On the Mayor's Mind: we are a community that believes in giving back

Chris Roberts, Mayor
City of Shoreline

By Shoreline Mayor Chris Roberts

I am proud to live in a community that believes in giving back. We are active in our children’s PTAs, we help clean up our streets and parks, and we donate our time with our neighborhood associations and local community organizations that contribute to our quality of live in Shoreline.

I am very appreciative of all of the individuals who volunteer for Shoreline. Last year, Shoreline volunteers provided over 9,000 reported hours of community service directly for the City. At this year’s volunteer soiree, my favorite volunteer story was about a young student who organized community trash pickup at his elementary school and on his block. He is a great model of service starting early.

We are very fortunate to have fourteen active neighborhood associations in Shoreline. Our neighborhood associations hold ice cream socials, outdoor movie nights, neighborhood potlucks, and strawberry festivals. Our neighborhood associations pull out invasive weeds, organize community art projects, write community newsletters, and organize book drives. These actions and these events bring our community together and improve the livability of our City.

Collectively, representatives of the neighborhood associations meet together monthly as the Council of Neighborhoods to share best practices and community events. Frequently, members of the Shoreline City Council attend Council of Neighborhood meetings to provide City updates and answer questions from the community. I am excited to continue our collaboration with the newly elected leadership of the Council of Neighborhoods: Pete Gerhard, Stephanie Angelis and Dan Dale.

Currently, the City is looking for volunteers to serve on a Sidewalk Advisory Committee. The goal of the committee is to look at how to prioritize and fund different pedestrian improvements and meet 6-8 times between June and April 2018. We are looking for members who represent different community organizations and interests, such as neighborhoods, youth, elderly, mobility for people with physical disabilities, and under-represented communities.

We are also looking for a youth member to serve on the Parks Recreation and Cultural Services / Tree Board. The PRCS board advises the City Council and City staff on a variety of parks and recreation issues including plans and policies, park operation and design, recreation program activities, public art, property acquisition and development of rules and regulations. It also advises the Council on issues related to public tree maintenance and urban forestry.

The application deadline for the Sidewalk Advisory Committee is May 26 and the deadline for the PRCS youth member is May 31.