Weekly Updates

Every week I provide an update on what I’m doing, public service announcements, ways to get involved, info on the City and what the City is planning!

Engagement, Policy, Transparency, Weekly Updates

Weekly Update: 02/26/2023

February 26, 2023March 3, 20232326

2 Comments

This Week: City Council meeting features 'goal setting'. I offer a review of last year's similar meetings--and how the Communications Consultant deal got started. Last Week: City Council meeting features Future Cities, communications consultant contract and more cop cars. A follow up to last week's essay on The Hard Fork, which for Des Moines means not making the same mistakes over and over... and over....

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Marina, Policy, Transparency, Weekly Updates

Weekly Update: 02/19/2023

February 19, 2023February 21, 2023528

2 Comments

This Week: City Council meeting features Future Cities, communications consultant contract and more cop cars. Last Week: Port of Seattle Commission Meeting, Highline MAST meeting on Water Quality. A link to an essay on the Hard Fork. An engineering term referring to the decision to move in a new direction and the most successful case study I can think of: Microsoft....

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Marina, Policy, Transparency, Weekly Updates

Weekly Update: 02/12/2023

February 12, 2023February 13, 2023304

2 Comments

This Week: Port of Seattle Commission Meeting, Highline MAST meeting on Water Quality. Last week testimony on SB5199, a bill to provide funding for Local Journalism co-sponsored by our own Senator Karen Keiser. DMMA Meeting. Meetings with several groups on Des Moines Memorial Drive and SR509. Thursday: Auditor Exit Interview. Good report except for a minor ding on ARPA accounting. A link to an essay on Equity, which will sound a lot like another 'Marina' thing, but really it's about spending the largest chunks of money in our City's history in a way that's fair for the entire community. Including you. :)...

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Marina, Policy, Transparency, Weekly Updates

Weekly Update: 02/05/2023

February 6, 2023February 7, 20231810

4 Comments

This week I will be testifying on SB5199, a bill to provide funding for Local Journalism co-sponsored by our own Senator Karen Keiser. Wednesday: Meeting with several groups on Des Moines Memorial Drive and SR509. Thursday: Auditor Exit Interview. This is where the State provides a final evaluation on our financial statements. 02/02/2023 Council Meeting Recap ---Black History Proclamation ---Care for babies born with drug addiction (great presentation!) ---Censure of moi ---Redondo beach declared a 'park' for the purposes of installing a speed camera ---Marina Land side feasibility studies (I voted no)...

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Marina, Policy, Transparency, Weekly Updates

Weekly Update: 01/29/2023

January 29, 2023February 4, 2023

4 Comments

Marina Study Session postgame. Coho Pen delivery! Next meeting? More Marina. Redondo gets a new park. And I get railr... er... censured....

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Marina, Policy, Transparency, Weekly Updates

Weekly Update: 01/22/2023

1 Comment

Upcoming Marina Study Session. Coho Pen shows up. Call for volunteers! Reach Out Des Moines discusses its future. Adam Smith meeting on aviation issues. MLK Day events....

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Marina, Policy, Transparency, Weekly Updates

Weekly Update: 01/15/2023

2 Comments

First CCM of the year starts with Executive Session and presentation on Redondo. All kinds of articles on the Marina....

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Marina, Policy, Transparency, Weekly Updates

Weekly Update: 01/08/2023

1 Comment

First CCM of the year starts with Executive Session and presentation on Redondo. All kinds of new articles on the Marina... our history... our competitors....

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Airport, Neighborhoods, Policy, Transparency, Weekly Updates

Weekly Update: 12/18/2022

2 Comments

Get get that 3rd COVID Booster (the new ‘bivalent’ model.) Now. Deaths are slowly rising. Again, again, it takes about a month to achieve full efficacy. They’re doing walk-ins now pretty much everywhere. 🙂 This Week Nothing! 😀 Please fill in the cold, empty days leading up to the joy of Christmas by giving me a call

Policy, Transparency, Weekly Updates

Weekly Update: 12/11/2022

5 Comments

Get get that 3rd COVID Booster (the new ‘bivalent’ model.) Now. Deaths are slowly rising. Again, again, it takes about a month to achieve full efficacy. They’re doing walk-ins now pretty much everywhere. 🙂 This Week Monday: Commercial Aviation Coordinating Commission (CACC) Workshop. If you are interested in learning more about the possible ‘second airport’, there will

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.