Articles about: Policy - JC Harris For Des Moines, Washington

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

Transparency

MRSC Inquiry on Serial meetings

1 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

Transparency

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

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,

Engagement, Transparency

The web site is an essential city service

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

Economic Development, Policy, Transparency

Some see things that never were…

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

Economic Development, Engagement, Marina, Transparency

Parcel A

9 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

Economic Development, TransparencyBetter City Council Meetings, Budget, Finance

Proposed Budget Amendments 2021

2 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

Regular Meeting Agenda (Full Packet) 18 Nov 2021

RFQ Parcel A, Martinelli Censure

Engagement, Marina, Transparency

Reject all three

1 Comment

The central premise of the Marina Redevelopment (land side) has always been that 223rd Ave should be brought down to the Marina Floor in some way. The current plan is to have a set of windy Steps that switch back and forth in front of the South Shores Condo. OK, that part -could- be great.

Engagement, Neighborhoods, Public Safety

A letter to Selena Taylor

Selena Taylor is the mother of a young man killed at La Familia Sports Pub on Pacific Highway September 26, 2021. Hi, I am writing you today to (hopefully) respond a bit more clearly to your public comment last night. Just as you and Betty were speaking it dawned on me that this weekend is,

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.