an update

Alright, October 8th was way too long ago.
I visited new (and old) city hall on Friday with our State Representative Marko Liias. It was delightful! Old city hall was starting to show it's faded ages, revealing the dingy aspects that I have overlooked for a few years. Driving into new city hall's parking lot... It's a lovely building. It was great to get a big hug from Shirley, Exec Assistant who worked for the city when they first moved into old city hall. She was teary eyed and happy. I am glad we were able to finally get that building site selected and built. It was a painful process, but the results are awesome.

The council chambers have quite a ways to go to be finished, but look great. I was really pleased with the size-- I know our current chambers are inordinately huge, but still wanted a good size for the new room that would fit a decent sized audience when necessary. I think we have that.

Other highlights-- the city engineers had this hole of an office in the middle of old city hall, and now they have windows and nice fresh looking cubicles. There is room to grow upstairs, which is much better than the narrow hallways built out of cubicle walls in the old one. The server room is awesome! I can't wait for public wifi at city hall (I hear it'll take a couple months, but that's okay).

It was wonderful to see the excitement of staff and to see something our city can be proud of.

Commercial Flights- truth and myths

Federal law does not require Snohomish County to either encourage or
subsidize scheduled air passenger service. This is according to County
Executive Reardon's panel convened two years ago. This same group is
cited in news reports as concluding that the county cannot prohibit
commercial flights. However, more importantly, the panel also stated
that the county can and should require an airline to pay its own way
and mitigate its impacts.

Everett's recently commissioned study had other interesting findings
which are also quoted less frequently: that the noise and property
value "concerns are real and should be addressed."
Once the genie is out of the bottle, we can't put it back in.
Allegiant, Horizon.... If one is in, they are all in. Early or late,
flights could not be restricted with curfews.
Is that the vision for a vibrant south Snohomish County?
Mukilteo doesn't think so. Neither does Edmonds. Or Lynnwood. Or
Mountlake Terrace, Brier or Woodway. Or the majority of your County
Council.
Let's not lay out the welcome mat. We can create real economic
development and a positive vision for our communities.

budget

We had a valuable work session tonight-- generally brainstorming wish lists for the budget. We didn't get into the realities of costs, so it was nice to dream about what we might be able to do. At our next work session in September (two weeks from now), we'll start talking dollars and cents (and some actual sense?).
Our staff is doing great stuff already, which is a good thing. I brought up a couple items-- adding youth representatives to our boards and commissions, doing an energy audit in the city, re-examining our relationship with the Lighthouse Festival and perhaps funding more of a staff person for that rather than granting them the large amount we have in the past. There were other great items other councilmembers mentioned: improving parking enforcement, keeping up with cleaning our parks (especially the newly gorgeous Mukilteo Lighthouse Park), funding the purchase of land in Japanese Gulch.

Most years I've supported improvements related to our fire department, but big changes have been happening there recently and seem to be going well (adding six firefighters, moving towards a reserve program rather than a volunteer program-- semantics, I guess, funding the fire marshal position).

The real test is when we talk about revenue sources-- September 22nd!

festival

Great festival this weekend! I enjoyed the art booths, fireworks and juried art show. I didn't have time to volunteer for the festival too much this year-- which made it fun to see signs that I had designed in the past making their way onto placards and to see how things were different. I didn't make it into the Chamber's MukFest-- it may have been psychological, but paying the $10 to get in and another $5 for the first drink seemed too high to me. I'm sure I'll spend some time there next year.

Not volunteering all day long meant that I drove down at 5:45pm to set up the check in at the VIP tent (my main duty of the weekend). What a traffic mess! I was amazed. I'm sure it's been like that before-- backed up to Goat Trail, then to 84th, then to 92nd... I just had never seen it. My sister and I lucked out and found quite a few open spots at the Sound Transit rail station. Nice to have that extra parking available.

Gorgeous fireworks this year, as always. It was a great community-building event. I did see a lot of tired volunteers. I have a feeling they may be coming to the city for more support in the future. That would bring us back to how the festival was run before the budget cuts made by the council in 2003. I wasn't on council yet, and always felt like the budgeted $35,000 didn't make a lot of sense as the item to cut. Volunteers did step up and have made the festival happen for several years. However, we'll have to see if they can sustain their contributions and keep this totally vital, showcase event alive for Mukilteo. It may be time for the city to contribute more than just dollars.

Rosehill

I just answered an email for a reporter from The Gauntlet, Kamiak's newspaper. He asked some interesting questions, so I figured I would share my answers here, as well.

1. The decision to renovate Rosehill or build a new community center has been in limbo for some time and the council finally came to a conclusion on which plan was appropriate for the community. What issues made it difficult for the council to decide what action to take regarding the future of Rosehill?

My answer: Rosehill generated a lot of passion from Mukilteans which made the decision difficult. It was a controversial issue-- saving a building that carried a lot of meaning for residents or creating a new center on the waterfront. Because of the controversy and passion, it was hard to commit to an action and not consider all possible alternatives. And, with time, there was change on the council wihch changed the support for different alternatives. But, we finally did it, and I'm glad we're moving forward.

2. The Rosehill building has been a part of the Mukilteo community since 1893, and has been destroyed and reconstructed over the years. Are there any plans to incorporate the history of the building into the new community center?

My answer: Yes, we are doing some really cool things to incorporate the history. Right now, we plan to have an alcove of about 800 square feet that will incorporate some elements of the building, perhaps the gym floor or some elements of the classroom walls. It'll have great views to the water and be a pleasant contemplative space near the main lobby. Plus, we're hoping we can retain the main archway entrance into Rosehill (the one along Lincoln) to serve as an entrance to the public plaza space. I'm excited to have that arch preserved.

3. As a member of Mukilteo’s teenage community, I can safely say that most of us barely used the facilities at Rosehill, and only occasionally went to the building for community events such as the Lighthouse Festival and the Tree Lighting Ceremonies. What plans for the building, if any, would be of particular interest to the youth of Mukilteo?

My answer: We'll still have space for the Farmers Market (which is maybe not of tons of interest to teens, but could be fun to get some of the hot food-- at times pizza, hot dogs or crepes, and walk down to the beach). Our new parks and rec staff should probably run some programs that might be of interest to teens. The sidewalks between the businesses and Rosehill will be improved, so you could grab coffee, ice cream or something at Riley's (soon to be Diamond Knot Lincoln Ave and open to all ages), and eat it on the plaza or grass at Rosehill.


4. I know the council is still working on plans regarding the community center. However, are there any tentative deadlines that the for construction that the council is hoping to make?

My answer: We're hoping that we could bid the project next year and see construction start then (probably toward the end of the upcoming school year).

5. Old Town Mukilteo has it’s own vibrant look. Will the plans for the new community center’s architecture match this aesthetic or will the center feature a new look for the community?

My answer: We talked recently about incorporating a roof that matches the gabled roofs of homes in the area. The pedestrian connections between the Lincoln courtyard businesses and Rosehill should be improved. It'll be an updated look-- lots more glass to take advantage of the views-- but still have elements that reflect the neighborhood.

6. Eco-friendliness is an important characteristic of life for many members of the community. Are there any plans to make the community center environmentally friendly?

My answer: Our new city hall finish should be finished by November or December this year and will be the first LEED certified city building in Snohomish County. (LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design and is a certification system to ensure that sustainable building practices are used). I expect we'll pursue either the same certification or at least use some of the same techniques in the new center. I would love to see a green roof on the large multipurpose space (the theatre/large room space), rain gardens or other improved stormwater drainage, and recycled materials in the construction. It may come down to costs, but I know the council will consider doing as much as we feel we can.

Japanese Gulch

I heard that the legislative aides for our 21st district state representatives and senator received a tour of Japanese Gulch this week! I'm glad they had a chance to see the possibilities there. The gulch is a great asset and finding a way to preserve it for all our citizens is important. I'm glad the city is able to participate in the purchase of the Precht property. The ultimate goal of acquiring the larger parcels will be more challenging, but we do need to find some way to get there. Hopefully our state reps can find ways to help us out! It will be awesome to guarantee the future of all those trails, trees and wildlife.

a real park on the waterfront

Today was the grand opening of Lighthouse Park, phase one! It was a sunny, warm, if a little windy, day. All the new facilities look great. The pathways are pleasant, kids' toys were well-used, and the new berm and beach plantings make it look like a real thriving piece of Puget Sound.
The turn out was great-- lots of citizens, electeds, city staff.
My favorite part was when the ribbon had been cut by former Councilmember Bruce Richter and Mayor Marine, and the play area was opened up. A couple little girls made a run for the commemorative sand pails, collecting a couple for themselves. Later, when my sister arrived, we wished we could have made the same mad dash to retrieve one of the buckets. We settled for a couple toy wind mills.

It was a triumphant day for the community, opening up great new amenities. The phase one park renovations cost about $3million, with about $800,000 in state grants. Don't quote me on that-- but I think that's about right. Now, our attentions will turn to the design of phase two, the entrance to the park, and identifying grants and city funds to keep the ultimate vision for Lighthouse Park moving along.

drive aisles drive ways drive drive drive

We finished the Roadways and Internal Vehicle Access code last night. It was interesting-- whenever a councilmember is gone and we have a controversial ordinance, it makes it that much harder. The ordinance needed four votes to pass, and with Kevin and Tony voting no, it had that.
I feel like we did the right thing-- it was a complex code, but we need the definitions of drive aisles that were added.

We didn't address traffic, for a reason-- that depends on site specific issues and we have many different ways to address those during other stages of development approval. Our professional staff, public works director, planning director, fire marshal, have opportunities to add conditions to projects almost unilaterally. The SEPA process allows for mitigation of impacts. If a development agreement is used, the city can add conditions that are more strict than the code and ask for specific improvements. Rezones can be approved with conditions. The City Council doesn't always have the chance to be involved in that discussion (such as the staff review, development agreement negotiation, SEPA approvals), but the city has the tools and uses them all the time.

It was also interesting to me to see the connections with the county's LDMR code. In our case, all those extras that aren't mandated in the code-- sidewalks, driveway space in front of attached-garages-- make for difficult living situations. Those have cropped up (or not shown up) in developments in the county that look very similar to single family developments without the amenities needed. In Mukilteo, we have Island View Ridge, high-value condos that have great views (probably have gorgeous interiors, I would assume), priced very high, but with the same lack of driveway space, sidewalks, etc. We need to address those items in future developments. Planning staff said they would bring all that back to us before annexation. That's a good thing.

Primary Ballot!

I got my ballot in the mail today! I voted for Marko (Marko for State Rep) and myself (for PCO). It was interesting to think about the Top Two Primary... It feels like it counts more than the usual primary. It'll be interesting to see what happens in the Seattle districts where there are two strong democratic candidates running. It as also exciting to vote for our great Governor Gregoire.

tent city

A couple weeks ago, our council passed an ordinance that helps regulate potential homeless encampments. We don't have any expectation of a tent city coming to Mukilteo, but it's a good idea to be prepared. This way, we have a code that sets expectations and requirements. Were an organization to decide to bring a tent city to Mukilteo, we wouldn't first have to go to court. Instead, we could follow the conditional use permit process, which allows for public hearings, conditions to be applied, and specific communication and security in place for the encampment. It's a good thing to be prepared.

bikes & peds in Muk

For whatever reason, I didn't realize how much our trail plan really addresses bicycling and pedestrian issues. It's great to see the accounting of existing infrastructure and encouragement of future improvements. However, providing facilities isn't the only way to encourage biking and walking in the city. It would be nice to see some elements addressing encouragement and education related to biking and walking.

Publishing a bike map?
Creating walking routes?
Marketing active bikers and walkers in neighborhoods (let's tell the Lord's family story-- bike commuters, bike tourists....)?
Working with schools to educate young bikers and walkers?

ColoradoJune2008

Fort Collins Loveland Airport has one airline providing commercial flights. That airline is Allegiant Air.

Their terminal is fairly small. Inside, it has the basics of an airport:
The baggage claim is just to the right of the terminal-- outside.

This looks like it could appear at Paine Field easily. However, there's another angle to consider. Check out what surrounds the airport for at least 3 miles:

Not very similar to the issues in Mukilteo:



View Larger Map


My recent trip to Colorado was interesting to see what perspective Allegiant Air likely has. They have a small lo-fi terminal, not many amenities, in an airport that is about an hour and a half from Denver, providing mostly vacation package trips to Vegas.
Fort Collins Loveland Airport had quite a few other uses-- aerospace industry type uses. It certainly didn't look like the ability to get to the Bellagio Hotel quickly was bringing business in. I don't think economic development could at all be considered a result of the addition of commercial service.
If Snohomish County's goal is to get our residents to Circus Circus as fast as we can... Well, the solution is clear.
If we want to expand high quality aerospace jobs, continue to improve our quality of life and have choices for getting to the airport quickly-- that doesn't include putting the airport in your backyard. It's about transportation choices on the ground. The Allegiant Air model won't be a good one for Snohomish County.

walking in your neighborhood

what if the speed limit in our residential communities was 20mph? Bikes, kids, adults and cars could share the road safely. Imagine 20mph in the single family area of Old Town, or other neighborhoods? Could be an interesting vision

New restaurant incarnation

Diamond Knot, our favorite local brewery and downtown destination,
today purchased Riley's restaurant on Lincoln Avenue. We can look
forward to a family restaurant still serving great pizzas and
calzones, potentially brewing sodas in the Riley's basement, and still
pouring great DK beers.

Awesome news.

DTV

Are you ready for the nation’s transition from analog to digital television on February 17, 2009? If not, you need to act now so you don’t wake up next year to a snowy screen and a lost TV signal.
You may be affected if you don't have cable, or if you have a tv in your house not connected to cable.
Television as we know it is changing. Less than a year from now, full-power TV stations in the U.S. will stop broadcasting in analog and switch to 100 percent digital broadcasting.
Changing from analog to digital makes sense. First and foremost, it will free up additional airwaves for first responders, like our city Firefighters, Police Officers, and Public Works employees so they can better communicate with each other during emergencies.
What’s more, digital television (DTV) offers sharp video and crisp audio. More efficient than analog TV technology, digital technology allows for multicasting, which is the transmission of multiple programs at once. Additionally, it can be used to transmit video and data services that are not possible using analog technology.
Who is affected by the transition?
Those who have an older analog television set that is receiving service with rabbit ears or a rooftop antenna risk losing television reception if they do not take steps to maintain service. You’re likely not to be affected if you have cable and/or a newer digital tv.
Steps to Take
If you are at risk for losing television reception, you have choices to make. And you will need to act by February 17, 2009, to have access to your favorite television shows, news programs and sports events.
To receive a digital signal and ensure continued TV reception, free “over the air” television viewers have several options to consider.
Most importantly, you should know you do not need to buy a new tv, or subscribe to cable. In fact, you may be even happier with your older tv receiving the digital signal! I recommend that you apply for a coupon to help you purchase a new digital-to-analog converter box (it looks and works kind of like a cable box).
TV Converter Box Coupon Program
Through the federal government TV Converter Box Coupon Program, coupons worth $40 dollars toward the purchase of converter boxes are being offered, Each household can request two coupons. Go to www.DTV2009.gov to request a coupon, and then head to your favorite electronics store to buy one.
adapted from press release by U.S. Secretary of Commerce Carlos M. Gutierrez.

condolences

There was a tragic accident on the City Hall construction site this morning. A 33-year-old worker lost his life. My thoughts go out to his family.

I expect we can incorporate some commemoration of his memory in the final building.

snohomish county tomorrow

Interesting meeting tonight. I missed the very beginning, but heard about the Sound Transit potential proposal for the November ballot from Greg Walker, their Chief Planning Officer. Take aways were that Mukilteo needs to send a letter to our ST board members by July 10th if we want to have any input at all. Plus, that this new iteration is smaller (either 0.4 or 0.5 %) and it won't get us to Lynnwood on light rail, just Northgate.Which is just no good. What we do get is a bunch of bus service, which is fine until the buses get stuck in traffic. One really great thing is that there is still money for the improvements to the Mukilteo station. I drove by today and noted that there were 47 parking spots in use, with about 15 not being used. I think that's pretty good ridership (assuming there are even more riders who walked over from the ferry!).

There is one potential scenario that gets light rail to Lynnwood, but it uses our Snohomish county money to get from Northgate to the county line (inside King County), and would do it by 2023.

We also talked about growth in the county. I learned some more about fully contained communities-- terrible planning idea. Well, a decent concept if you could actually contain and build both the residences and the jobs. Instead, you just get dense housing way out on rural roads without the infrastructure to support them. Which then puts more pressure to expand UGAs, to grow in rural areas... County Councilmember Dave Somers is doing much (with Councilmembers Sullivan and Cooper's support) to work through the process so that they are not possible anymore. Though they don't affect Mukilteo directly, this is a good thing. Anything that exacerbates our traffic situation, as these would, is a bad idea.

County Councilmember Brian Sullivan talked a bit about a few things the council is working on. Good ideas on changing their docket process: Snohomish County does it every single year, charges no fee and spends 20 county planning staff members on it. King County does it every four years, so you do two dockets before the 10 year comprehensive plan update, and they charge a fee. That helps make proposals be more well thought out and more likely to actually make sense.
He also talked about the Manufactured Home Community Preservation Subcommittee. That's the one that Diane Navicky sits on. The outcomes of that process that he mentioned included incentives for local options, a process to be permanently zoned as a manufactured home park. I'll be interested to see what happens. It seems that there are definitely some legal constraints to deal with, but I love the concept. Carriage Club Estates, in our proposed annexation area, is a perfect example of a lovely community providing affordable housing, a sense of community and place, and a great housing choice for residents.

He also mentioned the Justice Center proposal-- $165 million for much needed improvements to the Sheriff's office, prosecutors offices, district court, other courts... Sounds like they really need it but the idea of putting that much money on the ballot seems--- well, I wouldn't do it. I hope the county comes up with a way to save and pay for that, and only asks for a portion from taxpayers.

We discussed a few other things, but those are some highlights.

Mukilteo is a great place!

I am very proud of my hometown! I hope to share some of that enthusiasm for our great city, as well as news about the interesting things your local government is dealing with. I'll wait to publicize the blog until I determine my commitment to it. I'd like it to be updated enough to be useful for people to read. If my time doesn't permit regular updates... well, we shall see.

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