2/6, UPDATED OPINION: Commissioners are mostly Redmond residents who volunteer their time to participate with staff, elected officials and citizens in decision-making and city planning. They are appointed by the Mayor with the blessing of the Council and sworn in. Their terms vary and vacancies are hard to anticipate so it's best to put early word into the Mayor's office. Commissioners are some of my most favorite citizen volunteers. I love them dearly. Read this story about long-time commission Chairs Martin Snodgrass and his spouse, Lori.
But, this 'sermon' is about city problems with the management of Commissions by our one-year old Administration. According to the Parks & Trails commission website Chair Sue Stewart of Parks and Trails has been a commissioner for almost 6 years. Ms. Stewart likes to make oral presentations at council meetings and I could swear remembering her quoting a much longer Parks commission term than 6 years. Peter MacDonald, Vice Chair of Parks and Trails and friend and political ally of the Mayor and according to their website has been a commissioner for about five years. Peter would be an excellent citizen to get to know if you want to be a Parks & Trails Commissioner or Youth Advocate. A Youth Advocate position is open. Council blessing of the non-resident commissioner appointee is soon.
Unfortunately, it's too late to apply for the Parks & Trails vacancy. The Commission went outside their normal selection standards (see comments - non-residents are allowed) and got permission from the Mayor to appoint a citizen not residing in Redmond. The Parks Director justified it by claiming the nominee lived near a trail the city was interested in acquiring. I don't think non-resident commissioners are good policy. Redmond has plenty of tax-paying citizens who would probably love the opportunity to give input on our many splendored parks. I don't believe parks commissioners should enter the commission with a special interest, especially, when they live outside the city.
A serious problem for the Parks & Trail Commission in 2008 has been the loss of the "public record" for the last six months of their regular meetings. The commission is required to tape their regular meetings for the public record. Weeks ago, I asked the Parks Secretary for two meeting tapes. I found NOTHING taped on their digital recorder or analog recorder for the last six meetings. The council Ombudsman-of-the-month's answer was "we all learned from the experience." No public Ombudsman report was given. No commitment to fix the problem was promised. To this day, I haven't received an apology or even acknowledgment from the Parks Director or Parks Commission Chair or the Mayor. Loss of 6 months public record is serious.
I knew I did something good for the city during this discovery, as follows: 1) I actively participated in the governing process by attempting to listen to meeting tapes and catch up on P&T meetings for the Eastern Park Corridor Program and Downtown Park, 2) I spent 3 hours of my personal time trying to help the city trouble-shoot and quantify the lose of public record. 3) I reported the problem through proper channels -- didn't jump to my blog. What resulted? Not one genuine thank you from the city nor promise the recorder would be fixed.
In my five years of active participation and reporting on the city, I've found a dysfunctional governing pattern -- The city's approach to a citizen reporting errors and omissions is to brush them under the carpet rather than give them even hushed appreciation. Such apathy and disregard for constructive citizen participation results in mediocrity and public dis-engagement within our government.
Redmond sponsors 9 Commissions. None are paid. Of the commissions I'm most familiar with, the entire Planning Commission is dedicated and professional, giving much of their time in meetings every week. Presently, they are looking to expeditiously fill one position. They are my favorite commission because I learn the most from them. They conduct Public Hearings, make Land Use decisions, and set land use policy.
The only problem I have with the Planning Commission is staff - NOT the commissioners! Last week staff interfered and discouraged my public testimony, at times. The Principal Planners gave me help when I didn't want it and didn't give me help when I needed it. During the Stream Map Hearing, to prepare, I asked as week in advance for known Stream Maps from three planners and an engineer. We used these maps during a tour with Kathy Lambert. Twenty minutes before the Hearing a Principal Planner told me flatly that they "didn't get them all". I'm guessing the Mayor was taking a stand on "the Rock of public records."
The map they gave me was so large it couldn't be projected on an overhead. Despite this, a second Principal Planner barged onto the podium, unannounced, interrupting my testimony while he was trying to position the large map! He interrupted me just when I was starting to talk about some observations of the lay of the land near our aquifer. For me, his abrupt, unasked for "help" confirmed the city may still have quality issues with our aquifer. My testimony was unscientific and anecdotal and I had rights to be fully heard. The principal planner's subtle interference was uncalled for. Some of these planners are paid over $95,000 for services rendered to taxpayers.
My last beef with staff at the Planning Commission Hearing was their lack of professional courtesy. I wanted to familiarize myself with the overhead projector before the meeting but a second Principal Planner brushed me aside saying they were too busy now and to come back. Three staff proceeded to huddle around the projector, blocking me off, until the Hearing started. Once I got to the podium various staff were all over me in front of the camera - interrupting, correcting me and fixing the projector, adjusting the microphone, putting unwanted maps on the projector, and mostly trying to give me the help I needed before my testimony. This behavior is a sorry example of poor service to a rare citizen with guts and time enough to approach the podium...... It would have been one thing if said staff were interns, associates, or even senior planners. But two highly paid Principal Planners were "helping me". I've seen other citizens fumbling at the start of their talk, also. It would not take much to fix this and so encourage citizen participation.
Not to forget, the Arts Commission is one of my favorites, too. They are looking for two new commissioners and one Youth Advocate. They hold three public meetings on RCTV. The Planning Commission is on RCTV most every Wednesday night at 7PM. The Parks & Trails Commission NEVER conducts their meetings on RCTV. Their website is incomplete and innacurate. What does this tell you? All said and done, I absolutely adore, admire and appreciate the commissions and every hour of volunteer work our commissioners give to our city. I love going to their meetings or listening to them. I think staff should do a better job servicing, acknowledging, recognizing, and empowering our invaluable human resources of caring citizens - espectially sworn volunteers.
Apply and sign-up for a commissioner or youth advocate position here.
Apply and sign-up for the nonprofit Water Tenders Youth Advocate position at the web site.
Water Tenders is a small group of passionate citizens compelled to sustain and protect local Bear Creek Basin habitats in Redmond. My daughter is a youth advocate.
CC: Mayor John Marchione ; Redmond City Council; City Clerk, OMBUDSMAN
RAC@redmond.gov, planningcommission@redmond.gov, parksandtrailscommission@redmond.gov
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Comments are encouraged below or by emailing me at REDMONDBLOG@GMAIL.COM for posting on this page.
Monday, February 2, 2009
Saturday, January 31, 2009
"Kempin Creek" - the city stream with a split personality. Part One.
OPINION: Part One: "Kempin Creek" is a salmon-bearing tributary of northern Bear Creek in NE Redmond. The creek first runs through 10 acres of developable county land called "Kempin Property" before entering North Redmond. (NE 128th Street near 176th Ave. NE are crossroads). This is the first of a two parts describing "the split personality" of Kempin Creek's biology as diagnosed by "qualified consultants" using Redmond's land use review process.
The Creek has an interesting land-use story. CAMWEST Development Inc. was pushing buttons really hard to get city approval to annex the 10 acres of Kempin Property. It's zoned one house/acre. CAMWEST wanted to build four houses/acre as close to the Creek as regulations allowed. They felt they would be less encumbered by the critical wetland and streams and road connections if they could build in the city by annexation rather than the county. The county classified Kempin Creek as a salmon species bearing creek requiring 165 foot buffers on each side. CAMWEST'S housing project would be less profitable if they had to build around wider county buffer standards.
It was possible CAMWEST could reduce stream buffer widths by more than half! All CAMWEST had to do was hire an "independent qualified biology consultant" to re-classify Kempin stream from 165 foot buffers to Redmond's 75 foot buffers. Not a problem. CAMWEST's "qualified biologist" claimed no fish inhabited Kempin Creek, thus the developer could build twice as close to the stream now!
At first glance, Kempin Creek looked to me like a fish-bearing (Class II) creek, to me. The King County Basin Steward - a qualified wildlife consultant - affirmed Kempin Creek had fish, proving the developer's project proposal to the city was flawed. The report was biased since the "qualified consultant" was paid by the developer. Some of you may have read my 4/07column about Kempin Creek in the newspaper when land use deficiencies were uncovered in the Kempin Property file, as follows:
The Creek has an interesting land-use story. CAMWEST Development Inc. was pushing buttons really hard to get city approval to annex the 10 acres of Kempin Property. It's zoned one house/acre. CAMWEST wanted to build four houses/acre as close to the Creek as regulations allowed. They felt they would be less encumbered by the critical wetland and streams and road connections if they could build in the city by annexation rather than the county. The county classified Kempin Creek as a salmon species bearing creek requiring 165 foot buffers on each side. CAMWEST'S housing project would be less profitable if they had to build around wider county buffer standards.
It was possible CAMWEST could reduce stream buffer widths by more than half! All CAMWEST had to do was hire an "independent qualified biology consultant" to re-classify Kempin stream from 165 foot buffers to Redmond's 75 foot buffers. Not a problem. CAMWEST's "qualified biologist" claimed no fish inhabited Kempin Creek, thus the developer could build twice as close to the stream now!
At first glance, Kempin Creek looked to me like a fish-bearing (Class II) creek, to me. The King County Basin Steward - a qualified wildlife consultant - affirmed Kempin Creek had fish, proving the developer's project proposal to the city was flawed. The report was biased since the "qualified consultant" was paid by the developer. Some of you may have read my 4/07column about Kempin Creek in the newspaper when land use deficiencies were uncovered in the Kempin Property file, as follows:
- For one, CAMWEST consultant's complete report was no where to be found in the project files. Camwest's consultant faxed and emailed pieces of the report to the city after I reported the missing documents. I made multiple visits to Redmond Planning to extract the stream report. (Not being a developer with 5th amendment rights my right for a public record received second fiddle).
- Secondly: The city had a problem with SEPA, the State Environmental Planning document. The SEPA had determined the impact to the environment was insignificant. The State had been mislead by the developer's biologist's flawed report.
- The city's quandary: Starting all over again to fix a flawed SEPA would take weeks, if not months. The Director of Planning and Development came up with a brilliant solution. While rummaging through the SEPA file he noticed the required newspaper public notices were never published. Presto! the SEPA could be updated with Redmond's more salmon friendly Class II designation simply by advertising the public notice of the amended SEPA.
Many thanks to Mary Maier, County Stream Basin Steward for providing truly INDEPENDENT, qualified stream classification data on Kempin Creek; to help preserve Kempin's salmon habitat now and in future proposed land use. (The riverteen wetlands and poor stream vegetation Camwest reported along the river could supersede stream buffer regulations?)
In conclusion, the City Council never approved annexation of the Kempin Property. I remember Councilmember Richard Cole stating R-1 (one house or less/acre) is important to Redmond's "horse culture", now rare in Redmond. draft
Readers with similar county-city stream classification problems can contact the new Bear Creek - Sammamish - Cedar River Basin Steward for help. Tom Beavers is the new county Basin Steward. Resources are thin but he may be able to help or direct you to the resources you need.
Terrain Map of Kempin Property, Kempin Creek riparian vegetation. (Move the map up to orient 128th Street to the top' look for the ribbon of vegetation following the stream)
Existing and Recommended Zoning Map - map is on last page.
"Kempin Creek" is a name I use to describe it. The stream hasn't been named by the county or city or any other jurisdiction, as of this writing.
cc: Mr. R. Odle, Director of Planning and Development, City Council; The PlanningCommission@redmond.gov ; Cathy Beam, Environmental Principal Planner.
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Please comment on the "comments tab" below or by emailing REDMONDBLOG@GMAIL.COM for posting (with your approval) on this page
Friday, January 23, 2009
Ex-Councilman Richard Grubb says council needs more debate
This is a Letter Richard Grubb wrote the Redmond Reporter, 1/21/09
From the front page of the Jan. 7 Redmond Reporter, it appears that the Redmond Reporter is almost as enamored with Redmond's elected politicians as they are with themselves. The six pictured white, middle brow, conventional males and two females seem content and smugly satisfied to march in lockstep.
As former Speaker of the House of Representative Sam Rayburn once remarked, when two people agree on everything, only one of them is doing the thinking. The question in Redmond is which one of the eight is thinking for the other seven?
In the Jan. 7 article, Councilmember Richard Cole claims that *boring meetings are a good problem to have. He may be an expert on that subject , but he is wrong.
Good government comes from a rigorous debate, from a clash of ideas, from opposing philosophies bumping up against one another until there is a synthesis that results in sound policy. Ennui in a community's politics more often than not brings on apathy rather than vigour's enlightening involvement.
The poet William Blake noted that "without contraries in no progression". Dissent from the commonplace wisdom of the day clarifies issues through robust discussion.
Perhaps in the next council election cycle, someone will stand who is willing to spike the Kool-Aid punch bowl that the current crop is drinking from.
As a concluding aside for the record and for the Reporter's readers, it should be noted that the two urban centers are not Mayor Marchione's vision for Redmond. They have been city policy since the mid-1990's. 1-21-09
From the front page of the Jan. 7 Redmond Reporter, it appears that the Redmond Reporter is almost as enamored with Redmond's elected politicians as they are with themselves. The six pictured white, middle brow, conventional males and two females seem content and smugly satisfied to march in lockstep.
As former Speaker of the House of Representative Sam Rayburn once remarked, when two people agree on everything, only one of them is doing the thinking. The question in Redmond is which one of the eight is thinking for the other seven?
In the Jan. 7 article, Councilmember Richard Cole claims that *boring meetings are a good problem to have. He may be an expert on that subject , but he is wrong.
Good government comes from a rigorous debate, from a clash of ideas, from opposing philosophies bumping up against one another until there is a synthesis that results in sound policy. Ennui in a community's politics more often than not brings on apathy rather than vigour's enlightening involvement.
The poet William Blake noted that "without contraries in no progression". Dissent from the commonplace wisdom of the day clarifies issues through robust discussion.
Perhaps in the next council election cycle, someone will stand who is willing to spike the Kool-Aid punch bowl that the current crop is drinking from.
As a concluding aside for the record and for the Reporter's readers, it should be noted that the two urban centers are not Mayor Marchione's vision for Redmond. They have been city policy since the mid-1990's. 1-21-09
Thursday, January 22, 2009
What's Your Opinion about Redmond's prolific Outdoor Art?
I think the City has 100 pieces of outdoor art. Or, is it 300? We have so much of it the city staff tracks it by GPS.
What do you think about it? Do you drive by the metalic "Split Personality" in awe and admiration OR find it a hazardous driving distraction? Or both?
Should "Art Hill" be rebuilt as a landscaped park with trails featuring a collection of outdoor art "discoveries" or would you rather keep the grassy knoll an open space?
Do you fall in love with your favorite piece, only to find the city had it on loan and it's been taken? The above "Pi in the Sky" was my favorite and it's gone. "Scooter" - another, was taken.
Make your comments heard - loud and clear - to our friendly and hard working Arts Commissioners! These citizens want your input on Monday, January 26, 7PM, City Hall.
Direct any questions & comments to RAC@redmond.gov. And, comment here, too. But see the art in person at City Hall Monday night.
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What is your opinion? Click "Comments" below and/or email redmondblog@gmail.com with your opinion for posting on this page.
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"I can't say as I have been moved at all by anything I have seen to date but no doubt there are those that embrace the exhibits. However, I certainly hope that the city plans a temporary moratorium on any more "outdoor art" expenditures. Considering the financial bind the city/state/country are in I believe there are better uses of the taxpayers money."
-- Carla H. 1/25
On superficial neighbourhood relations, by Keven Harris
Thursday, 22 January 2009
"On superficial neighbourhood relations," by Kevin Harris
- an English perspective
From time to time I argue that 'shallow' informal interactions, such as simple gestures of recognition at neighbourhood level, are more significant in terms of social capital than is generally recognised.
I raised this recently in relation to the CLG guidance on 'meaningful social interaction,' which argues that for social interaction to be 'meaningful' it needs to go beyond a superficial level and to be sustained. My view is that yes it makes a difference if it's sustained, but 'superficial' does not mean trivial. Superficial is good.
Now I'm just catching up with a paper in BMJ last month about happiness and social networks, which got quite a bit of publicity for its finding that happiness is 'contagious'. The researchers looked at 20 years of data from the Framingham heart study in Massachussetts and found that:
People’s happiness depends on the happiness of others with whom they are connected.
This includes close neighbours, but apparently next door neighbours have a much stronger influence than neighbours who live a few doors down in the same neighbourhood.
The researchers observe: the strong influence of neighbours suggests that the spread of happiness might depend more on frequent social contact than deep social connections.
So let's take that as a tentative endorsement. More evidence needed of course.
And behind all this are the challenges of defining (without solidfying) what we're talking about. A few weeks ago I was questioning some of the assumptions about definitions of 'belonging' in the methodologically-creaky Changing UK research, and perhaps there are comparable dangers in assumptions about 'happiness'.
One commentator on the BMJ paper observes:
Happiness research that attempts to find generalisations about happiness... will not challenge inherent assumptions about what makes people happy, what is happiness, and who is happy in society or indeed, as Anthony Storr suggests, who is 'happy alone!'
Posted by Kevin Harris on Thursday, 22 January 2009 at 11:29 AM Permalink
Neighbourhoods an English blog 0n neighborhoods, neighboring, social capital, community engagement, and stuff at the local level." by Kevin Harris, author
"On superficial neighbourhood relations," by Kevin Harris
- an English perspective
From time to time I argue that 'shallow' informal interactions, such as simple gestures of recognition at neighbourhood level, are more significant in terms of social capital than is generally recognised.
I raised this recently in relation to the CLG guidance on 'meaningful social interaction,' which argues that for social interaction to be 'meaningful' it needs to go beyond a superficial level and to be sustained. My view is that yes it makes a difference if it's sustained, but 'superficial' does not mean trivial. Superficial is good.
Now I'm just catching up with a paper in BMJ last month about happiness and social networks, which got quite a bit of publicity for its finding that happiness is 'contagious'. The researchers looked at 20 years of data from the Framingham heart study in Massachussetts and found that:
People’s happiness depends on the happiness of others with whom they are connected.
This includes close neighbours, but apparently next door neighbours have a much stronger influence than neighbours who live a few doors down in the same neighbourhood.
The researchers observe: the strong influence of neighbours suggests that the spread of happiness might depend more on frequent social contact than deep social connections.
So let's take that as a tentative endorsement. More evidence needed of course.
And behind all this are the challenges of defining (without solidfying) what we're talking about. A few weeks ago I was questioning some of the assumptions about definitions of 'belonging' in the methodologically-creaky Changing UK research, and perhaps there are comparable dangers in assumptions about 'happiness'.
One commentator on the BMJ paper observes:
Happiness research that attempts to find generalisations about happiness... will not challenge inherent assumptions about what makes people happy, what is happiness, and who is happy in society or indeed, as Anthony Storr suggests, who is 'happy alone!'
Posted by Kevin Harris on Thursday, 22 January 2009 at 11:29 AM Permalink
Neighbourhoods an English blog 0n neighborhoods, neighboring, social capital, community engagement, and stuff at the local level." by Kevin Harris, author
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
It's meaning hits home, The Inaugural Poem.
Tom Flynn, Chair of the Arts Commission, and other citizens, encouraged the Council tonight to approve The City of Redmond's new Ordinance for the Establishment of a Poet Laureate . Mr. Flynn stated the city has supported visual and performing arts well and some deserved attention is needed for the literary arts. In support of literary arts in Redmond and in honor of President Barack Obama and his poet Elizabeth Alexander, please enjoy Praise Song for the Day.
"Each day we go about our business, walking past each other, catching each others’ eyes or not, about to speak or speaking. All about us is noise.
'Praise Song for the Day' - composed for Barack Obama's Inauguration
and read by author Elizabeth Alexander on January 20, 2009
and read by author Elizabeth Alexander on January 20, 2009
"Each day we go about our business, walking past each other, catching each others’ eyes or not, about to speak or speaking. All about us is noise.
All about us is noise and bramble, thorn and din, each one of our ancestors on our tongues. Someone is stitching up a hem, darning a hole in a uniform, patching a tire, repairing the things in need of repair.
Someone is trying to make music somewhere with a pair of wooden spoons on an oil drum with cello, boom box, harmonica, voice.
A woman and her son wait for the bus.
ALEXANDER: A farmer consider the changing sky; A teacher says, “Take out your pencils. Begin.”
We encounter each other in words, Words spiny or smooth, whispered or declaimed; Words to consider, reconsider.
We cross dirt roads and highways that mark the will of someone and then others who said, “I need to see what’s on the other side; I know there’s something better down the road.”
We need to find a place where we are safe; We walk into that which we cannot yet see.
Say it plain, that many have died for this day. Sing the names of the dead who brought us here, who laid the train tracks, raised the bridges, picked the cotton and the lettuce, built brick by brick the glittering edifices they would then keep clean and work inside of.
Praise song for struggle; praise song for the day. Praise song for every hand-lettered sign; The figuring it out at kitchen tables.
Some live by “Love thy neighbor as thy self.”
Others by first do no harm, or take no more than you need.
What if the mightiest word is love, love beyond marital, filial, national. Love that casts a widening pool of light. Love with no need to preempt grievance.
In today’s sharp sparkle, this winter air, anything can be made, any sentence begun.
On the brink, on the brim, on the cusp -- praise song for walking forward in that light."
Someone is trying to make music somewhere with a pair of wooden spoons on an oil drum with cello, boom box, harmonica, voice.
A woman and her son wait for the bus.
ALEXANDER: A farmer consider the changing sky; A teacher says, “Take out your pencils. Begin.”
We encounter each other in words, Words spiny or smooth, whispered or declaimed; Words to consider, reconsider.
We cross dirt roads and highways that mark the will of someone and then others who said, “I need to see what’s on the other side; I know there’s something better down the road.”
We need to find a place where we are safe; We walk into that which we cannot yet see.
Say it plain, that many have died for this day. Sing the names of the dead who brought us here, who laid the train tracks, raised the bridges, picked the cotton and the lettuce, built brick by brick the glittering edifices they would then keep clean and work inside of.
Praise song for struggle; praise song for the day. Praise song for every hand-lettered sign; The figuring it out at kitchen tables.
Some live by “Love thy neighbor as thy self.”
Others by first do no harm, or take no more than you need.
What if the mightiest word is love, love beyond marital, filial, national. Love that casts a widening pool of light. Love with no need to preempt grievance.
In today’s sharp sparkle, this winter air, anything can be made, any sentence begun.
On the brink, on the brim, on the cusp -- praise song for walking forward in that light."
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Slide show of 2009 Flooding in Washington - beyond words
CLICK ON SMALL BLUE LINK ABOVE TO START THE SLIDE SHOW.
(click the "full" button to enlarge the slides)
FROM: Steve Hitch, Redmond Stormwater Engineer
EMAIL (excerpt): Members of the Flood Hazard Management Advisory Committee, 1/17
"As you have watched flooding happening in other communities around Puget Sound, and we here in Redmond have come away relatively unscathed, we are thankful that our situation has not resulted in a major flood here. We are mindful that all it takes is for Redmond to receive a large storm event impacting the Bear Creek Basin followed by a few weeks of heavy rains that raise the lake level. That combination could result in the 100-year flood that fills up Redmond.
... Should the City have posted evacuation routes in the floodplain? Should we do flood drills? Should our emergency center be prepared to use the reverse 911 system to notify our neighbors of potential inundation? Send me your thoughts and I can see how those ideas may be incorporated into the City's short and longer term plans."
... Should the City have posted evacuation routes in the floodplain? Should we do flood drills? Should our emergency center be prepared to use the reverse 911 system to notify our neighbors of potential inundation? Send me your thoughts and I can see how those ideas may be incorporated into the City's short and longer term plans."
--Steve Hitch, P.E. Sr. Stormwater Engineer City of Redmond, Public Works Department Natural Resources Division, Redmond, Washington 425/556-2891 draft
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Or, post your comments at the end of this story or by email to redmondblog@gmail.com.
Many thanks to my next-door neighbor Larry Pawlowski for sending the slide show.
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Mustang Basketball - Courtney Martin featured on KING 5 TV!
Bothell game photos
Junior Lindsey Smith....................................................Junior Kailan Kalina.............................Junior Katie Whittaker
We are the Redmond High School Mustangs from Redmond, Washington. We are a member of the Class 4A KingCo Conference. Welcome and please sign our guestbook.
Mustang Flash video:
Courtney Martin is featured here on King 5's High School Gametime!
EASTLAKE GAME - Redmond (6-5) lose 55-44 to rival Eastlake. The Stangs raced out to an early 12-5 lead but the Wolves closed the lead to one at 12-11. The game was close throughout the second and third quarters. Eastlake took the lead for good at 37-33 to end the third and pulled away in the fourth quarter for the win. Courtney Martin led Redmond with 14 points, Alicia Valentine had 13.
See our Scotch Plains-Fanwood, Central Bucks East, Colts Neck, Inglemoor, Woodinville, Skyline and Bothell gamephotos. Photos courtesy of parent, Jerry Smith.
Next up: at home -vs- Lake Washington. Wed Jan 21st. JV game will be at 5:45PM, Varsity tips off at 7:30. The Lake Washington Kang vs. Stang game will be televized on RCTV - 21. A link to the game will be posted here.
Make-Up game @ Garfield will be Sat Jan 31; JVs at noon, Varsity at 3:30PM.
Letter ot the Editor - Lakewood Councilman speaks against rising city salary costs.
Reference to January 7, 2009 post on "Rising salary and benefit costs in City Hall".
I appreciate the heads up email from you and your interest and hard work in public employee compensation. I’m a city councilman in Lakewood and have had similar concerns for several years. I wish I could provide you the answer to the unwarranted increases. Unfortunately, most of my efforts to trim compensation increases have not been successful. So I don’t have the solution – except to say that you are doing the right thing by informing the public. Taxpayers can get what they want if they apply enough pressure, so your blog is a good start. But in my opinion, you have to build a high level of public outrage that will result in great numbers of citizens getting involved in some way to have a dampening effect on these large increases.
One thing I can confidently say is, do not rely on bureaucrats nor most elected officials to fix the problem for you. The reasons are pretty obvious. Plus, have they ever fixed the problem or have they contributed to it? Like him or hate him, Tim Eyman has been the only force reducing taxes and spending at the state level. That should tell you something.
Redmond is not alone with this problem. Public sector wages far outstrip private sector wages at every level of government statewide. And the rate of increase year-to-year is higher too. Unions are partially to blame. Governments are about the only segment of the labor market where unionization is increasing – public employee unions. Avoid them like the plague.
But beyond unions, there’s no incentive for government leaders to reduce compensation – nor the general growth of government, for that matter. Bureaucratic leaders’ lives are made easier by granting big increases to their employees. And elected officials win votes by delivering more and more services. Plus, they’re not spending their own money. So again, I think it is going to fall on the people of Redmond to either elect very conservative council members who will get the job done, or else to apply extraordinary pressure on sitting council members to lower employee costs.
And finally, as I said before, this is a state-wide problem. Employees in Redmond look at the salary increases given to employees in Lakewood and say, I want that too. They threaten to unionize or move to higher paying cities. The same with Lakewood employees – they look at your wages/benefits. There are 281 cities/towns in Washington, so multiply all that by 281. It’s a tangled mess. City employees play us off on one another. No one city can take it on alone, even with a conservative council. But if we could all work together to reduce public employee compensation, it can be done. I’m with you. It needs to happen.
Pad Flinnigan
City Councilman
City of Lakewood
Lakewood , WA. website
cc: Redmond City Council & Mayor John Marchione
I appreciate the heads up email from you and your interest and hard work in public employee compensation. I’m a city councilman in Lakewood and have had similar concerns for several years. I wish I could provide you the answer to the unwarranted increases. Unfortunately, most of my efforts to trim compensation increases have not been successful. So I don’t have the solution – except to say that you are doing the right thing by informing the public. Taxpayers can get what they want if they apply enough pressure, so your blog is a good start. But in my opinion, you have to build a high level of public outrage that will result in great numbers of citizens getting involved in some way to have a dampening effect on these large increases.
One thing I can confidently say is, do not rely on bureaucrats nor most elected officials to fix the problem for you. The reasons are pretty obvious. Plus, have they ever fixed the problem or have they contributed to it? Like him or hate him, Tim Eyman has been the only force reducing taxes and spending at the state level. That should tell you something.
Redmond is not alone with this problem. Public sector wages far outstrip private sector wages at every level of government statewide. And the rate of increase year-to-year is higher too. Unions are partially to blame. Governments are about the only segment of the labor market where unionization is increasing – public employee unions. Avoid them like the plague.
But beyond unions, there’s no incentive for government leaders to reduce compensation – nor the general growth of government, for that matter. Bureaucratic leaders’ lives are made easier by granting big increases to their employees. And elected officials win votes by delivering more and more services. Plus, they’re not spending their own money. So again, I think it is going to fall on the people of Redmond to either elect very conservative council members who will get the job done, or else to apply extraordinary pressure on sitting council members to lower employee costs.
And finally, as I said before, this is a state-wide problem. Employees in Redmond look at the salary increases given to employees in Lakewood and say, I want that too. They threaten to unionize or move to higher paying cities. The same with Lakewood employees – they look at your wages/benefits. There are 281 cities/towns in Washington, so multiply all that by 281. It’s a tangled mess. City employees play us off on one another. No one city can take it on alone, even with a conservative council. But if we could all work together to reduce public employee compensation, it can be done. I’m with you. It needs to happen.
Pad Flinnigan
City Councilman
City of Lakewood
Lakewood , WA. website
cc: Redmond City Council & Mayor John Marchione
Monday, January 5, 2009
'National Review Online' explains the loss of print media to blogs
The following excerpt was taken from the "Kirkland Views" blog. 01/05/09. National Review Online has posted an article by Mark Krikorian, dated December 31, 2008, in which two local Kirkland blogs are mentioned. An argument is made that bloggers are filling the demand for “hyper-local” news once covered by local newspapers. Kirkland Views was mentioned by "National Review".
The discussion centers around how local coverage by small newspapers is diminishing as they struggle to remain profitable. Many small newspapers are relying on wire services for stories and “articles” promoting local businesses rather than covering the local news. The argument is made that the business model of traditional newspapers is difficult to sustain because of enormous costs they incur that online competitors do not share. Among the various perspectives given was one from a reader of Kirkland blogs. The reader says he/she is better informed than ever by reading local blogs and other online media. "Read all about it" at Kirkland Views.
As for the Redmond Neighborhood Blog, ask your friends to search "redmond blog". Forwarding and word-of-mouth is how my blog and others are distributed. Thank you for your readership and support! BOB Y.
Friday, January 2, 2009
Updated: Golden Apple Awards Ceremony for Teacher Mike Town is February 25.
Updated, 1/6 - The School Employees Credit Union of Washington, KCTS 9, and PEMCO Insurance recently announced the winners of the 17th annual Golden Apple Awards for individuals and programs that make a positive difference in Washington state education for grades pre-K through 12.The Golden Apple Awards are scheduled to be broadcast on Wednesday, February 25 at 8:00 p.m. It’s a one hour program. It will be available online the following day.
This year’s recipient of the Stanley O. McNaughton Golden Apple Award is Mike Town, teacher of AP Environmental Science in grades 11-12 at Redmond High School (RHS).
Mike Town is known throughout the Lake Washington School District for his passion for environmental science. He personally advocates for all students to have access to rigorous AP courses and believes strongly that if a student is introduced to college course material and receives credit, the odds of them attending college will increase dramatically.
Because of this, Town has opened his **six AP courses to all students with great success. According to the Redmond-Reporter.com **fifty percent of the RHS student body enrolls in his courses and 90 percent of these score well enough on the AP exams to earn college credit.
Outside of the classroom, Town mentors the RHS Environmental Club, which successfully reduced the carbon footprint by implementing environmental changes at the school, including solar panels, a recycling program and environmentally friendly practices in the cafeteria.
PEMCO Insurance will award each Golden Apple winner a $1,500 grant to support their classroom, school or educational program. For more information visit http://www.kcts9.org/. --
This article was abbreviated and excerpted from a story at Redmond-Reporter.com, 11/12/08
**Correction: The Redmond Blog estimates a student body population of RHS at ~1500. Mr. Town teaches 5 periods/day. 5 classes x 30 students = 150 students/year or 10% of the student body.
Thursday, January 1, 2009
Redmond High School Mustangs Girls Basketball Team
2008-2009 Redmond Mustangs Girls Basketball
#3 Kailan Kalina 5' 7" G 11, #5 Stacey Kimball 5' 3" G 10, #11 Alicia Valentine * 5' 4" G 12, #12 Chandler Jones 5' 9" G 11, #21 Katie Whitaker 5' 8'' F 11, #22 Lindsey Smith 5' 9" F 11, #23 Courtney Martin 5' 11" F 12, # 30 Jordan Ohrt 6' 0" F 10, # 33 Kaitlyn Parrott 5' 7" G 12, #35 Jessica Bushmeyer 5' 5" G 11, #42 Lexie Yoder 5' 9" F 11, # 44 Marissa Pratt 6' 4" C 11
Dennis Edwards , Varsity Coach (blue shirt), Harve Menkens, Assist. Varsity Coach, Jordon Wilde, JV Coach, Archie Archuleta, Team Manager, *Valentine, Captain. (Click player's name for bio; click on team pic to enlarge)
We are the Redmond High School Mustangs from Redmond, Washington. We are a member of the Class 4A KingCo Conference. Welcome and please sign our guestbook.
Mustang Flash: The Redmond Varsity Girls traveled to Orlando, Florida on Winter Break to play in the 300-team "KSA Holiday Tournament". Redmond (3-3) made it to the championship game of the KSA Tourney but lost by 13 points to the #1 team in New Jersey, the Colts Neck, 68-55 Courtney Martin led the Stangs in scoring with 23, Alicia Valentine was named tournament co-MVP. (click the score for stats and schedule).
See our Juanita, Issaquah, Newport, Scotch Plains-Fanwood, Central Bucks East, Colts Neck gamephotos. All photos courtesy of parent, Jerry Smith. Next up: against Inglemoor Sat Jan 3rd at RHS. JV game will be at 5:45PM, Varsity tips off at 7:30. (click pics to enlarge).
Sophomore Jordon launching....................Junior Marissa flying......................................Senior Alicia up and away!
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Mayor Marchione writes Letter to Residents about the Storm
Letter to Editor
Office of the Mayor – Communications Office
EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY
EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY
CONTACT: Marta Gronlund, Voice: 425-556-2427
SENT: December 30, 2008
Letter to Redmond Residents
I have heard from many of you over the past two weeks, voicing your anger about the road conditions during the prolonged snowstorm. I share your frustration and apologize for the difficulty in navigating around the city.
To make matters worse, garbage and recycling piles up and overflows its containers. My neighbors are upset with me as I explain that cul-de-sacs will be the very last streets plowed. My children voiced their displeasure that our Christmas celebration was postponed four days because family could not make it to our house on Education Hill.
What I can tell you is that City of Redmond employees have been working 24/7 since December 17th to plow and clean our streets. Is it enough? Obviously not. A major limiting factor to our service is that the City owns only three large plows/sanders and one smaller plow/sander for 100 miles of road. This level of equipment is generally sufficient for most years; however, a storm like this occurs about once every 25 years and the equipment level clearly fell short this time. You have my commitment to review the City's response for lessons learned and to implement changes to our snow removal plan quickly.
I have been in touch with Waste Management representatives and they report trucks are out in full force this week. Some of their trucks have extra staff on board to help with any extra trash or hard to service containers. Waste Management asks for your patience as their crews work through the very real logistical complications associated with the sheer volume of material they expect to find at the curb.
On all these issues, I asked staff for a complete debriefing of what happened, what changes need to be made and how we can prevent similar problems in the future. We will provide the City Council with a report at the January 6th City Council meeting. We certainly can’t control the weather, but we can learn and make changes to our response. As soon as I have more information, I will report back to you and the Council on what steps and changes we are taking. This information will also be available on www.redmond.gov.
Thank you for sharing your experiences. Hearing from you has been painful but provides useful information that will help the City better respond to future storm events.
Sincerely,
John Marchione
Mayor
City of Redmond
To make matters worse, garbage and recycling piles up and overflows its containers. My neighbors are upset with me as I explain that cul-de-sacs will be the very last streets plowed. My children voiced their displeasure that our Christmas celebration was postponed four days because family could not make it to our house on Education Hill.
What I can tell you is that City of Redmond employees have been working 24/7 since December 17th to plow and clean our streets. Is it enough? Obviously not. A major limiting factor to our service is that the City owns only three large plows/sanders and one smaller plow/sander for 100 miles of road. This level of equipment is generally sufficient for most years; however, a storm like this occurs about once every 25 years and the equipment level clearly fell short this time. You have my commitment to review the City's response for lessons learned and to implement changes to our snow removal plan quickly.
I have been in touch with Waste Management representatives and they report trucks are out in full force this week. Some of their trucks have extra staff on board to help with any extra trash or hard to service containers. Waste Management asks for your patience as their crews work through the very real logistical complications associated with the sheer volume of material they expect to find at the curb.
On all these issues, I asked staff for a complete debriefing of what happened, what changes need to be made and how we can prevent similar problems in the future. We will provide the City Council with a report at the January 6th City Council meeting. We certainly can’t control the weather, but we can learn and make changes to our response. As soon as I have more information, I will report back to you and the Council on what steps and changes we are taking. This information will also be available on www.redmond.gov.
Thank you for sharing your experiences. Hearing from you has been painful but provides useful information that will help the City better respond to future storm events.
Sincerely,
John Marchione
Mayor
City of Redmond
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Happy New Year...and good luck!
Snow people and snow art from the 'Hood. Happy Holidays from the Yoder family!
Friday, December 19, 2008
WINTER STORM FORUM - First Storm
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*12/22/08 - roads are extremely hazardous. try to stay away from all back-street hills, especially driving downhill. ice under snow. 4-wheel, 2-wheel, it doesn't matter.
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Due to severe weather the Puget Sound Blood Center is experiencing a critical shortage in blood.
Please stop at the regional donor centers (anytime this week or next) : http://www.psbc.org/programs/centers.htm
-- Communications Dept., City of Redmond
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Windstorm preparedness:
http://www.redmond.gov/disasterprep/winterstorms.asp
Redmond Community Radio AM 1650 works best from a car radio.
Tune into AM 1650 (which would mean you'd need a radio with batteries)--there is already information about windstorm preparedness and it will be updated regularly regarding warming centers, shelters, closures, and other information necessary to survive if the electricity goes out. Hopefully this won't happen, but please be prepared in case it does. -- Redmond Police
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- STORM FORUM (EMAIL REDMONDBLOG@GMAIL.COM or "comment" and I will post your comment on this page)
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Due to severe weather the Puget Sound Blood Center is experiencing a critical shortage in blood.
Please stop at the regional donor centers (anytime this week or next) : http://www.psbc.org/programs/centers.htm
-- Communications Dept., City of Redmond
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Windstorm preparedness:
http://www.redmond.gov/disasterprep/winterstorms.asp
Redmond Community Radio AM 1650 works best from a car radio.
Tune into AM 1650 (which would mean you'd need a radio with batteries)--there is already information about windstorm preparedness and it will be updated regularly regarding warming centers, shelters, closures, and other information necessary to survive if the electricity goes out. Hopefully this won't happen, but please be prepared in case it does. -- Redmond Police
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- STORM FORUM (EMAIL REDMONDBLOG@GMAIL.COM or "comment" and I will post your comment on this page)
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..... has the City contracted operators with heavy equipment to begin plowing access routes for not only trapped citizens but emergency vehicles such as fire and ambulance? There has been no mail delivery or garbage service on this street for over a week.I speak specifically of NE 105th Court. The residents at the bottom of this steep hill have hand shoveled two paths a block long so that those with 4WD vehicles can negotiate the hill.
--Loren, Education Hill neighbor
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from Mayor John Marchione
"Letter to the Editor"
I am very aware that the last week and a half has been very challenging for us at the City and, of course, for you as residents and business owners. The snow, freeze, thaw, snow cycle has stressed the City’s snow clearing capacity to its limits, and has severely impacted citizens ability to move about and through Redmond. As of Christmas Eve, we are still battling the elements.
To some residents it appears the City is doing very little to clear the roads; however, I assure you our Public Works crews are working around the clock and have been since this storm began. Since this type of sustained snowstorm is very rare (if not unprecedented), the City has invested in the proper amount of snow removal equipment for our more normal, much more limited, snow falls. Our three large and one small plow/sander trucks have been working the City’s streets in our established priority order. The highest priority is our arterioles and main thoroughfares. Once the main streets are plowed, we move on to plowing the secondary streets with cul-de-sacs being the lowest priority. With the almost daily snowfall and nightly freezing during this storm, it has been difficult to get beyond the highest priority areas.
Since I am also a resident living on one of the city’s largest hills, I understand your frustration with the outcomes of this storm. Not having a 4-wheel drive, I am also finding it difficult to move around. While some errands are required; along with the Redmond Police, I urge you to avoid driving unless absolutely necessary until we get some rain to wash this snow away. I also urge you to use the City’s communication tools, our website (www.redmond.gov), RCTV cable channel 21, and our new low-frequency Emergency Radio station, AM 1650, to keep updated on the latest closure information as well as tips on how to weather the storm.
This storm has caused a great deal of havoc and I want you to know that the City of Redmond is doing all it can to improve the roads. However, I also know that for those stuck in a cul-de-sac on a steep hill, that may be little comfort. I can only ask for your patience during this difficult event.
Despite these trials, I hope that your family is together (if only in spirit) and safe this holiday season. On behalf of all of us at City Hall, I wish you a happy holiday season and a very happy and healthy New Year.
Happy Holidays,
John Marchione, Mayor of Redmond
To some residents it appears the City is doing very little to clear the roads; however, I assure you our Public Works crews are working around the clock and have been since this storm began. Since this type of sustained snowstorm is very rare (if not unprecedented), the City has invested in the proper amount of snow removal equipment for our more normal, much more limited, snow falls. Our three large and one small plow/sander trucks have been working the City’s streets in our established priority order. The highest priority is our arterioles and main thoroughfares. Once the main streets are plowed, we move on to plowing the secondary streets with cul-de-sacs being the lowest priority. With the almost daily snowfall and nightly freezing during this storm, it has been difficult to get beyond the highest priority areas.
Since I am also a resident living on one of the city’s largest hills, I understand your frustration with the outcomes of this storm. Not having a 4-wheel drive, I am also finding it difficult to move around. While some errands are required; along with the Redmond Police, I urge you to avoid driving unless absolutely necessary until we get some rain to wash this snow away. I also urge you to use the City’s communication tools, our website (www.redmond.gov), RCTV cable channel 21, and our new low-frequency Emergency Radio station, AM 1650, to keep updated on the latest closure information as well as tips on how to weather the storm.
This storm has caused a great deal of havoc and I want you to know that the City of Redmond is doing all it can to improve the roads. However, I also know that for those stuck in a cul-de-sac on a steep hill, that may be little comfort. I can only ask for your patience during this difficult event.
Despite these trials, I hope that your family is together (if only in spirit) and safe this holiday season. On behalf of all of us at City Hall, I wish you a happy holiday season and a very happy and healthy New Year.
Happy Holidays,
John Marchione, Mayor of Redmond
12/24/08, per email from C.O.R. (color edits)
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Anonymous
Email or Call the City to Plow and Sand 104th East of Abbey. Public input regarding the City's snow and ice removal policy and procedures is welcome and can be voiced by calling 425-556-2821 or emailing pwops@redmond.gov.
--Anonymous "comment" December 23, 2008 3:51 PM
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Redmond Citizen said...
*I completely agree the initial conditions were not as dangerous as reported. However, the strategy employed by the city now has created a very hazardous situation. Through the natural thaw and freeze cycles, a layer of ice has formed on the compacted snow. In the past years, within a few days the hills were sanded. Our city’s lack of preparedness for the storm has stranded thousands of people. Unfortunately, this seems to have been by choice – a major thoroughfare like 104th not being plowed for 5 days.
-- Redmond Citizen
December 23, 2008 7:54 AM
How about a blog post where the community can share feedback on maintenance during the storm of 104th and 166th? For some folks - those make up 2 of five road closures - and they can legally not drive out of their homes without passing a "road closed" sign. I already emailed the mayor on this very subject with appropriate caveats regarding both safety, road priority, and plow allocation. The net is that a huge taxpayer base on Ed Hill is legally trapped with more snow on the way. Specifically, the neighborhoods feeding into 184th @ 104th.
- ANDY
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This may sound macho, but I'm from snowy Ohio and New York and if you drive smart the conditions aren't as hazardous as the City would like you to believe. (12/19) If you don't have front wheel drive or all-wheel drive then, I'd agree with the police and stay off the roads unless you're rear-wheel drive has cables or chains. Some tips from blizzard driving experience: 1) drive slowly, especially on down-hill curves , when turning, approaching intersections and when breaking. 2) when you begin driving test your traction once or twice by braking hard on a level road clear of cars, 3) use your lowest gear going down hills or icy roads to minimize breaking. 4) Usually the biggest road hazard are the cars around you! Look in your rear view mirror especially near intersections for fast moving cars that could skid into you. 5) As you start to drive up a hill, don't gun it or spin your wheels. Creep, creep, creep into a slow start. 6) leave 2-3x as much distance than usual between you and the car in front. 7) If a macho 4-wheeler is riding your back, pull over and let him pass (& crash)!
- BOB, 12/19
*I completely agree the initial conditions were not as dangerous as reported. However, the strategy employed by the city now has created a very hazardous situation. Through the natural thaw and freeze cycles, a layer of ice has formed on the compacted snow. In the past years, within a few days the hills were sanded. Our city’s lack of preparedness for the storm has stranded thousands of people. Unfortunately, this seems to have been by choice – a major thoroughfare like 104th not being plowed for 5 days.
-- Redmond Citizen
December 23, 2008 7:54 AM
How about a blog post where the community can share feedback on maintenance during the storm of 104th and 166th? For some folks - those make up 2 of five road closures - and they can legally not drive out of their homes without passing a "road closed" sign. I already emailed the mayor on this very subject with appropriate caveats regarding both safety, road priority, and plow allocation. The net is that a huge taxpayer base on Ed Hill is legally trapped with more snow on the way. Specifically, the neighborhoods feeding into 184th @ 104th.
- ANDY
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This may sound macho, but I'm from snowy Ohio and New York and if you drive smart the conditions aren't as hazardous as the City would like you to believe. (12/19) If you don't have front wheel drive or all-wheel drive then, I'd agree with the police and stay off the roads unless you're rear-wheel drive has cables or chains. Some tips from blizzard driving experience: 1) drive slowly, especially on down-hill curves , when turning, approaching intersections and when breaking. 2) when you begin driving test your traction once or twice by braking hard on a level road clear of cars, 3) use your lowest gear going down hills or icy roads to minimize breaking. 4) Usually the biggest road hazard are the cars around you! Look in your rear view mirror especially near intersections for fast moving cars that could skid into you. 5) As you start to drive up a hill, don't gun it or spin your wheels. Creep, creep, creep into a slow start. 6) leave 2-3x as much distance than usual between you and the car in front. 7) If a macho 4-wheeler is riding your back, pull over and let him pass (& crash)!
- BOB, 12/19
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
"Boring budgets" are ANYTHING BUT...in Kirkland!
Most information, excerpts and the photo are courtesy of Rob Butcher's recent articles on his KirklandViews, 12/17/08 UPDATE: The Mayor of Kirkland told his Council they need to follow Redmond's Budget By Priority process! Hear and see Mayor Jim Lauinger say it!
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During Redmond's Budget proceedings, Mayor John Marchione gave strong warnings about "digging a hole" in our City budget. He cautioned if Council didn't raise the 1% property taxes we could end up like Kirkland, in a hole. Kirkland's "gap" was $13.8M -- 12% of their General Fund!
Kirkland has recently taken extreme measures to balance their budget. The problems started when Council authorized 6% salary and 10% cost increases. (Lesson to be learned?). A cursory listing of of actions taken to balance their budget are, as follows:
- Kirkland's existing business tax was replaced by a "Head Tax". Every business in Kirkland must now pay $100 for every full-time employee hired.
- Utility taxes increased.
- Property taxes were increased
- Service levels were cut. Nix Economic Development Manager , Communications levels, etc.
- Cut $3M from the capital budget.
Citizen attendance at Kirkland (and Redmond's) budget meetings were telling. According to KirklandViews, in Kirkland's October meeting only 6 of 48,000 citizens showed. Most were there to protect their interests. At Redmond's final Hearing only 7-8 showed up to speak...again most to further their interests. Council President McCormick proudly said on at least two occasions that Redmond citizenry were "fully engaged" in our budgetary process based on the "excellent turnout" at the final *Hearing.
"KirklandViews", reported that Kirkland's Council Chambers were overflowing at their final Budget meeting. Now, that's participation! Only two of eight citizens at Redmond's budget meeting addressed ideas for cutting costs; I was one. Is that "engagement"? Or, does the City have a way to go?
*Active citizenry participation in Marchione's "Budget by Priority" Public Workshops (2) and the six citizens on staff's Results Teams probably provides a more valid demonstration of public participation.
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
That funny blinking yellow arrow-light on 166th & 104th
The signal light on 104th Street & 166th Avenue by the Redmond Junior High is working! Councilman Margeson made the formal announcement in Council Chambers tonight.Earlier today, Mayor Marchione, Councilman Margeson, Principal Barone, Public Works staff and some passing students celebrated the "lighting ceremony". Did anyone else participate? It would be a good story for the Redmond Reporter.
The signal is already famous for it's blinking yellow left-turn light. It's the only light of it's kind in town. The Mayor said the blinking yellow arrow light means "you can turn left if the coast is clear".
This funny yellow light has been quite the buzz on the Hill. The school "Parent Organizer" printed a blurb about it and soon parents were talking. Mayor Marchione said there was information of the signal on the city website. I hunted all over and couldn't find anything on the yellow arrow light. This is the best I could do...and the "google" image you see.
Do any of you have thoughts on the signal.....or the intersection in general? Aren't those sidewalk shrub plantings elegant? How about those richly painted light posts? Do you think the sidewalk ramps will work for bicyclists?
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Savvy builder is proving that "Green sells".
Sometime within the next 2-3 years a mixed-use "residential-business" complex could well be built in SE Redmond adjacent Marymoor Park and the Sammamish Trail. (6089 - 6213 East Lake Sammamish Park.) "Marymoor Park Place" will be 2 buildings, 4 stories tall, with business use on the 1st floor and 50 multi-family residential units on floors 2-4. 10% of the units will be "affordable". A photo and vicinity map of the triangular project site is found here. The triangular site is south of Les Schwab.
But the Peter Chee landowners/developers have a few hurtles to overcome before they can build:
- They are asking the City to change the zoning for that area from Manufacturing Park (MP) to Business Park (BP). This zoning change is precedent setting for the city.
- In April 2007, the Council voted 5-2 against the Chee's proposal for R-18 zoning. Council's reasons were a) economic diversity loss, b) use incompatibility, c) housing was not needed.
- Council and Planning Commission must approve both the zoning change and the mixed-use project.
The Chee family are savvy developers. To sell their program, the Chees are taking full advantage of the city's "Residential Green Permitting Program" and community recognition for the values of sustainable living. They are focusing on a sustainable site, as follows:
- "Hardscapes" (impervious surfaces) are reduced by building underground parking.
- Drought tolerant plants will be used. Leyland Cyprus will buffer noise from the manufacturing zone.
- Solar PV panels will be installed on the roofs - 30% power will be conserved.
30-40% energy consumption will be saved by using LEEDS approved light fixtures and occupancy sensors. - Over 90% of construction debris will be recycled. Extra insulation and laminate windows will reduce sound and energy waste. Less toxic and volatile glues and paints will improve air quality.
- The Chee's property will achieve a LEED'S Gold Award for sustainability -- one level higher than City Hall's Silver rating.
Taking advantage of their proximity to the Lake Sammamish Park Trail, the Chees expect residents to bike to work and play. The Chees plan for locked storage of bicycles to encourage trip reduction.
MP will have to be rezoned to BP to make the project work. Manufacturing (MP) is not attractive in Redmond. Rents are two times less expensive in Kent and Auburn. The Chee's BP zoning will allow for a wide variety of choices for businesses and bring new jobs into Redmond. The Chee's Marymoor Park Place will be right at the Gateway into SW Redmond. They say their BP mixed-use buildings will be more attractive for our Gateway that manufacturing. Who could doubt that?
The Chee's project seems a no-brainer. The City and it's leadership has changed since Council's decision two years ago. Existing manufacturers in Redmond have had plenty of time to lobby for preservation of Manufacturing zones. But, land costs are high in Redmond. Rezoning to BP is a compromise where almost everyone wins. The Chee family appear model citizens and developers who have a lot of pride in their work. We are fortunate to have them.
See how Council and Planning Commission voted two years ago.
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Updated, 12/16 - Redmond's New Sign Ordinance will keep our sidewalks and neigborhoods clutter-free
Update, 12/16: Opinion on the new sign ordinance from an West Redmond realtor.
OPINION: City Council, the Planning Commission, and our two Code Enforcement Officers have been working for months, if not years, to update and improve our sign ordinance. A new, improved ordinance will be officially in place after one final Hearing on private "banner signs". Signs come in all shapes and types. The photo on the left shows two "A-Board directional signs" for the same project. On the right is a large residential property sign. Hey, do ya think those copper capped posts come included with the Purchase & Sale!
At stake has been striking a balance between the needs for advertising, public safety, and removal of visual clutter. In addition, the ordinance had to be written within the confines of the 9th Circuit Court decision. Doborah Farris, Code Enforcement Officer said the ordinance would be strictly enforced. The first violation is a warning. Second violation is the sign will be pulled with a $50 fee for retrieval. Third violation is a $100 fine. Redmond's two Code Enforcement officers have many other duties than monitoring signs. The Code Enforcement officer's email and phone is 425-556-2465
In short, only one sign is allowed by the the new ordinance for commercial, project construction, and residential advertising. Councilman Vache made a point that precautionary safety signs should not restricted. Signs are limited in size to six square feet. Council Pres. McCormick indicated the Land Use Application Project requirements for 1 4x8 "extraordinary" White Sign every 500 feet (and 1 Yellow 2x3 sign/project ) remain the same.
After persistent lobbying by the Real Estate industry, an exception to the 1-sign rule was allowed for residential real estate advertising in most neighborhoods (R-1 to R-8). Real estate agents, FSBO's, landlords and new single family home projects are allowed up to 3 "directional signs" only during OPEN HOUSES, in addition to the one property sign. Arrow signs count as directional signs.
In a short drive through N. Redmond, I found one housing project posting 11 directional signs and three "landmark signs". A-Boards (sandwich board) and any other staked signs are restricted from public right-of-ways. i.e sidewalks, driveways, bike lanes. Home businesses, including daycare, are not allowed to put out signs. Deputy Planning Director Roberts said code enforcement recently pulled out over 100 signs - mostly in N. Redmond.
Apartment and condominium complexes zoned R-12 & up are allowed 1-sign per complex and no directional signs. Councilman Margeson emphasized visual clutter would be mitigated on roads with multiple apartments/condos like Avondale, 148th Ave, and Redmond Way.
The ordinance will especially be felt by landlords and FSBO's who are often desperate to get the word out. I know for a fact, since I rented a house for years and eventually sold it by owner. I won't tell you how many signs I staked because I'm embarrassed. Most that were pulled were on the 104th Street and 166th Avenue intersection. With this new ordinance - advertisers beware!
Disclaimer: to verify the ordinance quoted in this post, please contact Deborah Farris. This story is informational and my sole opinion. Signs leading from Redmond to the county or another city may or may not be subject to the new ordinance.
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Food, restaurants and East Indians at "Redmond Lights Festival"
Redmond Lights Festival, Chain Restaurants and Indians--Compliments of Grant Yuan's Chef Seattle Blog. Grant is a Redmond, WA. resident.
-- Posted by: Grant Yuan @ 12/10: 8:05 pm on Grant's Seattle restaurant, food, and chef blog.
Last night, I headed out to the Redmond Lights festival, which is a walk along the Burke Gilman/Sammamish River that ends up at the Redmond Town Center. I’ve been a little leery of RTC lately because of some political issues lately, but they’ve seemed to be getting better according to a popular Redmond blog that I keep up with. Anyhow, the festival was fun, with the sparkling of blinking red lights that everyone wore, holiday music, and general holiday mood. With the sour economy, it was nice to see everyone just out and having fun. Of course, it helped that there was free food involved, as there were lines 50 people deep for even some simple foods like Panera Bread cookies. Even though the lines were long, we (Steve, my girlfriend and I) had no problem waiting around and enjoying the scene. If we can camp out at Black Friday at 3am, we can wait 10 minutes for free food. :)Most of the food vendors were those directly in Redmond town center, like Thai Ginger, Meyfil (I always wondered if this name was a clever play on “Me Fill”), Ruby’s, that new sandwich/soupy Italian chain that replaced Cosi (THANK YOU), and Todai. Also there was Canyons, Azteca and Qdoba, which are close by.
For various reasons, we don’t review chain restaurants as a rule on Chef Seattle, but it’s events like these that tend to put some things into perspective on the roles of big food chains. What I mean is that when a large business gets involved, they have a marketing budget to sponsor events like the Redmond festival, because marketing and branding is what chain restaurants do best. Small, independently owned restaurants often don’t have the budget, manpower or - and I think this is a primary reason - foresight to sponsor these type of events. I love my small restaurants, but having talked with many chef/owners, I say it with love when I say they know food, but suck at self-promotion.The only independent food vendor passing out free food here was Meyfil, while every other one was a chain of some kind - though Thai Ginger and Canyons are both Seattle-based chains. I’m going to single out Mefil for a second, because as an Indian restaurant, I have to say that of all the various ethnic restaurants owners, Indians are the best pound-for-pound marketers. There’s often a good reason for that though, which is that many Indian restaurant and business owners are often highly educated individuals, with MBAs or other post-college education.
When I was volunteering at a food bank warehouse a few years ago, I had an eye-opening discussion with an Indian fellow - Gugan, I think his name was - who was working off 20 hours of community service. Explaining, he told me he owned seven convenience stores and managed all of them by himself, employing friends and family. Apparently, he had an MBA and wanted to start an integrated chip design outsourcing business when he came to America, but found he could do quite fine selling drinks and snacks to the masses. When I asked him about restaurants, he was pretty adamant that it was the same for that niche as well, with many well qualified owners doing it because they money made it worth it. After he left for the day, he offered me free Slurpees anytime at his stores, though I never quite took him up on that offer. :)
-- Grant Yuan http://www.chefseattle.com/
December 10, 2008 8:37 AM
minor edits by B. Yoder
Sunday, December 7, 2008
Proposed Jail in Kingsgate: half of inmate population have prior felony convictions
compliments of KirklandViews
A County Jail is proposed for Kingsgate. Kingsgate is only 3-4 miles from Redmond.
A study of Kirkland’s inmate population shows that most inmates have prior felony convictions.
Jail proponents argue that if a planned 640 bed jail were to be built in Kingsgate, the neighboring residents should not be alarmed as those incarcerated would be guilty of only minor offenses. Kirkland’s own 2007 study shows that inmates picked up for minor crimes most likely have been convicted of prior felonies. A 2007 study of Kirkland’s inmate population showed that most misdemeanant inmates are “frequent flyers” of the corrections system.
When the City of Kirkland was studying the option of jail expansion in the Summer of 2007, the City Council was briefed on the profile of the Kirkland inmate population. The Council was presented with the following about Kirkland’s jail population on a given day:
Of the 36 persons held on misdemeanor charges
28 had previous felony convictions
7 had multiple previous misdemeanors
1 was a first-time offender
A 7 minute video discussing the profile of the inmate population is here.
You may watch the entire July 3, 2007 City of Kirkland study session Jail Update here.
A public meeting regarding a proposed jail in Kingsgate is to be held this Wednesday, December 10th at the Hollywood Schoolhouse in Woodinville from 6 to 9 p.m.
A County Jail is proposed for Kingsgate. Kingsgate is only 3-4 miles from Redmond.
A study of Kirkland’s inmate population shows that most inmates have prior felony convictions.
Jail proponents argue that if a planned 640 bed jail were to be built in Kingsgate, the neighboring residents should not be alarmed as those incarcerated would be guilty of only minor offenses. Kirkland’s own 2007 study shows that inmates picked up for minor crimes most likely have been convicted of prior felonies. A 2007 study of Kirkland’s inmate population showed that most misdemeanant inmates are “frequent flyers” of the corrections system.
When the City of Kirkland was studying the option of jail expansion in the Summer of 2007, the City Council was briefed on the profile of the Kirkland inmate population. The Council was presented with the following about Kirkland’s jail population on a given day:
Of the 36 persons held on misdemeanor charges
28 had previous felony convictions
7 had multiple previous misdemeanors
1 was a first-time offender
A 7 minute video discussing the profile of the inmate population is here.
You may watch the entire July 3, 2007 City of Kirkland study session Jail Update here.
A public meeting regarding a proposed jail in Kingsgate is to be held this Wednesday, December 10th at the Hollywood Schoolhouse in Woodinville from 6 to 9 p.m.
Posted by Rob Butcher on Friday, December 5, 2008, 13:02 This news item was posted in Features category of KirklandViews
Friday, December 5, 2008
2/4/09, UPDATED: Will Redmond Town Center partner with the City on flood protections and salmon preservation?
2nd in a series of opinions on Redmond Town Center.
UPDATED 2/4/2009 You'll find a post 2 days ago trying to understand the relationship between Redmond Town Center and the City. Talk from some neighbors and my review of several city council meetings reveal the city was negotiating with Redmond Town Center for Bear Creek buffer land. It appeared from these talks the city was frustrated with Redmond Town Center and their owner, Macerich REIT. Its since been learned, the relationship is back on track with hopefully no strings attached by Macerich.
According to Mayor John Marchione: "...Regarding the (Redmond) blog, the City has a very good relationship with Redmond Town Center. We are working together to transfer land buffering Bear Creek to City control. Earlier in the year we approached Macerich for permission to perform survey work on the land in anticipation of the project. There was a delay as attorney’s work on language. But the delay was weeks, not months or years..... Read More >>
According to Mayor John Marchione: "...Regarding the (Redmond) blog, the City has a very good relationship with Redmond Town Center. We are working together to transfer land buffering Bear Creek to City control. Earlier in the year we approached Macerich for permission to perform survey work on the land in anticipation of the project. There was a delay as attorney’s work on language. But the delay was weeks, not months or years..... Read More >>
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