Reprint: Redmond has restored the Upper Reach of Willows Creek

Reprinted from Thursday, August 5, 2010

Redmond is Restoring The Upper Reach of Willows Creek

Willows Creek

Have you ever been to Willows Creek?  Oh my!  It's probably one of the most beautiful, urban natural open spaces remaining in Redmond.   If you look hard you'll find an unmarked trail-head in Willows Creek Park that will take you to it.  We hiked the creek a couple of weeks ago and took a few pictures. 

Willows Creek is good size stream that drains the western "Rose Hill" watershed area.  It flows into the Sammamish River in the vicinity of Willows Golf Course.   According to Tom Hardy of the Redmond Department of Natural Resources Department, (DNR) federally protected Chinook salmon often find "safe harbor" in the cool waters of the mouth of Willows Creek.   Chinook linger in Willows Creek as they swim upstream toward Bear Creek to spawn.   But they no longer spawn in here owing to habitat destruction.

Years ago, the creek forests were severely logged  and the salmon stopped spawning to the upper reaches of the creek.  As you can see, it's a beautiful meandering stream with gravel beds, perfect for salmon rearing.   Tom Hardy's crew has a project underway this summer to restore the creek banks and improve the habitat for fish. 

As we speak, they are placing new logs and fallen trees along 800 feet of the upper reach.  These logs will help shore up eroded banks, control floods, reduce sediment, and create pools.  Tom's crew will plant over 100 trees to shelter the creek and cool the waters.  This is a Department of Natural Resources project funded by our Stormwater rate bills.   Is it possible the salmon and trout will someday swim up Willows Creeks again to spawn?  I think that's the city's hope.   

Bear Creek,  Evans Creek and the Sammamish River encircles Redmond.  They are valuable, wild urban salmon bearing streams which makes Redmond  unique.  Peter's Creek and Willows Creek flow into the Sammamish River from the West.  They are just north of the 90th Street Bridge.           

By Bob Yoder

Photo and slides by Yoder

May 18 Sustainable Redmond Speaker Series on Community Gardens

Eastside Community Gardens Topic of May 18 Meeting:

Sustainable Redmond Spring Speaker Series Continues at Old Redmond Schoolhouse

 

Sustainable Redmond will hold the third of its Spring Speaker Series at 7pm on Monday, May 18^th at Redmond’s Old Schoolhouse Community Center – a change from past meeting venues.  This meeting will highlight community garden initiatives in Kirkland and Bellevue as well as Redmond.  The meeting is open to everyone and all are welcome to attend.  Read More >>

City Council approves over $382,454 on projects to improve fish passage in three Redmond creeks

The City Council approved $382,454 on projects to improve fish passage in Juel Creek, Peters Creek, and Seidel Creek.  Seidel Creek is in the Watershed Preserve.  Peters Creek is a tributary to the Sammamish River near Willows Road.  Juel Creek is a tributary to Bear Creek.  Read More>>

Executive Constantine speaks his mind about Shell Oils request to establish an Arctic drilling operation at Port of Seattle's Terminal

Executive Constantine today issued a statement in regard to the City of Seattle's Department of Planning and Development denying a request by Shell Oil to establish an Arctic drilling operation at the Port of Seattle's Terminal 5.

Story

"I commend the City of Seattle for ensuring that all rules are followed as Shell Oil seeks to site its Arctic drilling fleet at the Port of Seattle's Terminal 5. We are in a race against time to drastically reduce carbon emissions while preparing as best we can for the impacts of diminishing snowpack and rising sea levels.
"Instead of putting all our effort into real economic development - like highly profitable clean-energy technology and manufacturing - we're being asked to allow our publicly-owned port facilities to play host to Arctic oil-drilling operations, accelerating an already dire local and global crisis.
"This is the wrong direction for any community, but doubly so for King County, with our environmental ethic and our enormous capacity to invent the future. We should be using our resources to support innovative companies that are creating 21st-century energy solutions rather than fossil-fuel operations that threaten both Arctic waters and our entire planet. Let's invest in economic activity that keeps us competitive in the global market and sustains our environment and quality of life.
"And as a state that depends heavily on trade, we should be wary of making container ships compete with fossil-fuel-drilling vessels for space at our ports."

King County News

Redmond Saturday Market's Opening Day is May 2nd! We're back for our 40th Season! Calling all shoppers, all locally-made enthusiasts and all farm fresh foodies - your favorite Eastside market opens this Saturday! Let the farmer's market festivities begin! We sure have missed you these past few months! Providing Eastsiders with fresh, locally grown produce and quality handmade arts and crafts is both a passion and a lifestyle for us, and we're beyond excited to share it with you! Join us at 9:00 sharp for our Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony with Mayor Marchione - he'll be honoring us with his presence and kicking off the season. And he'll be backed up by a band-the Redmond High School Pep Band to be exact! They'll be playing some terrific tunes for your listening pleasure! This is something you won't want to miss-they put on quite the sterling performance.  Read More>>

Mayor Marchione presents 4 sites for the proposed pool-community center-senior center-teen center complex

Mayor Marchione and his staff presented four potential sites for a proposed "community center-pool-senior center-teen center" complex to city council last night.  All sites, according to President Hank Margeson had some drawbacks -- mostly parking and traffic flow.  Council agreed to spend $17,000 to further study three of the sites.

So far the site that has gotten the most study and review by Marchione is Fire Station 11 headquarters and the Edge Skate park.  Yes, that's right.  They are actually considering removing both the downtown Fire Station and the Edge Skate Park.  Parks Director Larson said the Skate Park could be re-built on the city campus and it would be larger then the present park.  They would probably have to buy land to rebuild the Fire Station headquarters. 

Though President Margeson didn't commit to a site preference, he liked the nearby parking available from the Park and Ride building.  Councilmember David Carson indicated his preference in working with Kirkland on a pool and was concerned about the high costs associated with the complex.  He didn't like the Firehouse/Skate Board site.  Councilmember Allen wanted more information on the de-watering and associated costs that would have to be done on the sites.  Councilmember Hank Myers asked for traffic studies. 

It just seems like Marchione and staff are dead set on cramming in all these recreational buildings into downtown Redmond -- which is already stressed out from traffic and parking issues.  Hopefully Redmond can work with Kirkland on a joint pool site.

Marchione, Carson, and Myers terms of office are expiring on 12/31/2015 and it's not too late to apply with King County Elections to run for office.

Reported/Opinion by Bob Yoder

 

Redmond's oldest service group to share it's history and role of women in community

  Community service groups have helped shape Redmond, but none has been around as long as the Nokomis Club –  founded by six women in 1909 to bring culture to what was then a Wild West Redmond. Set up as a literary club, the organization eventually went on to found Redmond’s first library. Alexa Munoz, current club president, will present the Nokomis story at the Redmond Historical Society's Saturday Speaker Series program on May 9^th at 10:30am at the Old Redmond Schoolhouse Community Center.

“The history of the Nokomis Club is an example of the role that women played in the community during the first half of the last century,” says Munoz. “It’s a great topic for Mother’s Day weekend.”  Read More >>

City of Redmond Positions up for re-election 2015

Filing deadline is May 15

 FROM PAIGE NORMAN'S  BLOG: "Paiges Prattle"

5 offices in our current City of Redmond legislature will be up for vote this coming August. (August 4th Primary) and November (November 3 General Election).  All terms end December 31, 2015.
The first position is Mayor of the City of Redmond; this is a non-partisan office.  Currently this position is held by John Marchione.  According to the City of Redmond web page, Mayor Marchione was elected in 2007 and is serving his 2nd term (this election would be running for his third term).  At this time he is unopposed.
The City of Redmond is a classified as a non-charter Code city, that operates under the Mayor-Council plan of government.  (RCW 35A.12, RMC Chapter 1.02)  According to the candidate manual (pg. 14) for King County elections, “All cities in King County are “non-charter code” cities, except the city of Seattle and the towns of Beaux Arts Village, Hunts Point, Skykomish, and Yarrow Point.”
What does the Mayor do?  This varies from city to city, but in Redmond, the Mayor presides over all meetings of Council,   and is responsible for administrative duties; including hiring and firing staff, veto power, implementation of legislation passed by the council and ceremonial duties.  He may also be the tie-breaker vote in council votes.  This is called a “council-strong mayor” structure.
The remaining 4 positions are City Council members.  City of Redmond has 7 council positions; all non-partisan offices in staggered terms.  Council positions run 4 years; 3 positions expire in 2017 (Kimberly Allen Position 4, Byron Shutz Position 2 and John Stilin Position 6).  “The City Council adopts the City budget, establishes law and policy, approves appropriations and contracts, levies taxes and grants franchises.”
Tom Flynn (Pos. #5) is retiring at the end of his term; at this time only one person has announced intent to run for his position.   Parks and Trails Commissioner Angela Birney announced her campaign for Redmond City Council Pos. 5 (Redmond Reporter, February 9, 2015).   At this time she is unopposed.
The other 3 positions are uncontested at this time.  Position 1 is held by Hank Myers.  Hank has been a councilmember since 2008.  Position 3 is held by Hank Margeson and has been a councilmember since 2007.  Position 7 is held by David Carson, who has held the position since 2008.
Persons interested in filing for candidacy must file intent no later than May 15th (page 10). A candidates must be a registered voter, file a Declaration of Candidacy and include either the filing fee or a completed filing fee petition.
Candidate workshops will be held April 24th and 25th.

Redmond Way - Cleveland St. "couplet conversion" scheduled for late 2016

Posted April, 2015

Several weeks ago at a joint meeting with the City of Kirkland, Mayor Marchione stated the "couplet conversion" would be installed late 2016 or early 2017.  The couplet conversion will change Redmond Way and Cleveland Street to two-way traffic flows.  It's been in the planning stages for years and is controversial.

At last night's Redmond council meeting a measure on the couplet conversion was voted on during the consent agenda and the following conversation ensued.  Councilmember David Carson stated that he does not support the conversion.  Councilmember Hank Myers stated that though he was concerned about the costs and over-runs he would vote in favor of the couplet measure because federal funds would be lost if it didn't move forward and "it's a good idea for flow."  The measure passed 6-1 (Carson). In a council meeting last year, Hank Myers was concerned about traffic flow problems by the conversion on a portion of Redmond Way.

Bob Yoder

Keep current on the progress of the couplet conversion and see what else is planned for the downtown. http://www.redmond.gov/cms/One.aspx?pageId=94497

Spring Plant Sale at LWIT runs next two weekends

ANNUAL LAKE WASHINGTON INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

SPRING PLANT SALE RUNS THE NEXT TWO WEEKENDS

Kirkland, Wash. – The wait is over for the annual Lake Washington Institute of Technology’s (LWTech) Environment Horticulture spring plant sale. The sale, which runs this weekend, April 24^th and 25^th and next weekend, May 1^st and 2^nd at the greenhouses on the Kirkland campus, raises money to provide scholarships for the college’s horticulture students.

Plants for sale are grown by LWTech’s horticulture students. There are blooming fuchsia baskets for the shade, mixed flowering baskets for the sun, veggie starts, herbs, four-packs of annual color to bloom all summer long, perennials and more.

 

WHO:              Lake Washington Institute of Technology

 

WHAT:           Annual Spring Plant Sale

 

WHEN:            April 24^th and 25^th and May 1^st and 2^nd from 9:00am-3:00pm.

 

WHERE:          The greenhouses at Lake Washington Institute of Technology’s Kirkland campus at 11605 132^nd Avenue NE, Kirkland, Wash. 98034

 

Please coordinate with Leslie Cohan at leslie.cohan@lwtech.edu or 425-739-8236 if you are planning on sending a crew or photographer. She will provide information for access to the sale.

 

About Lake Washington Institute of Technology:

Lake Washington Institute of Technology (LWTech) is a public, broad-based technical institute providing education in more than 40 areas of study and offering pathways to certificates, associate degrees and bachelor’s degrees designed to give students the latest cutting edge skills relevant to today’s workplace.

 

Four Redmond City Council positions and the Mayor's office is up for grabs this year

Unhappy with the way the city is being managed?  Or do you just want to make a difference for your community?  Consider running for one of four councilmember positions with terms expiring by the end of this year.  The Mayor's term expires 12/31/2015 too.  Councilmembers Carson, Flynn, Myers, and Margeson positions will be up for grabs when their term expires on 12/31/2015. 

To learn the ABC's of running for office King County Elections is holding two workshops in April to help you get started.  Go HERE for more information on the workshops.

The filing deadline is May 15.  You must file with the Dept. of King County Elections.

Contact info@redmond.gov to get the job description for city councilmembers.

Reported by Bob Yoder

LETTER: Nokomis Club building should be saved

I am a long time resident of the city of Redmond. My family has called the greater Redmond area home for over 100 years. The growth that I have seen in the last 50 years has been positively mind boggling with the change from a sleepy little town of 500 populated mostly by farmers and loggers, to a bedroom community for Boeing and finally to a center of High Tech businesses that have a world-wide reach.

I have long watched this growth and seen some of the pains associated with it but generally have accepted it as the price of progress. However the story of the Nokomis Club building has touched me through to my core. If you do a little Internet research you will discover that the Nokomis Club was truly ahead of its time. Up through the early 60’s Redmond had its own library as the KCLS had not yet moved into town. Due to that the city was responsible for funding and maintaining a library. The Nokomis Club was quite involved in providing financial support for the Library in the early days. My Grandmother Jessie Adams Norman, who was a school teacher was active in Nokomis and was one of the wonderful women that helped support our library in those days. As a youth, a visit to the library was always an event that I looked forward to as there were many different places I could visit just by reading the volumes contained within those walls.

Currently the Nokomis Club building is going to be demolished in order to make room for new construction in the area that surrounds the building.   The contractor plans to use a small amount of the materials salvaged from the demolition in the construction of the planned new building, which hardly pays homage to the women who stepped up to provide a needed service to this Community. Sadly there is no interest at the highest levels of City government to do anything to prevent this building from being demolished.

Please take a moment and visit this website to learn more about the Nokomis Club and its impact on the history of Redmond.[ http://nokomisclub98052.org/library.html ]. This is the story of a group of forward thinking women on a philanthropic mission to help our town.

The Nokomis Club is a part of my heritage and a very important part of our City’s history. Let’s not allow this landmark to slip through our hands and be lost forever.

Russell L. Norman

Redmond, WA

Harry and Elizabeth: Redmond leaders behind the Hare Krishna Movement and Vedic Cultural Centers

August, 2012 article reprinted (not updated)

Vedic Cultural Center in Sammamish, WA.

A Hindu-based Hare Krishna awareness movement (ISKON)  is alive and well on the Eastside.  Their Vedic Cultural Centers  in Sammamish and Bothell house temples and provide gathering space for activities.  I spent some time last month with Harry and Elizabeth, the spiritual and operational leaders of the Eastside congregations. 


Harry Terhanian, affable Redmond resident, is the President of one of 20+ ISKON congregations in the United States.  His spiritual name is "Harivilas Das."  Harry says ISKON plans to open a Vedic Cultural Center in Bellevue this year and  SE Redmond in the next year or two, but only with community acceptance and under city guidelines.  

Harry and his pleasant, outgoing wife Elizabeth recently purchased a 9 acre farm on Avondale Court north of the PCC Shopping Center "to become a part of the growing farming culture in Redmond" and practice bhakta yoga.  He is negotiating to buy another farm nearby just off the bus line.  He plans to use the farm as a “factory” for growing plants and manufacturing herbal pharmaceutical extracts.  Signage for the 4^th Annual Ananda Mela Festival was constructed in the farm's outbuildings. 

Elizabeth said cows and bulls are planned for Harry and Elizabeth's farm which has a Class 2 tributary to Bear Creek and buffers will be required for these large animals.  Harry thought the farm will be attractive to bird watchers. 

We visited Leon Hussey’s KIS farm to pick up tips on soil nutrition and understand the value of stream buffers.   Bear Creek meanders through the Hussey farm with well preserved buffers and excellent salmon watching opportunities in the fall. 

Elizabeth recently arrived from Florida where she was running an ISKON farm. "When I see a flower, I see Krishna smiling." she told me. Elizabeth is not a Hindu. She is German-Swiss American. Elizabeth lives in the farm house which also serves as temple.  Elizabeth didn’t make the Ananda Mela Festival in Redmond,  preferring to attend community farming activities in Hawaii. 

Harry was born in America to Armenian Christian Orthodox parents.  He’s not Hindu.   ISKON sent him to Seattle in l991 from Pennsylvania, when the Seattle temple was on the verge of closing. (Early on in the 60's-80's people were turned off by cultish, chanting, proselytizing actions in the airports and college campuses.)  Slowly, he built up the community.  But it wasn't until the mid-1990s, as Indian families began joining, that Terhanian saw a "base by which we rebuild our legitimacy." (Seattle Times, 8/2008)

Harry is also the founder of "Northwest SHARE", a Seattle-based human services non-profit. It includes a restaurant providing free vegan food.  Free food and food banking is a faith element of the Krishna congregation. They also believe in spreading Kirshna's 'personality' with festivals. Harry was the lead organzier for the 4th Annual Ananda Mela Festival. He runs it every year out of his herbal extract retail store near Blazing Bagels.

Reported by Bob Yoder

City to hold three public meetings to get feedback on Parks & Rec plan update

Redmond, WA –The City of Redmond invites everyone who uses Redmond’s parks, arts, and recreation facilities and programs to participate in the Future of Fun initiative, which will result in the update of the Parks and Recreation Department’s long range plan for capital projects. The Parks, Arts, Recreation, Culture and Conservation Plan is updated every six years. Now is the time to get involved and help create a renewed vision. You can participate by attending a meeting, engaging in our online platform, and participating in a survey.
Three public meetings will be held in May throughout the City. The meetings will take place from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm, with a short presentation at 6:30 followed by small group discussions about arts and culture, parks and recreation, trails, and conservation. The meetings will be held on the following dates:  Read More >>

OPINION: Blog reader spots a Mercedes city Public Works vehicle

A Redmond Neighborhood Blog reader, Sue Peak Hogeboom reported that she noticed a City Public Works vehicle that was a Mercedes.  She was concerned our tax dollars were being spent extravagantly and wrote the Mayor about it.  Below is the City's response:

"Thank you for your inquiry. You are correct the City is proposing a levy in order to meet critical city service needs. We work diligently to use the taxpayers’ money in the most efficient way and an example of that is the purchase of City Fleet vehicles. Whereas it may look like the purchase of a Mercedes vehicle is not cost effective, in actuality we purchased this vehicle through the Washington State contract which yields the lowest costs to public agencies. We did explore purchasing a similar U.S. made vehicle but found that it would have cost more. Thank you for expressing your interest in ensuring the City is being fiscally responsible."

John
Mayor, City of Redmond

What do you think?  Does this satisfy you?

BECU Celebrating 80th Anniversary by "Closing for Good"

BECU locations to open late on October 20th as 1300 employees lead financial literacy workshops

Tukwila, April 16, 2015 – BECU announced today that it is closing its doors for part of the day on Tuesday, October 20, sending its 1,300 employees to lead Financial Reality Fairs in high schools across Washington State. “Closing for Good” will reach at least 2,500 students. The initiative is part of BECU’s 80th anniversary celebration as a not-for-profit credit union dedicated to community involvement. The event is also part of an internal BECU initiative giving employees paid volunteer time off. BECU’s financial centers will reopen at 1 p.m.

“As a credit union, our primary motivation is making a difference for our members and our community,” said BECU CEO Benson Porter. “Through ‘Closing for Good,’ we want to make sure the teens in our community have a high level of financial literacy as they embark on their adult lives.”

During the workshops, students will participate in a hands-on financial role play simulation. Students are assigned a career and starting salary, then must make decisions about housing, utilities, food, transportation and other expenses.

“’Closing for Good’ is all about experiencing the real-life budgeting decisions people face every day,” added Porter. “We want to give teens a chance to think about their financial choices analytically, so that when the time comes, they can make educated decisions.”  Read More>>

Council Study Session on Human Resources, City Growth, and Tree Canopy

The March 14 Redmond City Council study session included some interesting topics on 1) human resources, 2) city communication regarding rapid growth, and 3) the city's tree canopy.

HUMAN RESOURCES:  Melody Mathes, Director of Human Resources stated their employee turnover rate was lower than the state and region.  Though this bodes well, she was concerned that it is becoming a little more difficult to retain workers (owing to salaries).  In fact, she said she would be evaluating salaries for possible increases!

CITY GROWTH:  There was a reported dip down in whether the community thought the city was heading in the right direction...from 2013.  There was also a dip down in whether the community thought the city was communicating well with the public.  Jane Christianson, Deputy City Administrator suggested the city needed to communicate better about the rapid growth downtown.  Councilmember Stilin said there are two audiences:  One group that favors the change to Cleveland Street and all the high rises going up and another group that opposes these changes.  President Hank Margeson looked at the complainers as "toddlers" that haven't grown up yet.  Councilmember Kim Allen said a brochure that explained why Redmond is undergoing all this growth would be helpful.

TREE CANOPY:  It has been scientifically determined that the tree canopy in the city is 39%...about equal to Kirkland.  This includes the watershed preserve.  63 acres of tree canopy were lost to development since 2009 (2.5%).  This figure does not include the loss of tree canopy to development at Overlake's Group Health property.  37 acres of canopy was lost in North Redmond between 2009-2013.  10  acres was lost on Education Hill.  Of course continued development in 2014 and 2015 will further destroy canopy.  From three years of data 376 landmark trees have been removed.  President Hank Margeson roughly calculated that Group Health's Capstone development so far has planted 1500 of the 3000 trees that they are obligated to plant and he asked Planner Cathy Beam to stay on top of this.  Councilmember Kim Allen says the city should strive for "no net loss of trees and even increase their numbers."  Developers are supposed to pay $250/tree into a tree replacement fund for every tree they can't replace.  So far the city has planted 12,000 trees (not counting Capstone) from this fund and used it to pay for tree maintenance to ensure survivability. 

Reported by Bob Yoder

LWSD Facilities Planning Task Force seeks input online and at April 29 meeting

 

Redmond, Wash. – Lake Washington School District’s Long-Term Facilities Planning Task Force seeks community input on how to address the district’s classroom capacity needs and aging facilities. Feedback will be gathered through an online open house April 20-28 and at the Task Force’s April 29 meeting.

The Task Force's Working Subcommittee (WSC) will use a framework of resource levels to help develop recommendations. This framework builds on what they have learned and discussed about the district’s capacity, enrollment, building conditions and other topics. The framework provides an organizing structure for potential levels of investment. It also compares and contrasts trade-offs for different strategies.

The district invites the community to review the framework and provide feedback. The Task Force will use this input in its work.

Visit and provide input via the online open house beginning April 20

The framework will be added to the online open house. Provide input by reviewing the framework and answering questions on the online open house between April 20 and April 28.

The online open house is an ongoing opportunity to be part of the conversation about the district’s facilities challenges. It will continue to be updated at key milestones. The open house will stay online until the Task Force makes its final recommendation. That recommendation is expected in June 2015.

Attend the Task Force’s April 29 meeting

The Task Force will meet on April 29 from 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. at Rose Hill Middle School Commons. The meeting will include a workshop session. In that session, community members are invited to join the Task Force in small group conversations about the framework, resource levels and strategies. Following the workshop session, the Task Force will meet and provide guidance to the WSC on the framework based on community input.

The WSC will use the Task Force’s guidance and the framework to evaluate costs considering different conditions. For example, the currently projected needs and class size reductions being considered in the legislature have different facility implications.  This input and further feedback opportunities this spring will help the WSC and Task Force develop final recommendations.

City of Redmond pro and con letters for levy requested

Letters of Interest Due to Serve on Property Tax Levy Committees

Effective Immediately
April 8, 2015
Redmond, WA – The City of Redmond is requesting letters of interest from citizens interested in serving on one of two Property Tax Levy Committees.  Letters are due to the City Clerk by April 24, 2015 and should state citizen’s interest and qualifications for appointment consideration.  
Residents serving on these committees are responsible for writing arguments for voters’ pro and con positions for each of two property tax levy ballot measures scheduled for August 4, 2015.  One Ballot measure will address a Public Safety, Neighborhood Infrastructure Safety, and Walkability levy and one will address a Parks levy.  These arguments must be filed with King County by May 18, with rebuttals filed by May 20. In addition to writing ballot arguments, residents serving on these committees (up to three people per committee) will be responsible for responding to media and citizen questions on the ballot measure over the next three months. 
Residents who would like to be considered to serve on these committees should submit their letter of interest to the City Clerk, City of Redmond, PO Box 97010, Redmond, WA 98073-9710 or mhart@redmond.gov by 4pm on Friday, April 24, 2015. Appointments to the committees will be made by the City Council on April 28, 2015 and submitted to King County by May 12, 2015.
For more information, please contact Lisa Rhodes, Communications Manager, at larhodes@redmond.gov or 425-556-2427. This press release is available on www.redmond.gov.

Cities of Redmond and Kirkland hold joint meeting to discuss aquatic-recreation center

The city councils and mayors of Redmond and Kirkland met for a joint meeting in Kirkland on March 31.  The topic that drew the most discussion was a joint aquatic recreation community center.
Mayor Marchione said "our timeline for a decision is 2-3 years and we need to identify the site before we ask the public for money."  Redmond had originally planned for a pool and recreation center on one site (near City Hall) but Councilmember Flynn said the space may be insufficient to hold both. 

As the discussion went on it appeared a consensus was forming that it might be better to scale down the site to just a pool -- on "Snyder's Corner" -- property owned by the City of Kirkland on 132nd Ave.  Councilmembers Doreen Marchione, the Kirkland mayor,  David Carson, Hank Myers, Kim Allen and Tom Flynn all agreed Snyder's Corner might be an attractive location  Toby Nixon said if you combined the city of Redmond with Kirkland it would be the 5th largest city in the State and it is important that both cities work together.  Councilmember Stilin felt an aquatic-recreational center must be downtown near mass transit.  Councilmember Margeson said "getting around Redmond" is the number one concern Redmond residents have and finding a suitable location is difficult.

The Redmond Council plans to discuss building a scaled down version of a pool and rec center and the Kirkland mayor said they would be willing to delay their financing plans to meet Redmond's needs for planning.  Both cities have considered $60-$70 million aquatic recreation centers but are having problems with finding locations and financing.

Reported By Bob Yoder
Source:  City of Kirkland Website

King County's "Safety Levy" is up for a vote on April 28th

 

Rally in Support of Prop. 1 with King County Executive and Regional Public Safety Leaders Encourages Voters to Approve Necessary Safety Levy

Campaign Co-chairs, King County Sheriff John Urquhart and Kathleen O’Toole, tell voters to Approve Prop. 1 for public safety on their Special Election ballots.

 

SEATTLE – Led by Approve Prop. 1 Campaign Co-chairs, King County Sheriff John Urquhart and Kathleen O’Toole, and King County Executive Dow Constantine, a large group of regional public safety leaders gathered in front of the Fallen Firefighters Memorial in Pioneer Square to voice their collective support for Prop. 1 – the Public Safety Emergency Radio Network Replacement Project.

 

Voters throughout King County will soon be receiving their ballots in the mail for the Special Election being held on April 28^th. King County Executive Dow Constantine remarked at the beginning of the rally, “As we speak, ballots are being mailed to give King County voters the opportunity to fix our outdated emergency response radio system.  A vote to approve Prop. 1 will ensure that police, firefighters and other first responders can communicate and take action to protect lives and property."

 

Prop. 1 would allow King County to update our dangerously outdated emergency communications system for police, fire, Medic One and other emergency first responders. The rally today was a clear example of strong, unified support among the county’s many different emergency response agencies.

 

Speaking to the importance of an improved radio network for emergency first responders, Co-chair Kathleen O’Toole said, “When our officers can’t ask for the help they need on their outdated radios, we endanger the public and we endanger our first responders themselves.”

 

The current system was built in 1992 for a smaller population living in different locations. Co-chair Sheriff John Urquhart remarked, “The hazards of an outdated system – dropped calls and gaps in coverage – will continue to get worse if we don’t fix our aging radio network. Voters must approve Prop. 1 for public safety.”

 

Attendees and other speakers at the rally displayed a deep show of support from many of the campaign’s long list of fire, law enforcement, Medic One and elected officials from throughout King County, including: Seattle Police Officers’ Guild President Ron Smith, Local Firefighters from throughout King County and Dispatch Union Members.

 

For more information about Prop. 1 and a complete list of endorsements, please visit our website: www.YesonPublicSafety.org.

"Sustainable Redmond" Spring Speaker Series

Evans& Bear Creek Restoration to be Featured at April 16 Meeting

Sustainable Redmond Spring Speaker Series Continues at Redmond Library

 Sustainable Redmond will hold the second of its Spring Speaker Series at 7pm on Thursday, April 16^th at the Redmond Library.  This meeting is open to everyone and all are welcome to attend.

 Water Tenders, a local group focused on Bear Creek and its tributaries. will provide the featured speakers for this informative meeting.  Among the topics will be Evans Creek, particularly as it traverses the new Keller Farm Wetland Bank where it joins Bear Creek, and the recently-completed restoration efforts to preserve the water quality and habitat values of Bear Creek as it makes its way north of State Route 520 to join the Sammamish River just west of Redmond Town Center.

 

Bring your friends to learn more about these important environmental initiatives and the continuing efforts of Sustainable Redmond.  The meeting will conclude at 8:30pm.

 

For more information, see Sustainable Redmond on Facebook or contact the program organizer by email -- tom@thinmanassoc.com.

Council approves two Levy Propositions for August 2015 ballot

The City Council approved two Propositions to be placed on the August, 2015 ballot as summarized below:   How are you going to vote?  It is estimated the levy would cost $154 per year on a house appraised at $500,000.

Based on discussions to date, the first proposition (Proposition No. 1) will continue the

support for the 2007 levy lid lift which increased firefighters and police personnel to

provide additional emergency services, maintain the school resource officer program and

fund additional patrol. In addition, the new levy will add Police funding to reduce

property crime, increase patrol, and augment evidence processing capabilities. The new

public safety levy would also include transportation safety and maintenance programs by

investing in asphalt maintenance, sidewalks, crosswalks, and safe pedestrian crossings.

Proposition No. 2 is focused on park maintenance and operations and investing in

Idylwood, Southeast, and Northeast neighborhood parks. This proposition also continues

the programs supported by the 2007 levy by maintaining funding for park operations, the

teen center, conservation activities, and after school programs.

City is holding a public hearing regarding potential levy

Redmond, WA - The City of Redmond is holding a public hearing regarding a potential ballot levy measure at the City Council meeting on Tuesday, April 7, 2015, at Redmond City Hall: 15670 NE 85th Street, Redmond, WA. Citizens are encouraged to attend the meeting or send their thoughts and opinions via email to communications@redmond.gov.

For more information about the potential six year tax levy that Redmond voters would have an opportunity to consider on the August 4th election, please visit: www.redmond.gov/levy. If you have questions, please contact Lisa Rhodes, Communications Manager, at larhodes@redmond.gov or 425-556-2427.

Join NAMI for their 11th Annual NAMI Walk

Saturday, June 6th 2015 at Marina Park in KirklandThe 11th annual NAMI WALK of Washington will take place on June 6, 2015 at Marina Park in Kirkland. The WALK is the primary fundraising event for NAMI Washington and the state’s 22 National Alliance on Mental Illness affiliates. The event also serves to promote mental health awareness and remind people that NAMI exists across Washington to help individuals with mental illness and their families. 

We are planning our LARGEST and most FUN Walk ever! You can learn more about NAMI WALKS and register online at http://www.namiwalks.org/washington. Your participation in this year’s Walk will make a huge difference in our community! Register today or contact Tom Lane at tlane@namiwa.org or 206-783-4288 to learn more about this year’s Walk. Be sure to designate NAMI Eastside as the recipient of your donation.