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!

Policy, Weekly Updates

Weekly Update: 01/03/2022

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Public Service Announcements This Week Tuesday: Port Of Seattle Commission Meeting (Agenda) This marks the debut of two new Commissioners: Hamdi Mohamed and Toshiko Hasegawa. They represent many firsts, including the first women of colour. Ms. Mohamed is also the first Commissioner from SeaTac. Both have shown a strong interest in issues of equity in

Policy, Weekly Updates

Year In Review

Time is a flexible thing. You can watch a thousand sci-fi movies and still that whole ‘relativity’ thing makes no sense. But if you got nothing else out of this pandemic, now you know what it might be like in a space ship approaching the speed of light: where one year can feel like an

Public Safety, Transparency, Transportation, Weekly Updates

Weekly Update: 12/12/2021

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Public Service Announcements This Week Tuesday: Port Of Seattle Commission Meeting (Agenda) Thursday: City Council Meeting (Agenda) Friday: South King County Housing and Homelessness Partners (SKHHP) Executive Board (Agenda) City Manager Pay Increase The City Manager is asking for a step increase from †M49D, which is $224k plus various benefits to M49E $235k, plus benis;

Public Safety, Transparency, Transportation, Weekly Updates

Weekly Update: 12/05/2021

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Public Service Announcements This Week Tuesday: 9AM. Port Of Seattle, State Of The Port This is a pre-recorded presentation. It’s a political nerd thing, but worth watching not so much because the Port has that much direct connection with Des Moines, but because it tells us, essentially where they are at with regard to climate

Engagement, Public Safety, Taxes, Transparency, Weekly Updates

Weekly Update: 11/28/2021

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Happy Hanukkah! There’s never a piccie of a dreidel or a menorah when you need one. 🙂 Public Service Announcements This Week Monday: Highline Superintendent Search. (ERAC, Burien) Come join me to comment on what you want to see in the next Executive of our school system! Thursday: 3PM Municipal Facilities Meeting. No agenda yet.

Engagement, Transparency, Weekly Updates

Weekly Update: 11/22/2021

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Public Service Announcements This Week Tuesday: Meeting with Arshia Nilchan, political director for Rep. Adam Smith. No, I’m still independent. But all the candidates for City Council this cycle were running as Democats and at least a few asked for his endorsement, so I wanted to give him some feedback on the process. Thursday:Look, I

Engagement, Transparency, Weekly Updates

Weekly Update: 11/07/2021

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Public Service Announcements This Week Monday: SR509 briefing with WSDOT. I’m expecting some graphics detailing how it will affect Blueberry Lane, Des Moines Creek Trail and the bridge over 216th. What’s also pretty keen is that WSDOT will be creating a 1.8 mile bike lane as part of the Lake To Sound Trail and redoing

Campaigning, Transparency, Weekly Updates

Big Ideas

Weekly Update: 10/10/2021

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Public Service Announcements This Week Tuesday: Port Of Seattle Commission Meeting (Agenda) Tuesday: North Hill Community Club Candidate’s Forum Wednesday: Aviation Town Hall with Rep. Adam Smith and Rep. Tina Orwall Wednesday: Des Moines Marina Association Meeting Friday: Ultra-Fine Particulate Advisory Group Last Week Tuesday: State Legislative Redistricting Public Comment. Over 300 people signed up

Economic Development, Environment, Public Safety, Taxes, Transparency, Transportation, Weekly Updates

Weekly Update: 10/03/2021

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Public Service Announcements This Week Tuesday: State Legislative Redistricting Public Comment. Wednesday: Highline School Board Meeting. (Agenda/Comment) Or call (206) 631-3070 I will be providing public comment in order to restore the much loved MS/Design Engineering program at Pacific Middle School. Here is an example of a presentation they do annually before City Council as

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.