I struggled to not publish this. I ran for office in 2019 to improve transparency and reduce the rubber stamping. But after almost two and a half years, I gotta say, things may actually be getting worse. But this has become truly alarming. Perhaps my colleagues are simply unaware of how business is supposed to be conducted.
... continue reading.Policy
And the Spirit Of Des Moines Award goes to…
1 Comment on And the Spirit Of Des Moines Award goes to…The City of Des Moines has a Spirit Of Des Moines Award for people who have made big contributions to our community. (It’s described in Appendix A of our Rules of Procedure.) There’s a “person of the year” version and a “lifetime achievement” version. It’s supposed to be given out every year? Or two years?
... continue reading.Burien Cares ACO proposal
Parks, Recreation and Senior Services Master Plan 2022 (Final) PRSS
Sound insulation should be standard equipment
3 Comments on Sound insulation should be standard equipmentAt Thursday’s meeting, I introduced an item of New Business. Basically an ‘undo key’ on Ordinance 1539 from 2012. Or to put it another way, to re-instate Ordinance 1407 from 2007. To be less confusing: We used to have a section in our building code (Ordinance 1407 from 2007) which required sound insulation in all
... continue reading.04/06/2011 – Animal Control Ad Hoc Committee
Following the shooting of a dog by DMPD that had gotten out of its yard, the City Council created an Ad Hoc Committee to do a lessons learned and establish policies going forward. The story of ‘Rosie the Newfoundland’ got national press coverage and led to a legal settlement with the owners. https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/des-moines-to-pay-51000-over-fatal-shooting-of-dog/
Numbers and goals
A common story I hear is that “Our downtown was always terrible! All the construction cranes since 2016? That means we’re (finally) moving forward!” But OTOH, here are a couple of budget numbers from 2008–right before the bottom dropped out. Note the Sales Tax revenue: Remember: that represents the money that people spend here. It’s
... continue reading.Categories Neighborhoods
Happy Easter
I want to wish all of you who are People Of The Book a very Happy Easter and Passover. Easter in Ireland… This image is of a typical holiday procession from where I grew up. It could be Easter, or Patrick’s Day or whatever holiday. Not too many egg hunts and rabbits with this lot.
... continue reading.Animal Control: Officer Magnuson 2.0
There is an upcoming discussion about outsourcing Animal Control Officer (ACO) services to Burien CARES. For people new to Des Moines, this may seem like not such a big deal. Frankly, the service has not been great the past couple of years for a couple of reasons I won’t go into here. Suffice it to
... continue reading.Categories Transparency
Committees 2022
Below is the list of CM Committee assignments for 2022. The Process In Des Moines, the Mayor is chosen by the Council at the first meeting of the year after the November General Election. Customarily, CMs send their preferences to the new Mayor and he decides committee assignments shortly thereafter. Here is my letter. CMs
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