Notes from Shoreline City Council meeting Tuesday February 21

By Devon Vose Rickabaugh

Human Services will continue to be funded

Rob Beem, Community Services Division Manager for Shoreline, reported that this year the city budget allocated $480,000 to local human services agencies to include support for basic needs and poverty, people with disabilities, and older people in the community. Beem said that some of the money comes from Community Development Block Grants which are being reduced each year. Despite this reduction the funding will remain the same for the next two years with the general fund making up the shortfall so the city can continue focus on the core services including funding for the senior center, The Center for Human Services and Hopelink.

New members recommended for Planning Commission

Council member Winstead said that she along with council members McConnell and Eggen were on the subcommittee to appoint volunteer citizens to the Planning Commission. Seventeen applicants were considered and four were recommended: Easton Craft, David Maul, William Montero, and Keith Scully. City attorney Ian Sievers assured a member of the public that the open meeting rules had been followed in choosing the planning commission members.

Friends of Fircrest

A family representative from Friends of Fircrest discussed the need for the vital services provided to the developmentally disabled residents despite “constant threat of more service cuts”. Cheryl Felak said her son has not been hospitalized in the last three years he has lived under care at Fircrest. He has been trained for work taking batteries out of remote controls for companies like Comcast. She said the residents are not isolated from the community and that Fircrest has space to include more activities for residents and the community. She said DSHS has not encouraged expansion.

Shoreline neighborhood associations

Nora Smith Neighborhoods Program Coordinator joined Rob Beem and two neighborhood representatives in updating the program. Of the fourteen neighborhoods designated in Shoreline several are very active with their own associations and annual activities which strengthen the Shoreline community. The city budgets support for neighborhoods in assisting with events such as Richmond Beach Strawberry Festival, the Briarcrest Anniversary Party and Ridgecrest Ice Cream Social. Mini-grants helped fund a pathway connecting Ashworth and Densmore in the Echo Lake Neighborhood, creating a community gathering space out of an overgrown right-of-way.