A quest for "open government" in the Parks Department

Craig Larsen, Director of Parks & Recreation, Trails, Art

OPINION: Several months ago, the Parks commissioners sat nervously in council chambers in front of the full Council, Mayor, Directer Larsen and staff . They had the daunting and uncomfortable task of asking Council for a $40 million park bond! The bond request was quietly denied.

The timing of the commission's request was unusual in that it pre-empted our public "Budget by Priorities" meetings. In addition, the public passed a parks levy only a year ago. It wasn't until the Budget was released a week ago that I discovered the Administration's motive this huge park bond request. They need $37,000,000 to build two Downtown Parks. I'm all for creating a "Great City" but it would have been nice to be included in the Parks & Trails Commission planning process. We, the public did not receive the benefit of transparency and "open government" in this case. The government did not receive the benefit of our input.

Last night, I went to the Parks and Trails Commission meeting. During the weeks of November 10 & 17th the Council will consider a $43,060,000 hike of the 6-year capital budget for Parks. It was interesting the commissioners didn't once mention the park budget. Most of the discussion was about a proposal to change Cleveland Ave. and Redmond Way into 2-way streets .

Director Craig Larsen said a couple of months ago he had been planning to televise 2-3 parks commission meetings per year on RCTV-21. I keep waiting. Mr. Larsen schedules the Arts Commission 3-times per year for RCTV and their budget is tiny compared to the Parks $87,000,000 program. Wouldn't you want to dial in on occaision? Staff recently committed to posting commission meetings without 2-3 month delays. Current commissioner names and titles are being updated on RCTV and current commissioner names are now posted online. Trasparancy may be improving. I ran into Councilman Hank Margeson at the Digital Arts Festival. He had heard the Parks & Trails Commission wouldn't be holding any or their meetings on RCTV-21. I hope Hank heard wrong. The public has asked for transparency over and again; and Mayor Marchione has agreed to the values of Open Government. I'm hopeful and trusting the Administration will someday lift the darkness and move the Parks & Trails commission and public forward.

Your comments on the parks budget are welcome. Email Park Director celarsen@redmond.gov or ParksAndTrailsCommission@redmond.gov.

Footnote:

The Budget breakdown is here

cc: Parks,Trails,Art Director Larsen, Mayor, Council and commissioners

Redmond High School Theatre Arts presents "Noises Off", the hilarious farce by Michael Frayn. 6 nights...

RHS Theatre Arts presents "Noises Off", the hilarious farce by Michael Frayn

November 6, 7, 8 and 13, 14, 15 at 7:00pm in the Redmond High School

Performing Arts Center

Tickets: $7 adult, $5 student/senior, at the door or online: http://www.redmonddrama.org/

Synopsis

Each act of "Noises Off" lets us watch a farce called Nothing On, as produced by an ill-assorted touring company. In Act One, the dress rehearsal is running very late and is plagued by technical difficulties, missed cues, and lost contact lenses. The action, seen on the stage set facing the audience, hints at multiple intersecting love triangles and other complications behind the scenes.

Act Two literally reveals these offstage developments one month later. The set has rotated so we see the cast backstage during a performance. The director is in trouble with both his girlfriends, the actress making her comeback has two neurotic actors at daggers drawn, and a grand old man of the theater is falling off the wagon.

Act Three turns the set around again, for a final performance where backstage chaos sweeps onstage in a slapstick crescendo of disaster.

Directed by Misty Carson, the show features RHS seniors Darren Caulley, Lauren Isherwood, Catlin McCartney, and Jason Tillman. Dalton Broback, Carly Gilliland, Thomas Moore, Molly Orr, and Evan Yuhas round out the cast.

Under Ruth Barton's technical direction, a production team of students including Stacy Church, Allie DeAngelis, Patrick Mulligan, Geena Pietromonaco, Greg Rocha, and Sophie Thoma provided the stagecraft for this farcical tour de force.

"Falling Leaves & Restless Kids", by Kay Tarapolsi

The leaves have fallen, it's gotten colder and now we won't get to enjoy the great local Redmond parks within walking distance from our house.

So what is to become of my sanity? Being at home all day long with a young child is enough to send anyone online looking for things to do out of the rain. It's good that we live in a community that is one step ahead of moms that need a break from shopping and dads a break from getting the bills from shopping.

A place to start is the Redmond Community Center Open play. Children between the ages of 1-5 pay $3 to come on Tuesdays, Wednesday, and Thursday between the hours of 10am and 12pm to play. The auditorium is big with lots of seating for moms and there are a ton of driving toys and other distractions for the little ones.

Another option, McDonald's a more expensive one, is to join the Great Play. I had a chance to visit during their open house and was quite impressed with the teachers and the facilities. They have classes set up for different aged kids at different times, so be sure to check their website for times and costs. When the kids are climbing the walls, why not take them someplace that they can do that safely? Try Vertical World's Fall Youth Climbing Programs. Be sure to let me know how it goes since mine is still a bit on the wee side! For those that would rather bounce than climb, be sure to check out the Arena Sports Inflatable Playground off of Willow's road. The times vary for their drop in programs, but buying an unlimited pass will sure help with keeping those finances down as the kids bounce up.

With so many people that work in Microsoft that live in the area, this next one might not come as a surprise, but I forget about it all the time. The Microsoft Museum is free every weekday. For the little ones that think dad lives at work sometimes, this might be a good way to show them what dad does while at work. Of course our fallback option is McDonald's on Redmond Way. Now that there are finally healthy choices on the menu, I don't feel as guilty taking the kids there when it's pouring out. Besides, the new gym area is much better then that play structure they had before. I was finally able to go in there and feel at ease with the food and play options.

Koloud 'Kay' Tarapolsi
Contributing author, Overlake Neighborhood

What business operated for 47 years before being replaced by Willows Run Golf Course?

Vegetable Farming in 1921 before Golfing at Willows Run

- excerpt from the Redmond Historical Society Newsletter, Miguel Llanos, Editor

The Willows Run Golf Course now dominates the Sammamish Valley area near downtown, but back in the old days the Aries family’s produce farm was the center of attraction.

Redmond Historical Society President Pro Tem Judy Aries Lang was born into that Italian family as was her sister Angela – and both pulled a few carrots and worked in the packing shed at Aries Gardens.

On Saturday, Nov. 8, from 10.30-noon at the Old Redmond Schoolhouse Community Center, the sisters will take folks on a slideshow and video tour. All are welcome.

“The farm started with three partners in 1921 and 6 acres,” Judy recalls. “By 1928, it had 9 partners and 87 acres and was the largest in the valley, according to the East Side Journal. In 1930, they employed about 80 farm hands at the busiest time.”

“Head lettuce was the biggest crop, with half the acreage planted in lettuce,” Judy adds, “but over the years they also grew carrots, cabbage, cauliflower, beets, turnips, spinach, potatoes and pumpkins.”

The farm closed in 1968 with an equipment auction, of which a video was made, part of which will be shown at the meeting. “All the big veggie farms folded around this time,” Judy says. “An end to the era of truck farming in the valley.”

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With assistance from my neighbor, Richard Morris, The Redmond Historical Society has created a new Web site -- with a new address: redmondhistoricalsociety.org. Check it out!

Here’s a sample of what you’ll find: 1) Past newsletters to 2001, 2)Select biographies
3) List of items we sell (great holiday gift ideas!) 4) Upcoming heritage events
5) Video clips (e.g. Derby Days; and one of the last trains through town)

Opinion: The 166 Av. & 104th St. intersection is counter-intuitive but computer modeled to be efficient & safer

(left) Looking north on 166th to the intersection (car). Three narrow lanes will be squeezed into a 33 ft. road that's pinched by wider sidewalks.....(right) Looking south on 166th at the wide sidewalk. Inexperienced bicyclists are expected to exit off the uphill bike lane and ride onto the sidewalk. (click to enlarge)

Hey! Good news! According to an informed citizen and Metro employee, everything is looking good for a mid-November completion of the intersection and signal!

However, have you driven through the 166th Ave. & 104th St. intersection lately? My wife and I were shocked to see the wide sidewalks pinching and narrowing the intersection. It almost looks like the intersection has been reduced from 4 lanes to two lanes. Even worse, it looks like the northbound pass-through lane on 166th Ave. will block cars trying to turn right onto 104th Street. One lane services both pass-through and right turns.

I've always supported the re-alignment for the safety and boost it gives to walking and bicycling. But, what we saw confused and bothered us. I emailed the city for answers and reached Don Cairns, the Traffic & Transportation Manager for Redmond (and Education Hill resident). He was very helpful and reassuring. Don gave the following explanations, often times referring to computer modeling analysis: (my comments are italicized)

• There will be three lanes at each road entering the intersection, not two! One lane is exclusively for left turns. The adjacent lane (on the right) is dual purpose - for right hand turns and straight ahead pass-through. (I'm not sure how they'll safely cram three lanes into the intersection roads).
  
• The left hand turn lane will be 12 feet wide to accommodate bus turns. (Sounds like a very tight and slow turn close to the sidewalk) The right turn / pass through lane will be 10-11 feet wide. (Seems like an abbreviated merge and pinch on bicyclers).
  
• Traffic is slower at intersections with 4-way stops than with stop lights. The wide sidewalks were installed at the intersection to slow traffic and raise driver awareness of pedestrian and bicycle vulnerability to the heavy traffic. The wide sidewalks are also intended to be used by inexperienced bicyclers and children bicycling to school. (Seems like with even moderate bicycle traffic on the north sidewalk corner towards Mann will be hazardous for pedestrians and bicylcers).
  
• Computer modeling reveals that a two phase signal will accommodate the northbound peak direction with shorter ques than the four-way stop. (Computers don't have emotions but drivers do.)

Nobody likes change or to have their lifestyle re-shaped by government. Citizens were given plenty of opportunity to be heard by the city on this project. (Survey results from the 2/7/08 Public Meeting). But, the changes to the intersection are more than I envisioned and may be clouded by unexpected consequences. We are left to trust the will of our city representatives, computer modeling techniques, and the professional training of city planners and consultants. You'd think this would be a perfect place for a ROUNDABOUT but it's too small, according to Traffic Calming Planner, Jim Palmer. Mr. Cairns advised the improvement will be better understood once the project is completed. Check back here soon .... As Councilman Pat Vache once emphasized in a council meeting - this construction project is all about safety. That's the bottom line.

What do you say?

UPDATED: Citizens comment on the limited user-group deal for 60 Acres South Park

Webcam shot of 60 Acres North (click pic) ............................................Defibrillator located between Field #8 and #12

UPDATE, 10/30 From Larry Phillips, KC Councilmember-* "Mr. Yoder, I wanted to be sure that King County, which owns the park on behalf of taxpayers, remains informed and able to intervene should irresolvable issues arise at any time during the 30-year agreement. Thus, I sponsored two additional amendments as follows:

1. King County Parks is required to alert the King County Council of any unresolved issues at Sixty Acres Park via quarterly reports;
2. King County retains the right to intervene to resolve any disputes that may arise between LWYSA, other user groups, and the general public.
   
   More information about this legislation (Ordinance 2008-0475) can be found at the following link: http://mkcclegisearch.metrokc.gov/detailreport/?key=8936
   Click on documents in the “Attachments” window for details"

*entire correspondence in comments

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Lake Washington Youth Soccer Association (LWYSA) has a new Beta website (here.) At the site, you can register for a field (oh really?!), watch webcams of 60 Acres, get a weather report, and read up on the new King County Council 60 Acre Park decision. In short, the county plan authorizes LWYSA as the leasee and "property manager" of 60 Acres South - giving the soccer organization singular control over field management. Councilmember Hague sponsored the plan.

Scott Odle, is one of many Redmond soccer parents who opposed the recent King County Council decision that virtually gives a monopoly to LWYSA over how 60 Acres South Park will be used. Mr. *Odle posted one of the most persuasive arguments opposing the pro-LWYSA-King County Plan on this blog. Click HERE (then scroll down) to read Scott's comments.

The following excerpts from LWYSA indicates other user groups will be accommodated to some degree. That's great, but how motivated can the soccer association be to rent out their fields when they complain (and claim) that about 300-400 soccer kids turned away from Spring leagues? Yes! pressure from lacrosse, cricket et al for field usage in King County is high; and county oversight will probably be necessary to bring fair rationing of use to user-groups.

LWYSA states in the Q&A of their Beta website:

"King County was responding to challenges in meeting the athletic field needs of LWYSA and other user groups. Developing additional athletic fields not only helps LWYSA with their field needs, but also, to some degree, helps to relieve pressure on other user groups. "

We "will pay for all construction, upgrades and maintenance of 60 Acres. To develop the new fields on 60 Acres South, LWYSA plans to invest approximately $1 Million. LWYSA currently spends about $250,000 per year to maintain the soccer fields on 60 Acres North, and will continue to incur this maintenance burden as well as the additional cost of maintaining 60 Acres South."

"In return for development and maintenance, LWYSA will get priority (but non exclusive) scheduling of the facility. LWYSA may also rent the facilities to other users, at prevailing King County rental rates, and retain these rents to help defer construction and maintenance."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
IN CONCLUSION: Owing to budgetary shortfalls, King County has to find ways to reduce operating costs of their parks and save taxpayer money. LWYSA is the easy solution. LWYSA has deep pockets and resources to develop 60 Acres South and maintain both North and South parks. LWYSA also sold acres of cherished fallow agricultural land for $1M to the county and an association of farmers. Thus, the county jumped on the proposal LWYSA take authority of leasee and property manager role over 60 Acres South. I understand and accept this plan. My problem is with the monopoly one sports association now has over a magnificent county park. It is incumbent on citizens to ask, encourage, and insist on King County Council oversight to assure the southern fields are used without exclusivity and with fairness and balance to user groups. Do you agree?- BY

Special thanks to Scott Odle for reporting the 60acres.org site, webcams, defibrillator and, of course, his comments.

Should Evans Creek be renamed?

a 2008 posting

In the Minutes for the July 17, 2008 Planning and Public Works Committee, chaired by Councilmember Hank Margeson, the committee held a discussion about naming city streams. Mayor Marchione noted that "there is some debate regarding the current name of Evans Creek; the Historical Society believes the name of the stream is Martin’s Creek."  

Ben Martin homesteaded on what is now known as Evans Creek. Below, is a brief description, provided by the Redmond Historical Society, on his history and life on the creek.  

Ben Martin’s homestead, c.1910

Martin, John “Ben” Benjamin 1827 - 1920:

Ben Martin was a Civil War veteran who fought for the North under Gen. Sherman.  John was a survivor of Gettysburg. He arrived in Redmond in 1875 coming with the John Perry family on a scow. 

Entitled under the Civil War Veteran’s Land Grant, Ben paid $10 for his 160-acre homestead on the southeast corner of today’s Red Brick Road and Novelty Hill Road. A small creek feeds into Bear Creek on the Martin's homestead in two places.  As other settlers staked their homesteads, the area was soon to be known as Happy Valley.   

Over time, the name of the creek became known as Martin Creek. Ben died in 1920 at the age of 93, and at some point during the ensuing decades, the creek’s name on maps changed from Martin Creek to Evans Creek. Ben’s grandson Daryl Martin believes there was a “a fellow named Evans, don’t know the first name” living in the area for a time.

Listed in Polk Directory 1911-1912 as “Martin John.” Ben is buried in Old Redmond Cemetery. His headstone reads: “Co. A 4 Rest. VA. Vol. Inf”. Ben and his wife Ann Martin 1847 – 1925 had six daughters and five sons. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Special thanks to Miguel Llanos and the Redmond Historical Society for sharing this treasured photo and excellent historical research.  

 Note :by Susan Wilkins, Redmond geologist:  In the Washington Geologic Survey, Bulletin No. 8: Glaciation of the Puget Sound Region published by J Harlen Bretz in 1913, the creek is referred to as Evans Creek on the maps and in the accompanying text. Evans Creek *is* the historical name for the creek so I think it would be wrong and confusing to change it to Martin Creek

Ross, Deb, and Judy: Thank you for funding Redmond's Lower Bear Creek riparian corridor!! I hope you get a lot of votes from Redmondites!

Rep. Ross Hunter (#48) ...................Rep. Deb Eddy (#48) ................Rep. Judy Clibborn(#41)

Representatives Hunter, Eddy and Clibborn -

Thank you for your support and actions taken to help make the restoration of Redmond's Lower Bear Creek a reality! The $10M restoration will improve endangered Chinook riparian habitat, enhance floodwater controls and stormwater treatment and safeguard the SR520 transportation corridor.

Did you know? Your efforts to fund the restoration of Lower Bear Creek rekindled community interest and excitement about our City's riparian habitat. Last week, the Mayor formally Proclaimed our "Riparian Habitat as Habitat of Local Importance!"

Thank you for your representation!

Mayor Proclaims Riparian Corridor Habitat as "Riparian Habitat of Local Importance"

This month, Mayor John Marchione paid special tribute to the Lower Bear Creek riparian habitat and other riparian corridors in the City of Redmond by proclamation in City Hall.

PROCLAMATION

WHEREAS, riparian corridors are essential for wild fish
populations; and healthy riparian corridors are dynamic ecosystems that perform
various functions that form salmonid habitat; and in addition to habitat
formation, riparian corridors store and convey strormwater and floodwater;
recharge groundwater; and serve as areas for recreation, education, scientific
study, and aesthetic appreciation; and stream restoration and enhancement are
key components of the City's Stormwater Capital Facilities Plan, further
attesting tot he City's commitment to healthy riparian corridors;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOHN MARCHIONE, Mayor of the city of
Redmond, do hearby proclaim

RIPARIAN HABITATS AS HABITATS OF LOCAL IMPORTANCE

in Redmond, and I urge all citizens to recognize the values of these habitats and promote their stewardship.

Signed, John Marchione, 10/17/2008
Sponsored by: Council President Nancy McCormick
Written by: Cathy Beam, Principal Environmental Planner

UPDATED, 10/22 - King County Councilmember Kathy Lambert comments on 60 Acres South Park. - Council's decision, 10/20

King County Council's final decision, 10/20 "King County partners with Lake Washington Youth Soccer Association in adjusted-use plan that complements multiple activities at Redmond-area field "

The following is a comment made 10/19 on this blog (here) by Councilmember Kathy Lambert about the pending 60 Acres South decision:

"This is a lease agreement NOT a transfer as was originally proposed several
years ago. The county/citizens maintain ownership and have input on how it is
managed. There will be regular meetings and input to the council on how the
shared usage is being administered. All along the process there have been many
changes to respond to citizen input. In fact there are six more amendments
proposed for Monday's vote that reflect input from the citizens of Valley
Estates. It is difficult to find the balance between countywide usage of an
asset and local usage. The Parks Department does not have the funds to maintain
and improve all the wonderful parks and open space in the county. So they have
developed agreements with many groups to share in the efforts to keep our county
green and open for public usage and exercise. The goal is that the final
agreement is one that will balance all the needs. This ordinance should be
posted online by Wednesday so all can see the many aspects of this agreement. I
hope that soon we will see that with cooperation and teamwork we can all enjoy
the wonderful area of 60 Acres."

-This comment was made on a recent 60 Acres posting to the Redmond Neighborhood Blog on October 19, 2008 11:51 AM , by Kathy Lambert

Kathy's King County Home Webpage is here.

Kathy represents District 3, comprised of: North Bend, Snoqualmie, Issaquah, Sammamish, Redmond, Carnation, Duval, Woodinville and rural county towns and cities.

Ron Sims August 21, 2008 proposal for 60 Acres South Park solution and returning Muller Farm back to active organic farming.

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Looking at the issue from a citizen's perspective -

“King County and the soccer association will use 34 acres of open space to destroy Sixty Acres South as we know it. Instead, they could provide as much soccer play by taking just six (6) acres and building one lighted FieldTurf field and one grass field.” - by Stew Konzan, 10/20

King County Council to decide on how 60 Acres South Park is used and enjoyed.

Written by Lawrence Doan, 10/15

The King County Council met on the issue this past Monday, Oct. 13. 24 people spoke against the lease of 60 Acres South vs. the 2 from LWYSA. The council postponed a vote until this coming Monday, Oct 20. They are taking the time to review the proposed agreement and the comments.

The public comment period is closed; that is, no further testimony will be heard before the council in person. However, King County Council encouraged concerned citizens to write, call or email them this week, October 15 - 19.

If they vote on Monday, that's the end of the line, so make yourself heard now. At the very least they should be taking more time to review something that will last 30 years.

I myself oppose this LWYSA (soccer association) agreement in part, because:

1) 60 Acres South is one of a kind in the county and no replacement has been offered.

2) The agreement also promises "50% shared use", which one might take to mean something like "Monday, Wednesday, Friday and alternate Saturdays" are open to the public. However, what it actually means is that half the fields could be scheduled all day, all summer and still be "50% shared" while making the park unusable to others.

Write or call the Council Member(s) of your choice by October 19:
Bob Ferguson (D)District 1206-296-1001 bob.ferguson@kingcounty.gov
Larry Gossett (D)District 2206-296-1002 larry.gossett@kingcounty.gov
*Kathy Lambert (R)District 3206-296-1003 kathy.lambert@kingcounty.gov
Larry Phillips (D)District 4206-296-1004 larry.phillips@kingcounty.gov,
Julia Patterson (D)Council Chair, District 5206-296-1005 julia.patterson@kingcounty.gov
*Jane Hague (R)District 6206-296-1006 jane.hague@kingcounty.gov
Pete von Reichbauer (R)District 7206-296-1007 pete.vonreichbauer@kingcounty.gov
Dow Constantine (D)Council Vice Chair, District 8206-961008 mailto:8206-961008%20dow.constantine@kingcounty.gov
Reagan Dunn (R)Council Vice Chair, District 9206-296-1009 reagan.dunn@kingcounty.gov

Posted by Lawrence Doan to Redmond Neighborhood Blog at October 15, 2008 9:01 AM

Minor edits by Bob Yoder, 10/15

Mike Town won the KIRO 7 $5000 environmental award!

Teacher and Environmental Activist hiking WILD SKY WILDERNESS with Senator Patty Murray

THE VOTING IS OVER! Mike Town won!!! Look for Mr. Town on KIRO 7 TV October 20th!
Wild Sky Wilderness will have $5000 additional funding as a result of Mike Town taking the winning vote for conservation excellence.

Click here to watch the KIRO 7, 30 second clip on Mike Town and the 4 other conservationists he was running against.
FROM A FRIEND OF MIKE TOWN: As some folks may know, fellow activist Mike Town is nominated for a KIRO TV Conservation Hero Award for his work on the Wild Sky Wilderness Act. Check out the video that ran on KIRO TV and vote for Mike on KIRO’s web site.If Mike wins, then the $5,000 prize he would receive would go to the Wild Sky Working Group to pay for implementation actions for the Wild Sky Wilderness (i.e., purchasing wilderness trail signs that the Forest Service will not fund, trail signs, road decommissioning elements, etc.)The Wild Sky Wilderness bill was the only wilderness bill in the entire United States that got passed in the 2008 legislative year and it added protections for 106,000 acres of public lands, streams, rivers, and countless species of endangered wildlife and varieties of rare plants.

Mike is passionate about preserving our environment for many reasons, among them the reduction of global warming by preserving our Old Growth forests and the streams that they keep healthy. Mike works with his Redmond High School students in Environmental Studies, continuing to instill the values of good environmental stewardship for future generations.Please vote for Mike Town now and tell your friends, students, teachers, neighbors, fellow workers:

Send Mr. Town your congratulations!
Mike Town, Redmond High School
425 798 4130 ext 185
mtown@lwsd.org

370 new trees will be planted at the Bear Creek Parkway Project

Earlier posts on this blog show bulldozing and deforestation of the Saturday Market area and Heron Rookery forest attributed to the Bear Creek Parkway Ext. and Stormwater Treatment Wet Pond. Ms. Lisa Singer, Project Manager of the Bear Creek Parkway project told me the city will be replacing the lost trees with 370 new trees! This is generous. Planting 370 trees is way beyond code requirements for this project. For example, the seven urban Landmark trees cut down in front of the Saturday Market will be replaced with 36 trees. Code requires only 21 new trees. Thank you, Ms. Singer for restoring our green treed Gateway.

A Landmark tree is greater than 30 inches in diameter measured at breast height. When a Landmark tree is removed code requires replacement by 3 trees. Depending on weather conditions and species, a young tree sapling planted by the city will take about 70-90 years to grow into Landmark status. Thus, I will be 127 years old and my 16 year old daughter will be 96 years old before the new trees planted in Saturday Market area grow back to Landmark size.

Losing our downtown Landmark trees will have long-lasting impacts to the old look and feel of downtown Redmond. The new look and feel should be greener despite the new Parkway. Planner Lisa Singer says "It will be a beautiful amenity, as well as functional of course, once the project is completed. We’ll have many new pedestrian and bike connections and loop trails!" Lisa provided the following tree data for the project:

There are actually a total of 370 new trees proposed for the Bear Creek Parkway and Stormwater Treatment Facility project. Breakdown of new tree planting locations are as follows:

• 42 trees will be planted in the Saturday Market area. To clarify, this includes the existing roadway surface of Bear Creek Parkway in the area between Redmond Town Center and Leary Way. 7 of the 13 trees removed in the Saturday Market area were Landmark Trees.
• The removals in the Saturday Market area were necessary to accommodate the alignment change in Bear Creek Parkway and the pavement from the existing roadway alignment will be removed and restored with vegetation.
• 94 deciduous trees will be planted in new planter strips and landscaped medians of Bear Creek Parkway.
• 145 trees will be planted in the area along the northern border of the Heron Rookery between Leary Way and 159th Place NE. 25 trees were removed to build the Leary Heron rookery trail.
• 75 trees will be planted in the vicinity of the new regional Water Quality Facility.
  108 of the new trees will be planted in planter strips and landscaped medians.

Invasive black-topped service roads form the backbone for our city park trail system. Is there an alternative?

The city plans to install a back-topped asphalt trail through the Leary heron rookery forest

12 foot black-topped road is planned for this new trail by the Leary Avenue heron rookery. Less invasive soft surface trails, as in the small picture on the right, would be more aesthetic and more forgiving of the trees -- especially trees remaining on the trail to control bicycle speeds. Water will be blocked off by impervious black-top, threatening these trees. The three small pictures are of ADA approved trails where narrow bicycle and wheelchair tires can be used. ADA crushed rock trails are pervious to rain, more eco-friendly and less envasive.

Less invasive, eco-friendly, ADA approved trails could be installed by this forest remnant but the city rejects this idea thinking: 1) bicycles, strollers, and wheelchairs need black-top surfaces and 2) grant money is not available. In the two Park's Commission meetings I've attended the Park's department never seriously evaluated the viability of eco-friendly crushed rock trails. Pervious, crushed rock trails will support wheels as narrow as a wheelchair. Several companies specialize in eco-friendly trails - a description of Enviroseal, Inc. trails is found on their Environseal website.

The Parks Dept. has an opportunity to install an ADA eco-friendly trail at Idlewood Park and this rookery, as beta sites. If we don't evaluate these trails soon all of our park trails under development and future park trails requiring a "backbone" will be paved over with asphalt. Is this what we want as Redmond pushes to Go Green?

Lisa Singer, city planner describes the trail route as:

"The trail through the woods will be a connection from the 520 bike trail and the Sammamish River trail northward to the transit center on NE 83rd St. The Northward extension of the bike lane will occur under the next phase of the project, which will build the 161st Ave NE connection. At the south end of 161st and the north end of this woods trail, we are constructing a plaza." Lisa Singer, Project Manager, Bear Creek Pkwy Extention

This trail is an excellent connector for circulating bicycle and pedestrian traffic away from busy downtown; though it is unfortunate 25 trees had to be removed. As you can see from the photo, Parks Dept. scattered a few trees on the trail to slow bicycle speeds and improve aesthetics. Nice touch.

(1) The heron rookery has been inactive with no colonies present for over 3 years. The heron you see in Redmond migrate from Issaquah rookeries to forage for food fish and small mammals. I hope the city will cooperate with Issaquah to protect our source of herons!

Send your comments to any of these city contacts:
Council@redmond.gov (city council)
ParksAndTrailsCommission@redmond.gov
PED-BIKE Citizen's Advisory Committee
Celarsen@redmond.gov (Craig Larsen, Parks & Arts Director)


cc: city council & parks & trails commission.

Dr. Kimball's Lake Washington School District VISION 2020 is framed with an exciting & scary video in his presentation to Council

Superintendent Dr. Chip Kimball l and School Board V.P. Mr. Ravi Shahani of Lake Washington School District LWSD presented VISION 2020 to city council last night asking for collaboration. I've known Ravi from working together on the Education Hill Citizen Advisory Committee.

Dr. Kimball (photo) started his presentation with the alarming **two-minute video clip titled "Do You Know?" . Please click this video link for exciting and sometimes scary reasons why LWSD must prepare our kids for the future.
The LWSD's Vision Statement is "Every Student Future Ready". You'll know why after watching the clip.

1. Not every student should go to college, but absolutely every student should be prepared for college. Dr. Kimball said, without some post secondary education, poverty or inability to live in our community is probable.
2. Preparation for the global workplace by learning skills in communication, technology, problem solving is envisioned.
3. Preparation for personal success is envisioned with passion, perseverance, work habits, community contribution, and environmental awareness.

Mr. Ravi Shahani represents students and parents at all schools on Education Hill, at Wilder, Rose Hill and a few others others.

The 2-minute clip "Did you know?" was replaced by this 6 minute clip:  http://youtu.be/pMcfrLYDm2U

A neighborly review of Redmond's Digital Arts Festival

The Digital Art Festival website is art itself. The site was designed by Kamal Siegel - a Redmond Arts Commissioner and owner of the 3-D studio, DigitalDouble . I think of Kamal (on right) as taking the roles of thought leader and Digital Arts Festival Program Director for this festival. The program was magnificent! Attendance was low considering the
offering.

I first thought digital art was all about abstract, electronic art or computer art. Yet, I learned it's mostly about "gaming" -- X-Box, Donkey Kong, Atari, War Games, etc. Redmond is the "capital" in the Northwest for gaming with Nintendo, Digipen, and Microsoft and a variety of boutique digital companies headquartered here. Despite industry presence, The Arts Commission had their work cut out for them. Ed Fries, a prominent speaker, said the "game world" and "real world" are quite different. So, to drive Festival attendance the Commissioners had the ominous marketing task of concurrently educating the public about the digital world of art while advertising & selling the event. On top of it all, government bureaucracies are not missioned to be marketeers.

The Digital Arts Festival Program was extraordinary. My daughter had 5 basketball games during the Festival so I was only able to stop by the Digital Lounge, digital painting studio, panel discussion, and animated short movies. My favorite event was the speaker panel. Kamel did a great job interviewing. The speakers were all experts and I think 4 of the 5 worked at Microsoft at some time or another.

My favorite speaker was a neighbor, Abbott Smith. I first met Abbott during the Avondale Crest land use appeal on 104th St. He is well known in his neighborhood as a past Arts Commissioner and community leader. I enjoyed getting to know Abbott better. His multi-faceted life experiences and engaging personality captivated me. Abbott earned a marine biology/chem degree, mixed with art in Ohio. He enlisted in the Army. Abbott is known as an artist and especially his love and teaching of the digital arts. He taught at Nintendo, worked at the Seattle Art Museum and taught and chaired and instructed at Digipen Institute of Technology for 5 years. Digipen is a school in Redmond for the digital arts. Abbott is responsible for accrediting the BFA Fine Arts degree in Production Animation at Digipen.

Of all the speakers, Abbott gave me the most "take home messages".

1. computers are needed for marketing digital art. DRAWING is the language of the field and the hand is the best tool. The computer is only a tool, an arrow in the quiver, not the artist.


2. DRAWING should to be in every K-12 art teacher's curriculum.


3. The more "Pencil mileage" a student gets, the better his digital art. With each new iteration of software, students with the most mileage will best adapt.


4. Artists and programmers have different "languages". Artists are "old school' so programmers tend to think they are better. Both must work together.


5. Just as DRAWING is the artist's foundation, "Z-Brush" language is the programmer's foundation.

Ed Fries of Fingerprints, Inc. has an amazing background. He will be exhibiting his 3-D printers at City Hall this Thursday at 7pm. (Open to the public). Yes, a paper image is literally "copied" into a 3-D object. After working on Atar 800, Ed joined the Microsoft team of seven to develop EXCELL. He then took 50 MSFT workers and built MSFT games - the beginnings of X-BOX. Ed's take home message: the need for artists in gaming is growing! Artists now outnumber programmers by about 8:1. It's difficult to outsource digital artists because of cultural barriers and the need for a "creative core".

If any of you know an Arts commissioner or city planner Mary Yelanjan make sure you thank them for their monumental effort in putting this class-act program together and tell them not to give up. My wife and I thought the high school venue detracted from the sophistication of the program. A modest ticket charge would seem appropriate and may further attendance. I pay $6 for every basketball game I watch my daughter play. The Redmond Digital Arts Festival is certainly worthy of more.

_________________________

Listen to Redmond Arts commissioner Eva Moon's "Bailout Man" U-Tube clip here (newly minted!)

City Parks & Rec. Dept. grows a pumpkin patch at Juel Park!

While walking the banks of Bear Creek looking for spawning salmon I stumbled upon this pumpkin patch at Juel Community Park. What a surprise! Parks & Rec workers were busy weeding the patch and raking it out. Awesome!

The green pumpkins are still transitioning into orange. The sunflowers are ready for picking....and I did! One of the workers gave me a pruning shear and I cut 3 flowers. They cut a pumpkin for me, too! I think Parks has a great idea in planting this "feature" into Juel Park. It's a rustic, historic farm with an old barn and hog pen. (Look at the photo. You can see the barn behind the city truck.) The patch compliments the farm theme.

Juel Park also hosts a golf frisbee course. I've seen neighbors playing frisbee golf after work at dusk. What a relaxing

way to de-stress after work and enjoy nature. One fellow said it doesn't take as long or cost as much for a "round" for disc golf. Did you know frisbee golfers actually carry a "bag of clubs" with them? Actually, it's a rectangular bag of different shaped frisbees for different distances from the "pin" (basket). Coool.

As I left the park carrying my pumpkin and three flowers, I asked a worker if I could tell my neighbors about the patch. "Yes, it's for the pickns!"

Bear Creek Parkway construction alters "look & feel" of Saturday Market

Trees are a integral part of Redmond's Saturday Market culture, as you can see by the sign

OPINION:  Invaluable improvements to traffic circulation around and through the downtown will be achieved once the Bear Creek Parkway Extension is completed. Unfortunately, the removal of significant trees near the Saturday Market is noticeable. According to city Project Planner Lisa Singer, 13 trees were removed from the Saturday Market gateway. As you enter Redmond on Leary Way the Saturday Market has lost it's park-like appearance. I haven't been to the Market recently to see how it feels. Please comment on this post if you have strong feelings about the changes.

Below, is a short clip of the parkway construction's impact to the Saturday Market, Heron Rookery, and Gateway. Councilman Vache' was noticably absent during the Council's 4-2 decision to go ahead with this unpopular roadway alignment. Councilman Cole was forced by Vache's absence to change his voting preference to keep the project moving forward. Councilmembers David Carson and Kimberly Allen voted against this alignment. Below is a 2 min. clip of the construction around the Saturday Market and heron rookery.  Opinion and photos/video By Yoder

Most trees in Redmond's oldest city park are saved - for a price

I just got home from the "Arts in the Park" event at Anderson Park and thought of this 2008 report when looking at an historical society exhibit. The photos are poorly displayed but it's better than nothing! Bob Yoder, 6/25/16

Anderson Park is Redmond's oldest park and also the home for two city drinking water wells. The wellheads are old and are being replaced. To save many of the park trees the city bought some expensive land a block north to house the treatment plant. 6 trees still had to be removed; 2 were unhealthy. The Board of Parks commissioners led by Chair Lori Snodgrass fought hard for this expensive proposal to preserve Anderson Park. Councilman Vache requested a "fiscal note" to recognize the high cost ($11.6M) of the project.

water treatment construction off-site..................................truck is drilling new well in park

View 1.5 minute video clip of Anderson Park under construction HERE

The photo on he right is looking south to one of Anderson Park's old pump houses. It was removed. Click the City of Redmond Notice sign to read the price tag for this project. In my narration I said two new wellheads were "drilled." This is not the case. After this video there's an interesting video on the construction of  Bear Creek Parkway.

City Description of Proposal: To comment or request information contact: city planner

Steve Fischer

CONSTRUCTION OF NEW PUMP HOUSES TO REPLACE TWO AGING, OUTDATED WELL FACILITIES LOCATED WITHIN ANDERSON PARK

(7802 168TH AVE NE). THE PROJECT WILL INCLUDE APPROX. 520 FEET OF NEW 12 INCH WATERLINE BETWEEN THE WELL HOUSES AND THE TREATMENT BUILDING. THE NEW PUMP HOUSES WILL BE APPROX. 16' X 24' IN SIZE AND DESIGNED TO REFLECT THE HISTORIC LOG CABIN APPEARANCE OF THEIR STRUCTURES IN THE PARK. THE ASSOCIATED TREATMENT FACILITY WILL BE LOCATED ONE BLOCK NORTH ON PROPERTY AND WILL BE 44' X 58' IN SIZE. A PACKED TOWER APPROX. 30 FT IN HEIGHT WILL BE USED TO ALTER THE PH OF THE WELL WATER. THE PROJECT WILL IMPROVE AND OPEN THE ALLEY TO TRAFFIC ON THE WEST SIDE...

Bob Yoder

Leary Way Regional Stormwater Treatment "Wetland"

Leary Stormwater Run-Off Treatment Facility "Wetland" under construction

As you drive into Redmond on Leary Way you'll notice construction of a large earthen "lake" to the east. It's actually one of five new regional stormwater treatment facilities the city is building to service Redmond's downtown. This wetland facility will drain Leary Way, 198th, and Bear Creek Parkway. The 6 month floods will will drain into the Sammamish River. The city is calling it a "wetland". 75 trees will be planted around the facility. The Redmond Dept. of Natural Resources will plant native shrubs and aquatic plants in two feet of wetland mix soil throughout the pond. You can see the impermeable plastic liner under the soil -- to keep the water close to the plants. Some day it may look and function like a wetland. To get the straight scoop on this project, city planner Kelsey Larson may be able to help you.

Redmond's Senior Stormwater Engineer Steve Hitch designed this innovative project and had the following to say about it:

The City project at Leary Way & 159th Place NE is a future Stormwater Treatment Wetland. The pond was lined with a PVC geomembrane so it will not leak. Stormwater will flow through the pond to remove sediment and other pollutants, with help from biological contact with the wetland plants. The pond must be lined so that the water is treated before being released to the environment, and so that the wetland plants are kept wet. The pond will look a bit messy as they bring in the topsoil that will overlay the liner and until they plant the pond, but the contractor will be required to keep any muddy water from being released to the river. 10-08-08

View a 4 Min. video clip of the stormwater wetland pond under construction here .

For technical information on stormwater treatment wetland facilities visit: Stormwater Wetland Facts.

Councilmember Jane Hague hears public comment on our county's park jewel: 60 Acres South Park

Subject: Hearing tomorrow (9/23) at 9:30am on 60 Acres South
Mon, 22 Sep 2008 From: Jane Hague

Dear Neighbor:

Tomorrow is a key committee meeting for discussion on our regional park jewel, 60 Acres South. The following is an update for you on how public comment will be handled on the 60 Acres South agreement legislation.

I will start the public comment period in tomorrow's Utilities & Parks Committee with a panel presentation by three major stakeholder groups. The following people have been selected by their organizations. Each organization will have five to seven minutes to give their presentation.

1) Seattle Area Soaring Society
Seth Arlow

2) Valley Estates Homeowners Association
Chuck Quenneville
Michallea Schuelke

3) Lake Washington Youth Soccer Association
Curt Bateman
Andy Hill
Steven Hopp

It is my hope that the organizations listed above will answer questions that have been generally asked by the community. For those individuals who indicated that they want to speak tomorrow, the committee would greatly appreciate remarks being limited to those other than the ones addressed by the panel. Please note that each individual speaker will have a maximum of two minutes to speak.

The King County Courthouse is located at 516 Third Avenue, Seattle, WA, 98104. The Utilities & Parks Committee meeting will take place tomorrow at 9:30AM on the 10th floor of the Courthouse in Council Chambers. Thank you, in advance, for your willingness to come and testify on this important agreement.

Sincerely,

Jane Hague

Councilmember King County Council

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comments welcome here:

Morning Report: 166th Avenue NE remains "haunted" by construction

City Letter of Apology for the traffic congestion on Education Hill.

7:25 am, Junior High students crossing 166th to school on the temporary crosswalk.

7:15 am. I walked up the sidewalk from NE 100th Street this morning at 7:15. The traffic was cued uphill again towards the intersection, similar to last night. Most cars had a student and were turning right on 104th on their way to school.

In the picture above you see the right lane is shut down by orange barrels for construction. Unfortunately, even when the right lane opens up on 166th most traffic will be turning right to school. (Thus, emphasis for walking and biking to school.) Fortunately the slow, long line to the intersection dissipated around 7:35 am. So, drivers were haunted by delays on 166th northbound for only about 20 minutes. Once more students start walking and biking things will get better. I was amazed to see a little HORACE MANN EL. kid biking to school on the 166th AVE. sidewalk. Just think when students start hiking the Ashford Trail (Perrigo Woods Trail) to school!

I ran into Jeff Palmer, City Traffic Calming Manager. He was friendly and helpful. Apparently, the road project is dynamic and it's "tweaked" regularly to keep the traffic and construction moving. Mr. Palmer pointed me to the traffic flow improvements at Redmond Junior High. Signage (see photo) was posted to encourage parent chauffeurs to pull forward; and drop-off lanes were marked off.

I met Principal Prato Barone 'standing watch' in front of the school. He said the new signage and marked lanes help move traffic during the busiest 5 minutes of the morning. Look at the bikes! Mr. Barone plans to eventually install a covering over the bike parking area. And, he plans to initiate a week long "bike to school" clinic, recruiting teachers, who bicycle, to give the clinic.

When asked, Prato told me he still hopes the District will approve connecting the two parking lots to improve traffic flow. I wonder, could the large flag-pole possibly be an obstacle towards this mobility & safety improvement? Only one egress and ingress to the school would be safer.

I didn't notice any students walking between the lots in the open space. This huge promenade, boulevard or whatever you want to call it was noticeably desolate & unused. The impervious concrete platform area appears much better suited for an eco-friendly "open green space" than a "corridor space" for students and their bikes. I hope LWSD will revisit this wasteland and approve the parking lot connection.
{click to enlarge photos}