Why won’t you stay dead, Item 4a?

At the January 12, 2012 meeting (Agenda), the City Council discusses its Legislative Agenda for the coming year. Back in those days, the Council would devote a lengthy discussion to County, State and Federal legislation and go over each item individually. According to the Minutes

Councilmember Scott moved to delete 4a, consideration of Des Moines as a site for a future passenger-only ferry; Councilmember Pina, second. The motion passed, 5-1. Councilmember Burrage voted no.

2:23:14 City Manager Tony Piasecki
Your honor the next item I see that we probably ought to talk about removing is 4A. We talked about deleting that last year decided to leave it in there for just ‘what the heck’.

(laughter from Mayor Kaplan)

But I don’t see anywhere in the future short middle or distant that that is something that’s going to be coming to Puget Sound. The state is having enough trouble just keeping the current afloat, pun intended, and the county had created a ferry district and ¹they got rid of it because they needed the property tax for other purposes. I just don’t know if you want to keep that in there as a policy.

Mayor Dave Kaplan
They sure did get our property tax extra property tax on that didn’t they?

Piasecki
Uh huh.

Kaplan
Is there a motion to delete item 4A?

Councilmember Carmen Scott
I so move.

Kaplan
Motion made by council member Scott, seconded by mayor Pro Tem Pina. All in favor raise your hand say aye.

Opposed?

Councilmember Jeanette Burrage
Aye.

Kaplan
Passes five to one.

(Crosstalk between Councilmember Melissa Musser and Mayor Pro Tem Matt Pina. Both voted in favour of the motion.)

Councilmember Melissa Musser
Why are we taking it out?

Mayor Pro Tem Matt Pina
Because there’s no hope in it happening.

Musser
Is there anything under Federal where we… all good this all the Federal, no yeah?

Piasecki
I saw nothing in Federal that I would recommend changing it.

Background

Why is Mayor Pro Tem Pina so sure? Here’s why. At the time, Councilmember Susan White was spearheading an effort to bring a POF to Des Moines. And in 2007-2008 the Puget Sound Regional Council (PSRC) was doing the same, thorough analysis of POFs they did in 2020. The PSRC is uber-pro-growth and uber-pro-transportation. They approved funding on the Third Runway! They would loooooooooooooooooooooooove to recommend such a plan.

Unfortunately, the data says that, even with 40% ridership (which is what our consultant agrees is what we can reasonably expect), the annual operating cost would be $1,900,000 and the one-way fee for Des Moines to Seattle would need to be $51.10 just to break even. And that was in 2008!

¹Actually, King County resurrected the very nice King County Water Taxi Service. But Des Moines ranked too low in their 2015 expansion study to qualify. Their recommendation was to find ways to get commuters to the Light Rail–hence their support for the Metro 635 Shuttle.

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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.

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