Monthly Senior ENCORE Newsletter. - a must read - online or in print.
Register for Senior Center Activities and Special Events HERE ("Winter Whimsey" tickets are going fast.)
As early as the morning of Dec. 9th, Sound Transit’s contractors will be closing a section of sidewalk along Redmond Way and routing people walking or rolling on a temporary detour route. The closure and associated detour will be in place for approximately four weeks.
The detour route will utilize a section of the future East Lake Sammamish Trail which will open in 2025. Once this temporary detour has been utilized this section of the East Lake Sammamish Trail will be closed until construction is completed in 2025. Please see the map below for more information on the detour route.
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:
" 
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:
 |
| 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.
-- Kim Sarneki, Together Center CEO
"Five thousand years ago Redmond, Washington, was buried under 3,000 feet of ice. Today we rarely if ever, see large boulders—glacial erratics—that were left in the wake of the retreating ice. On the new Redmond Central Connector park, the city built their own erratic in the form of historical art.
When the BNSF Railroad left Redmond, it left behind miles of rails, mounting plates, and spikes. 3,000 steel plates were salvaged from the BNSF Railroad that once crossed the site; these form the cladding for the Erratic‘s skin. Motion detectors inside the glass fronts activate colored LED lights, delighting passersby with an interactive experience."
The Erratic was created by artist John Fleming, It was commissioned in 2013 for the Redmond Central Connector in celebration of Redmond’s Centennial. Mr. Flemming also painted SKY PAINTING on a large downtown parking lot (you got to see it to believe it.) He installed railroad "Signals" art in the downtown Linear Park.
The Redmond City Council rushed and acted recklessly when they decided to award the expensive public land and high-impact project to Plymouth Housing after less than one hour of discussion (a 30-minute behind closed doors executive meeting on February 6th, and a 30-minute special meeting on February 13th). Basic questions asked by the Kenmore City Council, such as those regarding “set aside” for local placements, “low barrier” and public safety, compliance, tenant screening, and Plymouth’s application process, etc. were never asked by the Redmond City Council.
Plymouth Housing’s troubled reputation: The recent overdose death of Mike Matzick inside the Plymouth Housing run Scargo and Lewiston Apartments in Belltown. Mike “had been deceased for three days when he was discovered.” The lived experience at the Plymouth Housing run Pat Williams Apartments in South Lake Union that “newcomers who move in & WANT to become or stay clean and sober” “get preyed on by the toxic residents.”
Additionally, the concerning 911 call records at the Plymouth Crossing in Bellevue show incidents of death, VUCSA, disturbances (including harassment), behavioral health issues, assault, fire, indecent exposure, etc. Yet, the city council rejected the proposal to go through an open RFP to select the best qualified operator. Led by Council
President Kritzer and Planning Director Helland, they openly misled the public on this project both in council meetings and through communications and set up barriers to prevent the public from getting critical information in a timely manner. Many questions remain unanswered. They want to quietly move forward to avoid public scrutiny.
Led by Council President Kritzer, the Redmond City Council has refused to allow public input. No public comments were allowed before the council cast their votes. Despite the public’s repeated requests, the City Council refused to hold any public hearings or two-way dialogue meetings.The public was left with no choice but to attend council meetings and raise their concerns during public comment time. The Redmond City Council later voted to curb public comment during council meetings on May 7th.
The Redmond City Council has been completely ignoring the public’s safety, drug use, and drug trafficking concerns. What is happening in Factoria, where the Plymouth Crossing is located, is a clear warning. A local developer told the city, “The landscaping around his Eastgate location has been damaged over the last 8 months, people doing drugs, police called daily.” Yet, the Redmond City Council continues to turn a deaf ear to those concerns and pat each other on the back for being the heroes and picking up the project that the City of Kenmore deemed would hurt its community and denied.
The skimping on parking space at the Plymouth Housing building in order to “be as cost-effective as possible” under the guise of being “green” will worsen the already challenging parking situation in downtown Redmond near the Anderson Park area. By Redmond zoning code, Plymouth Housing is required to build 120 parking spaces for the 100-unit building. Yet, Plymouth Housing is asking for “NO RESIDENTIAL PARKING BE PROVIDED” and “A REDUCTION IN THE NUMBER OF REQUIRED PARKING STALLS.” This is absurd!
In comparison, the King County-owned and Salvation Army-operated Redmond Silver Cloud has 140 parking spaces for its 100 units, and its Safety and Security Plan states, “Residents are prohibited from parking along the street or in other areas alongside the HTH Redmond facility.”
The Plymouth Housing project to house 100 chronic homeless in downtown Redmond is a ticking time bomb. I'm counting on State Representative Amy Walen and our leaders to help save our city from turning into Seattle.
In a council meeting Councilmember (CM) Stuart was surprised the city commissioners wouldn't be "on the porch" with Council to converse with the public at Derby Days. She asked a city Director why the commissioners weren't included and learned it was the Executive Department -- run the mayor -- who decided against it, preferring staff be immediately on hand.
Commissioners are--vital city volunteers with expertise in: Parks & Recreation, Arts & Culture, and Growth Planning. They serve four year terms, giving recommendations and guidance to council after in-depth deliberations.
CM Stuart asked for a Derby event in the downtown park, saying it is our "Town Square." The idea was rejected for the second year.
Side-note: If you listened to the Mayor's Derby Day video, a "Diaper Parade" is in the line-up. Diapers are needed up to 4-years of age. Baby carriages? Sounds cute, but unfortunately, diapers are unaffordable and for some families and they must be subsidized.
-- Bob Yoder, 7/10/24
 |
| Credit: CSLA's Awards Atlas. |
Designed by PFS Studio, a leading planning, urban design, and landscape architecture firm based in Vancouver, BC, Redmond Downtown Park is a testament to visionary design's power in reinvigorating urban spaces. The park, located in the heart of Redmond, is a vibrant gathering place for community engagement and cultural activities.
Centro Cultural Mexicano invites you to join us at our annual Cinco de Mayo event at Redmond Downtown Park! This free, family-friendly cultural celebration highlights traditional Mexican culture, music, and food through seven hours of entertainment. We welcome you to be part of our event this year!
OPINION: Redmond is in a turmoil. From the blue "Demand a Say" signs scattered all over our city and numerous City Hall meetings over-flowing with protesters, we all know Council (and indirectly the Mayor) made the fateful "Plymouth decision" to welcome 100 homeless to our downtown.
Some background: The King County Regional Homeless Authority (KCRHA) is promoting a regional approach to the homeless problem and now taking Seattle's severe homeless to the suburbs. Their disorganized 3-Board strategy didn't work in Kenmore and it's not working in Redmond.
Bellevue accepted the first Plymouth Housing building on the Eastside. It opened on July 23, 2023 and is located in a distant 10-acre low income "ecosystem."
At Bellevue's Plymouth, "three staff members will live on-site and a health care clinic will allow these homeless to meet with primary care and psychiatry providers, and have an option for 24/7 telehealth urgent care." Fantastic! I hope this comes to fruition with many residents exiting.
According to Seattle Times, to qualify for a Plymouth studio in Bellevue, potential residents "must have been homeless for at least a year and have at least one disability." Thus, the conditions of these homeless are severe, by far "not run of the mill."
By 2027, Redmond will have a similar building located in our downtown across from Anderson Park. Hopefully, our downtown homeless will have sufficient Plymouth human services to keep their residents stable and our community safe.
Mayor Birney should speak directly to the public to explain why she's accepting severe homeless in our downtown. By reaching out, she will quell miss-information, calm the public, and stimulate productive, community conversations. Until the Mayor speaks up and leads, the disorder and chaos could continue.
-- Bob Yoder, 4/8/2024, Updated Opinion 5/7/24
 |
| Canadian goose nesting on tree snag in Redmond / credit John Reinke |
 |
| 8-story project site and Land Use "invitation to comment," credit Yoder |
