8/1/07, Proposition 2 - Parks Ballot Measure Levy Lid-Lift

Proposition 2 Ballot Title and Explanatory Statement for Parks Ballot Measure

This proposition funds operation and maintenance of park facilities and programs, such as the teen center, conservation, and after-school programs. It authorizes an increase in the regular property tax rate for collection in 2008 of $0.05 per $1,000 of assessed valuation, for a total rate (if only this proposition passes) of $1.23 per $1,000 of assessed valuation. The 2008 levy amount would become the base upon which levy increases would be computed for succeeding years.

Should this proposition be approved?

Explanatory Statement The City of Redmond relies on property taxes to provide basic services such as parks and recreation programs. Redmond’s current total property tax rate is $1.18 per $1,000 of assessed valuation. The proposed increase of five cents per $1,000 of assessed valuation would be about a $21 annual increase on an average home in Redmond. The proposed increase of five cents per $1,000 of assessed valuation will go directly to support parks facilities, maintenance and recreation programs. This proposed increase only applies to the Redmond portion of your tax bill, not your entire property tax bill.

The growth of Redmond’s population creates a demand for additional parks and recreation programs. As of 2006, the Parks Department maintains 1,136.8 acres of parks and open space, 24.7 miles of developed trails and 12 miles of street landscaping. In addition, after-school programs and recreation for teens and younger children are in high demand.

This levy increase would fund programs, such as:

• Maintenance and operations of neighborhood, community and downtown parks and natural areas.


• Added teen center hours and programs.


• After-school programs for elementary and junior high aged children.


• If only this proposition passes, the City of Redmond will be allowed to levy up to $0.05 per $1,000 of assessed valuation to invest solely in the future maintenance and operations of parks and support needed recreation programs.

Property Tax Exemptions King County offers various property tax exemptions for those on fixed incomes, including seniors and the disabled. For information on eligibility and other requirements: WEB: www.metrokc.gov/assessor/Exemptions/Exemptions.htm PHONE: 206-296-3920


FROM BOB YODER - It is most unfortunate the Council did not authorize the use of $32 million UNALLOCATED CIP (capital/general fund) dollars and Mayor Ives did not negotiate in earnest to acquire and conserve the Perrigo Heights Woodlands in perpetuity as a natural park. Redmond now is without any "priority habitat" urban forest, other than "steep slope". Did the Council forget Perriog Springs Woodlands would be very inexpensive to maintain and development costs would have been nil?
Thursday June 28, 2007 - 08:19am (PDT)


FROM RICHARD MORRIS - The Seattle Times published an appeal (Sunday, July 29, 2007) for supporting King County Parks thru voting on tax propositions. The editor stated “reluctant support”.I live in Redmond, where we have a City Proposition #2 seeking support for City parks. (See www.RedmondParksLegacy.org) It feels natural to support a tax increase to support parks in my city before supporting King County parks. Naturally, tax payers want to know how the money raised will be spent on parks. Tax payers have a significant tax bill that is cumulative for schools, hospitals, city, county, and state operations.King County has a huge number of parks, but as operations are transferred to cities, the need for county taxes supporting parks should be reduced. For instance, see http://www.metrokc.gov/parks/parks/fairgrounds.htmlKing County and the City of Enumclaw completed an agreement to transfer the King County Fairgrounds and four nearby county-owned parcels of land to the City of Enumclaw. The transaction included $2 million in county funds to help transform the properties into a major tourist attraction. The move is expected to provide a major catalyst for economic development on the Enumclaw Plateau.
Tuesday July 31, 2007 - 06:10pm (PDT)

FROM BOB YODER
#1 I think it was a good move when the King Cty. transferred Idlewood Park to the City of Redmond. The Parks Dept. recently funded additional lifeguards and they are thinking about expanding the beach area. #2 In the last council meeting I saw, the Council/Mayor adjusted their accounting of "unallocated capital funds (CIP)" from $32M to $13M. Aparently, they "forgot" to itemize out various reserve funds. #3. Parks Director Larsens writes that that part of the levy increase will go towards cleaning up the riparian open space along the Sammamish river, Bear Creek, and hopefully Hartman wetlands. Enjoyed reading your county parks comments. Bob Yoder
Wednesday August 1, 2007

7/30/07, Proposition 1 - Public Safety Levy Lid-Lift

Election Day Tuesday, August 21
Proposition 1 Ballot Title and Explanatory Statement for Public Safety Levy Lid Lift

This proposition would fund critical public safety needs, such as additional fire and police personnel and school safety programs. It authorizes an increase in the regular property tax rate for collection in 2008 of $0.35 per $1,000 of assessed valuation, for a total rate (if only this proposition passes) of $1.53 per $1,000 of assessed valuation. The 2008 levy amount would become the base upon which levy increases would be computed for succeeding years.
Should this proposition be approved?

Explanatory Statement The City of Redmond relies on property taxes to provide basic services such as police and fire. Redmond’s current total property tax rate is $1.18 per $1,000 of assessed valuation. The proposed increase of $0.35 per $1,000 of assessed valuation would be about a $145 annual increase on an average home in Redmond. This increase only applies to the Redmond portion of your property tax bill, not your entire property tax bill.

The purpose of this levy is to support public safety needs in both Police and Fire through the addition of more firefighters and police personnel. This levy increase would go directly to support operations and programs, such as:

Nine firefighters to support fire and aid car operations at the Overlake Fire Station No. 12
Nine firefighters to support an aid car at the North Redmond Station No. 17

Seventeen police personnel to support police operations and programs, including a regular police presence in the public schools as part of a comprehensive school safety program.

If only this proposition passes, the City of Redmond will be allowed to levy up to $0.35 per $1,000 of assessed valuation to invest solely in critical public safety programs.
Hey! Read "Comments" below

FROM: BOB Chamberlin, Founder of the No. Redmond Neighborhood Email Group (access it here) MEMO TO: City Council FROM: Rosemarie Ives, Mayor DATE: April 18, 2006 SUBJECT: RESOLUTION: Expressing Support for City of Redmond Proposition No.1, the Ballot Title of Which Currently Reads as Follows: To Address Critical Needs by Preserving Current Levels and Avoiding Cutback of Basic City Services (Such as Fire, Police, Parks, Traffic Improvements), Shall the City of Redmond Increase Its Current Regular Property Tax Levy Rate to $1.88 per $1,000 of Assessed Valuation, Beginning in 2007?; and Urging Redmond Voters to Vote in Favor of the Ballot Proposition at the May 16, 2006 Election. You will recall that the last time they tried to raise our taxes they told us that if we didn’t give them more money there would not be enough funding to build and staff the additional fire/EMS facilities that we need (specifically for North Redmond).

Most of us had to wonder three things about that.
1) How is it that they had sufficient funds to build themselves a huge and very expensive new city hall,
2) where did the money come from to give city officials (most notably the Mayor) a very substantial salary increase and
3) If the number of homes in North Redmond is increasing by a factor of four, and if those homes are paying far more taxes than the previously existing homes were paying why doesn’t the city have sufficient funds to provide the basic services for those homes that are normally expected?

Our response was that we resoundingly voted down their tax increase since most of us have the attitude that they need to better manage the over-abundance of money that has already been provided.This time the Mayor is suggesting that if we don’t vote to let them raise our taxes more than the current law allows there will not be enough funds to maintain the existing level of basic services. (Note that they have the legal right to raise our taxes every year anyway and they do not need our permission to do it. They just want a lot more than that.) In my opinion, this is what local governments do when they want more money. They cut funding for what the voters want rather than the funding for what the local officials want.There are ways that costs could be reduced rather substantially but the people who manage the money prefer not to even think about those methods. Here is an example. In my opinion, the City of Redmond Planning Dept. causes more problems than it cures. If you think about it, Planners tend to Plan whether that planning is actually needed or not and many of us feel that it is not. Each member of the Planning Dept. should be required to write a justification for his/her own job. After reviewing these justifications, cut about 80% of those jobs. Personally, I plan to vote, “NO” on Proposition 1.I wish I could say something like, “throw the bums out”, but Rosemary will not be running for Mayor so she is leaving anyway. As I recall, many years ago when Rosemary first ran for Mayor it was on a “No growth or very slow growth” platform and on that basis I voted for her. We have seen what that meant. I don’t like any of the current choices very much but some are better than others and in my opinion, the best of these is Marchione. Holly Plackett is for lots of growth. Her election web site calls for bringing in a lot more businesses and a satellite campus of the UW. This would, of course come with all of the attendant traffic and additional need for infrastructure (and of course, government). Also, I can’t say that I’m very fond of some of the organizations that are endorsing her. Robinson is supported by many of the folks who are currently a big part of what I feel to be the problem so I don’t feel at all good about him either.There are people on this mailing list who previously expressed an interest in running for Mayor but I have yet to see their campaign signs. - Bob Chamberlin, 7/31

6/07 - History is a gift of Perrigo Springs Woodlands

"A GIFT OF PERRIGO SPRINGS WOODLANDS" -- Bringing us back to our historical roots. The founders of our Redmond Historical Society are pictured above.
Submitted by the Redmond Historical Society, 6/07, c/o Nao Hardy.

Web Site: http://www.redmondhistory.org/
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Redmond, Washington, has become famous as the home of Microsoft and many other high technology businesses, but for more than a hundred years the town was just a small farm community near enough to Seattle to provide suburban living.

For 6000 years the valley had been home to the Squak Indians, a branch of the Duwamish and Snoqualmie tribes. The first white settlers included Luke McRedmond and Warren Wentworth Perrigo who arrived in the area in the early 1870s and took up homesteads on the rich bottom land along the Sammamish River and to the east.

In 1877 William P. Perrigo, a brother of Warren W. Perrigo, came with his wife Matilda from Maine by ship around Cape Horn and took up the claim north of his brother. By 1900 they had a family of eleven children. William P. Perrigo was the first trader in the area. He opened a headquarters in his farmhouse at Redmond and then established posts on the farms between Tolt and Novelty.

Perrigo blazed the trails between the posts. Sometimes merchandise was left for settlers by prearrangement at a point along the trail. Goods were carried to the posts by Indian ponies and at one time as many as nine ponies were employed in the traffic. Settlers from distant points and local Indians came to the posts along the Sammamish and Snoqualmie Rivers in canoes. After the coal mines were opened at Gilman, he established additional trading posts at Cottage Lake and Paradise Lake. He opened the first permanent store in Redmond in the early 1890s. William P. was a close associate of Sam Hill who organized the Washington State Good Roads Association in 1901 to which they both belonged.

William Perrigo’s homestead was what we now call Education Hill, and what is now 166th Avenue NE, the main street running north and south on Education Hill, began as William’s skid road on which horses pulled the giant timbers logged from his hill, down to Lake Sammamish.

Some of the original land settled by William Perrigo was donated for Redmond Elementary School which now is the Old Redmond Schoolhouse Community Center. William’s family also donated the land across from the Old Schoolhouse for a community church on NE 80th Street where the United Redmond Methodist Church now stands.

The little Perrigo Springs was purchased by the Redmond Water Department in 1914 and was the first water supply for the newly incorporated town of Redmond. A dam was originally constructed to impound the water for storage, with the transmission main a 4” to 8” wood stave pipe. This site was Redmond’s only water supply until 1927 and served as a major source of supply until 1962. Currently the spring is still there, trickling through a small, forested valley, past the city’s Perrigo Springs Reservoir and makes its way to Bear Creek.

There is a wide trail near the spring that goes up Education Hill. Hikers and school kids and the curious use this trail. A mile to the east the large Perrigo Community Park is being developed.

06/07 - Pristine Perrigo Springs Dedication

The small Corkscrew Willow on the right commemorates Perrigo Springs, Redmond's first water source used by Indians and early Redmond pioneers.

The Historical marker and willow were dedicated by the Snoqualmie Falls Daughters of the American Colonists in 2004.

The above picture depicts the Perrigo Springs memorial as of last week. A few months ago, rock and debris was dumped on the the historical marker, tree and springs by a Public Works contractor. This was probably an unintentional consequence from nearby construction on a water tower. After several calls to the city the Public Works Dept. says they are looking for the vendor responsible for the damage.

UPDATE 1)They found the contractor and according to the Director of Public Works Bill Campbell, the rock pile and debris will be removed in 2-4 weeks,

6/26. UPDATE 2) the rock pile was raked into the surrounding ground and heavy, rusty pipe couplings were dumped next to the willow!

The city monitors the Springs with a camera mounted on top of the water tower.   

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Submitted by:  Nao Hardy, Founder of the "Redmond Historical Society" 6/07

"The little Perrigo Springs was purchased by the Redmond Water Department in 1914 and was the first water supply for the newly incorporated town of Redmond. A dam was originally constructed to impound the water for storage, with the transmission main a 4” to 8” wood stave pipe. This site was Redmond’s only water supply until 1927 and served as a major source of supply until 1962. Currently the spring is still there, trickling through a small, forested valley, past the city’s Perrigo Springs Reservoir and makes its way to Bear Creek. There is a wide trail near the spring that goes up Education Hill. Hikers and school kids and the curious use this trail. A mile to the east the large Perrigo Community Park is being developed."

Letter to Tom Fix, City of Redmond, re: Dedication, 5/29/04

Went exploring this weekend, and we now have a rock from Perrigo Springs in our archives. Hope I'm forgiven for this because I did take a river rock, not one brought in from off-site. I followed the creek back to where it was oozing from ground. To judge by rock-lined stream bed, it must've been fairly good sized waterway once. Got some great pictures. Away from the roadway, it's another world. 

Pedestal signage on south bank would probably work well. Or bronze plaque mounted on large stone. Should DAC honor it, parks could spiff up immediate area slightly with bench and garage can! There wasn't much trash, but seeing even a few items in the little waterway was distressing. It does give me pause about publicity for the site, although I saw a surprising number of other people on the trail.

I wonder how a cross-section of old wooden water pipe could also be displayed with interpretive signage. Maybe this is best done on a wall in the old schoolhouse.

Arlyn Vallene whose farm was just below springs, told me how her family worried that building the dam would mean they'd have fish in their drinking water.

 --Nao Hardy, submitted 6/07

I include this for Arlyn Vallene's anecdote re fish. think I told you that the "road" paralleling springs was called Frog Farm Road. there was even a sign on post with that name. all I really have is the two other's I sent you tonight. if u wanta get some info from Arlyn, her contact info is below. she volunteers in our office every Thursday - faithfully. I recall her saying someone[s] on the hill above her came to Arlyn's farmhouse to bath as they didn't have running water on the hill until early 1950s when they were annexed.

--Nao Hardy, 6/07

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?

6/17/07 Councilmember Marchione responds to Perrigo Heights development

From: John Marchione
To: Bob Yoder ; Jim Robinson
Cc: MayorCouncil
Sent: Monday, June 11, 2007 3:50 PM
Subject: RE: Perrigo Heights has been cleared

Dear Mr. Yoder, I am responding as Ombudsman (Council spokesman) for the month of June. As you know, Perrigo Heights has been an emotionally charged issue for a few years. Many neighbors requested the City purchase all of the land and preserve it as a park. The City did purchase a portion of the land to buffer the trail that runs up 99th street. This reduced the plat from about 36 homes to about 24. The Parks Board and the City Council have been aware of your request for the City to purchase the land. In general, the land was considered very expensive and Education Hill is served by more parks than any other neighborhood in Redmond. Forbidding development was not an option. A property owners retains his rights to build with in the community standards. This issue has been discussed with community input in previous years.

Sincerely,
John Marchione

OMBUDSMAN for Redmond City Council

6/20/07, The city's unallocated $32M capital funds

$32M in Unallocated, "Residual" capital funds! -- The city's capital fund is loaded! I received the following, alarming budget information from a neighbor this week:

"Direct from the new budget--hot off the presses on p. 240:
The Capital fund (CIP) for 2007 - 2012 is: $216.6 Million. $15% of this Capital fund is NOT ALLOCATED to any functional area!

At the end of 2012, the CIP has $32.4 million of (capital) funds unallocated which are not restricted by state law for capital and could be used for general city services.

Also noted on the same page is the fact that the Council decided to retain $17.9 million, which represents the 5% transfer from the general fund for 2007-2012, in its contingency pending a further review of the CIP."
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UPDATE, 8/3/07 - The Mayor recognized $32M of unallocated Capital funds didn't look too good to the public (us) and played "the shell game" to move $18M from the unallocated funds into various & sundry "reserve" funds. $13M in unallocated funds now "looks better" to us.
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The obvious question is, with all these millions of dollars ($50 Million) siting around without any direction why couldn't our elected afford to negotiate in earnest to acquire Perrigo Woods? We have $32M in idle cash! CAMWEST was willing to sell their land.

On another note, one now begins to wonder if a "levy-lid-lift" (raising taxes on assessed property values) is necessary?
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BUDGET 101
CIP = Capital Improvement Plan or capital fund (for fire trucks, city hall, roads, park acquisition. Council is actively considering adding maintenance (M&O) expenses to the Capital budget.

The 300+ page 2007 budget document is available from the City Clerk's office for $6.75 a copy. It will also be posted on the city web page http://www.redmond.gov/ - if you can find it. I'm picking my copy up on Monday.

At the last council meeting, Councilman John Resha led and excellent discussion on the state of our Capital Improvement Plan (CIP). We will certainly miss John's public service, as he has decided not to run for office this year. Council makes the whole budget process much more complicated than it is, probably to keep us guessing; and because they keep creating and rearranging their "buckets of money". I'll take a stab at it.

In general, the Council has two primary buckets -- "The General Fund" and "The Capital Improvement Fund". Most of our tax dollars go into The General Fund to be used for general services like police, fire, planning, and maintenance of City Hall, and on. City Hall maintenance costs $600,000/year!

The Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) is mostly used for making capital improvements. For instance, the city plans to tap the capital fund for $30 million into sewer and stormwater treatment for our "new downtown". [5,000 will reside the downtown in the next 15 years]. And, the CIP will fund a $20+ million "Bear Creek Parkway". Council is still trying to figure out if they should borrow to build this parkway -- and NE 116th St. -- or use the Capital Improvement Fund.

An additional bucket is being considered to fund "Maintenance and Operating" (M&O) expenses for our parks maintenance, city hall, stormwater vault maintenance, and others.

Up until this last meeting, the $71 million City Hall capital bill was paid out of the General Fund. But, why pay a capital expense out of an operating budget? That's what "Citizen Vicky" asked at a recent council meeting. Vicky also requested a state audit.

At this week's meeting, the Mayor re-juggled the "buckets" allowing council to rationalize how City Hall actually qualifies for Capital Funding! Oh, good, now we will pass the State audit test.
Enough said for BUDGET 101
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BUDGET 102
All tax dollars (minus utilities, hotel & lodging, etc.) go into the GENERAL FUND. Five percent of these General Fund dollars are moved in the Capital Program (CIP) once a year.

The following functional areas of the General Fund receive a designated allocation decided upon by the Mayor, Dir. Finance, and Council:

Functional areas of the $216.6 million CIP (capital reserve) and their allocations -
1. council contingency 5% ($17+ Million)
2. parks 19%
3. arts 1%
3. fire 15%
4. general fund 5%
5. transportation 45%
6. police 10%

6/13/07, "Redmond Reporter" Editor, John Huether says goodbye

6/07,"Redmond Reporter" editor, JOHN HEUTHER, 'says goodbye'

With sadness and regret, I learned this week, John Huether, editor of the "Redmond Reporter" will be leaving his desk the end of this week. I stopped by the office to say good-bye.

John's departure has special importance to me since he brought me on as a neophyte columnist back in March of 2007. John saw my blog and he believed in me. He gave me freedom to pick my city-related stories. Mr. Huether is a creative writer with wide-ranging experience and judgement. I gladly shared full reign with John in creating the titles for my columns. It's kind of an art. He wrote all the titles. And, gave me some key writing tips.

During my farewell visit yesterday we talked about his son graduating, the layout of the new office-warehouse, the new editor's background (sports writer, editor, the Valley Journal), and yes, Redmond politics!

John asked me who I was endorsing for in the 2007 elections. I told him I wasn't endorsing anyone owing my policy of keeping the Redmond Neighborhood Blog INDEPENDENT. Personally, I've found it difficult to make "early calls" on candidates because the landscape changes so fast. I probably won't be actively campaigning this year, though I have contributed to all mayoral campaigns.

I asked John for his thoughts. He spoke positively about one particular mayoral candidate, Mr. Marchione. He felt Mr. Marchione "was a good politician" -- saying politics isn't a bad thing ... because good politicians have the ability to bring disparate groups together for a common good. He mentioned Mr. Marchione's support from the Chamber of Commerce and a council majority. As for council candidates, Mr. Huether was enthusiastic about Michallea Schuelke. Michallea filed for Mr. Cole's position and will running against him in the August primary.

John Huether, we'll miss you.

7/17/07, CAMWEST mowed down all buildable Perrigo forest land

This OPINION was written in obvious anger from the acute episode of urban forest removal. Though the Camwest landowner has constitutional rights to do develop their land as seen fit the whole community agonized over the process. Many comments were submitted to my old Yahoo blog but not recorded. I was intensely invested in the process, starting with the serious lack of Public Notice the public was given. With regret, my bitterness shows. 01/2008

CAMWEST DEVELOPMENT, INC. of Kirkland, WA. mowed down about 1/3 of the Perrigo Heights woodlands Friday afternoon. Most of it the rest of it was removed by Saturday. CAMWEST has contracted with International Construction, Inc. and other contractors to do the "dirty work" for them. They don't want their "good name" associated with this project.  Already, a few citizens are leaving flowers and photos along the trail.

What I immediately sensed in the woods at 5:30pm was unusual brightness. It is now most apparent, the trail, riparian creek and Hartman wetlands receive southern exposure. Without shade from the canopy the wetlands will dry -- faster than naturally. Bring your sunhat and sunglasses. The atmosphere is totally different now on the creek, wetland trail. You will also hear birds seeking refuge in the riparian wetlands.

6/1/07, Mr. Sheridan's 4th-grade salmon-release field trip

Mr. John Sheridan, Horace Mann Elementary teacher raises and releases salmon fry with his students

Every once in a while it's nice to have a happy story to tell.

At Horace Mann today, I enjoyed my usual time with my 5th grade "lunch buddy" Dallas. Dallas's taught me how to set up a "gmail" account and ever since then I've nick-named him from his gmail handle -- "Dallas 2-fast."

I bumped into Mr. Sheridan aka "Mr. S". He's a 4th grade teacher and is known throughout the school and district for inspiring children with the salmon fry he grows in a big tank in the school lobby. It just so happened he and his students were going to release the fry TODAY into Bear Creek at Ferrel McWhirter Park. And, I was invited!!

John Sheridan has been instilling love and respect for fish & wildlife in Horace Mann students for over 16 years. Every year he conducts field trips for bird identification and behavior and the release of Coho salmon fry.

My daughter had Mr. Sheridan for a teacher.  I'll always remember the day she exclaimed "her bird" would be the Western Tanager that she swore she saw over the east fence at Mann. We walked over to ID it without any luck. But, I still have the tanager picture she drew on my office wall.

"Dallas2fast" really liked Mr. Sheridan when he had him last year. Dallas remarked: It's fun to be in his class. Besides the field trips, Mr. Sheridan takes lots of pictures and students each get a photo album at the end of the year. He is also "knows technology". At lunch students will take video and edit skits they create. Fairly recently, Mr. Sheridan won the teacher-of-the-year award.

Today was a treat. I'd never been on one of Mr. Sheridan's salmon trips. He asked me to help dip the fry out of the huge tank. It was fun poking around with the net for the baby, 1.5 inch coho. Passing students ogled. We gently placed the fry into a large cooler with a bag of ice -- all 230 of them! Lesson #1 - salmon need cool water to live!

Mr. Sheridan told me lots of cool stuff during the dipping. He got the $1500 tank from another school via a WSDFW "Adopt a Stream" grant. In December, he cleans the tank and then in January he places 250 developed eggs from the fishery in the tank. The children watch the eggs hatch and grow all year! In early June the kids release the fry.

Each child was given a bowl of water with several fry. They walked to the creek and slowly released them. It was a very special time. Some children have a hard time letting them go. Some give them names.

Mr. Sheridan said about 80% of the fry will make it out of the river, but very few will return. (~ 1-2%). The fry need to stay in the river a full year so they are good prey to birds. These little guys are tank fed and used to rising to the surface to feed!

After some fruit Popsicle, photos by the huge Big Leaf Maples, and walk through the animal barn, the fun ended. No doubt many of these children will remember this day for a lifetime.
Thank you, Mr. Sheridan! You are a one-of-a -kind special teacher!

May, 2012 Comment:   The salmon were released in Mackey Creek near it's confluence with Bear Creek.  (Mr Sheridan retired a few years ago and enjoys playing golf 24/7) BY

05/2007, TENT CITY-4 Observations & recommendations for a better Tent City

OPINION:  I have experience with alcoholism in my family and I sold psychotropic medication for five years to psychiatrists for bipolar, OCD, Depression, and ADHD. I have been a Board Member of NAMI-Eastside.

It is evident alcohol use will never be totally eradicated from Tent City even with the "zero tolerance" Code of Conduct policy. Under the Share/Wheel nonprofit policy, residents are "disbarred" by their own members (escorted out of camp by their peers to a bus stop) when caught drinking in camp.

TC4 evictions for alcohol and disorderly conduct are enacted by tent city residents, staff, and parishioners; that's the **policy. During eviction, the police department is rarely, if ever, called to assess the evictee for health & safety needs, counseling, escort, or even incarceration. I strongly encourage and recommend a policy where the police be called during evictions so professional , objective assessment can be taken. Yes, police intervention may cost taxpayers more money short term, but it is safer for citizens, more humane for the afflicted and probably more cost effective long term. 

About 23% of tent city homeless (NAMI) are afflicted with a serious mental illness and likely need medical attention, medication adjustments, and social support. NAMI-Eastside and the Hero House members (for social/vocational rehabilitation) should have greater awareness and presence in Camp.

Safety & health assessments during evictions, ideally, should not be the responsibility of Tent City resident peers. Peer support should be primarily dedicated to spiritual, caring, and informational needs. Phone communications are an option for follow-up by a resident or neighbor who cares. Upon entering TC ("the Hilton) and departing, some Tent City evictees need to "bottom out" from alcohol and they often need medical attention and psycho-pharmaceuticals. **Alcohol and other drugs are commonly used to "self-medicate depression, mania, and other mental illnesses.

My brother died from the isolation of co-occurring mood disorder & alcoholism. He was isolated in an apartment, unemployed, miserable from brain damage associated with medication dis-continuance. He could no longer cope. One day he stopped his medication and died. Had Rick not been isolated he might still be living. Thus, my recommendation for the humanity, kinship, and social support of a Hero House and a Tent City.

One final thought before listing support services. Why couldn't Alcoholic Anonymous conduct meetings at TC4 encampments?  (Update: 7/1/12: They started AA meetings in 2011 - including road signage on 166th). Progress in attending to TC resident mental health-care needs probably will not occur until Share/Wheel and host facilities take mental illness and substance abuse out of their closet. ShareWheel's FEAR that permits will be denied when admitting a high presence of mentally ill is unfounded.

Precedent has been set over and over for TC permit approvals. Community tent cities are here to stay - with or without community awareness of the high incidence of mental illness.
ShareWheel and host facilities should no longer feel a need to "shelter" the mentally ill from neighborhoods and their chance for better health.
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***SHARE/WHEEL - Operator and Manager of Tent Cities of Puget Sound
Call 206-448-7889 [ask for AA, Hero House, and peer support]
Website: http://anitraweb.org/homelessness/faqs/tentcities.html
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HERO HOUSE - psychiatric and vocational rehabilitation and support. 9-5PM. computers for job hunting and training. subsidized lunch. van pick-up. must apply with proof of diagnosis. confidentiality secured. CALL: 425-614-1282. 14230 NE 21st Street, Bellevue, WA. 98007. http://herohouse.org/
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A.A. - Bellevue - 1299 - 156th Ave. NE. #160. CALL: 425-454-9192. http://alcoholics-anonymous.org/

05/2007, Mental Health & My Tent City Experience

Mental Health and my Tent City experience

Since writing my Redmond Reporter column "City Watch" my story on "Tent City" garnered quite a few inquiries for additional information.  I've responded.

MY COMMENTS & RECOMMENDATIONS:

It is evident alcohol use will never be totally eradicated from Tent City even with the "zero tolerance" Code of Conduct policy whereby residents are "disbarred" (escorted out of camp by their peers to a bus stop) when caught drinking in camp.

TC4 evictions for alcohol and disorderly conduct are conducted by tent city residents, staff, and parishioners; that's the **policy. During eviction, the police are never called to assess the evictee for health needs, counseling, escort, or even incarceration. With professional objectivity, police could decide if it's to hold the evictee at Tent City to sober up before escorting out. I would strongly encourage police be called during an eviction so professional , objective assessment can be taken. Yes, it may cost taxpayers more, but it's safer for citizens and more humane for the aflicted.

I recommend the homeless camp eviction policy be changed to include police assessment, based on the following anecdotal, documented crime:

On May 9th, one of the few TC4 related crimes by an ex-camp resident occurred; hopefully, anecdotal. The crime was serious - a harmless burglary- and required incarceration on $10,000 bail. Upon request, Redmond Police Commander, Ed Billington gave me the report. edbillington@redmond.gov . Upon further inquiry, Mr. Billington told me the burglar also knocked on residential homes asking for money and that alcohol was associated. [Tent City related "related" crimes rarely get reported. It took some digging to get this.]

Had police been present during the eviction the outcome of the eviction may have been different.

Safety & health assessments should not be left to the sole responsibility of tent city residents. Peer support should be focused to a spiritual, caring, and informational nature. e.g. contacts for AA, Hero House, NAMI , food & shelter support services should be given to the resident upon eviction. Phone communication and follow-up by a capable resident could help. Tent City evictees may be "bottoming out" from their alcohol abuse; they may need medical attention and psycho-pharmaceuticals. (Alcohol and other drugs are commonly used to "self-medicate depression and mania.)

My brother died from the isolation of a co-morbid bipolar disorder, anxiety & alcoholism. He was isolated in an apartment, unemployed, miserable from brain damage associated with medication dis-continuance. He could no longer cope. One day he stopped his medication and died. Had Rick not been isolated he might still be living. Thus, my recommendation of the humanity, kinship, and social support of a Hero House and a Tent City.

One final thought before listing support services. Why couldn't Alcoholic Anonymous conduct meetings at TC4 encampments?  [AA meeting are on-site now, as of 2011]. Not until Share/Wheel takes mental illness and substance abuse out of their closet will residents' health be addressed fully. Share Wheel's FEAR city permits will be denied when admitting a high presence of mentally ill is unfounded. The permit approvals has been tried, proven and established...time and time again.

ShareWheel should no longer need to "shelter" the mentally ill from society and their chance for better health.

Statistics - National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
Mental disorders are common in the United States and internationally. An estimated 26.2 percent of Americans ages 18 and older — about one in four adults — suffer from a diagnosable mental disorder in a given year. When applied to the 2004 U.S. Census residential population estimate for ages 18 and older, this figure translates to 57.7 million people.

Even though mental disorders are widespread in the population, the main burden of illness is concentrated in a much smaller proportion — about 6 percent, or 1 in 17 — who suffer from a serious mental illness. In addition, mental disorders are the leading cause of disability in the U.S. and Canada for ages 15-44.

Many people suffer from more than one mental disorder at a given time. Nearly half (45 percent) of those with any mental disorder meet criteria for 2 or more disorders, with severity strongly related to co-morbidity. [mental illness and substance abuse is genetic - it can strike whole families.]

The link to NIMH is: http://www.nimh.nih.gov/ NIMH is a government site probably the most credible site for mental health information.

The incidence of serious mental illness in the homeless is about 4 X that of the general population; the homeless experience about a 23%. incidence of serious mental illness.

Serious mental illnesses and substance abuse are often associated with suicide. Some examples are: Major Depression, Classic or "mixed-mood" bipolar co-morbid with alcohol/substance abuse, Schizophrenia co-morbid with substance abuse, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder co-morbid with depression, "Soft" Bipolar (depressive type);

The incidence of alcoholism/substance abuse in the homeless is about 60%.
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"Homelessness is a growing social injustice in the United States. On any given night, approximately 600,000 Americans are homeless and more than two million people are homeless throughout the year.

According to conservative estimates, one-third of people who are homeless have serious mental illnesses, and more than one-half also have substance use disorders.

Despite the grim statistics, studies show that supported housing is an effective option for communities working to meet the needs of people with mental health disorders who are homeless. In fact, people who are homeless and have mental illnesses or co-occurring disorders are more likely to recover and stay off the streets if they have access to supported housing programs." Reference: link: http://www1.nmha.org/homeless/HousingandHomelessness.pdf
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Facts of Homelessness: http://www.nrchmi.samhsa.gov/
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Substance Abuse Statistics of the Homeless, Am J Pub Health, 2004 Jan 94(1) 103-108 The bar graph chart above, depicts the incidence of substance abuse in the homeless. You can find an explanation of the bar graph by clicking on the below link:
http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=1449834&rendertype=...
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***SHARE/WHEEL - Operator and Manager of Tent Cities of Puget Sound
Call 206-448-7889 [ask for AA, Hero House, and peer support]
Website: http://anitraweb.org/homelessness/faqs/tentcities.html
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HERO HOUSE - psychiatric and vocational rehabilitation and support. 9-5PM. computers for job hunting and training. subsidized lunch. van pick-up. must apply with proof of diagnosis. confidentiality secured. CALL: 425-614-1282. 14230 NE 21st Street, Bellevue, WA. 98007. http://herohouse.org/
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A.A. - Bellevue - 1299 - 156th Ave. NE. #160. CALL: 425-454-9192. http://alcoholics-anonymous.org/.

05/2007 - Active landslide on Perrigo Heights

2007 was the year I started my blog

"Landslides Threaten Big Trees, Sewer Alignment at Perrigo Heights" - by Susan Wilkins, Redmond, WA.

Preface: The initial geotechnical engineering report on Perrigo Heights was done in 1997. It's possible that the slope along the access road where the slides are now occurring was much more stable back then. At that time, the report stated that the whole property was stable. That was 10 years ago. Since then, time, gravity and severe weather have destabilized the north side of the property and it is sliding and unstable. This article and photograph are simply pointing this out.

A series of landslides along the access road on the south side of Perrigo Creek has toppled a number of trees and has left a majestic big-leaf maple precariously leaning with its roots exposed on the steep hillside. The tree sits on what is called a bench slide, a whole piece of the hill that is moving down-slope as a unit. It’s an historic slide that has been occurring slowly for years. It probably started years ago when the City of Redmond cut into the hillside when it built the access road that runs along the south side of the creek. The effects of gravity and the heavy rains this past year has caused the soil under the roots to break up and collapse. The landslide begins at the top of the slope where caving with the classic “scooped out” appearance can be seen on the relatively horizontal section of the hill where the proposed sewer line for the planned Camwest Perrigo Heights Development will run. In some places, the sewer line boundary will be within 15 feet of the top of the collapse.

5/9/07, Impact Fees, Can growth pay for growth?

The sketch above is of a "roundabout". They will be installed in No. Redmond in place of stop lights or 4-way stops.

Last night, the Redmond council had a joint meeting with the Sammamish council to discuss, in part, transportation funding. Though, some of the discussion points were hard to pick up on "webstreaming" TV, I 'll do my best.

For me, a take home message was that Sammamish is capturing 97% of the transportation costs of their growth projects with "impact fees" on developers. On the other hand, Redmond is capturing only 67% of our transportation costs of our growth projects with impact fees. Thus, one conjectures that 33% of the cost for developing the road infrastructure in Redmond's of new developments is distributed to the citizens. IS GROWTH TRULY PAYING FOR GROWTH? Council will look at this closer in a future study session (especially with attention to having to borrow to improve 116th St).

The mayor's rational for this larger burden on the citizens (and less burden on developers) was: 1) we want to get a good start launching this new city-wide impact fee structure with gradual updates and 2) the pending 2008 Overlake Plan will be a good first update point. Citizens will need to stay on top of the city to see these updates take place.

Projected transportation costs have gone up significantly in the last 3 years. In 2004 costs were $251,000,000. Costs have escalated to $345,000.000 in 2007. Of the 2007 costs: $204M are non-impact fees (borrowing and capital funds?) and $141M are funded from the new impact fees.

Council and Administration figured $141,000,000 in impact fees are needed to pay to balance the budget and for needed improvements, including:

NE 70th Street (by Whole Foods & the trailer park),
the NE 124th & Red-Wood Road intersection, and
the NE 124th & 162nd Place NE intersection.

Council was vague about long-needed NE 116th improvements and various "roundabouts" (see photo) planned for North Redmond. Several months ago, staff recommended borrowing to pay for this work. Council meets for another study session in the near future and hopefully will give clearer directions for fund sourcing.

Council very quickly reviewed the total impact fee of $12,550 a developer would pay for the average lot. The combined impact fees for schools, parks, fire, and transportation are ~ $12,550/lot, based on the proposed fees, below:

$2750 - school impact
$2500 - parks & rec. impact
$6900- transportation impact
$ 300- fire impact

Several councilmembers were thoughtful and considerate of the analysis & hard work the planning commission contributed to the deliberative process. Mr. Cole follwed by Mr. Marchione were most supportive and Mr. Robinson and others made note of commissioner's input. As I recollect, Mr Resha - Capital Program (CIP) lead and a transportation consultant -- was relatively quiet throughout the conversation.

The Principal Planners did the best job they could explaining the commissioner's point of view but it would have been faster, more effective and useful to have a commissioner present to voice their 3-1 majority FOR fees.

BACKGROUND: In 1996, seven Districts were structured to implement impact fees. 4 were commercial districts - all with the same fee. 3 were residential districts with Grasslawn and ViewPoint neighborhoods the lowest fees.

TODAY, staff is proposing one city-wide impact fee for all neighborhoods and commercial areas. All houses pay the same fee. One district is common in cities with 3-4 mile trip lengths, such as in Redmond.

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)

4/25/07, Parks Levy plans and presentation

The Parks Commissioners and Director Craig Larsen (above) pretty much received unanimous agreement and support for this proposal from COUNCIL & MAYOR at council's study session on levys, 4/25/07

Draft: Park and Recreation Levy Proposal
Background: The Redmond Parks and Recreation Department and the Redmond Parks Board have reviewed the options for a Parks and Recreation levy, and have the following findings and recommendations.

Findings:
Maintenance, Operation and Program expenses have surpassed current funding. We can not adequately maintain our parks, trails and facilities; respond to demand for programs; or adequately staff our parks and community centers.

With one exception, we have not received the funds needed to maintain parks and trails, street landscaping or other facilities purchased or built after 1999.

We do not have the resources to maintain parks, trails and facilities purchased or built after December 31, 2006.

We do not have the resources to maintain street right-of-way landscaping constructed after December 31, 2006.

The growth of Redmond area population, and the quality and success of our programs, creates demands for additional staff and program hours.

There are unfunded responsibilities for Native Growth Protection Easements, and urban forestry, and opportunities to expand the parks and recreation volunteer program which would improve habitat and reduce hazards.

In light of these challenges, it is appropriate and advisable to ask citizens to approve a levy sufficient to fund all critical park and recreation system needs.

Recommendations:

Seek a levy rate of $0.10/1000 AV to fund the following.
1. Teen Center FTE
$58,000

2. O&M Parks built before 2007
$307,000

3. O&M Parks built 2007 to 2012
$210,000

4. O&M street landscaping built 2007 to 2012
$120,000

5. Teen Center open seven days a week
$186,000

6. After School Programs for Elem./Jr. high
$75,000

7. Health, Wellness and Fitness
$30,000

8. Urban Forestry
$140,000

9.Expanded Arts Program
$50,000

10. Expanded Flower Program
$40,000

Total
$1,216,000

5/1/07 From the most recent meetings if appears Council will pay off all Operation and Maintenance (O&M) expenses by tapping into our Capital Improvement Program (CIP). The amount needed to pay off our O&M is about $605,000 - an equivalent of .05/$1K. Tranfering $$ from the CIP cuts down on the amount of the park levy. The levy is projected to be about 3 cents/$K property tax. After School Programs are up in the air. The CIP has idle, unallocated funds which can be judiciously used.

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4/25/07 PART 1 - PARKS LEVY - Intense council debate -- commissioners to the rescue!
I'm still recovering from last night's levy debate on safety (fire & police) and parks. Whoa! The levy issue is so HUGE for us I could ooze thoughts for days.

Unfortunately, a problem we must contend with is the "election factor" -- with the fuzziness and sometimes angst it brings. Perhaps, a separate story on levy politics? Here goes my first take on what came out of last night's discussion. This story focuses on the values of our unpaid citizen-volunteer parks & trails commissioners....

Kudos to The Board of Parks Commissioners! And, sincere thanks to council Pres. McCormick, Vice-Pres. Vache, and/or Parks Chair Jim Robinson for requesting the presence of the Parks commissioners for the parks levy discussion! The four commissioners who spoke up for the people -- three of which sat at the table -- did an incredibly AWESOME job explaining citizens need for parks and assuring Council that the money requested was truly justified. Special thanks to Lori Snodgrass, Sue Stewart, and Dayle "Hank" Margeson! (Hank is running for council this year.)

They did a tremendous job and I urge anyone who can watch the replay of their effort to tune into RCTV 21 this Sunday at 9PM. (I think they'll be on around 10:30PM after the fire/police gig).

My wife thought the city should do a survey of citizen's needs and desires for Parks. In fact, the commissioners did apparently do a survey a two years ago. The result -- according to commissioner Margeson, 2/3 of surveyed citizens agreed to support a .10/$K park levy increase (lid lift). That's huge community support.

In the end, we take confidence from the hard work of our parks & trails commissioners over the last 5 years (!) on their budget. Our dedicated commissioners are 100%, unpaid citizen volunteers -- many have children, some are seniors, some are teens, some artists, single and/or with families.

Some care about passive parks, others active parks, and arts parks, community parks, pocket parks; some care about trails or land acquisition, some value historic facilities like the Old Redmond School House and the Old Fire House Teen Center and wood artist Dudley Carter's homestead; or the new skateboard 'edge' park or rehabbed pool; and not least, the after-school daycare programs....an on...

In general, our commissioners care about all of our city's rich resources - our wellhead designs, open spaces, tree canopy, street corner flower pots, creeks, wildlife, watersheds and yes even plantings in our ever-growing street mediums --- yes, the Parks Dept. has maintained our mediums!

THUS , Council was blessed, and benefited greatly from inviting parks commissioners Sue Stewart, "Hank" Margeson, and Lori Snodgrass (and Mary B.) to sit at the table with council as consultants to our Council.

Council members did all that was within them to thank our commissioners for their valued advice, dedicated effort, and solid plan.

Commissioners put it all in perspective in stating: "the park levy is costing the equivalent of a tall, mocha latte per month". Thank you, I can relate to that. And, you listed exactly and openly your reasoning and benefits for this 'cup.'

Your integrity is valued. You say the neighborhoods and citizenry are behind it, will promote it. We believe you. You've spent 5 years working on this, hands-on, so your decisions aren't flippant. No politics of the moment. There is nothing tangible in it for you - money or power -- just your desire to serve. I respect you. Your needs are transparent. I trust you. You don't hide things from us.

My dear commissioners, THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING YOU DID FOR US at the chamber table tonight!

If anyone wants to comment please follow the comment directions at the BOTTOM of this blog or email redmondblog@gmail.com for blog posting; I will cut n paste.

4/23/07, Cougar sighting - or was it a Bobcat?!

Is this a picture of a cougar or a bobcat?

From: Eric O'Neal Date: April 23, 2007 1:55:22 PM

Subject: Cougar Sighting Good Afternoon-

I wanted to get out some information regarding a cougar sighting near Hartman Park. Apparently a resident of the Lookout Ridge development, just south of Hartman Park, spotted a cougar in the greenbelt next to their house. The Department of Fish and Wildlife and the Redmond Police Department have been notified and are aware of the situation.

Please pass along the information regarding this reported cougar sighting to coaches and parents so they can make wise choices regarding the safety of their children and pets while in the area.

Thanks, Eric O'Neal City of Redmond Park Maintenance Supervisor

answer - cougar;   bobcats have tufts on the tops of their ears

4/7/07 - Council rejects downtown rezone of manufacturing parcel

4/07, Update - Council rejects downtown residential rezoning of manufacturing parcel
Well, the full council was in session this week and they voted 5-2 to keep "Marymoor East Square" zoned manufacturing and reject the landowner's request for residential development.
Allen and Robinson were the dissenting votes and favored rezoning the property to residential or condominiums. The planning commission voted 5-2 with McCarthy and Querry the two votes for commercial. (vote is being confirmed).

This is a big deal because this vote represents a big piece in the city's strategy as to where they want to concentrate our housing density. It looks like building density in our neighborhoods has greater priority than density downtown. Too bad, because this prioritization is not logical from many viewpoints.

Councilmember Robinson named a few: 1) traffic congestion has been proven to increase the further housing is from the workplace. 2) 12,000 Microsoft workers (plus the multiplier) will migrate into Redmond within 10 years and we are already fighting an imbalance between homes and jobs. Marymoor East offers a housing opportunity we can't afford to pass up. 3) With the high price of land in Redmond there is no indication of a "land rush" for office park space even for high-tech or R&D.

Councilmember Allen concluded that residential is compatible and appropriate in Marymoor East owing to:

1) residential property is located right across the street,

2) a children's gymnasium is in walking distance,

3) a nearby trail leads right to Marymoor Park,

4) the land is expensive for manufacturing ; manufacturing space in Kent and Auburn is approximately .40/sf versus .90/sf to 1.10/sf in Redmond. The Marymoor Park East side of Redmond has been idle for over a year with no takers .

5) a wetland 'amenity' is on the 3 acre property.

The council majority thought different: Cole decided we would be "plopping" residential into the wrong place and would drive out manufacturing, what little we have. Marchione said lowering the supply would increase the cost of manufacturing and he said the Square was "an island" removed from "downtown".

Resha was as concerned as Robinson and Allen about the housing/jobs imbalance but he said manufacturing is part of what makes Redmond , Redmond. McCormick iterated from the last study session her conclusion that "we have met our housing targets" and we don't need or want downtown residential density at this time.

On several occasions Cole reminded Council of the large increase in land value the Chee's would benefit from in a rezone. Mr. Chee is a Korean immigrant and I believe his son runs the property business. They attended every planning commission and council meeting and spoke up during Items from the Audience. We are fortunate to have the Chees as business persons in Redmond. And shouldn't they rightly deserve to benefit from developing latent property as would any other developer that sticks their neck out? e.g. Camwest's Kempin rezone approval.

Councilman Jim Robinson was so upset and surprised by the 5-2 vote that he recommended Mr. Chee to get a good lawyer, confident Mr Chee he would win.

It's unfortunate we can't build housing density in the downtown area, a logical location and alternative to neighborhood open space. It's not like anyone is lining up to the site from that part of Redmond to build manufacturing. There have been no takers. And we need smart housing choices.

As Councilwoman Kimberly Allen summarized, "The real losers were the Chees--they are stuck with a nostalgia vote to maintain the manufacturing label on their property at all cost--even if no one wants to site new manufacturing concerns in [that part of] Redmond. If this [council] majority were voting on it, we would still have hitching posts and a feed store in downtown Redmond even though the last horse left years ago." 4/19/07
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5/6/07: UPDATE: CHARLIE McCARTHY, PLANNING COMMISSIONER ASKED COUNCIL ON 4/5/07 TO RECONSIDER THEIR 5-2 VOTE AGAINST RESIDENTIAL. HE THOUGHT THAT IT MAY HAVE BEEN A MISTAKE TO VOTE FOR MANUFACTURING BECAUSE THAT AREA SHOULDN'T HAVE BEEN ZONED MANUFACTURING IN THE FIRST PLACE. HE URGED COUNCIL TO "DO THE RIGHT THING". HE THOUGHT IT WAS A POOR PLACE FOR TRADITIONAL MANUFACTRUING.

One of the 5 majority councilmenbers must change their vote to allow reconsideration. Charlie was one of two commissioners voting FOR manufacturing earlier. Querry was the 2nd.

OPINION: 4/19/07, Avondale Crest "death trap"



Orange tape marks 104th location and width of Avondale Villa Road



184th Ave Ne dumps heavy neighborhood traffic from 184th AVE NE onto 104th.  Avondale Crest "Road" is just down thec hill on the left curve.  It's faintly marked by orange tape.  The speed monitor is up hill from 184th.

OPINION:  "Avondale Crest" plat was changed to "Avondale Villas" after the 9-lot plat was changed to 8-lots.

4/19/2007:  Last night, council made a decision to approve the proposed 9-home Avondale Crest project near the NW corner of 104th St. & Avondale. This is a nightmare. After much discussion, Council voted 4-3 to deny resident Susan Wilkins, appeal. [I can't give councilmember names for the vote because the names were garbled when announced by the Council President]

The Avondale Crest project is a loser. A loser for the developer, a loser for the neighborhood, a loser for the city, and a loser for the people buying into it. Why? The access to the project is a "death trap" and just "won't work".

Traffic on the steep, curvy collector road to the project is both dangerous and congested. I'm talking about NE 104th Street. Congestion will worsen as nearby developments like Tyler Creek ( 92 homes) are built out and start flooding onto 104th. The final blow to congestion will occur when homeowners move into the Avondale Crest development. This project will be a juggernaut.

Avondale Crest (AC) cars turning left into their development will have to wait for cars coming up hill from Avondale. At the same time cars going down hill (if they don't crash) will be leaning on their horns "to persuade" that darn AC to by-pass their forced turn. The AC car will feel the heat and head down to Avondale and look for a turn around, so it can make an unobstructed right-hand entrance into their AC home. The same forced left-hand turn (with associated hazards) will occur for AC cars leaving their homes for Avondale.

Susan Wilkins appealed for "right-in, right-out turns only." She lost. The "laws of congestion" will show she was right. As it is now, free lance driving is allowed. And, so more forced turns will be made by AC cars resulting in more accidents and I hope not, even deaths. Recently, a neighbor told me (not in the police report I requested) that a propane truck jack-knifed and turned over on 104th. Consider it a rumor, but we can expect the worst, now.

This development is a mistake. .. an example of "forced planning" at it's worst. In this case, the preservation of a landowner's constitutional right not to have his land taken without compensation has taken precedence over preserving the safety and welfare of citizens. Council...what does it ever take?? The appellant will be asking council next week. ( council@redmond.gov for anyone interested.)

Susan Wilkins states: "The council's decision opens the City to an astronomical legal and financial obligation when someone is injured at the new intersection. I don't think that they realize this." Yes, I may be an alarmist and prognosticator. Yes, my language is extreme about the safety issues -- but traveler beware.

I just pray the Realtors and their buyers considering purchasing an Avondale Crest house read up on what they are "getting into" so they "find a way out", pun intended.

Professional Realtors owe their buyers full disclosure on this one!! [ I plan to send an alert to all the major brokers in the area to open their eyes to disclosure.] If I were I buyer, and I wouldn't be, I'd low-ball my offer, low ball it again, and then accept the concept of living in fear of bodily harm and frustration ...until I could find a new buyer.

As the Vice Chair of the Planning Commission stated this week -- the free market will decide how and IF this development gets built. The plat has been on sale for many months and no one wants to buy it. On the plus side, the applicant will have an option of selling TDR's (Transfer Development Rights") to recoup costs, if he can't find a buyer.

One last quote from the appellant Susan Wilkins "the whole process was confusing and frustrating. If I had had the Technical Report on the PRD before the Dec. 11 hearing, my whole approach would have been different and I'm sure the outcome would have been different." The Development and Review Department replaced long standing City Code traffic standards with new National Standards to accommodate Avondale Crest - the exception was approved by the Technical Committee.

These changes were improperly recorded in the PRD permit rather than the Plat file. When the appellant Susan Wilkins asked for the PRD permit file it wasn't available. Councilmember Kimberly Allen voted against the PRD permit, in part, out of protest.

Last and not least, THANK YOU  Susan Wilkins, for speaking up for all of us in your appeal. You represented us with sacrifice to your personal life and outstanding commitment to our community. Thank you.

OPINON BY BOB YODER
PHOTOS BY YODER

4/7/07, Election Notes and Resources

LAST DAY TO FILE FOR OFFICE: June 2.
PRIMARY - August 21, 2007; ELECTION DAY - November 6, 2007
Public Disclosure Commission - disclosure of campaign contributions and expenditures --
FOLLOW THE MONEY: http://www.pdc.wa.gov/Public/Campaign/Default.aspx
REGISTER TO VOTE - King County Elections - http://www.metrokc.gov/elections/register.htm
ABSENTEE BALLOT INFORMATION : http://www.metrokc.gov/elections/absentee.htm
absentee ballots are mailed August 1, 2007 for the Primary election.
MAYOR'S COMPENSATION : $121,900 (includes car allowance, travel & tuition budget)
COUNCILMEMBER'S COMPENSATION: $11,085 / year, each member
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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
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MAYORAL CANDIDATE WEBSITES AND CONTACT INFO:
Jim Robinson: http://www.robinsonformayor.com/ - VIDEO !!
jamesprobinson@earthlink.net
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John Marchione: Website: http://www.johnmarchione.com/ VIDEO!!
Email: john4mayor@comcast.net
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Holly Plackett: http://www.hollyplackett.com/ VIDEO !
425-881-7422
*** The Redmond Neighborhood Blog does not endorse mayoral or council candidates.
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COUNCIL CANDIDATE WEBSITES AND CONTACT INFO:
Position 5:
Michallea Schuelke: PTSA. President Eastside Lacrosse Club.
Campaign Website: http://www.redmondcouncil.com/ Video!
Email: schuelke4council@yahoo.com
vs.
Richard Cole: 16-year council incumbant, Position 5.
Email: rgcole@gte.com
Website: http://www.coleforcouncil.org/
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J. Marchione's seat, Position 1
Hank Myers running for Marchione's seat vs. Brian Conlin - announced in the Reporter on 9/9/07. 31-year Redmond resident. Lives in Overlake neighborhood. Experience in transportation. No web site, at this time. (Marchione's seat)
hank@hankmyersforredmond.org 425-408-3937
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J. Resha's seat, Position 3
"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.
Friends-of-Hank@hotmail.com 425-885-1684
vs.
Brian Conlin http://www.voteconlin.com/ brian@voteconlin.com 425-286-7992 (Marchione's seat) http://www.conlinreport.com/
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James P. Robinson's seat, Position 7
Dave Carson - http://youngrepublicans.meetup.com/86/members/435937/
dmcarson@hotmail.com 206-484-8480 http://www.carson4council.com/ (work ???)
vs.
Brian Seitz - Web: http://electbrianseitz.com/ NEW VIDEO!
New Blog: http://electbrianseitz.blogspot.com/ 425-885-1332
Email: brianseitz@brianseitz.com

4/11/07, Avondale Crest bio-swale issue

Attached, is a good photo of the city "bio-swale" on Avondale & NE 104th St. You are looking to the north from 104th. The Avondale Crest project is on the west-side. This swale is serpentine (not straight) to slow the water flow enough to allow filtration into the soil before draining into Bear Creek. It is a very good example of a high functioning and (apparently) well maintained bio-swale.

This bio-swale serves as a water quality measure for storm water running off of various housing projects. It functions as a water filter for removing phosphates, nitrates, and heavy metals from stormwater. The swale also re-oxygenates the water. In the end, our drinking water is cleaner and salmon healthier.

A small, but important problem was discovered with the bioswale. The swale was intended to treat the Avondale Crest stormwater draining from two wet vaults on the north along Avondale. But, I couldn't find the northern inlet pipe to the swale servicing these vaults. A development engineer graciously escorted me into the swale to look for the inlet pipe. We could not find the inlet pipe after an hour of searching and digging.

The Development Department reviewed my request for proof of a pipe inlet for more than 2 months. With some back-up from our Code Enforcement Officer cmArthy@redmond.gov and the Department of Ecology, our Public Works department was able to find and dig out the inlet pipe. They showed me a picture for proof. Though the pipe appeared smaller than the construction plans and flow does not appear fully re-directed from the Avondale pipe, some treatment may occur.

Of note, the stormwater engineer told us bio-swale earth accumulates heavy metals over time and the soil needs to be removed. Also, during floods, the water flows over the ditches by-passing the serpintine channels. During floods, treatment is significantly limited.

A pattern seems to be emerging in newer, proposed projects to eliminate bio-swales from wet vault treatment altogether. I am researching this further. But so far, I could not find bio-swale water quality measures in the 42-lot Shaughnessy Plat or 24-lot Perrigo Heights plat. In fact, it appears the Perrigo Heights vault stormwater will drain directly into Perrigo Creek for oxygenation and filtering.

Water enters the Avondale Crest swale from housing uphill and west of the swale. It treats the stormwater from older neighborhoods to the west and potential future projects. It is also designed to treat stormwater entering from the north (Avondale pipe).

I learned about this swale while appealing the proposed 9-lot Avondale Crest plat housing project just uphill. Though, appealing can be rigorous and time consuming one may often find a mistake or unintended consequence in the development process that could improve project quality....just reward for one's effort.

2007 STORMWATER MANUEL AMMENDMENTS (SEE PAGE 19) FOR BIOSWALE REQUIREMENTS. http://www.redmond.gov/insidecityhall/publicworks/technotebk07/Chapter2.pdf