Weekly Update: 03/06/2022

Public Service Announcements

This Week

Monday: Meeting with Beacon Hill Community Council, Maria Batayola

Tuesday: Port of Seattle Commission Meeting (Agenda)

Wednesday: Puget Sound Clean Air Agencyo. The EPA has unveiled a new series of Community Grants that are available to airport communities. Several local organisations have expressed interest and I’m trying to meet with all of them to make sure we’re not overlapping or working at cross purposes. My goal is to have  annual air quality monitoring reports of the entire flight path so we can track changes in air quality at the neighbourhood level. We did one set of measurements in 2017, but we need to do it every year. When SR-509 comes on line and air cargo (and truck) traffic  expands we have to know what it is doing to us so we can (finally) obtain the relief we should have gotten twenty years ago.

Thursday: City Council Meeting (Agenda).  Watch the meeting on Youtube here. Sign up for Public Comment (here) There are two items on the City Manager Report and that usually means something significant. There is a  request for additional funding for ‘Sound View Park’ (formerly known as the Van Gasken House. Apparently it has to do with drainage and creating some amenities that give a nod to Native American Culture.

I’m just gonna keep repeating some of my ongoing beefs.

1. Our next meeting after this has been re-scheduled for March 31. By then we’ll have had nine meetings and possibly gone three months without committees and with the most empty agendas I can recall. And that means a whole bunch of ‘stuff’ will either get crammed into the rest of the year or the Council will simply avoid it altogether. I understand the Council vacancy process mattered to the public, but it further reduced any chances at oversight or providing direction.
2. Speaking of which, the whole New Business item, where CMs can ask to have new items placed on a future agenda. Notice how that went missing in action over a month ago. That’s another one of those process things. When the last Council finally gave in and added it to our meetings, they refused to change the Rules of Procedure. So it’s totally up to the Mayor to giveth and taketh away. Note to future CMs: always get it in writing.
3. Unlike other governments (see Port of Seattle Commission above), neither the City Manager or staff ever provides presentation materials ahead of the meeting. So I have no idea what to expect.
4. Let’s talk again about Vouchers, since this week we received the Agenda Packet, but not the Voucher Reports, which in this case is $4,758,506.45.

   

   1. The Voucher Report is a list of all the checks the City writes to pay bills. It is a public document, which, unlike the Agenda, the public never sees. And that too is unlike other cities.
   2. We do not receive copies of the actual bills we are approving, just the dollar amount. So if I see an item I have a question about I have to request that the Finance Dept. send me a copy. That is also unlike other cities, which provide a way for CMs to see those invoices any time they like.
   3. The City Manager has a rule that all questions must be received by 4PM on Monday. So if I have a question re. one of these bills and I don’t get it in by 4PM, I won’t get an answer.
   4. In this case, if I don’t get the Voucher Report until Monday morning, I only have a few hours to scan it and see if I have questions. Now, I’m retired so I can usually make time. But if you have a full-time job, you will likely have no chance to see that Voucher Report even if it shows up on Monday.
   5. And, the City Manager sees no obligation in reporting back. There have been many times where I’ve asked a question about a particular invoice and received the response after the meeting where I voted to approve the Voucher Report. I’ve literally had to vote sight unseen.
   6. Once the meeting is over, if I have question on one of the invoices I have voted to approve, the City Manager has told me that he is under no obligation to answer questions after the relevant meeting.
   7. So this week, as has happened before, there is a very real possibility that I’ll be voting to approve 4,758,506.45 with no way to review what the hell I’m saying ‘yes’ to.(OK, look I see ya sweating there and I’m sorry if I made ya nervous. I just want to reassure you that the law says that I can do that and no matter what happens, I won’t be held responsible in any way. Thanks for your concern. 🙂 )

Last Week

Tuesday: Chief Thomas’ Police Advisory Committee.

1. We discussed crime stats on this report: DMPD Crime Stats 201-2021 Overview Sheet. I really want to obtain reports by neighbourhood. I also want to get reporting of the areas in Kent along Pac Highway and KDM so we can tell how those areas contribute to the big picture, but that may take some doing.
2. We talked about the challenges in staffing up the Mental Health Ride-Alongs. This is a whole new area of law enforcement here. We probably should have been building these programs years ago to prepare for now.
3. We’re (finally) back to ‘fully staffed’, ie. we have everyone we need to do every shift. COVID-19 has been rough on our department.  OK, now add the recent uptick in violent crime and then last year’s police reform laws. Now add a number of retirements and other leaves of absence. It’s been a lot for our Chief and our officers to absorb. I am glad to see so much public support for the force because such a stressful work environment requires a high level of morale.

Tuesday: 4Culture Heritage Grants Meeting. I’ve had a strong desire for a long time to scan every local newspaper and put it on line in a searchable format. I see all those old Des Moines News and Highline Times as the key to helping residents understand how our City began and how we got to where we are today. The Des Moines Historical Society has all those copies in pristine condition. I’m just helping get them connected.

Thursday: Sea-Tac Airport International Arrivals Facility Preview. More below.

Thursday: City Council Meeting (Agenda) (Video).  Former Deputy Mayor and former South King County Fire Chief Vic Pennington was chosen to fill the Council position left open by the resignation of Anthony Martinelli. More below…

Sea-Tac Airport International Arrivals Facility Preview

So… this is one of those things you get invited to if yer a low-rent elected. Thursday’s big reveal of the IAF was a chance to see the facility with no people. The Native American dance show was cool. You get to stand next to the Governor. (Ya know why he’s the Governor? He said he remembered me in a way that made me kinda believe it. That’s talent! 😃 )

But this is the beginning of a new phase of airport expansion. The public fear has always been about a ‘fourth runway’. What the public does not hear enough is that with GPS-based navigation, there is no need for it. The airport can expand operations almost as much as demand will allow wth the current three runways.

The limiting factor is on the ground. Getting planes out to their ‘parking places’ as fast as possible. Getting passengers in and out as fast as possible. Getting cargo off-loaded as fast as possible. THOSE are the choke points.

This is one piece of that puzzle: getting passengers processed. In a few years, SR-509 will make it possible to more than TRIPLE cargo flights.

The message I keep trying to say to the community is that the airport is complex. It keeps expanding. We cannot stand by passively while it does.

And I’m not. As I wrote above, I’m currently working on several projects to help with this, including air quality monitoring with PSCAA, Port Package Updates, and a bill to incentivise businesses and government agencies to continue and expand remote conferencing options to reduce air travel.

Re: The 2022 Council Vacancy Vote