City Manager’s Report October 18, 2024

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City Manager Reports

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City Manager Weekly Report

October 18, 2024

Field House Playground is Open!!

The upper portion of the Field House Playground is officially open for business! The hill slide (which was the cause of the delay) is still closed; however, it has been installed and will be open soon once final inspections take place. In the meantime, enjoy the park before the rains come!

Field House Playground

New City Manager Update

As you are likely aware, the City Council unanimously selected Katherine Caffrey to lead Des Moines into the future. Ms. Caffrey is in the final processes of relocating to our beautiful City and is scheduled to start in her new role on November 1, 2024. Please join us in welcoming her warmly to our community!

Proposition 1, Public Safety Levy Lid Lift

During the global Pandemic, the Des Moines City Council made the conscious decision to use federal relief funds (ARPA) to hire additional police officers in an attempt to bring department staffing closer to the state average. Federal funding is no longer available after 2024, so the City Council has authorized a Levy Lid Lift ballot measure on the November 5 general election to provide a long term dedicated funding source to retain these officers as well as additional public safety positions. Our mental health crisis responder and crime analyst positions were also funded by ARPA and have been key in providing a compassionate response to individuals facing homelessness and in getting them prompt resources and off the streets and out of City parks. Without additional funding, in 2025 these added positions will no longer be funded and the City’s ability to adequately respond to those in crisis will be negatively impacted. More information about the Levy Lid Lift on the November 5 ballot can be found here.

Trunk or Treat

Join us at Steven J Underwood Park on October 28^th, 5-6:30pm for our second annual Trunk or Treat! We would like to invite you to host a plot. Let the creative juices flow! You can sign up here: www.desmoineswa.gov/daysmart under “Special Events”. We also encourage anyone and everyone to attend!

Check out the Parks and Recreation Facebook page for more info! https://www.facebook.com/desmoinesparksandrecreation

Budget Town Hall

On Tuesday October 22^nd, the City will be hosting a Budget Town Hall at the Beach Park Auditorium (6pm) to provide an opportunity for community members to provide input on priorities for your City. Please join us and let your voice be heard regarding the necessity for upcoming critical budget cuts that will impact the services the City can provide.

townhall

City Council Summary

There was no City Council meeting this week as the Council does not generally meet on the third Thursday of the month. The Council will meet next week on October 24^th, the agenda and materials can be found here.

The Municipal Facilities Committee will meet at 4pm on the 24^th and the Economic Development Committee will meet at 5pm. The agendas and materials can be found in the links.

Sports Update

Baseball championship series continue this weekend with the Dodgers attempting to knock out the Mets tonight for the National League Pennant while the Yankees lead the Guardians two games to one in the American League. The Seahawks head to Atlanta for a bird battle on Sunday with the hope of avoiding a four game losing streak. The Huskies have a bye week this weekend although it seems like they thought they had one last weekend. The WNBA Finals will wrap up with two games this weekend if necessary as New York holds a two to one game lead over Minnesota in a best of five series. On Saturday night the Sounders host the Timbers and the Kraken take the ice against the Flames at Climate Pledge.

Have a great weekend!
Interim City Manager Tim George

Ongoing Stuff

Get vaccinated! Yeah I know you’d like to forget about it, but there are new variants and the infection rate is climbing. Fortunately, there is an effective booster, which is recommended for people 65 and older and those who are immuno-compromised. It is available now, effective, free and you can get your appointment today here and here , including walk-Ins at SAFEWAY, Walgreen’s, Rite-Aid, SeaMar and Healthpoint.

Sign up for the King County Code Red Alert program. When you sign up for Code Red you’ll be notified immediately when there is a possible health threat. After the recent ‘Boil Water Notice’ I received just a few grouses that ‘it did not work’. I’m 99% certain that the problem is that you have to actually sign up for an account. Do It! There is this ‘guest’ option which is stupid and should not even be an option. Everyone who had an account in their system was notified. If you’re like me and signed up ten years ago (after the last notification), go to the site immediately and verify your account. Ten years is a long time for any computer system.
Check out the 223rd Green Street Project web site and take the 223rd Green Street Survey before December 11th!
Check out the Des Moines Marina Steps web site and take the Marina Steps Survey.
If you’re interested in any of our Kids or Senior activities, you can sign up here.
Learn more about our Comprehensive Plan and take the Housing Action Plan Survey.
Take the City Communication and Engagement Survey
Give blood! Schedule an appointment today. There is a CODE RED emergency shortage.
Masonic Home! There is a petition for those who are interested in historic preservation of the property. If you have questions, don’t contact me. Contact Barbara McMichael and Lloyd Lytle Jr
Community Service Officer Tonya Seaberry wants to hear from neighborhood groups interested in establishing block watch programs: Tseaberry@desmoineswa.gov or 206-878-3301.
City Of Des Moines Minor Home Repair Program: Low to moderate income households can get grants to do all sorts of necessary repairs. Email Tina Hickey (206) 870-6535.
Every home should have a Carbon Monoxide Detector–especially during the colder months! Full stop. If you need one but money is tight, South King County Fire And Rescue will get you one. Just call their Community Affairs Office at 253-946-7347.
And last, but not least: If your home has Port Package (sound insulation system) that is having issues, please go to SeatacNoise.Info

How to attend meetings and provide Public Comment

City Council Meetings are scheduled for Thursdays at 6:00PM at City Hall 21630 11th Avenue S., Suite #C Des Moines WA 98198. They can also be viewed live on Comcast Channel 21/321 or on the City’s YouTube channel. Committee Meetings are either at 4:00PM or 5:00PM, also on Thursdays.

You do not have to sign in to attend a meeting!
The sign-in sheet is only for people wishing to make a Public Comment.

There are three ways to provide Public Comment:

In person: Show up a few minutes before the meeting and sign the sheet. Public Comment is usually conducted at the beginning of the meeting.
By e-mail: All e-mails sent to citycouncil@desmoineswa.gov are considered public comment. They are instantly available to all members of the City Council and the City Clerk who includes them into the record of public comments at the next meeting.
By US Mail: Attn: City Clerk Office, 21630 11th Avenue S., Des Moines WA 98198 no later than 4:00 p.m. day of the meeting. Please provide us with your first and last name and the city in which you live.

All letters or e-mails requesting a specific action are referred by the City Clerk to the appropriate City department.

If you would like a follow up from me, personally please indicate that or call me (206) 878-0578.

The Clerk does not read e-mails to the Council in full; only the subject line. However, we do see them as soon as you send them. Your comments are added to the Agenda Packet available on the City web site following each meeting.

How to view public comments, correspondence and meeting materials

The City publishes a meeting agenda on the Friday (six days) before city council meetings. On the day after the meeting (Friday) the City updates that same file with all the slide presentations, the correspondence, and a list of the people who signed up to give public comment at the meeting. Currently, there is no button on the web site that says Show me the meeting comments for xx/xx/xxxx. You just have to know that this is the procedure. Below is a recipe to get you there.

Go to www.desmoineswa.gov
Once there, hover over Your Government and then click Council Meeting Center. (Or, you can skip Step #1 and just click on Council Meeting Center.)
Select the meeting date you’re interested in from the Schedule Of Meetings calendar.
Click on Regular Meeting for the meeting date you want. In this case, December 1, 2022.
Click the Agenda Packet link under “Print Verson”.
You can also select a meeting using the list near the top. You can also use the left and right arrows to select older meetings.
Once the agenda packet loads, there are two links we’re interested in:
- Correspondence to view all e-mails received by the City Council since the last meeting.
- Comments From The Public to view a list of the people who spoke in-person at the meeting.