Weekly Update: 12/13/2020

The universe is telling me to slow down. I broke my toe last week which has limited my ability to get out–and provided yet another convenient excuse to be a day late. 😀

Public Service Announcements

1. Working Washington Small Business Grants (Round 3) If you have a small business of any kind do this now!
2. City Of Des Moines Minor Home Repair Program This is one of those great programs the City has had in place since forever, but we only advertise every quarter in the City Currents Magazine. Basically, low to moderate income households can get grants to do all sorts of necessary repairs. Just email Minor Home Repair Coordinator Tina Hickey (206) 870-6535.
3. 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.
4. Rental Assistance for Low Income King County Bar Association – The Housing Justice Project is requesting community based providers assistance to identify households who owe 10K or more in back-rent. “We can zero out $10K or more of rent for folks who are at 50% AMI or below these income limits. If you know anyone, can you have them email fwblackcollective@gmail.com for navigation with case managers or give them this link which has all the paperwork to complete and email to edmundw@kcba.org to get their rent payed out.   Forms to Eliminate Back Rent: https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=1fUdYAwMFH_V_B1vTD_urmir_ltI8Wfnw.   Completed forms can be emailed to edmundw@kcba.org.”

This Week

Tuesday: South County Combined Are Transportation Board (SCATBd) Meeting.

Tuesday: Puget Sound Regional Council (PSRC) Ferry Study. This is different from the study the City has launched with private consultants. The PSRC did not find evidence of sufficient demand for a State-run ferry. This matters because a private ferry system would likely be funded by airport and cruise ship operations. And the last thing in Des Moines should be doing is enabling more flights from Sea-Tac Airport.

Wednesday: A conference with Congressman Adam Smith regarding an FAA Rule Change which would, in effect, make the language of the State law HB 2315 (which allows the Port to repair and update pre-existing sound insulation systems) as a Federal regulation and thus of benefit to all American airport communities. I cannot stress enough that this is how all airport mitigations will be done in the next decade and it is the single biggest error our local leaders have made. We must focus our attention on local mitigations which then propagate up to the Federal level, rather than waiting for some mythical ‘bi-partisanship’ to help us from the top down.

Last Week

Tuesday: Port Of Seattle Meeting (Agenda). On Page 3 is the Port’s 2021 Legislative Agenda which has some very fine ideas about Federal legislation to reduce noise and pollution. The Port is supporting its own interests, which do not currently include anything that would reduce their revenues. They are not ready to take a hit financially in order to reduce noise, pollution or work substantively on climate change.

Wednesday: Rotary Club. I gave a speech on Sea-Tac Airport and new opportunities for airport mitigation that I urge everyone to read it.

Thursday: Puget Sound Regional Council Transportation Board. The notable item for me was looking at how much funding each City is getting. Des Moines got grants to work on the Highline College segment of Barnes Creek Trail, which is great. But I sure wish we could get more!

Friday: Sound Cities Association Board Elections. Both Traci Buxton and I ran (and lost) to represent the City Of Des Moines on the South Board. The winners were basically chosen because they had more experience so the decision made sense. My goal was simply to get my name out there–which has been challenging in the pandemic world where almost all the normal ‘schmoozing’ opportunities have been cut off.

City Currents Magazine

*Hopefully by now you have received your copy of the City Currents Magazine (and if you’ve visited the Post Office, you can’t help but be inundated by copies). Many of us just sort of toss them away, perhaps after a quick browse. But the thing is often packed with really useful information and I would encourage residents to really read it.

My biggest issue (get it? 😀 ) with the City Currents is actually the same thing I like most about it: the fact that it does provide a lot of really useful information, summarized in a nice, digestible format. It’s just that it only gets out into the world four times a year. I’m not at all suggesting that the City put more money into printing; actually the opposite.

I go on a lot about how much I hate the City’s web site. And occasionally someone will ask me to ‘stop criticizing and give a positive solution’. OK, the positive solution is to simply make the City web site do what the City Currents does: clear, easy to understand information that’s easy to get through.

Just in this current issue, you’ve got:

• A wonderful directory of your City Employees
• A nice one page summary of City Council ordinances and resolutions
• A letter from Mayor Matt Pina summarizing the Council’s work over the past quarter
• A super nice City Directory with phone numbers
• A summary of the City’s EATS program for seniors and Vets
• An explanation of work being done at the Field House Park
• An article on the City’s ongoing Minor Home Repair Program
• A nice update on all the great things happening at Midway Park
• An update of the Senior Activity Center
• The first thorough description I’ve seen of the City’s GRO Business Grant program (including recipients)
• An article on proper storm water discharge practices

That is all good stuff, much of it I’m sure most of you haven’t hear about yet. Which brings up my two big niggles:

• First, almost all of this is not ‘news’. Almost all of it is months behind the actual events.
• Second, again almost all of this could be put on the City’s web site in a fun and easy to find format that would engage the public the moment you get to the City’s home page.

The home page

In effect, the City’s home page should be the City Currents magazine. And it should be available to the community as events happen. The web site should also have a very prominent calendar, which allows the public to drill down to all events, both municipal and civic, so as to maximize the number of people who can learn about and participate in all our great programs (including volunteer opportunities.)

What we currently have is a web site that technically has a lot of information, but much of it is just buried so deep good luck finding it. And the current (cough) ‘calendar’ doesn’t work the way people expect it to. It is missing many, many events. And even with those that are listed,  it tells them ‘what’, but it doesn’t lead them to the information they want. The net effect of all this is to reduce the number of people who engage with our City on all levels, from volunteering to attending meetings, to finding out about available programs and on and on…

I don’t want to keep beating on this, but most of our sister cities do a much better job in these regards. It’s not a lack of capability, it’s just that we haven’t made the effort here. Yet.

Hang onto your City Currents!

And until we do, I urge you to really read and then keep your copy of City Currents (and if you’d like a copy I’ve got extras). The list of phone numbers alone may come in handy. But the information in every issue gives residents insights into what the City is doing and planning that do not happen all that often.

*The most current online version should be available soon.