Marina Steps Community Meeting Post Game

For those of you who missed the February 13, 2024 Marina Steps Community Meeting.

Full slide deck

Des Moines Marina Steps Public Forum Presentation-02.13.2024

Video

Here is a cleaned up video originally shot by Mayor Buxton; with subtitles.

More Info

What do I think? 😀

In my weekly meeting with Interim City Manager, I was asked what I thought. And I’ve been thinking about what I think. Currently I have a ton of uncoordinated impressions:

Many residents will assume that ‘the boat has sailed’ (see what I did there? 😀 ) After all, we voted to spend the money. The City has no more plans for community meetings, and the engineers describe the project as being “at 30%”, which is generally developer-speak for ‘baked’. So a certain number of people will think that any critique is at minimum pointless, and at worst impolite. As I said, I don’t know my own mind yet, but I do know that I disagree with that.
Beyond that, my feelings are in two broad categories, the project itself and the presentation. The presentation probably looked great to some by comparison with the last Marina Redevelopment Community meeting. But that’s like comparing your last cruise with the Titanic. 😀
As far as the project, the one slide in the presentation that was not there and which kinda irked me, involved the ‘interfaces’, ie. the bottom and TOP OF THE FREAKIN’ HILL. 😀 What I desperately want to know is what the edge of 223rd will look like (what is currently known as Overlook I). To me, that is the key spot to the whole shebang because that is where people will head down (or up) to 223rd.
There’s one other thing: When people heading west on 223rd hit that interface, they have another choice. They can turn right and head down Cliff Ave. Currently one of the most popular (and often dangerous) choices a pedestrian can make in the entire city.

The top of the hillside, aka the foot of 223rd is Overlook Park I (not to be confused with Overlook Park II to the north. The core function of the Marina Steps is to allow people a way to walk up and down to and from the Marina.
The road past Overlook II connecting 222nd to Cliff (and the hairpin turn) will be closed off

In my view, that top interface and improvements to that pathway down Cliff Ave. should be presented now. Why now? Because *we’re rebuilding the entire freakin’ hill, man! 😀 If we’re building those steps, we’ll be pushing a ton (actually many tons) of dirt around. I think we should have the design of that top interface, including the design of pedestrian-friendly walkway down Cliff Ave. now.

Iconography

One last thing while I’m thinking out loud…

On my way home I took this piccie of the fishing pier. And I’ll irritate some by saying that this is absolutely nothing special. You can see that image pretty much any night of the week. What makes it very special is the fact that you can see this glorious image pretty much any night of the week.

What’s ‘nothing special’ is the Fishing Pier itself. It has no uniquely great ‘design features’. It just does what a fishing pier is meant to do. The beauty is just a bonus. I would argue that the beauty overtook the functionality many years ago. In other words, it’s become an iconic civic space that now just happens to allow for some fishing.

Get it? It’s unintentionally iconic. And along with some sailboats, it is the branding of Des Moines. It sets us apart. But it wasn’t like someone designed it to be ‘iconic’. They designed a fishing pier.

I guess what I’m saying, and this just might be my engineery bias showing, if the core functions of the thing yer building perform well, the other jazz takes care of itself. (And by ‘jazz’ I mean aesthetics, entertainment, tourism, etc.)

The Marina and Fishing Pier have both performed their core functions admirably. Again, the beauty and civic benefits are just a bonus.

At bottom, the Marina Steps core function should be to efficiently connect people of all ages and abilities with the Marina and Downtown.

So the question I’m asking, as I talk to people and stare at these slides is the following: “How well will this Steps project perform its core function?”

*Best resident comment of all time. Finalist. Actually, the complete quote is “I didn’t really think about it until now but we’re rebuilding the entire freakin’ hill, man.” Yes. Yes we are. 😀

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

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.

Full slide deck

Video

More Info

What do I think? 😀

Iconography

Share this:

Comments

Leave a Reply Cancel reply