It will be fun to see what the council candidates wear!
The Redmond Derby Days Summer Festival is celebrating 77 years of fun and takes place Friday evening and all-day Saturday, July 7 and 8 at Redmond City Hall campus. The theme this year, “Team Redmond,” invites the entire community and surrounding areas to enjoy all that Redmond has to offer. Join in the fun by wearing your favorite team apparel including a sports team, alma mater, company gear or any other team you are proud to represent.New this year to encourage the Team Redmond theme, attendees can join other participants for team trivia in the Beer and Wine Garden, human foosball competitions, team races as a part of the kids’ race line-up or register to join a volunteer team at the event.
READ MORE for a description of all the exciting events.
The LWPTSA Council mission is to serve as a relevant resource to the local PTAs, families and community members within the Lake Washington School District through training, support, and guidance, and to advocate for the health, well-being, and education of every child.
Towards that end, here is a review of what Council has done this year to move us towards our mission and goals.
Advocacy
- Supported all of our PTAs in their advocacy efforts
- Attended Legislative Assembly
- Hired a bus and set up meetings with many legislators at Focus Day
- Organized a "Thank you" postcard campaign to our legislators
- Organized Brown Bag and other events bringing legislators and other advocacy experts to speak with our community
Student and staff recipients of the 2017 Scholarship Program were honored with a reception and awards ceremony at the June 5th LWSD Board meeting. For a list of our two staff and 15 student winners, click here. The accomplishments and determination of every single recipient is impressive and we are, as always, pleased to be a small part of this tremendous milestone in the lives of these exceptional students.
REDMOND, WA - On Tuesday, June 6, 2017, the City of Redmond signed a two-year lease to occupy the Lake Washington Institute of Technology (LWTech) Redmond Campus at 6505 176th Ave. NE effective Dec. 1, 2017, to serve as an interim community center. Built in 2005, the 20,000 square foot LWTech facility has seven classrooms, a tiered classroom with stadium seating, café, state of the art media and sound, and ample parking.
The City currently offers a diverse range of recreation programs and services out of the Old Redmond School House Community Center (ORSCC), a 40,000 square foot facility located at 16600 NE 80th St. The City has a long-term partnership of sharing space with Lake Washington School District (LWSD), owners of the Old Redmond Schoolhouse Community Center (ORSCC.) However, as part of the LWSD long-term facilities planning, they will be remodeling ORSCC for district preschool programs serving special needs and low-income families. The current lease between the City and LWSD will end in June 2018 to allow time for renovations. >>Read More
I stumbled upon this 2016 video of Mayor Marchione's interview with the Chief Marketing Officer of HCL, a billion dollar global out-sourcing company headquartered in India. They are contracting with technology companies like Microsoft to supply Indian labor in the "Innovation Triangle" of Redmond, Kirkland and Bellevue. In 2011 they opened an office in the Overlake urban center near Microsoft. You can read more about them and their move to Redmond HERE.
The interview is long but informative with interesting tidbits toward the end. I was surprised that 40% of Redmond's population is non-native English speaking.
Redmond is planning for a total of 78,000 people
and 119,000 jobs by 2030, representing increases of
approximately 18,000 more people and 34,000 more
jobs than from 2015. Most growth will be in the Downtown and
Overlake urban centers. Together, these urban "neighborhoods" are planned to accommodate
approximately 2/3 of the population growth and
almost half of the job growth through 2030. The rest
of the population growth would occur in Redmond’s
other 8 neighborhoods and most of the remaining job
growth would be focused in Southeast Redmond and
along the Willows Road corridor. 2015 Neighborhood Populations: Education Hill - 11,119 Grasslawn - 9,181 Downtown - 7,527 Overlake - 6,972 Willows/Rose Hill - 4,293 Southeast Redmond - 4,107
Every other week the City Council and Mayor hold a business meeting where citizens during "Items from the Audience" are invited to speak up to four minutes on any topic they wish. At last week's meeting 10 citizens talked about 7 different topics. If you've got 40 minutes or are having a hard time getting to sleep, listen in; if not, it's summarized by topic below:
1.) Rezoning the SE industrial zone so development can occur around the SE Redmond (Marymoor) transit station. It's expected a new "neighborhood" will develop in the vicinity of the station Two massive parking garages are planned -- two developers asked council to consider a public-private partnership to put parking in their buildings. Amazingly one of the developers (Mr. Morrelee) has a wife with decedents going back to Luke McRedmond, the founder of Redmond. .
2.) Safeguarding the 41 small business and 500 jobs within the new SE Redmond neighborhood.
3.) Crumb rubber toxins city turf fields. David Morton, PhD is a "frequent flyer" at Items. He hasn't missed a week in over three years. His talk topics have been: Watson Asphalt air pollution, leaf blower noise and air pollution. and now crumb rubber toxins.
4) The relocation of Evans Creek onto private property Two Union Shares private property owners have been frequent flyers as well. They are taking legal action against the city for abuse of the condemnation ordinance. Evans Creek re-location is underway to 1) improve salmon habitat 2) create a wetland park with trails. Inadvertently, land value for owners south of the creek will improve.
5) Permits underway to redevelop the concrete block building on Cleveland Street. J.D. Klein was concerned the building could be used for marijuana retail. Mayor Marchione responded.
6) Eliminating the "quasi-judicial" appeal process for land use decisions. Retired councilmember Kim Allen spoke eloquently about how this archaic process constrained council from communicating with their constituents during controversial land use decisions such as the Parrigo Heights and SRA boathouse decisions.
7) Emerald Heights proposal to build a 3-story assisted living facility. This one was a doosie. The wife of Councilmember John Stilin (probably Redmond's next mayor) argued against the proposal claiming: 1) the building was not in character with their Abby Road neighborhood. 2) landscaped screening was inadequate, and 3) zoning didn't mesh with the Comprehensive Plan. Ms. Stilin said she and her neighbors will attend the June 15th Design Review Board meeting to comment on the landscaping plan. It appears only the few know the public may comment at DRB meetings -- lousy transparency.
The Lake Washington School District and the Lake Washington Education Association (LWEA) have agreed to a new contract for the next four years, the 2017-18 through 2020-21 school years. The LWEA represents teachers in our District. The School District Board voted to approve the new contract on Monday, June 5, at its regular board meeting.
Key points of the contract:
Additional Support:
The contract also provides for additional support in the areas of special education and elementary counselors. The district will invest in additional special education staff, including teachers and specialists. A full-time counselor will be assigned to each elementary school, to support student social/emotional development.
School year calendar adds one snow day
The built-in snow day -- the Tuesday after Memorial Day -- starts in the 2018-19 school year. If no school days are cancelled due to weather, students will get that day off.
Longer teacher work day
This provision gives more time for teachers to plan and prepare lessons. Teachers will be paid for an additional 30 minutes of work time. The additional paid time and a competitive compensation will enable the district to attract and retain high quality teachers.
Increased compensation for substitute teachers This change will attract more candidates in response to a shortage of substitute teachers.
Redmond council members still haven't formally approved design and construction of the downtown light rail station but may take action soon once Sound Transit signs off.
From everything I've read and heard, the west Downtown transit station will be elevated and located near Redmond Town Center in the vicinity of 164th Avenue and NE 166th Avenue. A spur may run towards Half Price Books....I don't know why. Everyone seems to worry the elevated station being an eyesore - I'll be packing my ear-plugs! The east station will be in the vicinity of Maryooor Park. About 1400 parking spaces are planned in and around the Marymoor station, mostly to service Sammamish ridge commuters and future aquatics center users. Nancy McCormick (retired councilwoman of 24 years) says the parking spaces will also benefit Redmond commuters "by unclogging east-west streets." It is not yet known if the parking will be in two garages or scattered around "the new neighborhood." President Margeson doesn't care a wit for garage parking. Two Marymoor developers are lobbying council to allow parking in their proposed buildings but they expect compensation for the lost space. Some trivia: In their reports, city planners name the Marymoor station neighborhood a "sub area." To personalize the sub area President Margeson's been calling it "Joe's Neighborhood." Councilmember David Carson enjoys calling it "Marymoor Flats" and was the first to suggest a friendly name. Not so trivial, Councilmember Angela Birney insists on a more "eclectic" look and feel for the new neighborhood. I totally agree...our city is in sorry need of some personality. Bob Yoder
Redmond, WA –Last night the City Council confirmedMayor John Marchione’s appointment of Karen Haluza,AICP, as the new planning director for the City of Redmond.
Haluza has held various planning management positions for Orange County, California, where she worked in the cities of Brea, Santa Ana and Fullerton. Haluza has over 20 years of local government experience and most recently served as the director of Community Development for the City of Fullerton. As director, she managed all aspects of the Community Development Department including Planning, Building, Code Enforcement and Housing.
“I look forward to continuing to build on the many successes of the Planning Department,” says Karen Haluza. “I’m excited to engage with the community and work together on the future of Redmond.”
“Karen’s experience, knowledge and leadership impressed the hiring committee,” states Mayor Marchione. “Karen is known in her community for working with groups of diverse viewpoints and bringing a fair and calm tone to the discussion. She will continue our forward progress to meet the demands of Redmond’s growing population and exploding job market. Karen plays an essential role in further establishing Redmond as a great place to live and work.”
Haluza is a graduate of California State University with a Master of Public Administration where she also earned her Teaching Credential. She has a Bachelor degree in both Social Ecology and Psychology from the University of California. Additionally, Haluza received a Certificate of Geographic Information Systems from California Polytechnic University in Pomona.
Editor's note: The Council hasn't formally approved the design and construction of the Downtown light rail...but they're close.
Per last night's staff report posted on the consent agenda Council is poised to approve the design and construction of Downtown Redmond light rail project (Concept 2) with a scheduled opening to
Downtown in 2024.
The City Council considered changes to the station location and vertical profile of the station and guideway as part of the Downtown Transit Integration (TRAIN) Study, which was conducted between August 2016 and February 2017. Four station area concepts are shown in the above video.
Originally, the preferred alternative for the Downtown Redmond extension and station just east of Half Price Books called for an at-grade station / extension and a "retained cut crossing" under the SR 520 interchange. (According to a reader, "retained cut" is a walled trench, supposedly, in order to pass below the fly-over lanes.)
After receiving community input, which strongly favored an elevated alignment (and a station in the in the vicinity of 164th Ave. NE and 166th Ave. NE), the Council recommended an elevated downtown station. Key considerations for both the community and City Council were maintaining multimodal mobility in Downtown and reducing potential conflicts between light rail vehicles and pedestrians, bicyclists, and drivers.
Council
concluded significant factors in making their recommendation were the ability to
connect the East Lake Sammamish Trail to the Redmond Central Connector, overall
project affordability and bicycle and pedestrian access to the Connector Connector trail.
Understanding Hoarding Disorders A Free Educational Forum
Guest Speaker: Travis L. Osborne, Ph.D.
Research on hoarding and the treatment of hoarding has advanced significantly over the last decade and Hoarding Disorder officially became recognized as a distinct mental health problem in 2013. This presentation will provide an overview of the features of Hoarding Disorder, as well as the current status of research on how to treat this problem. This presentation is appropriate for both individuals with hoarding problems, as well as family and friends of individuals with hoarding problems.
Evergreen Health Medical Center, Suite Tan 100
12303 NE 130th Lane
Kirkland, WA 98034
Looking north from 95th Street towards Overlake Christian Church
Busy Willows Road is on the left. Commercial on the right. (click pic to enlarge)
Several amenities are only minutes from the trail by bike at this 95th Street location. Black Raven Brewery, Hi-Fi Brewery, Eastside Gym, Willows Deli Good stopping place! This Redmond Central Connector is the artery of the City that links Sammamish, Redmond, and Kirkland and knits together Redmond Town Center, historic Downtown, Grass Lawn neighborhood, and Willows business district. (COR)
Redmond's Senior Park Planner, David Shaw is the narrator in this city video. He works closely with Carolyn Hope, Manager of Parks and Culture. Both designed and built the Redmond Bike Park. David managed the construction, recruiting and directing scores of volunteers. (The Randall family was at the core of the park's development. Councilmember Hank Myers put in a day or two of shoveling.)
Cleveland Street construction to convert to 2-way lanes. Expected completion is end of 2017 according to the Mayor. Suggest taking the Bear Creek Parkway whenever possible. I took this video Saturday early morning when traffic was light. Traffic is nasty during the weekdays.
Redmond Way construction isn't so good either -- this video shows it (and 6-story rental construction.)
This is my attempt to scrapbook the Redmond Historical Society's "Steps in Time" launch. "Steps in Time" is a mobile app walking guide for people interested learning about our landmark buildings and downtown history. Redmond historian Tom Hitzorth is still giving "live" walking tours. Mr. Hitzroth customizes each walk. Register Here.
Senior V.P. Mary Hanson came up with the name for the mobile app. This event was colorful, fun and informing. I learned how Mr. Hitzroth searches, investigates and documents historical records I especially liked the youth coloring program and costumes.
Mary Hanson, Senior V.P. of the Redmond Historical Society with Richard Morris,
a Society webmaster volunteer and my neighbor
The costumes were donated by A Masquerade Costume We were generously given quality bags to carry home literature and small gifts donated by city businesses.
Among many other changes, the following was mentioned:
"Regulations surrounding camping in city parks could also be revised this summer that would direct police not to enforce a ban on sleeping or camping in parks if there are no beds available in local homeless shelters."
Electing to not enforce a law is to make something essentially legal. This would quickly turn our city parks into homeless tent cities without any of the oversight that tent cities have operated under in the past. Obviously, homelessness is a terrible problem, but turning our parks into unregulated campsites is NOT a good way to deal with it.
Tell the mayor and the city council that they must not allow homeless camping in our city's parks.
For more details and to petition the mayor and council Click Here.
Over $30,400 was donated by PTA's last month to various schools in our district. You can listen to Dr. Traci Pierce identifying and recognizing their generous donations on the "Consent Agenda" of their last business meeting. Click Here to watch the meeting and then click "Consent Agenda." You'll see student art, too!
Public Comment will be taken at their next Board meeting, June 5, 7PM
Design Review Board meeting June 15, 2017 at City Hall, 7PM
Design Review Board 15670 NE 85th Street, Redmond, WA 98052 Agenda for print (PDF version)
MINUTES
Review and approval of meeting minutes: April 6, 2017 April 20, 2017 APPROVAL (click on the links!) LAND-2016-02100, Redmond City Center Description: Construction of a nine-story mixed use building in two towers, with approximately 425 residential units and 49,000 sq. ft. of retail space Location: 16135 NE 85th Street Applicant: Oscar Del Moro with Comos Development Company Architect: Robin Murphy with Sticker Cato Murphy Architects Prior Review Dates: 12/05/13, 01/23/14, 03/05/15, 02/02/17 & 04/06/17 Staff Contact: Gary Lee, 425-556-2418 or glee@redmond.gov Review Materials:MemoDesign Checklist Presentation Option 1Presentation Option 2 Architectural PlansLightingLandscape Color OptionsColor Options 1Color Options 2 [APPARENTLY THE PUBLIC MAY COMMENT ON COLOR OPTIONS, ARCHITECTURAL PLANS, LANDSCAPE, LIGHTING, HOWEVER STAFF DOES NOT SO NOTE ON THEIR AGENDA---POOR TRANSPARENCY]
The project entails the development of a new building with two 9-story towers, on the former
Downtown Post Office site. The site is approximately 2.3 acres in area. The building will have
ground floor retail (grocery store proposed) fronting NE 85th Street, with two 8-story towers
above. The original proposal that was approved by the December 17, 2015 (under file # LAND-
2013-01989) included approximately 249 dwelling units, 25,000 square feet of retail space and
83,000 square feet of office space.
The current proposal is a taller version with more dwelling units. The ground floor, footprint, and
Site Plan generally remain the same as previously approved, however the building is proposed to
be taller by adding mezzanines to several floors. The number of stories will remain the same as
originally approved.
III. SURROUNDINGS, ZONING, AND STANDARDS Surrounding Uses, Character The site is located within the Town Square district of the Downtown neighborhood. The intent
of this district is to encourage higher intensity, multi-story, developments.It is envisioned that
new development in this district be 6 to 8 stories tall and include office, entertainment, and
residential uses.
STAFF ANALYSISAt the April 6, 2017 meeting the Board expressed that they were not ready to approve the
project as it felt that the colors, or architectural features should be bolder, more muscular
– especially near the top of the building which will be most visible from a distance. The
Board also mentioned that the shadow study did not look correct, with the buildings
getting taller. Staff finds the updated plans have addressed the Boards April 6th comments, and finds the
two proposed color options acceptable. Staff prefers Color option 2, however staff is
amenable to approving both options, leaving it up the developer to choose at the time of
development.
[Who on Staff reports to Council during Study Sessions and Committee Meetings? Or do they?]
