City Manager's weekly update - week of 3/9/2015

City Manager's weekly update - week of 3/9/2015

By Debbie Tarry, Shoreline City Manager

Council Meetings

·         March 16 (7 p.m.):

o   This meeting is devoted to the adoption of ordinances related to the 185^th Light Rail Station Subarea Plan. The City sent approximately 1,900 letters to individuals in the 185^th Light Rail Station Subarea with information regarding the proposed rezone.  Council is scheduled to adopt the following ordinances:

§  Ordinance No. 706 – Development Code Amendments and Zoning Map

§  Ordinance No. 702 – Subarea Plan, Comprehensive Plan and Land Use Map.

§  Ordinance No. 707 – Planned Action

Sound Transit Lynnwood Link Extension FEIS

On Monday, March 16, a North End Leadership Meeting will be held at Shoreline City Hall from 3:30 to 5 p.m. This is a meeting for Sound Transit Board members and representatives  of cities from the northern sections of the Sound Transit service area.  Deputy Mayor Eggen and Councilmember McGlashan will be attending. We anticipate that there may be some discussion of the Lynnwood Link FEIS and preferred alternative.

Parks, Recreation and Cultural Services Update

·         Shoreline Pool: The pool has been closed for the last two weeks to complete major annual maintenance and install the new bulkhead. It was scheduled to be reopened on Monday, March 9. However, there has been a delay in receiving the lights that are being changed in the facility. In order to accommodate getting the lights installed, and to do some repairs to the pool deck that has been damaged as a result of a deteriorating foundation, the pool will now reopen on Monday, March 16. The swimming lesson sessions scheduled to begin on March 9 will be reduced by one week and registrants will receive a pro-rated refund. Staff contacted those participants last week.

·         Hamlin Park Trail Promo: Check out this short video that a user of the park put together! http://botnw.com/2015/02/20/hamlin-park-trails/

·         Echo Lake Park: The fence surrounding Echo Lake Park has been removed and the park is now open for use. The ribbon cutting will be on March 21.

·         Twin Ponds Giving Garden Recognition: The Giving Garden at Twin Ponds Community Garden has been recognized by “Lettuce Link” as one of the top contributors to local food banks in the whole Seattle area. Lettuce Link is a non-profit component of Solid Ground whose mission is to “Build community to end poverty.” On average each year, Lettuce Link programs get more than 20,000 pounds of fresh vegetables onto the tables of people who need them in the Seattle area. The Giving Garden ranked 4^th out of 15 Seattle area P-Patches in pounds of fresh produce donated in 2014. Over 3,000 pounds of fresh, organic produce were donated to Hopelink Shoreline from Twin Ponds Community Garden last year!

145^th Corridor Study Citizen Advisory Task Force (CATF)

The CATF members were recommended with an endorsement from their neighborhood associations/boards, except Pinehurst in Seattle. The CATF held its first meeting on February 12 and will meet again on April 12. A matrix of the public participation groups/opportunities that exist for the 145^th Corridor Study project. Links to the website: http://shorelinewa.gov/government/departments/145th-street-corridor and http://www.shorelinewa.gov/government/departments/public-works/citizen-advisory-task-force-catf.

Senate Transportation Bill

The Senate passed a transportation package.  One of the amendments added at the last minute was to exempt state transportation projects from the state sales tax. This not only reduces state general fund revenue, but if the state is exempted, local jurisdictions also don't receive the local portion of the sales tax either. Additionally, it is likely that if the state is exempted, the federal government doesn't have to pay the tax either. This item is of significant concern and the Association of Washington Cities (AWC) has already submitted a letter with this specific concern identified, which included a “punch list” of suggested changes from AWC.

Puget Sound Emergency Radio Network (PSERN) Ballot Measure – April 28

Last week the King County Council voted to place this radio replacement issue on the April 28 special election ballot.

PSERN would replace radios used by first responders to communicate during crises, upgrade equipment in King County’s 9-1-1 dispatch centers, increase reliability, and provide greater coverage for radio communications. Eleven cities and their public safety partners have requested that King County replace the existing network.

The King County Executive’s proposal would ask voters to approve lifting the lid of the existing property tax levy to generate the estimated $273 million needed to replace the radio network. The proposal would increase the levy by 7 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value over a nine-year period. The King County Council will set dates for public hearings on the proposal.

This and That

·         Puget Sound Regional Council completed a Transportation Public Opinion Survey, which shows Seattle and Shoreline respondents showed stronger support for most funding proposals (slide #24).

·         On Saturday, March 14, 32nd District Legislators Senator Maralyn Chase and Representative Cindy Ryu will hold a Town Hall meeting from 2:00 to 3:30 p.m. at the Shoreline Fire Department, 17525 Aurora Ave. N. Shoreline 98133.

·         Summary of the DC Lobby Trip that occurred in February.

·         This week staff met with representatives from Crista to get agreement on the Free Them run route that would meet the City’s permit criteria. This year’s run will include N 205^th street along with Shoreline streets, so Crista will also need to get a permit from Edmonds, as the part of 205^th that they will be utilizing is under Edmond’s jurisdiction. The race is May 9^th.

·         The Daily Herald (Everett) may explore test markets further south into the Mountlake Terrace, Lake Forest Park, and Shoreline areas.

·         Last week the City hosted the Shoreline Community College Solar Program students to view solar panels and controls and the solar hot water panels and controls.