Google Earth as a tool for Marina Development

1 Comment on Google Earth as a tool for Marina Development

This is a shameless plug for a free program called Google Earth. People with an interest in the Marina often mention Poulsbo, Edmonds, Point Ruston, Tacoma, Kirkland, and other spots, as models we could use for our economic development. I've used all these Marinas, so I've seen them from both 'land and sea'. But I'm not sure most people have. One thing I know for sure--they're all very different from Des Moines. I tried and couldn't find a single image that adequately captures any of these places. There's simply too much 'there' there. That's why having a way to visualise places (as I've talked about with a Virtual Marina Tour here) is so valuable....

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Des Moines City Council May 14, 2015 Marina Financing Presentation

1 Comment on Des Moines City Council May 14, 2015 Marina Financing Presentation

At this meeting, the council received, what I considered at the time, to be a fairly sensible plan for dock replacement. It kept the dock finances and the seawall separate and did not pretend to address big 'plans'. The City got yelled at because one method of financing depended heavily on raising moorage rates and raising fuel costs, both of which had always been below market rate. But that had always been intentional; the Marina had been intended as a public marina. What the boat owners failed to acknowledge at the time was that by now most people paying for moorage did not live in Des Moines....

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223rd Explainer

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There seems to be a ton of confusion about any number of aspects of the Marina proposals. This article addresses what is arguably the central bit of real estate around which everything else revolves: 223rd Street. The Big Picture The original idea for Marina Redevelopment was to have a ‘Marina Steps’ to allow pedestrians to

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It’s not a puppy

3 Comments on It’s not a puppy

This is Page 21 from Ferry Demonstration Project Scoping and Reconnaissance Report dated 08/31/2021. To my knowledge this has not been brought to the Council or any Committee. It does not appear on the City web site until Friday, December 2, 2022.It predicts that a six month ferry program will lose between $997,000 and $1,450,000. But

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Totally Unofficial, Amateur, Google Earth Marina Redevelopment Tour, For Personal Use Only :)

2 Comments on Totally Unofficial, Amateur, Google Earth Marina Redevelopment Tour, For Personal Use Only :)

This was done with Google Earth Pro (GEP.) GEP is very rudimentary and I have the drawing skills of an 8-year old. But GEP does allow one to draw boxes to scale. So all the ‘buildings’ are about 35ft high (the zoned limit.) I actually started this project to see if the September 27 Skylab

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Mayor’s Speech to Des Moines Marina Association Annual Meeting

4 Comments on Mayor’s Speech to Des Moines Marina Association Annual Meeting

A 'private' community presentation by the Mayor to the DMMA membership. I include a transcript, which the DMMA objected to but whatever, because the Mayor revealed a number of items that should have been part of the September 27 public meeting. Must read....

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What a difference a day makes

Please watch the following video.  This is one example of a tool which every and I do mean every architect and engineer and construction manager that has an internet connection, anywhere on planet earth uses every frickin’ day of their lives. This is something we budgeted for in the Marina Redevelopment process to improve engagement.

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Hell No, Pokemon Go!

On August 18, 2016, the Marina District was so overrun with visitors that your City Council decided to take immediate and decisive action! But then, only a month later, the City asked them to, ya know, maybe re-think that? It was all to do with one of these newfangled phone app games that all the kids

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