Happy New Year!

Updated: "Unanimity rarely results in good outcomes"

In the Council meetings I've watched of late, Mr. Myers has been the only council member  mildly challenging his peers and staff on mayoral-supported issues while the other six sit unresponsive seemingly in fear of upsetting the Administration's non-transparent management style. Our Council - Mayor balance is seriously out of kilt favoring the Administration.  Hopefully the new Council (legislatures) will "check and balance" the Mayor (our CEO) to more fairly and justly represent the people who elected them. - B. Yoder

Redmond Reporter  Letter to the Editor, Thursday, December 7, 2017 

"Unanimity rarely results in good outcomes"  by Richard Grubb. 

I agree with Redmond City Council member Hank Myers’ letter that the council needs more brains. But where to start?

In defending the city council’s 7-0 votes, Mr. Myers claims that proposals have already been “thoroughly vetted” by a lengthy administrative process when they reach the council. This reflects a fundamental misunderstanding of the legislative process. An important function of a legislative body is as a check on the permanent government. It is not enough that elected officials merely say yea or nay, their duty is to bring a considered deliberation to the process. It is essential that elected officials, when they do not have independent staff, do their own unbiased research and not depend upon a bureaucracy that may provide information, either consciously or unconsciously, to support a predetermined outcome. This check on the permanent government is essential.

Once a proposal comes to the full council, each member should apply his/her distinct knowledge and intelligence to the issue through an open process of debate, opinion, counter-opinion and argument to ensure that the policy to be adopted by the council is congruent with the desires and needs of the citizens of Redmond. Unanimity rarely results in good outcomes.

Mr. Myers might want to google an erstwhile Speaker of the House of Representatives, Sam Rayburn, who remarked, when two people agree on everything, only one of them is doing the thinking. So, who is doing the thinking for the seven in lock-step council members?

Given the council’s proclivity for agreement, Mr. Myers’ kidney analogy may be appropriate. Since a body can get by on only one kidney, perhaps the city council is unnecessary.

Richard Grubb

Redmond
Hank Myers wrote a subsequent letter further "delving into council meetings."  

Updated: Deputy Superintendent Dr. Holmen explains Choice Schools

In this video, Deputy Superintendent Dr. Holmen discusses the district's two school options -- Neighborhood Schools and Choice Schools. He's a very good speaker and I'm so happy the District and LWPTSA are providing this media. It's long, but listen up to minute 12:28 and you'll get the gist.  There's lots of good information here.  I found it interesting the proposed 2018 bond was first advertised as funding a Redmond OR Sammamish Choice school.   In this recording, Dr. Holmen clarified that the proposed Choice school will be in Sammamish.

This presentation is terrific and offers interesting and useful information, yet little opportunity for feedback,  (The district could learn from us.)  It makes an assumption of what the community wants for educational program services without confirmation.  It's a super presentation with good information but it's difficult to take it all in and digest.  In my opinion, School Options would be a good topic for an "online open house."  Shannon Parthemer, Director of Communications and Community Engagement, could probably fill you in on the concept. sparthemer@lwsd.org 

Happy Holidays!

B. Yoder, opinion

New Council Members sworn in

Redmond, WA – In a ceremony prior to last night’s Council meeting, newly elected Redmond residents Dr. Jeralee Anderson (Council Position 6), Steve Fields (Council Position 2) and Tanika Padhye (Council Position 4) were officially sworn in. Their terms are effective January 2018 through December 2021. Fields has lived in Redmond for over 30 years. He worked across all functions of government in his positions at King County and the City of Seattle in the Executive offices. Fields guided elected officials on policy, budget and operational improvements. He advised department heads and their staff to help the government perform better. Fields is also a Redmond small business owner with his wife. Dr. Anderson earned her doctorate in sustainability from the University of Washington Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering in the Heavy Civil & Construction Engineering Program. Dr. Anderson is CEO of Greenroads Foundation, a 501c3 nonprofit located in Redmond. She co-founded the company in 2010 and now works with government agencies and private industry on hundreds of green transportation projects. Jeralee is a 7-year resident of Redmond. Padhye was previously appointed by Council and filling a vacancy in Position 4 since last March. She has lived in Redmond for 14 years and has served on both the City of Redmond’s Planning and Parks and Trails Commission. She has been a member of the Community Centers Stakeholder group and contributed to updates on the PARCC Plan and projects including Redmond Central Connector (Phase II) and the Downtown Park. She is a licensed attorney in the State of Washington, with legal expertise ranging from work as a Civil Rights Investigator to cases dealing with employment and housing discrimination. “I look forward to continuing to work with Padhye and welcome both Fields and Anderson in their new Council positions. They bring a fresh perspective to the Council that is reflective of our community. I’m confident that through Council's combined experiences we will continue to lead in the region and represent the priorities of Redmond residents,” stated Council President Hank Margeson.

Dr. Jeralee Anderson (Council Position 6) Steve Fields (Council Position 2) Tanika Padhye (Council Position 4)

OPINION: School district tax rate structure and 2018 bond need study

Dr. Traci Pierce, LWSD Superintendent, and Eric Campbell of Main Street Property Group will be featured speakers at the January 4th Education Hill Neighborhood Association meeting.  (7 pm, United Baptist Church)  Mark your calendars!

-- By Paige Norman, Founder, Education Hill Neighborhood Association (EdHNA.)

There has been a lot of conversation about the upcoming Lake Washington School District (LWSD) Bond and Levy proposal in February 2018. 

• What is a Levy? A “Levy” is a pay-as-you-go-model; a certain amount of money is collected each year for a limited number of years.
• What is a Bond? A “Bond” resembles a mortgage; a bond is sold with a promise to pay back the money to the bond buyer with interest. The payments are made with the portion of the property tax devoted to bond measures. Bonds are up to 20-years in maturity dates. Bonds are sold as needed to build schools; so not all bonds are sold at once. https://paigesprattle.blogspot.com/2013/11/>

Over the years I have NOT been a supporter of Bonds because I have felt the District didn’t use the money in valuable ways for the future of the District.
 

In the past the District has used “leftover” monies from Bonds to build Portable/temporary classrooms (that turn into long-term classrooms) instead of using the funds to build brick-and-mortar buildings that house more students and have a longer life-span (not to mention bathrooms and aesthetics). 

Visit King County's online open house to review sewer improvement plans in Redmond

The King County's "Online Open House" (OOH) concept is an excellent communications tool.  I  e-mailed the Mayor and City Council recommending use of (OOH) to educate, engage and attract citizen feedback on projects of importance to Redmond residents and the city. After couched discussion by our elected during last night's study session, the Mayor and Council President Margeson appeared supportive. An OOH would have been useful during the Community Centers campaign. In the future, the tool could be used for:  Design Review analysis, LWSD connections, transportation projects, major proposed land-uses, homelessness, small business, and affordable housing. - B.Yoder

King County's Press Release:

Summary

King County is hosting an online open house to enable people to review and comment on plans for its Lake Hills and NW Sammamish Sewer Upgrade Project in Redmond. The online open house is available through Wednesday, Jan. 31, 2018.

Story

People interested in learning more about King County’s Lake Hills and NW Lake Sammamish Sewer upgrade Project are invited to participate in an online open house through Wednesday, Jan. 31, 2018.

Because project construction will be noticeable to users of West Lake Sammamish Parkway, Marymoor and Idylwood parks, and the Sammamish River Trail when it begins in 2020, King County hopes people will review design plans and share input on ways to minimize construction-related disruption.

Community member feedback so far indicates people put a high priority on preserving summertime park and trail access, coordinating construction schedules with nearby schools, and workable detours for motorists, cyclists and pedestrians. People also value protecting plant and animal habitat.

King County’s Lake Hills and NW Sammamish Sewer Upgrade Project entails upgrading nearly 4.5 miles of sewer pipe in Redmond to meet the needs of the growing community.

In addition to adding more capacity, King County will also install 1.5 miles of recycled water pipeline as part of the project, which could expand potential use of this resource in the future.

Additional information on the Lake Hills and NW Sammamish Sewer Upgrade Project is available online, or by contacting Kelly Foley at 206-477-8621.

This release is also posted on the Department of Natural Resources and Parks website: http://www.kingcounty.gov/environment/dnrp.aspx

Spread the good cheer! Make Christmas for someone else possible by donating blood

HOLY  CROSS  BLOOD  DRIVE              FRI., DEC 22^nd                        12-6pm

 An especially Merry Christmas to all who have donated blood over the last year at Holy Cross or the other churches in our Redmond Interfaith Blood Drives.  While you are celebrating the holidays with family and friends, others may be signed up for a surgery or need a transfusion just to have a little more energy to keep going.  YOU can help them enjoy their holidays, too, by offering to donate on:  

            FRIDAY,  DEC 22^nd   

            12-6pm  (closed 2:30-3:30pm)

We'll have lots of yummy Christmas goodies to share with donors and those that “try to give”, too!

Church of Holy Cross  (corner of 162nd AVE NE and NE 116th ST )

11526 162nd AVE 

Redmond, WA  98052

UPDATED: Redmond Neighborhood Blog "About Us" is revised and edited

Bob, Lexie and Pam

Here's the revision....

The "Redmond Neighborhood Blog" mission is to keep our community better informed, connected and responsive to each other, with attention to local governments and our neighborhoods. My vision is positive. progressive change in our community.       

I've lived in Redmond 38 years and started blogging about 10 years ago. When I first moved here from the mid-west to sell medical supplies, Redmond was a rural one-stoplight town.  My family loved visiting the downtown feed store to play with the chicks; golf the downtown course; drive through the horse farms; line up at for ice cream and fresh milk at Thenos and generally just enjoy a peaceful lifestyle away from the big city. Well, those days are over.  

I've been writing "Redmond Blog" under a known premise that governments fostering "transparency (openness) and participation" are good governments.  My open government reporting of the City includes reporting on the Lake Washington School District and EvergreenHealth District governments. Transparency is improving and our local governments are healthier.  

Several environmental issues in the mid-2000's tormented me so I started blogging to cope, "get the word out," and leverage voice. (A city planning commissioner Korby Parnel suggested I write a blog.) Environmental Issue 1:  A  housing project on Education Hill threatened the neighborhood forest and an important wetland frequented by science teachers. Public notice was pathetic so we got the word out. Mayor Ives negotiated a wider buffer. Notice was improved; two neighborhood meetings are now required. Issue 2:  Hiking along Evans Creek in the city's southwest industrial district we found and reported riparian buffers severely abused by a wood recycling company.  We were surprised the city "let this go" so leveraged voice. Soon, six state and local agencies were called in for remediation. Mayor Marchione later proclaimed "Riparian, as habitat of local importance."  Issue 3: Years later, Lower Bear Creek was threatened by a WSDOT SR520 widening project.  We worked with city and state officials to raise awareness and request funding. The creek was eventually re-aligned to preserve federally protected salmon habitat.  

Years ago, I found Evergreen Hospital's concealed public Board commission's chambers and started attending their meetings and reporting on them.  Public Record Requests revealed an executive/pediatrician's salary of $600,000 and other misfeasance.  In short time, CEO Brown abruptly resigned and the commissioners hired Bob Malte from Colorado Springs as CEO.  Mr. Malte reshuffled personnel and re-branded Evergreen to "EvergreenHealth."  The hospital currently is winning many regional and national awards under Malte's helm. 

PIM electric-Bike demo at "down pour coffee bar."

I'm not waiting for Santa!

I and Council Member Steve Fields are meeting Justin Roberts, the brand manager of  PIM and  at "down pour coffee bar" today for an electric bike ride (demo)! The public is invited to all of Steve's Coffee Time meetings!  Merry Christmas!

B. Yoder

Justin just lent me a bike to try!  My maiden voyage was awesome.  Climbing 166th is now in my sights.  After I conquered it I'll write you.  

UPDATED: Three LWSD Ballot Measures on February Ballot

Lake Washington School District will have three measures on the February 13, 2018 election ballot. The measures are a bond and two replacement levies.   Read more about these three upcoming ballot measures.

The $299 million bond in a large way addresses the capacity needs of Kirkland schools. It would fund: 

1) an addition at Lake Washington H.S.; a new elementary school in the Lake Washington Learning Community; the remodel/rebuild and enlarge Kamiakin M.S. the creation of special education learning spaces.

2) a choice high school in Sammamish, the remodel/rebuild and enlarge Alcott Elementary School; the creation of special education learning spaces; land; and site-specific capital projects/contingency.  

According to the district, the replacement "Bond and the Capital Projects Levy" will maintain the current tax rate while the replacement "Educational Programs and Operations Levy" will reduce the current tax rate. The total tax rate for all three measures will be reduced from the current amount of $3.16/$1000 of assessed value to $2.93/1000 of assessed value.

"This is a great way to sell these ballot measures -- we're raising the $299 million for school construction, and the tax rate is actually going down!"

-- Comment by Toby Nixon

Source:  Kirkland Facebook group

  

Redmond Lights

"Redmond Lights" Luminary Walk on the Central Connector Trail.

Twas a cold, rainy, nasty night full of good cheer.  Thanks to Kiwanis hot chocolate and caroling for keeping us warm.  

Microsoft plans to rebuild Redmond campus and hire 8K more workers

King 5 sound-bite, 11/29

Microsoft plans to rebuild the Redmond campus -- with creative innovations -- for 8K new workers.

Redmond will be on the map drawing visitors and companies from all over the country (and world) making the mayoral election in two years a prize for the winner.  We can surmise housing prices will continue to rise even further and perhaps a need for even more than four new hotels. The crunch on our schools will be dramatic.  And the list goes on.....

Don't miss this "Microsoft Live" article by Natalie Singer-Velush. Good video clips here too.  (Thanks to Rachel King for bringing this article to our attention on Chat Cafe and EdHNA facebook sites)

Rachel Lerman of the "Seattle Times" published a story yesterday titled "Microsoft plans multi-billion dollar expansion, renovation of Redmond campus."  Find it here.

B. Yoder

Redmond's Station Designs

Seattle Transit Blog

November 21, 2017 at 11:51 am By Dan Ryan

Hand sketch of the Downtown Redmond station (Image: Sound Transit)

Last Thursday, Sound Transit and the City of Redmond held an open house to share the latest designs for the two stations on the Redmond Link extension, planned to open for service in 2024. Following a Sound Transit Board decision in June to ratify alignment recommendations from the City of Redmond, the agency has moved quickly advancing design on stations in Downtown Redmond and Southeast Redmond.

The Downtown Redmond station is a simple elevated design between Cleveland St and NE 76th St. Elevating the station eliminated conflicts with pedestrians and vehicles crossing the line. The Redmond Central Connector trail is diverted very slightly to the north. There will be space for bus access and layover on both sides of the station area. The station platform is centered above 166th Ave NE, with entrances at either end.

Councilmember-elect Jeralee Anderson asks for feedback on infrastructure projects

The following is a letter from Dr. Jeralee Anderson, Redmond Councilmember-elect demonstrating the thorough community engagement process her company, Greenroads, requires to achieve sustainable certification on infrastructure projects like the King County Sewer Update project.  After reading her Letter it's quite clear Dr. Anderson should be looked upon as a key Redmond community engagement expert and leader for ALL aspects of city government.

Jeralee Anderson

LETTER:  I'm including an excerpt from Greenroads (my company's recipe book for sustainable infrastructure projects) about community engagement, which is a required practice in order for projects to qualify to achieve certification for sustainability performance in our program. I thought you [and others] might find it helpful when framing feedback to council. What specific areas (the four bullets) noted below need work, in your opinion? If it's "all of them," what is the priority you would place on making improvements in each area? It will be helpful information for me to bring your perspective on the system in place with me Jan 1. Based on what I heard from a number of people and other candidates, this is a major issue. 

I'll ask Councilmember-elect Steve Fields if he can schedule a public coffee time to study Jeralee's needs. BY

Goal

Promote active participation from community, agency, and business stakeholders in Project decision-making.

Instructions

Create a Community Engagement Plan (CEP) and implement it at the beginning of the Project’s initial scoping, land acquisition, and design development activities. The CEP should extend for the duration of project planning through completion of design.

The primary components of the CEP are: