Ordinance No. 1346 – property tax lid lift 2004 for public safety, transportation, community services

This initiative failed

Story by Debbie Cockrell, The News Tribune (Tacoma, Wash.) • 4d Feb. 16—Point Ruston’s lawsuits and financial woes now include legal action from condominium associations representing residents at the site. On Jan. 25, five condominium associations representing building residents at Point Ruston filed a petition in Pierce County Superior Court against the Point Ruston Owners Association. The … Continue reading “Point Ruston’s legal battles grow as condo groups seek neutral party to govern site”

City Council Photo Gallery

Last Updated:March 13th, 2024 @ 11:36AM

A (so-far) incomplete set of individual and group photos of past and present city councilmembers from 1996-2023

Living Road of Remembrance Utility Wraps Memorial Day 2023

May 29, 2023January 30, 2024 JC Harris

HistoryLeave a comment

Meet Des Moines artist Daniel Wend. He created the WWI utility wraps along Des Moines Memorial Drive for the Living Road of Remembrance. The Des Moines Memorial Drive Preservation had the official ribbon cutting today at Sunnydale Elementary School as part of their Memorial Day ceremony. The wraps begin at 116th and move south to … Continue reading “Living Road of Remembrance Utility Wraps Memorial Day 2023”

An excerpt from STNI: The Chicken or the Egg

JC Harris

Airport, History2 Comments

As many of you know, my day job is working with SeaTacNoise.Info. We have an upcoming documentary on the community history of Sea-Tac Airport. I’ll be publishing a series of ‘excerpts’ and here is Part I: The Chicken or the Egg–1949-1990, which basically answers the questions: Who was here first? And: How did we let an airport so close to so many people get so big?

Van Gasken House

The following is from an article at the Des Moines Historical Society. The building was demolished by the City in 2022 and replaced by Sound View Park. Van Gasken House 402 S. 222nd St. This house overlooking Puget Sound was built in 1889 for Capt. William D. Fleming and his wife Jane. Jane, a widow … Continue reading "Van Gasken House"

Why won’t you stay dead, Item 4a?

History, MarinaFerry, passenger ferry1 Comment

The idea of a passenger ferry keeps coming back every few years. Here’s a meeting from 2012 which should have driven a stake through its heart. I think the reason it keeps rising from the grave is that most people don’t know about these previous attempts. They don’t know all the reasons both the County and the State keep trying to tell us, “bad idea.” But leadership always thinks “this time will be different!” and says “the situation has changed!” Decide for yourself how much has really changed.

Council Retreat 11/15/2014 (Part 2) Marina

History, Marina, Transparencybeta

The Council used to do these Saturday morning planning retreats off-site, which means that there is only audio or no recording at all. This is Part 2 of a very significant planning meeting concerning the Marina. In the words of then Harbormaster Joe Dusenberry, “What do we want the Marina to be?”

The topics are all mainly about the Marina, but about the 1:05:00 mark, when the Mayor is wrapping it up, City Manager Piaskecki raises a final discussion about ‘Communications’, including: improving the City’s web sites, ongoing complaints regarding Comcast, the need to improve Internet options, and for the City to improve public outreach.

UW Storefront Studio Re-imagines Des Moines

Last Updated:February 10th, 2023 @ 03:24PM

History, Marinabeta, Storefront Studio, UW4 Comments

In 2008 the City of Des Moines hired the UW School of Architecture ‘Storefront Studio’ to do a ‘re-imagining’ of Des Moines. (Actually, we did this again in 2011 witha WayFinding project.) Here is a complete copy of their great work plus some explainers on some of the key ideas and images. If you have any interest in Marina Redevelopment, this is a must-read.

Storefront Studio North Parking Lot

In 2008 the City of Des Moines hired the UW School of Architecture (Storefront Studio) to do a ‘reimagining’ of Des Moines. Actually, we did this twice. I keep meaning to upload these images. It covered all of the downtown as well as the Marina. It had all kinds of cool ideas–including making 223rd the … Continue reading "Storefront Studio North Parking Lot"

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. And, And, AND, you can also get free rapid tests here and at KCLS Libraries!

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 you have a Port Package 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.

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.