Intro Fair warning: All is true, but I walked into this with a chip on my shoulder. Because: The meeting was held with the bare minimum 24 hours legal notice. At a non-standard location (Police Station) Was not recorded. Did not show up on my City Calendar like other committee meetings. There was nothing on
... continue reading.Transparency
An excerpt from the City of Sequim Rules of Procedure
1 Comment on An excerpt from the City of Sequim Rules of ProcedureThis is an excerpt from the Rules of Procedure in Sequim, which is typical of many cities in Washington. I picked it simply because long-time Councilmember Bob Sheckler moved to Sequim and applied to be on their City Council so I became familiar with their system. Almost all Washington cities copy our RoP from a
... continue reading.More fun with advisory… er… ‘listening’ groups…
1 Comment on More fun with advisory… er… ‘listening’ groups…Introduction In the ongoing silliness that makes residents’ eyes roll. But this actually matters. It’s one of a zillion examples where the Mayor uses the fact that most people have no idea how limited his authority is. He uses the title to take advantage of situations big and small–as has every mayor since i’ve lived
... continue reading.Sequim Council Operations Rules of Procedure 2021/01/04 (Article 5: Relations with city manager and staff)
CITY OF SEQUIM RESOLUTION NO. R2020-27 ARTICLE 5 – RELATIONS WITH CITY MANAGER & STAFF 5.1 Role of the City Manager. The City Manager has general supervision over the City’s administrative affairs. The Manager is directly accountable to the City Council for the execution of the Council’s policy directives, and for the administration and management
13 days
2 Comments on 13 daysWe received a 2.5 week update on our Ferry that was so optimistic it reminded me of The Music Man; a much better piece of sales theater.
... continue reading.City of Des Moines Audio Recording Destruction Log
On 8/17/2022 4:26 PM, Bonnie Wilkins wrote: > Hi JC, > > My predecessor’s either destroyed a lot of documents, or sent them off to the State Archives. Other than what’s on line we do not have any VHS videos (or any other format media) stored at City Hall. > > Some information to note,
Prepare to comment for the Masonic Home Demolition EIS Public Meeting
1 Comment on Prepare to comment for the Masonic Home Demolition EIS Public MeetingAt 6:00PM on August 15, 2022 there will be a Zoom meeting, to take public comment on the SEPA process for the demolition permit of the Masonic Home. The consultant (ESA) will be there, as well as the City SEPA official, Denise Lathrop. You need to sign up in advance and read up here: https://desmoineswa.gov/zenitheis.
... continue reading.The Hard Things Are Not Easy
1 Comment on The Hard Things Are Not EasyWho can argue with that, right? 😀 Those were among the final words from Mayor Mahoney at our 7 July Meeting. He was responding to my final comments about the Council’s 6-1 decision to update our Rules Of Procedure in November based on a verbal proposal from Deputy Mayor Buxton. That 1process seemed about the
... continue reading.Port of Seattle assigns Panattoni to develop to Des Moines Creek Business Park West
6 Comments on Port of Seattle assigns Panattoni to develop to Des Moines Creek Business Park WestI almost titled this post “This is what a sellout looks like” But I restrained myself. 🙂 At the 12 July Port of Seattle Commission Meeting, the Port voted to proceed with the Item 10b (Des Moines Creek West Ground Lease.) (Presentation.) This is the scrubby forest land west of the FAA building on 216th
... continue reading.New rule: Follow the rules we already have
1 Comment on New rule: Follow the rules we already haveAt our last meeting, Deputy Mayor Buxton asked to schedule an update to our Rules of Procedure. And presto, it is on the 7 July Agenda. There have been a couple of dozen updates to our Council’s Rules of Procedure. The last was in November 2019 the meeting immediately after my election. Was I happy
... continue reading.