Weekly Update: 01/21/2024

Second, you are not alone in reacting with some pique. My colleagues will surely disagree, but it is my feeling that, given the events of the past four years, it was reasonable to make those assumptions.

But aside from any intent, various ‘small mistakes’ like this are far too common. They’ve happened almost every week since I’ve been watching the Council. And that allows the Council to respond to every complaint like, “Oh, that’s just a typo!”, “Gosh, we just forgot to record the meeting!” “Oh, that picture of a hotel in the parking lot? That was just an idea we were throwing around.”  “Who knew the numbers on that report didn’t add up?” The argument is that we’re a small town and everyone is trying their best and mistakes are bound to happen.

This is a long standing pattern, mostly simple mistakes, but sometimes not. Frankly, we’ve come to use this ‘aw shucks’ approach as cover for a lot of bad government. If anyone complains? You’re the problem. You’re overreacting. It was just a typo.

If that page had simply been updated correctly after our last meeting, there would be no problem. And until we stop seeing these as random ‘typos’, and start seeing this as a systemic problem, it will remain challenging.

Getting these details right (and acknowledging when we don’t) are what builds trust–as much as any community meeting or any fancy dress or any communications policy. That was one big reason I wanted to be on the Finance Committee.

This Week

Tuesday: Port of Seattle Commission (Agenda) The main item of interest for us is the Port’s 2024 State Legislative Agenda, which (notably) has nothing on HB2103/SB5955 or any other local environmental work. After its introduction, the bill was opposed by the Port. This is a heavy lift and regardless of your political leanings, Rep. Orwall and Sen. Keiser deserve credit. This is the first time in a very long time anyone has proposed legislation the Port finds less than pleasing.

But it matters because the bill is about a lot more than sound insulation. This is about indoor air quality and public health for everyone, homes and schools, under the flight path. That’s the issue the Port is really worried about. And it’s all been too damned slow. The Port agreed to provide systems for over 10,000 homes and institutions as part of the Third Runway. It did 9,400, many very poorly, then essentially stopped for a decade. And not a single new home or building has been made eligible in thirty years, despite the massive increase in flights which now impact a much larger area. This graphic is from a presentation the Port gave in 2016 where they were only planning on doing 123 homes. We deserve better and you can learn more about the issues at SeaTacNoise.Info.

Wednesday 2:30pm: Highline Forum (Agenda) Since it’s a new year, a bit of a refresh. The HF was created in 2005 after the Third Runway lawsuits as a way for electeds of the six cities and Highline Schools to ‘talk’ four times a year. The main driver was our former Mayor Bob Sheckler. It’s intent was always towards finding ways to partner (usually economically), not to negotiate on the various negative impacts.

Thursday 5:00pm: Economic Development Meeting (Agenda) Being the first meeting of the year, the main item of business is selecting the chair.

Thursday 6:00pm: City Council Meeting (Agenda) Highlights include

• There will be two proclamations: One for Black History Month, and a new one for Korean American Day (see the ceremony I attended last week.)
• Appointment of new members to the Sea-Tac Airport Roundtable. On the plus side, (it’s hard to believe but) this is the first time in years that the two appointees will be non-City-employees who actually live in Des Moines. On the possible down side, there were only two applicants.
• The only item of new business is an ordinance to codify the penalties for the new Speed Cameras at Redondo. My concern is that the penalties not as stiff as a School Zone ticket, even though it derives from the same state law. This does not mean that the cameras are ready to go just yet. They’re not (AS PREDICTED!) Sorry. That leaked out. 😀

Saturday, January 27 9:00am: COHO Net Assembly! Yes, 30,000 Coho fry will be back at the Marina soon. And Trout Unlimited needs you to help assemble the net pen. Your help is especially needed this year because the boat launch we/they usually use to help move it to the water is out of service. Please email me or hit me up on Facebook to volunteer or just show up! The salmon babies need you!!!

Last Week

Monday and Tuesday: I was in Olympia to testify on House Bill 2103 and Senate Bill 5955 and House Bill 2070. HB2103/SB5955 is ‘the Port Package Update’ bill people have been waiting for since the early 2000’s. A couple of notes.

• The way this would be funded is something that has been considered for almost forty five years, namely, using a small portion of the property taxes we already pay the Port of Seattle. This is just us paying us to mitigate some of the negative impacts from the airport.
• People often think there are two bills. Actually, HB2103/SB5955 are identical. The strategy is to propose the same bill in both the Senate and House. It gives you twice the chance of getting something done–if one moves forward and the other does not, you still have a chance at passage. And if both versions move ahead? It almost assures passage.

Wednesday: Regional Transit Advisory Committee (Presentation) Speaking of those commitees–this was my first meeting and it was very interesting. They cover a ton of material from bus service to Light Rail. One key interest I have is in finding ways to support connectivity between the new Light Rail Station and bus service into both the Marina and especially the South end of town.

Saturday: Not really Des Moines, but I interviewed Paul Barden as part of SeaTacNoise.Info Documentary on Sea-Tac Airport. If you don’t know the name, Mr. Barden was our County Councilmember from 1973-1992 and one could make the case for him as one of the 3-4 most impactful politicians in the entire history of South King County. During his tenure, Sea-Tac Airport was transformed into what it is today, and he was a key player on every major decision. He also had a lot to do with creating the State Community College system–including Highline College, and in bringing into being our neighbouring cities and all our annexations (Redondo, North Hill, Zenith, etc.)

Paddle Faster!

To the casual observer, the current in Puget Sound in front of the Beach Park may not look like much, but it is often quite substantial. A kayaker often has to do quite a lot of work just to stay in one place. But to that paddler, it can feel like yer really gettin’ somewhere. Beginners are often slow to recognise that they’re actually heading backwards. And if yer trying yer best, the last thing a kayaker wants to hear from some smart ass observer is “Paddle faster!” 😀

Get it? If the current is three knots, you have to paddle  three knots just to hold position. And you’ll  have to paddle at four knots just to make one knot of forward progress. It’s so unfair.

That’s how Des Moines has often felt to me. Over the years I’ve watched us make efforts that feel substantial in order to move things forward at a comfortable pace. But when viewed objectively, they were simply not enough to make headway towards where people say we want to go. And that is when yer moving in the right direction! It’s so unfair. 😀

I know that many of you have wanted the City to change direction for a very long time. I also recognise that we’re going through several changes right now and that they look like we’re really gettin’ somewhere. And a few of you seem to question why I am not quite ready to declare ‘victory’.

My reply is that, I’m focusing on the destination, not on how hard we seem to be paddling at the moment. And the fact is, the issues I ran on took decades to develop. That’s the current. It’s the (almost) unnoticeable, but very substantial force we have to overcome to make real and permanent progress on issues we’ve actually been moving backwards on for many years. Public Safety. Environment. Economic Development. Education.

This does not mean that the City should be taking some (cough) ‘radical’ changes to anything. All I’ve ever said is that, like the kayaker, if you don’t work hard enough to overcome the current? You’re not even holding position; you’re slowly, but imperceptibly moving backwards.

In the next year, the City will need to paddle slightly faster than we think we do in order to make permanent forward progress. But we’ll get there. 🙂