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Engagement, Policy, Transparency, Weekly UpdatesSea-Tac Airport, Senior Center

Weekly Update: 07/27/2020

Yes, I’m late, Late, LATE. What can I say? Everybody’s always telling me ‘take a few days off.’ So… 😀 This Week Wednesday: come have lunch with me at the Senior Center. Get an EATS voucher! Thursday: Meeting with Tina Orwall and Federal Way Schools on school air quality improvement program. That’s it. Nothing else!

Engagement, Neighborhoods, Policy, Transparency, Weekly UpdatesSea-Tac Airport, Senior Center

Weekly Update: 07/19/2020

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This Week Monday: Meeting with Tina Orwall and Federal Way Schools on school air quality improvement program. Tuesday: Burien Airport Committee (Agenda and information on attending via Zoom) Wednesday: come have lunch with me at the Senior Center. Get an EATS voucher! Wednesday: Highline Forum. There will be a discussion of recent studies on UltraFine

Neighborhoods, Policy, TransparencyForterra, History, Landmarks, Van Gasken House

Tearing down the Van Gasken House makes Des Moines poorer

July 13, 2020March 10, 2024

The vote at the July 9 2020 City Council Meeting to demolish the Van Gasken House was a mistake that will make Des Moines poorer-in every sense of the word....

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Engagement, Neighborhoods, Policy, Transparency, Weekly UpdatesFireworks, Karen Keiser, PSRC, Sea-Tac Airport, Senior Center, StART

Weekly Update: 07/12/2020

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This Week Wednesday: come have lunch with me at the Senior Center. Get an EATS voucher! Thursday: City Council Meeting (Agenda) Last Week Tuesday: Puget Sound Regional Committee (PSRC) Transportation Board Zoom Meeting. (Remember: they’re most important agency nobody knows about.) Discussion of Fast Ferry and about half a billion in regional transportation monies. Tuesday:

Engagement, Neighborhoods, Policy, Transparency, Weekly UpdatesPSRC, Sea-Tac Airport, Senior Center, StART, Tina Orwall

Weekly Update: 07/06/2020

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This Week Tuesday: Puget Sound Regional Committee (PSRC) Transportation Board Zoom Meeting. (Remember: they’re most important agency nobody knows about.) Discussion of Fast Ferry and about half a billion in regional transportation monies. (More below.) Tuesday: phone call with Senator Karen Keiser on air quality monitor stuff. Wednesday: come have lunch with me at the

Engagement, Neighborhoods, Policy, Transparency, Weekly UpdatesBetter City Council Meetings, Committees, Senior Center

Half-Weekly Update: 07/01/2020

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Air Quality, Highline Good Neighbors, Metro, Patio tables, City Council Meeting, A huge essay on Committees: how they work and why you should get involved!...

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Public Safety

Port Of Seattle Special Meeting On Policing and Racism (Public Comment)

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FROM: JC Harris PO Box 13094 Des Moines, WA 98198 (206) 878-0578TO: Commissioners Of The Port Of Seattle: Peter Steinbreuck, Fred Felleman, Stephanie Bowman, Ryan Calkins, Sam ChoJune 29, 2020 Commissioners, I am writing to you in this context as a private citizen. I applaud the Port’s efforts at self-reflection on matters of policing and

Airport, Policy, Weekly UpdatesSenior Center

Weekly Update: 06/21/2020

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Just a quick note: Yes, this site is going through some (cough) ‘changes’ now. A few things will probably look goofy for a couple of days. This Week Tuesday: Association of Washington Cities (AWC) ‘virtual’ annual conference. Tuesday: Another one of those darned Port Of Seattle meetings. Not on the agenda, but there should be

Airport, Economic Development, Policy, Public Safety, Weekly UpdatesPort Of Seattle, Redondo, Sea-Tac Airport, Senior Center, VSWAT

Weekly Update: 06/14/2020

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This Week Monday: Sound Cities Association meeting on helping businesses to re-open. Tuesday: SCATbd Meeting. The cuts to King County Metro are looking to be pretty massive in the next two years. Unfortunately, I don’t have a Zoom link yet so check their web site if you want to comment. The drag is that this

Airport, Economic Development, Policy, Public Safety, Weekly UpdatesPort Of Seattle, Sea-Tac Airport, Senior Center

Weekly Update: 06/07/2020

This Week Web meeting with Southside Seattle Chamber Of Commerce on small business grants in Des Moines. (See Last Week below). Tuesday: Port Of Seattle General Meeting. A final vote to proceed with their long-term plan ‘Century Agenda’; a long term blueprint for growth. What I asked them to consider is that they hold off

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.