimed the new City Hall doesn't have enough storage space to archive their city records! Therefore, she was asking for additional funds to add to records management funding of two years ago. Can you believe it?! All the Mayor & Director have to do is look over their heads into the vaulted ceilings to see see we have plenty of storage space. Unfortunately the grandiose design of the building put style over function. Thus, our pocketbooks, SRO funding, city web improvements, and other vital services we need today are unmet. City Hall is draining our quality of life.
[this blog was copied to the Mayor]
Tags: mayor, staff, marchione, neighborhoods, safety, schools, budget, robinson Edit Tags
Thursday November 16, 2006

Thursday, November 8, 2007

8/15/06, Arts, Culture, and Public Engagement

my fourth post, written in 2006

CITY HALL - "SILVER THAW" - GATEWAYS - LOGOS - THE ARTS COMMISSION - OUR SALVATION

The overriding catalyst in the advancement of Redmond culture is public engagement.

Public "turnout" and citizen "activism", or participation, are the hallmarks of engagement. Recently, in a public meeting Mayor Ives proudly referred to "200" citizens turning out for the Transportation Management Plan (TMP). Perrigo Forest and Creek Corridor advocates cite "400-500" citizen woodland marchers.

When citizen participation ebbs the advancement of our culture stalls or veers off course. For example:

1) the new $40M City Hall and it's unfinished, mindless exterior artwork caught us by surprise.

2) regarding the scattered, eclectic, haphazard grouping of landscape sculptures -- should a glossy marketing brochure posted in parking lots be the answer to an incoherent theme?

3) Art Hill appears but a graveyard, to bury the "over kill" of art aquisition. The Ives Administration accumulated 100 pieces (or was it 300?) - so much stuff it had to be mapped by GPS.

3) Then, the unexpected, sudden appearance of a contemporary new City "hidden heron" LOGO. Where did THAT come from?

4) Will our city "Gateway entrances" and "Innovative Housing" be next to fall to ego and government-citizen disconnect? Together, we will advance our culture and make Redmond a better place to live; separate and alone, we falter and drift.

CITY HALL & "SILVER THAW": The above photo is of our new city hall and it's controversial exterior artwork "Silver Thaw", crafted by Ed Carpenter a Portland artist. This outdoor art was funded through our extremely generous 1% "capital improvement building fee." The city hall receptionist explained the artwork was co-selected by Wright / Runstad (contractor and owner of 'our' new city hall) AND the Arts Commission. City Council approved the selection. Question. - where were WE (public) during the selection process for 'Silver Thaw' and the City Hall design? Obviously, we were not engaged. Council President, Nancy McCormick had some words about a citizen "city design workshop" gathering years ago. Nancy didn't document attendance so for all we know only a small gathering of a few 'unrelenting vocals' turned out for the design decision.

"Silver Thaw" has many other names. The artist envisioned his work as "ice crystals", best be served at night. The mayor said these crystals look like "pick-up sticks". My public works friend calls these sticks "scaffolding". An elected official looked at the "scaffolding" and saw "reeds in water", or was it weeds? Which ever the plant, the Art appeared invasive to me. Councilman Jim Robinson denounced these "invasive weeds" publicly calling them "razor blades". Dallas, my 5th-grade lunch buddy at first said the razors were "cool" then seconds later called it "crazy". He was being complementary?

Dallas and other children are amazingly very much aware of Redmond's outdoor art. He noticed the "wind spinner art" at Redmond El. Prior to the oval Heron LOGO - years ago - Jessica Bushmyer, an elementary student drew a winning circular LOGO sketch. The Ives Administration cast off our youth culture to a Madison Avenue advertising company for a City brand. Last week I noticed a colorful new gateway to Bainbridge Island from the ferry landing. The gateway fencing was colored with children's art. Not to forget, future generations will be living with 'our' decisions. Together we make Redmond better.

Except for the faulty design of city council chambers, I'm finding our new city hall is cozier and more citizen-friendly each day. The Hall's professional and informed receptionist lends to a friendlier, less intimidating atmosphere. She pointed to a large, soft area rug by the fireplace and some fascinating volunteer art on display in the foyer. The echoing voices bouncing from high ceiling walls are less noticeable. Yes, the exterior glitzy 'artwork' invades the Hall....hopefully, one day only a vestigial remnant.

My biggest gripe about the Hall design are the chambers for council, commissioner and hearing examiner meetings. The layout is NOT public friendly. Cameras and microphones are manipulated to control what is seen and who sees it. It is most clear, staff asserts their full powers here. Next time you watch Redmond City TV Channel 21, look at where the public faces when addressing the city officials. The table seating is so poorly arranged that we public must talk to the BACKS of our audience. This seating layout is rude, disrespectful and unfair to the speaking public and the sitting officials. Yet, you will find staff is "front and center" in full view at all times! Some visitors have suggested removing the front rows of audience chairs to fix the problem. But, wouldn't that be too easy?! Next time you watch RCTV Channel 21 decide for yourself.

GATEWAYS: Last Wednesday marked the completion of the Planning Commission's formal discussions on "Gateways to Redmond". A citizen gave a 4 minute Items from the Audience about gateways. Stepping outside the box, he tried to describe a Digital Gateway for the city. A "Key" (computer) inserted into the Gate's "keyhole" (Redmond's website) http://redmond.gov/ would open the Door to Redmond's Digital Gateway. Digital Kiosks were proposed for mass transit stations, the library, City Hall as additional "Gateways".

Most commission talk centered around a physical map of potential gateway road entrances proposed by staff. Planning commissioner, Korby Parnell concluded the multi-session Gateway deliberations with the following comments. He 1) valued roadway gateways yet strongly recommended a "digital gateway", specifically the city website. 2) requested city council review and consider digital gateway(s) 3) recommended writing objective criteria to define gateway design, and 4) since the project had no immediate deadline he urged engagement of the public in sketching criteria for the locations and designs for our Gateways. He specifically recommended involving our elementary school children. Thank you, planning commission for your deliberations on gateways; I truly hope this participatory course is followed. (A Berger, Inc. consultant from Seattle later coined the Leary Ave. entrance as the "Old Town Gateway".... again with no known public input.)

LOGOS: My heart quickly moves me again to our new pre-ordained, heron city LOGO. I find it glitzy, a bit tricky, artificial. ...should I go on? What do you think about it? I would have posted a the heron LOGO "branding" image but, to be frank, I'm tired of looking at it. Herons don't even make their homes in Redmond anymore. The Leary "Heron Rockery" is sterile. The Heron we see now fly in from the nesting rookeries of Issaquah.

On several occasions, planning commissioners Snodgrass and Querry and probably others informally shared their distaste for the new LOGO. It's over-designed ... a "bird brained" design. The heron bird LOGO gives an appearance we are trying to fit our natural environment into our city, rather than the other way around. In fact, heron artwork now pops up all around town in some of the strangest places. Just look around. But, don't worry, the bird will find you. Just as staff creates heron art to replace our lost living "wader bird" they are now trying to create wetlands in our Parks to replace wild, function wetlands.

For a college project, I studied the behavior of the Great Blue Heron in an Ohio cranberry bog rookery and came to love and admire this magnificent wading bird. Redmond's glitzy new LOGO does not do this magnificent bird service.

Did you know, "The Great Blue" was written into Redmond's Development Guide 'law book' about two years ago? It was rubber-stamped by Council as our "Species of Local Importance". During Planning Commission review, the Great Blue Heron was already typed into the ordinance draft as Species of Local Importance, without any prior commissioner discussion! Now, I wonder who made that decision - staff and Ives. During the commission's **20+ sessions on Critical Areas Ordinance, the heron species was hardly discussed other than remarks by Martin about it being a SR520 "gateway" icon and it would receive "extra protections" as a species of local importance. In retrospect, 'extra protections' appear questionable and no laws- State or City - protect the bird. Fish & Wildlife has Guidelines for magagment of the bird and the City doesn't have to follow Guidlines and they don't.

** Sessions were prolonged for months to allow for as much project vesting as possible under the existing, less ecologically friendly Sensitive Area Ordinance.

On a similar note, during last year’s Redmond Critical Area public hearing, with some trepidation, my wife and I proposed "riparian" as our city's "Habitat of Local Importance". Priority riparian habitat is the rich, green ribbon of vegetation bordering our streams, lakes and wetlands. During my presentation, I suggested the green swirling line of old city LOGO (hanging above the council's heads) be considered 'riparian" in honor of our valuable and important city habitat. Council approved 'riparian' pending deliberation by the Planning Commission. The Planning Commission came to a contentious split decision after much vetting and hearing multiple presentations by the public. Commissioners K. Allen, S. Querry, and T. Hinman voted FOR 'riparian'. Guidance from the Mayor in an obscure staff memo encouraged Council to vote AGAINST 'riparian' . The final decision had to do with potential threats of riparian corridors to the development community; and because "local importance" designations are considered (a scary!) city law -- this, despite the "heron of importance" being passed as a law! ]
Shortly thereafter, the new & improved, funky, spiffy, right-on, cool, awesome, Dude! "heron-in-hiding logo" appeared on RC-TV, Focus, city stationery, public notices, municipal buildings, public works trucks, the city web site, city business cards...everywhere and out of nowhere! It's the 'out of nowhere' part that bothers and frightens me. Who made this LOGO decision? The Mayor obviously had a large part in it, possibly preparing a legacy?. Were citizens engaged in this critical decision of culture? NO! I don't recall the planning commission ever deliberating on it, only that several were upset with the LOGO. Worse case scenario is the LOGO art & design farmed out to consultants and staff. Think of the tens of thousands of taxpayer dollars that must have been spent on this thing. We deserve some answers and I imagine they'll be popping up soon.

THE ART COMMISSION'S STRATEGIC PLAN- our salvation ?

Have you ever met the Arts Commission -- a group of 9 citizen volunteers, appointed by the Mayor and approved by the Council -- dedicated and passionate about furthering Art culture in our communities? I've seen the commission twice, both on TV 21. Both commission appearances were drastically different in form and substance. In the first telecast very few commissioners talked. An assertive staff member dominated and directed most of the commissioners' deliberations. I think I remember Chair Roy Leban, John Stilin, and Kay Tarapoisi doing most of the talking ; staff let the quieter commissioners mostly dangling. I can't remember what staff was goading and chiding them about. I vividly remember a preciously fun & entertaining guitar and song performance by creative commissioner Eva Moon. I have to tell you, Eva is one of my favorites and I hope to hear her perform at Victors or, some fortunate day, our own community art center on Cleveland Avenue.

A few weeks later the second telecast aired. Their meeting was well attended with Mayor Ives dressed in 'Redmond red' and all the council members but Mr. Robinson present. Mr Robinson, Chair of Parks & Art was probably out on Boeing business and his absence was noticeable. A Parks Recreation staff manager was present. She was more "parksy" than "artsy" but didn't take over the meeting like previous staff. She mentioned Parks is looking for a new advisor to assist the commission....I hope more sensitive and empathetic to the commission's temperament and needs.

The crux of the second meeting was a discussion of a new "strategic plan" for art designed to: 1) position the commission to be more proactive, 2) get them "moving ahead" towards seeing the "big picture", 3) utilize the city web site to increase communication & visibility, 4) encourage sub-committees support from citizen volunteers, 5) define values to insure commissioner continuity 6) create a vision statement.....

I barely heard John Stilin, a newer commissioner, read the commission's vision statement. It went something like "diverse arts opportunities are a principle reason why citizens love living here, why artists are attracted to live and work here, and why tourists visit Redmond." Council member Vache brought attention to this statement with high praise and commendation. Mayor Ives was pleased and suggested the commissioner’s vision statement and strategic plan be published on the city web site.
to be continued....

8/23/2006 - First Blog - Woodland March

THE PHOTO OF THE SIGN POSTED HERE TO ANNOUNCE THE NOVEMBER MARCH IS REMOVED FROM THIS POST. IT CAN BE FOUND ON THE "REDMOND NEIGHBORHOOD BLOG" FACEBOOK PAGE.

8/23/06 CITIZEN ACTIVISM KIOSK for posting news and events:

Hello friends,
I'm in Chelan for a few days and love this lake....though I miss the "Redmond green." The photo [above] is our sign announcing the Perrigo Heights citizen march in November with the mayor and councilmembers [minus Mr. John P. (Pat) Vache]. The march in the woods was to demonstrate our love and hopes to preserve the woodlands and riparian habitat along Perrigo Creek.

We were partly successful. Partly.... 3.5 acres of the riparian remnant are preserved...another 8 acres of the mixed hardwood-conifer forest have yet to be saved by a Parks bond or citizenry or corporate donations. Too bad, especially for future generations. We can do better. You'll find posted some Perrigo forest photos taken on a foggy day in 2004. Good evening,
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UPDATE, 2/17/2007: The Redmond Reporter is under new management and now is a true paper, rather than a city voice. I was fortunate to be offered a column called "Citizen Watch" by the new Editor, John Huether. Bill Christianson has since taken over the reigns as Editor. We value our Redmond Reporter. Together we make Redmond better.

UPDATE, 7/16/2022: Julia Brand brought the proposed Perrigo Heights development to Mayor Rosemarie Ives attention. Rosemarie initiated the "march" by inviting developer, Eric Campbell to join Councilmembers Robinson, McCormick, Cole (and others) in assessing the "40% Steep Slope" sewer line location for safety. Susan Wilkins, a geologist, had her whole family in the woods along the trail measuring to assess geologic stability. I set up an table-top exhibit to show walkers Indian artifacts and educate the ecology of Perrigo woodlands and wetlands. Mayor Ives ultimately "encouraged" Campbell to buffer the development away from the "Ashford Trail" and Hartman wetlands. In the process trees were saved. B.Y.

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Sunday, November 11, 2007

Saturday, November 10, 2007

Friday, November 9, 2007

Thursday, November 8, 2007