The third Ad Hoc Rules of Procedure meeting was, in some ways, the most chilling yet. It began with an argument over recording the meeting and went downhill from there. I strongly urge people to listen to 20:00 where the City Attorney uses a recent Supreme Court case to argue that the Council has an unlimited right to censure a member for basically any reason it chooses--including displaying any form of 'dissent' following the meeting or any form of 'criticism' of staff'. Though the term 'staff' was left undefined. There was also a lengthy discussion on 'hats'. As the kids say, "Mask off."...

Seattle utilities consider massive efforts that could help green our grid

March 22, 2023April 22, 2023

EnvironmentClimate, Pacific Northwest Magazine, Seattle Times

March 22, 2023 at 7:00 am The $2 billion Goldendale Energy Storage Project proposes to generate 1,200 megawatts of power with pumped-storage hydropower, using upper and lower reservoirs above the John Day Dam. Leaders of the Yakama Nation say the proposed location is sacred, holding archaeological, ceremonial and First Food gathering sites… (Washington State /

Transparency

Ad Hoc Rules of Procedure Committee Meeting #3 Pre-game

March 19, 2023March 21, 2023

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My thoughts on the draft version of our new Council Protocol Manual (previously known as our Rules of Procedure.) There will be a meeting of the Ad Hoc Rules committee on Thursday March 23 at 3:30PM and I strongly urge you to attend....

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Dear people of WA: The case for another voter-enacted open government law

March 12, 2023March 17, 2023

External Articles, TransparencyKate Riley, Seattle Times

March 10, 2023 at 2:03 pm Updated March 10, 2023 at 3:03 pm By Kate Riley Times editorial page editor Just over 50 years ago, Washington voters approved Initiative 276, which demonstrated the citizenry’s righteous desire to keep tabs on their elected officials. With that vote, the state Public Records Act established the right of the

Engagement, Transparency

Evil and irresponsible actions

March 5, 2023March 7, 2023 JC Harris

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An essay describing one example of the off-dais bullying, misinformation and why that makes it harder for residents to get what they want. "We are also aware of your efforts to... create division in the... community. I demand you stop such evil and irresponsible actions."...

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King County needs 17K new homes every year to address housing shortage

March 3, 2023March 7, 2023

NeighborhoodsHousing, Seattle Times

Homes are seen along the east side of Beacon Hill in Seattle. King Co. needs 17K new homes every year to address housing shortage. (Ken Lambert / The Seattle Times, 2022) By Heidi Groover Seattle Times business reporter Just how much new construction is necessary to meet our region’s housing shortage? King County would need

The battle is on to increase housing supply; we’ll see if it works

March 3, 2023March 11, 2023

External Articles, NeighborhoodsHousing, Seattle Times

Seattle’s Queen Anne neighborhood with the Magnolia neighborhood in the distance as seen from the Space Needle. (Amanda Snyder / The Seattle Times, 2021) By Jon Talton Columnist This may be the year of aggressive efforts to increase the housing supply in Washington and Seattle. A total of 13 bills are moving through the Legislature

Be bolder to get light rail done, expert panel tells Sound Transit

March 2, 2023March 7, 2023

TransportationSeattle Times, Sound Transit, Traffic Lab

By Mike Lindblom Seattle Times staff reporter Outside experts warn that Sound Transit light-rail extensions, already years late, will careen into endless delays unless the board and executives adopt a big-time mindset to match the 116-mile network they promised the voters. That means a harder line dealing with 53 local governments, which sometimes view transit

Transparency

Hard Fork

February 19, 2023February 20, 2023

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A parable on "the hard fork", an engineering term for making a clean break with a system that has outlived its usefulness. Microsoft took the hard fork about a decade ago and the results speak for themselves. There are some real lessons to be learned here....

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Marina, Neighborhoods, Taxes

Money is the real equity

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An essay about why dock repairs, are really about Equity--doing what is right for the entire City for a change. The way we are approaching Marina Redevelopment is not only fiscally irresponsible it is unfair to the full community--particularly the younger and more diverse parts of the city....

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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.

Policy

Ad Hoc Rules of Procedure Meeting #3 Post-game

Seattle utilities consider massive efforts that could help green our grid

Ad Hoc Rules of Procedure Committee Meeting #3 Pre-game

Dear people of WA: The case for another voter-enacted open government law

Evil and irresponsible actions

King County needs 17K new homes every year to address housing shortage

The battle is on to increase housing supply; we’ll see if it works

Be bolder to get light rail done, expert panel tells Sound Transit

Hard Fork

Money is the real equity