Some bits of business…
Future Agendas is the closest thing the City currently has to a calendar of upcoming City Council topics. It’s not dynamic, ie. you have to click it every time you want to see a new version. And it’s not always accurate. But until we develop a genuine calendar, this can be very useful if there is a particular issue you don’t want to miss.
Who is running?
| Position | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | *Harry Steinmetz (206) 387-1333 hsslaw@me.com https://www.steinmetzfordesmoines.com | David Denino (206) 414-8569 david.denino@gmail.com https://www.electdaviddenino.com/ | |
| 3 | *Gene Achziger (253) 941-3785 gene4DM2025@gmail.com | ||
| 5 | Pierre Blosse (346) 298-1984 pierre@pierrefordesmoines.com pierrefordesmoines.com | Lloyd Elliott Lytle Jr. (323) 605-5548 lloydelytle@gmail.com lytlefordesmoinescitycouncil.com | *Matt Mahoney did not file for re-election |
| 7 | Robyn Desimone info@desimonefordesmoines.com www.desimonefordesmoines.com | *Traci Buxton did not file for re-election |
City Manager Stuff
City Manager Report – September 19, 2025
The Marina dock replacement is on schedule! You can watch videos of progress in action here: https://www.youtube.com/@CityofDesMoinesMarina
There is also a new Community Survey. Yes, we did a parks survey and a communications survey just a couple of years ago, but well… new management, right? 😀 This one also asks for your ideas on a broad range of stuff like event planning and programs for kids and seniors and it”s all great. 🙂
And… since you can never take too many surveys, this is my personal fave, this concerning some big improvements at the Beach Park. Take the Beach Park survey!
Passenger Ferry in Tacoma?
Since a lot of people are interested in a passenger ferry. This is an article about Pierce County’s interest in the same vessel we’ve looked at for the past couple of years. A 24 passenger demo vessel is real. Many members of the Council took a test drive. However, check out the price tag for their ‘pilot program’. And a 150 seater is still not in production. At some point, this tech will be a great idea. But someone else will need to fund it.
Light Rail Opens December 6, 2025!
https://www.soundtransit.org/southkinglink
Restaurants!
There have been more restaurant changes in town. So this is a good time to remind you of the local restaurant guide TakeOutDM.Com or TakeOutDesMoines.Com. There is a sign-up form which emails signees when various establishments are offering specials! If you are a new restaurant owner, you should also let them know when you are having said specials so they can spread the woid.
This Week
Tuesday
Port of Seattle Commission Meeting will cover grant funding to cities and non-profits (among other things). Coverage from STNI
Wednesday
2:30pm Highline Forum (Agenda)
Thursday
6:00pm Regular Meeting – 25 Sep 2025 – Agenda – Pdf
Highlights?
At my request, the City will be providing a general report on how public safety is going.
Since we no longer have a public safety committee and because we’re facing yet another bargaining agreement with the police guild, I figured it was worth a mention. If you recall last year, the property tax lid lift was supposed to be about providing public safety. One of my reasons for opposing it was the lack of information on how many officers we really need. The Council rarely hears management information like that. We usually have very little idea how policing works here what are the requirements, how is morale going. Instead, we only hear about what the bargaining agreement is (ie. ‘dollars’). We’re intentionally kept separate from the qualitative aspects of policing, something I always thought was a mistake.
We don’t even know what the ‘bargaining’ looks like, except to suggest that we’re always getting the best deal possible. But if the infographic from our last meeting is any indication, I think the City may be trying to tell us something? 😀
This may not be your lived experience, but since then all major crime stats are down. Problem solved?
However, since we always allocate 50-ish percent of our budget to police, and since, regardless of how things happen, somehow, policing happens, all this does is tell both the public and us that we made the right choice by voting ‘no’.
At some point, maybe we should have a talk about all this. 🙂
There will also be a presentation on Animal Control, something I, and so many of you are super-concerned about. Some options are presented in the packet, which you should read carefully. Bear in mind, we may not have the money for all this. But the new pet licensing program DocuPet looks like 30 grand more than last year so there’s that. 🙂
We’re voting to spend $425,000 to purchase two parcels of land near Redondo, mostly with a conservation grant with a match from the Storm Water Utility Fund. This is kinda ‘phase one’ of DPW Slevin’s plan to create a comprehensive tree management plan throughout the City – something I fully support.
Short Term Rentals (second reading) The Council will vote on the short term rentals ordinance. This is supposed to be distinct from the Amenity Rentals discussion. There are some redlines which are improvements (the noise level language is very good). But I confess, as of this publish, I have not read every syllable. But I intend to and I encourage you to do so as well.
My concern is not that we get everything right first time out. This is an experiment. My concern is that the feedback I’ve heard is clearly from people in separate bubbles. There are people working hard to do their AirBNB who just assume every other purveyor is just as great. They’re not. Then there are people adamantly opposed to anything — because they haven’t met the people who do it right. Somehow, I can’t help but think that this is the kind of deal that should be worked out in the Planning Commission. Although I know that causes eye rolls at the City. 😀 But this is a deal that should be worked out by residents. We as Cms just don’t have the lived experience to evaluate this stuff.
As an example, having been a ‘long-term landlord’. The notion of short term rentals never held any appeal for me. But some people love doing it. I wish we could get everyone together to figure this kind of thing out. I also believe in world peace, an end to hunger, and de-caf that tastes as good as the real thing… 🙂
Speaking of which, we will discuss the restoration of a Planning Commission (known previously as a Public Planning Agency until it ended in 2013).
Revenue Enhancements
And last, but certainly not least, we will be discussing ‘Revenue Enhancements’. I tried to hint that this was being teed up last time with this image. 😀
One thing we will need an immediate vote on is to raise our sales tax by a whopping one tenth of one cent which will be dedicated to public safety. A State law passed a few months ago authorises this and unless I learn some last minute ‘thing’ I will support it. My most pressing concern is that our human services officer aka GPS Monica is grant funded. Not. Good. All our officers should be FTEs — especially that position. It’s a values thing with me.
As to the other stuff? Read it for yerself. I made it clear to the City Manager that regardless of the merits of any of them, I think this discussion is backwards. We haven’t seen a proposed budget for 2026, we haven’t presented a proper Marina Capital Plan since… well… forever.., or conducted our strategic planning discussion. This is putting the cart before the horse.
The existential problem I’ve seen in Des Moines, since I’ve lived here? Zero planning. It’s simply one crisis to the next. Sometimes it’s bad decisions. Sometimes it’s the State. Sometimes it’s COVID. So everyone says,
“We just need to get through this. And then I’ll get clean. Really, man. I swear. I’ll be in a program next week. Just give me fifty now and you’ll see. I’ll get it back to ya with interest. Best money you ever spent. ”
Sorry. I was just channeling an old buddy of mine for some reason… 😀
But seriously, I know how snippy that sounds. Truly I do. I don’t know how to be any nicer and have any impact. Everyone means to address the long game, but when you take it seriously people get super defensive.
For whatever reason, focusing on now is so ingrained in government – especially at the city-level — at this point I’m not sure anyone can imagine anything different. Economists call it ‘cognitive discounting’. Humans will always tend to value today a bazillion times more than tomorrow. It’s the reason Social Security was super-controversial in 1935, but no one can imagine being without in 2025.
Last Week
Monday
Visit to North SeaTac Park Air Quality Monitor station. This is the model for an upcoming air quality monitoring station here in Des Moines. Did I not look thrilled to be there? I wasn’t. 😀 That was my third visit. It’s an important project, but I’ll describe why when it happens.
Tuesday
6:00pm Burien Airport Committee. The group discussed their letter objecting to the current really terrible Port Package Update program. They also kinda dropped the ball. They are about to experience some unpleasant tree cutting via the Port of Seattle. But the group was unable to decide what to do.
Wednesday
King County Council Regional Transit Committee (Agenda). We’re considering Metro-Flex for next year. This is an on-call program to get people to bus stations and light rail in areas with no bus service. Notice something missing? Des Moines! This is my number one transit issue atm. What is the point of having new Light Rail at 240th and 272nd if you can’t get to the stop? Here’s the problem: Your city either has to score very differently on their system in order to qualify or you have to be willing to pay a partnership fee. Somehow we need to make proximity to the Light Rail a consideration – as was the case when we created the 635 Shuttle along 216th. What we need is that equivalent for the south end of town.