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MRSC Inquiry: City Manager Performance Review (Part 2 of 2)

Inquiry: May a city manager review individual councilmembers? Response: On the question of whether the city manager may provide feedback to councilmembers in an executive session, I agree with my colleague Oskar Rey’s April 2021 inquiry response to you. RCW 42.30.110(1)(g) authorizes executive sessions for the council to “to review the performance of a public … Continue reading “MRSC Inquiry: City Manager Performance Review (Part 2 of 2)”

MRSC Inquiry on Serial meetings

Transparency1 Comment

Inquiry: When councilmembers confer in advance about matters to come before the council when is it a serial meeting in violation of the OPMA? Response: In my opinion, it would be a serial meeting in violation of the Open Public Meetings Act (OPMA) if a quorum of city council members confer with each other, including … Continue reading “MRSC Inquiry on Serial meetings”

MRSC Inquiry: City Manager Performance Review (Part 1 of 2)

Transparency

Inquiry: May a city council review of the city manager’s performance happen in an executive session? Response: It looks like the annual evaluation of a city manager may take place during an executive session under the authority of RCW 42.30.110(1)(g). However, if a city is considering termination of a city manager’s appointment, then a resolution, … Continue reading “MRSC Inquiry: City Manager Performance Review (Part 1 of 2)”

Weekly Update: 12/05/2021

Public Safety, Transparency, Transportation, Weekly Updates4 Comments

Public Service Announcements This Week Tuesday: 9AM. Port Of Seattle, State Of The Port This is a pre-recorded presentation. It’s a political nerd thing, but worth watching not so much because the Port has that much direct connection with Des Moines, but because it tells us, essentially where they are at with regard to climate … Continue reading “Weekly Update: 12/05/2021”

The web site is an essential city service

Engagement, Transparency

This is the Des Moines City Web Site… as captured by our friend the Wayback Machine… on November 30, 2021 And this is the site as it exists on 12/05/2021 Notice anything missing? The Search. I guess someone decided that since it doesn’t work, hey… who needs it right? 😃 It’s just a problem… Everyone … Continue reading “The web site is an essential city service”

Weekly Update: 11/28/2021

Engagement, Public Safety, Taxes, Transparency, Weekly Updates2 Comments

Happy Hanukkah! There’s never a piccie of a dreidel or a menorah when you need one. 🙂 Public Service Announcements This Week Monday: Highline Superintendent Search. (ERAC, Burien) Come join me to comment on what you want to see in the next Executive of our school system! Thursday: 3PM Municipal Facilities Meeting. No agenda yet. … Continue reading “Weekly Update: 11/28/2021”

Some see things that never were…

Economic Development, Policy, Transparency

I’ll say. 😀 At our last City Council Meeting, our City Manager opened the discussion of selecting the developer for Parcel A by recounting that, early in his career he had been given a fellowship by the Robert F Kennedy for work with low income families in Oakland, California. I had no idea what that … Continue reading “Some see things that never were…”

Weekly Update: 11/22/2021

Engagement, Transparency, Weekly Updates1 Comment

Public Service Announcements This Week Tuesday: Meeting with Arshia Nilchan, political director for Rep. Adam Smith. No, I’m still independent. But all the candidates for City Council this cycle were running as Democats and at least a few asked for his endorsement, so I wanted to give him some feedback on the process. Thursday:Look, I … Continue reading “Weekly Update: 11/22/2021”

Parcel A

Economic Development, Engagement, Marina, Transparency9 Comments

At our November 18, 2021 meeting, we chose a developer to enter into an exclusive negotiating agreement with the City to develop Parcel A of the Marina Floor as described in the RFQ from our 18 November 2021 Meeting. Essentially, it was a job interview. Drama? After the meeting I got some feedback telling me … Continue reading “Parcel A”

Proposed Budget Amendments 2021

Economic Development, TransparencyBetter City Council Meetings, Budget, Finance2 Comments

Submitted to Councilmembers as “information only” November 13, 2021 Fellow Councilmembers, At Thursday’s meeting I will present the following six budget amendment items, most of whichh I have already discussed with Beth Anne and Dan Brewer on November 4. They total $41,204. $5,000 of which is a one-time expense and the remaining $36,204 to be … Continue reading “Proposed Budget Amendments 2021”

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.