Mayor Birney Honors Women's History Month

In honor of Women's History Month, Mayor Birney recently met with the Redmond Historical Society to learn more about the incredible women who helped make our community what it is today. The Mayor and Laura Lee are speaking from the Society's museum; jam-packed with artifacts and exhibits!

Do you know the Historical Society has a monthly Saturday Speaker's Series? The next one is April 13th at 10:30 a.m. It's all about bicycles in Redmond! Location: Old Redmond School House.

Check out the historical society's website for details and the Series line up at: https://www.redmondhistoricalsociety.org/rhs-events

Posted by Yoder, 3/13/2024

Derby Days Returns July 8-9th Of This Year

REDMOND, WA – Redmond’s signature summer festival, Derby Days, returns on July 8 and 9, 2022 at Redmond’s City Hall campus. This year’s event features live music, parades, carnival rides, local food, a beer and wine garden, and more. New this year will be a dedicated craft market with Urban Craft Uprising, elite bike races and kiddie kilo at the Jerry Baker Velodrome at Marymoor Park, and a virtual community bike race for all.

“I am excited for the return of Derby Days, our family-friendly festival that kicks off the summer,” said Mayor Angela Birney. “This event celebrates our community coming together again, in the spirit of friendly competition with the longest-running community bicycle race in the United States. We are proud to continue this legacy in 2022.”

Derby Days begins on Friday evening, July 8, with a lineup of live, local music, and a family-friendly 5K walk/run. Event attendees are invited to watch one of the races at Marymoor Park, then take a shuttle to City Hall to have dinner from the food trucks and booths, shop the craft market, and enjoy the Derby Days Beer and Wine Garden on opening night.

Saturday kicks off with the Kids’ Bike Parade - a tradition dating back to the first Derby Days in 1940 that ushers the way for the Derby Days Grand Parade directly after. Derby Days continues throughout the afternoon with live music, kids’ performances and activities, and carnival rides. Attendees can sign up for the Derby Days Cornhole Tournament in the Beer and Wine Garden, walk through the new craft market, and relax with the music from the main stage.

For additional details and information on how to participate, visit redmond.gov/DerbyDays or contact events@redmond.gov.

-- City press release

Derby Days was COVID cancelled in 2020 & 2021 

UPDATED 2/11/2022: Observations And History Of Troubled Evans Creek

 

Stormwater run-off pond seeps contaminated water into Evans Creek, 2006, B. Yoder

This blogpost focuses on the pollution of Evans Creek from Redmond's SE industrial district. Evans creek will be relocated and land rezoned as a result. My "Evans Creek Relocation" input was unreported at the Planning Commission Hearing of February 9th, 2022 so I'm trying to catch up here. Hopefully, elected officials will develop a greater understanding and empathy for the industrial district and  health of the creek.  Evans Creek borders north and east of the district. The presence of an aquifer is significant.

In a 2006 hike along northern Evans Creek I stumbled into the rough-and-tumble industrial district. Trucks blew horns; a few pushed me into narrow dirt shoulders. Clearly, they wanted no part of me. Curious, I sneaked back often, specifically looking for the creek and sniffing around the oil trucks.  Below, is some of the damage I found: 

• All Wood Recycling (now DTG) recycles or did recycle piles of toxic chemically treated wood and polluting concrete. Alarmingly, a shallow, high value aquifer lies  six feet below the surface.  Large chunks of concrete spill into the north eastern riparian, possibly the  creek. 
• An unmaintained, filthy, clogged stormwater pond with a sheen of oil and log-jammed debris has a natural connection to the creek about 30 - 40 yards away. The pond is a tell-tale sign of how little the industries and our jurisdiction cared about the salmon and and aquifer back then. Just a modicum of care would have made a  big difference but the City buried its head. 
• Some of the oil trucks never moved off the buffer, slowly dripping toxic fluids.

I reported the environmental abuses to Redmond's Code Enforcement Officer, Carl McCarty. He called in 5 agencies, violations were identified, fines were paid. Mr. McCarty recorded the outcome somewhere in his files.

No question, today staff is fully aware of the aquifer, the underground streams and general hydrology.  They will be prepared for a healthy transition to commercial zoning.

Some history: At least 20 years ago Mayor Rosemarie Ives hired Jon Spangler as Natural Resource Manager. Jon mapped the  Evans Creek Relocation plan; primarily he managed stormwater run-off. Redmond is now proudly one of the regional leaders in stormwater management. Mayor Ives may have also hired Cathy Beam.  She's the environmental principle planner for development. Ms. Beam is called upon to evaluate the influence of development on the environment. As I remember, she wasn't exposed in a big way to the early industrial issues of Evans Creek. However, I ran into her on-site once. 

Attention elected officials:  For values of preserving the aquifer and protecting our fish, I urge the City to expedite the transition from industrial  to commercial. I'm confident Mayor Birney will make certain the stormwater facilities are upgraded and toxins monitored, as needed.  (It doesn't hurt the Mayor is a Biologist.) We are extremely fortunate Council values so highly our environment - including protection and restoration of our streams, clean water, fish, riparian trees and varied habitats.

Note: I'm not sure of the operating status of the industries so at times erroneously switch the present with the past.  Dates are approximate and inaccurate.

-- Bob Yoder, Opinion, 2/10/2022