Thursday, January 13, 2022
The Origins of Pickleball: How It All Began / And Where To Play!
Wednesday, January 12, 2022
The First Levy Results Are In - It's Looking VERY Good For The District
New Levy for Critical Construction Needs:
Total cost for all the projects is $295 million, allowing for construction costs, construction inflation, sales tax, and other fees.
The Construction Levy will provide classroom space for 2,350 students by:
- Adding a new elementary school on underdeveloped land on Redmond Elementary Campus, with up to 24 classrooms = 550 students
- Additions at Finn Hill, Kirkland and Redmond Middle Schools = 600 students
- Additional high school capacity for about 1,200 students
- Acquiring property for future schools.
This Levy authorizes an average of $49.2 million per year over six years. The levy rate is estimated to be an average of $0.42 per $1,000 of assessed value. This rate combined with previously approved construction measures will total $1.32 per thousand assessed value. The tax rate for construction levies will decrease over time as past bonds are paid off and prior construction levies expire.
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Renewal Educational Programs & Operations Levy: The average annual amount per year is $92.3 million. The measure replaces an expiring levy and the levy rate is estimated at $1.03 per $1,000 of assessed value.
Renewal School Technology & Capital Projects Levy: The average annual amount per year is $44.3 million. The measure replaces an expiring levy and the levy rate is estimated at $0.49 per $1,000 of assessed value.
FAQ (election is February 8th)
Source: District website
LWSD High Schools Transition To Remote Learning
Three Lake Washington School District schools transitioned to temporary remote learning earlier this week.
Lake Washington, Redmond, and Juanita High Schools moved on Monday to temporary remote classes. Eastlake High School move to remote learning on Wednesday.
Per the district website, shortages are the result of COVID-related quarantines, general illness and other absences.
Tuesday, January 11, 2022
Monday, January 10, 2022
Bear Creek Floods Behind Safeway Closing The Trail
(click to enlarge) |
(click to enlarge) |
Sunday, January 9, 2022
UPDATED: Councilmembers Jessica Forsythe and Vanessa Kritzer Elected Council Officers
The election was held during the January, 4th Regular Council meeting. A video of the meeting is here.
Councilmember Jessica Forsythe was elected Council President, (5-2) Carson, Fields, Kahn, Kritzer, Forsythe. (Stewart nominated Anderson.)
Councilmember Kritzer was elected Vice President, (4-3) Anderson, Stewart, Carson, Kritzer. (Forsythe nominated Anderson, Anderson declined the nomination, Anderson and Kritzer nominated Stewart for Vice President. Carson and Fields advised against it.)
Councilmember Kahn nominated Councilmember Fields for President. Mr. Fields declined. Fields nominated Ms. Kahn for V.P. Ms. Anderson voted "no." Ms. Kahn nominated Mr. Fields for V.P. Councilmember Anderson voted "no." Councilmember Malissa Stewart was nominated for V.P. Councilmember David Carson discouraged her owing to lack of experience. (This is her first year as a representative.)
Council President Jessica Forsythe |
Jessica Forsythe
Position #3Council Term Expires 12/31/23
Email Jessica Forsythe
Phone: 425-305-7206
Boards/Committees: Presiding Officer of the City’s Parks and Human Services Committee of the Whole, Eastrail Regional Advisory Committee, Eastside Human Services Forum (EHSF)
Jessica Forsythe is an award-winning Creative Director and owner of a small graphic design studio which works primarily with clients who seek to better their community. Ms. Forsythe is a thoughtful, creative thinker who takes a holistic approach to every project. She believes strongly in being involved at the local level and knows first-hand the impact one person can have on their community.
Originally from Northeast Ohio, Jessica graduated from Kent State University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Visual Communication Design with a concentration in Environmental Design. She has worked in environmental design, architecture, branding, and was the Art Director for the Seattle Symphony. She has volunteered with numerous community and charity organizations, most notably her decade-long involvement with Help Portrait International for which she is the Founder of the Redmond, Washington Chapter. Jessica has also served on various non-profit boards including the League of Women Voters Seattle-King County Executive Board and as the c3 Treasurer.
She enjoys hiking, running, cycling, kayaking, skiing, and rock climbing.
Council Vice President Vanessa Kritzer
Vanessa Kritzer
Position #5
Council Term Expires 12/31/23
Email Vanessa Kritzer
Phone: 425-305-9892
Boards/Committees: Presiding Officer of the City’s Finance, Administration, and Communications Committee of the Whole, Community Facilities District (CFD) Board of Supervisors, Eastside Transportation Partnership (ETP), Sound Cities Association (SCA), WRIA 8 Salmon Recovery Council, Lake Sammamish Kokanee ILA Management Committee, King Conservation District Advisory Committee.
Friday, January 7, 2022
VIDEO UPDATE: Bear Creek and the Stewards Who Saved a Salmon Stream
Redmond Historical Society: "Bear Creek a small stream east of Seattle – some Redmond residents don’t even know it runs through town ending at the Sammamish River between Marymoor Park and Redmond Town Center -- but Bear Creek is notable for its historically strong runs of wild salmon. In the past half-century those runs have declined, especially that of the threatened Puget Sound Chinook. That trend is sadly common in Northwest waterways, but in this case the decline has been slowed by local efforts to support the fish."
Interview with Shirley Doolittle-Egerdahl -- Water Tender President & Board member with long family history of life at Paradise Lake, the headwaters of Bear Creek.
Interview with Terry Lavender, *Founder of Water Tenders and Board Chair. Terry describes her long experience on Bear Creek working with citizen groups and county officials to preserve and rehabilitate property on and around the creek.
Interview with Mayor John Marchione.
Interview with Dick Schaetzel, past President of Water Tenders (1991.) Very active. Dick's home is 30 feet from Bear Creek.
Interview with Tom Murdock, Executive Director of "Adopt A Stream."
Ray Heller, King County Basin Steward for Bear Creek, 91-93
Written Q&A with Roger Dane C.O.R. Public Works.
Many thanks to the Redmond Historical Society for initiating and publishing "Bear Creek and the Stewards Who Saved a Salmon Stream," 1980 - 2020 (7/13/2021)
-- Bob Yoder, 1/7/2022
Wednesday, January 5, 2022
Redmond Parks and Recreation To Reopen January 4th
December 28, 2021
The Redmond Community Center at Marymoor Village, Old Firehouse Teen Center, Old Redmond Schoolhouse, and Bytes Café within Redmond City Hall will reopen to the public while adhering to all city, state, and county guidelines including, but not limited to the following:
- Visitors will be required to show proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test administered within the last 72 hours to a staff member upon entering the building, per the King County Public Health Order.
- Participants ages two and older will be required to wear a mask at all times inside city facilities.
- In accordance with Governor Inslee’s COVID-19 Vaccination Requirement Proclamation, all recreation staff were required to be vaccinated as of Oct. 18.
Indoor facility rentals, for groups of five to 85 people, will be available starting Jan. 4 at the Redmond Community Center at Marymoor Village.
To find hours of operation, register for activities, and learn more about recreation and rental services, the community can visit www.redmond.gov/PlaySafe.
For questions and more information, contact Jill Smith, Communications Manager, at jesmith@redmond.gov or 425-556-2448. This press release is available on www.redmond.gov/PressReleases.
Friday, December 24, 2021
Monday, December 20, 2021
The Development of Esterra Park Leveled A Forest To Provide Needed Microsoft Housing
SHORT VIDEO OF ESTERRA PARK, THE ESTERRA APARTMENTS. AND OFFICE SPACE -- Worth every minute Many posts on the controversial deforestation of the land are here! 2600 apartment units / 6 communities 285 rooms/ 2 hotels |
Project Overview
Lincoln Properties (PARKSIDE) is designing three multifamily buildings on blocks 5, 6A and 9 of Esterra Park. Building “6A” on block 6A is proposed at six stories with 215 homes. Building “A” is proposed as an eight-story building with 212 homes that straddles blocks 5 and 9. Building “B” is also on blocks 5 and 9. It is proposed as two buildings connected by enclosed walkways, with heights of five and six stories and 231 homes. The north portion of Building “B” faces the Park at Esterra Park.
Project Overview
The project (white structure on right) incorporates a 7-story office building with 3-levels of underground parking featuring a new access road with fire truck and utility access. (The white structure on the left is lodging.)
Project Number: LAND-2018-00817
Project Overview
Avalon Bay Communities is designing a six-story, 330-home building on block 8 of Esterra Park. Block 8 is across NE Turing Street from the Park at Esterra Park site. The design for the building includes a ground-level courtyard that opens to the side facing the park.
Project Overview
As part of the Esterra Park Master Plan, Capstone Partners is designing a 2.67-acre publicly-accessible park. After completing design of the park, Capstone will construct, own and maintain the park. Early in 2014, Capstone solicited input on park design and presented a design to the Parks and Trails Commission in June and August 2014. Capstone presented a park design to the City Council in August 2014. Elements in the current design include:
- Hill climb
- Meadow
- An open green
- Overlook
- Plazas
- Terraced garden
- Tree groves
Sunday, December 19, 2021
UPDATED, 12/21: Art Is Back In Redmond!
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Saturday, December 18, 2021
Redmond's "Verde Esterra Park" Is 644 Units With A Bicycle Shop
Overlake's Verde Esterra Park to open January, 2022 / Yoder, 12/17/2021 |
The vision Capstone designed the park and ran it past Council and Parks & Trails Commission. The City won't maintain it. |
The last phase of Esterra Park, the 28-acre mixed-use redevelopment of an old hospital property (Group Health) in Redmond, will be carbon neutral. This phase includes an office building leased to Microsoft, which has a stated goal of operating as a carbon negative company by 2030, more than 600 apartments and the overall project's centerpiece, a 3-acre park.
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
Verde at Esterra Park is a 634-unit residential development located in the Overlake community of Redmond, WA. The property abuts a 2.6-acre park and offers easy access to the region’s largest employer and to public transit. Verde at Esterra Park features 34,000 SF of outdoor amenity space, including two courtyards, two rooftop decks, and a central mews. Interior amenities include a collaborative working space and an on-premise bike shop. Bike-friendly facilities and easy access to public transit help reduce residents’ dependence on vehicles.
Verde at Esterra Park takes the site’s challenging grade and transforms it into a celebrated feature, with unique stepping of the building masses mimicking the natural landforms and patterns of the Sammamish Valley. The development’s folded planes maximize solar exposure for units and frame memorable vignettes of the park and surrounding context. Amenity spaces and exterior courtyards are located adjacent to the park to enable interaction with nature.
Website information: "If you could design your own park, (Esterra Park) what would you include? Exercise, music, food trucks, restaurant pop-ups, gathering spots, a comfortable work area, green space? We agree with you. When completed in 2022, The Park will have all that and more."
Yoder, 12/17/2021
8-story Modera Overlake's Plaza Is A "Crown Jewel"
The proposal is to construct an 8-story mixed-use apartment building with approximately 288 residential units and approximately 3,500 square feet of ground floor commercial space.
The development is proposed to have four levels of parking; two & half below grade and one and a half above grade.
The applicant is proposing an 8-story building, which is possible in this zone with the use of various incentive techniques, including the plaza dedication, subterranean parking, and provide housing above the minimum required. Why doesn't the Planning Department incent with a "green roof?"
Modera Overlake will set the design direction and tone for this neighborhood for years to come. Staff believes that this project has done a good job in breaking up the massing of the overall building by creating two unique facades on NE 21st and Bel-Red Road. Staff believes that the bold design and brick façade will create a building that differentiates itself from other mid-rises in the area. The corner (above) creates a simple gateway that helps highlight the commercial space and provides ample pedestrian zone next the busy road. The plaza design will be a jewel in the crown of the overall project and will be a great example of what other pocket parks throughout the community can be.
-- Design Review Board pre-application meeting memo, 8/15/2019
Abridged by Yoder, 12/17/2021
Photo, City of Redmond
Friday, December 17, 2021
King County Directs Public to Prepare Now for a Rapid Surge in Local COVID-19 Omicron Cases
The highly infectious Omicron variant is moving at an astonishing speed, according to the latest projections. We project the number of King County cases by next week to be three-times higher than the highest peak we've seen previously in the pandemic. We expect case numbers to continue to rise in January.
A similar pattern is expected to emerge in other parts of the United States.
The severity of Omicron cases is not clear at this time. Most fully vaccinated people should be protected from severe infection, but we expect to see many more serious cases in unvaccinated people, as well as many milder breakthrough infections among the vaccinated.
The rapid rise in cases has the potential to be more disruptive than previous waves, endangering the health care system's ability to care for people, as well as being a major disruptor to businesses, schools and key infrastructure, as employees become ill.
King County residents and workplaces are urged to take steps now to reduce the risk to themselves, their families, and others in order to lower the impact of the expected surge on the health care system and the community.
The latest projections are based on the rapid rate of spread of the Omicron variant in other countries, along with the latest local sequencing data.
"If we do a very simple 10-day projection of this rate of growth, we should expect 2,100 daily Omicron cases in King County on December 22, 2021. This is approximately 3 times the number of cases seen at the highest point in the pandemic for King County (December 2020)," said Trevor Bedford, computational biologist at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.
Thursday, December 16, 2021
"SFT Commercial" Building Under Review
This was the site of the popular "Brown Bag" restaurant and now SFT |
According to the DRB the project is to promote the urban centers as locations for a variety of businesses, including retail, office, services, and entertainment uses that are compatible with a mixed-use urban environment.
And, to encourage a variety of economic activities, ranging from daily goods and services to small and locally owned boutiques and other specialty stores, as well as restaurants, residences and offices that promote the urban centers as appealing places to live, work and shop and provide for active uses during the day and evening hours. (Under review by the DRB.)
The project is proposing a commercial use. However, the type of commercial use is not defined so staff and the Design Review Board will hold a second DRB meeting.
Staff is seeking feedback regarding the project and initial thoughts on their proposed design. I'll get the staff contacts and post them here if you want to comment.
-- Design Review Board Pre-Application memo, 12/6/2021
Wednesday, December 15, 2021
"Osprey" Building Provides Opportunity For Strong Gateway Feature
The new 88-unit building is comprised of:
• Approximately 145,000 total gross square feet;
• 1,000 square feet of commercial area; and
• 80 parking stalls accessed from 159th PL NE Site & Background
The site is located in the River Bend Zone near the entrance of downtown Redmond along Leary Way. The property is adjacent to the Heron Rookery park and across the street from Dudley Carter Park and the Sammamish River Trail. Adjacent land uses consist of commercial, multi-family, and public park land. The site currently hosts an auto repair shop. (now torn down.)
The River Bend district is one of four distinct mixed-use residential/office districts in the Downtown Neighborhood intended to provide for significant residential growth, as well as opportunities for growth in professional, business, health and personal services. It is intended to be one of the densest employment and residential area in downtown also providing supporting retail, service and entertainment uses.
Primary streets are intended for active, pedestrian friendly and activating commercial uses. The River Bend zone acts as an entrance to downtown requiring streetscape improvements. The River Bend zone also preserves the “green gateway” on Leary Way at the south end of Downtown.
The property’s irregular shape and prominent location at the corner of 159th PL NE and Leary Way provide opportunity for a strong gateway feature to the downtown from Leary Way.
This 88-unit building helps achieve the City’s stated comprehensive plan goals of creating a vibrant urban center downtown capable of accommodating one-third of Redmond’s planned housing growth by 2030.
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Monday, December 13, 2021
Downtown Eastlink Light Rail Chugging Along
Superintendent Announces Levy Q&A Sessions
Superintendent Dr. Jon Holmen |
"In February 2022, we will be asking our voters to consider three ballot measures to ensure excellence for all of our students. These levies fund student programs and services not covered by the state by providing staffing, academic programs, technology, and safe and healthy school buildings.
Two replacement levies and one capital construction levy will be on the February 8, 2022 ballot. The Educational Programs and Operations (EP&O) levy and a School Technology and Capital Projects Levy both replace levies that expire in 2022 which fund staff, programs, early learning, technology and help ensure our school buildings are safe and maintained. The Building Excellence Capital Levy funds facility construction projects to accommodate our rapid enrollment growth and to continue to provide learning environments that promote excellence for students.
Throughout the month of January 2022, we will host Town Hall Question & Answer sessions for our community via Teams Live. Watch for the schedule of these events to come out in the Connections newsletter and get posted on the LWSD website.
If you are part of a community group or organization and would like to have us come to your event to share an informational levy presentation, please follow this link on the website to provide us with the details: Levy Presentation Request - Lake Washington School District (lwsd.org).
For more information about our upcoming levies, visit: 2022 Levies - Lake Washington School District (lwsd.org)"
-- Excerpt from LWPSTA Newsletter, 12/13/2021