Some bits of business…
Future Agendas is the closest thing the City currently has to a calendar of upcoming City Council topics. It’s not dynamic, ie. you have to click it every time you want to see a new version. And it’s not always accurate. But until we develop a genuine calendar, this can be very useful if there is a particular issue you don’t want to miss.
We’re doing a six month trial without standing committees, instead doing a monthly committee of the whole. Unfortunately, as the year goes on, items for consideration are veering away from each committee’s planning calendar. But for what it’s worth, each committee’s planning calendar are here. 🙂
City Manager Stuff
The City Manager’s new weekly report format is viewable here.
City Manager Report – July 18, 2025
The 24th Ave Road Project is finally moving along! Repaving is happening on Monday July 21st. Probably best to avoid if at all possible.
Sounders Free Tickets!
If you haven’t been to a Sounders FC soccer game, your first ticket is totally free! The program is sponsored by the Rave Foundation (which helped fund Midway Park, among other things)
Can we talk for a minute? Like many of you, I got (re)-interested in football when my kids started playing. In addition to the fun factor, I got hooked on Sounders games because they are just so convenient by transit. For me, I just hop on the 635 Shuttle Bus to the Angle Lake Station, get off at Union, and the Stadiums are two blocks away. That’s how transit is supposed to work.
SR-509 24th Ave and Veteran’s Drive are open and free!
Well, temporarily. 24th Ave and before you get to 200th, on your right (east side of the street) you’ll see a new exit onto the first mile of SR-509, which takes you directly to I-5.
There is also the new Veterans Memorial Drive near Military Road.
They will be tolled – but not yet! So take the next month and stick it to da man! WSDOT has free GoodToGo cards if you sign up, but before paying call 1-866-936-8246.
Metro Survey
As Link light rail gets ready to open here (maybe by end of 2025!) Metro invites you to learn more and take this survey by August 31.
Redondo Parking – get a pass!
However, Redondo Paid Parking is now live. So, get a sensibly priced annual pass by contacting the Marina. 🙂
Restaurants!
There have been more restaurant changes in town. So this is a good time to remind you of the local restaurant guide TakeOutDM.Com or TakeOutDesMoines.Com. There is a sign-up form which emails signees when various establishments are offering specials! If you are a new restaurant owner, you should also let them know when you are having said specials so they can spread the woid.
News Flash! After five years of being only ‘98198’, TakeOutDM is expanding its list to include establishments people think (or wish) were in Des Moines. For example, if you like Fr I really like Peyrassol West in Normandy Park across from the QFC.
This Week
Monday
Sonju Park Tour with Director of Public Works Mike Slevin. If you look at an aerial, we own a lot of trees and wetlands from 16th to 20th, not just the bit you see in the front.
Wednesday
2:30 Highline Forum at Highline College Bldg 8.
Thursday
6:00pm City Council Meeting Regular Meeting – 24 Jul 2025 – Agenda
As we get into summer, the load-balancing issue once again rears its head. At many points of the year, Council meetings will be packed with several major and unrelated items get jammed together like one of those unholy jello salads from the 1960’s. And then there will be deserts like this meeting where you’ll hear people comment about how much they enjoy ‘efficient’ meetings. But the price to be paid for these occasional respites is having to digest a ton of stuff you really don’t wanna have to swallow in one sitting other times of the year.
Consent Agenda
- ANTI-CRUISING ORDINANCE – 2nd Reading Motion: To approve Draft Ordinance No. 25-065 prohibiting cruising. As I wrote last week, I oppose this until it has staffing because it is unenforceable and leaves a loophole for future automation – ie. surveillance.
- TELECOMMUNICATIONS FRANCHISE AGREEMENT WITH HYPERFIBER – 2nd Reading. Much more high speed internet seems to be coming to Des Moines.
- 2025 DOE LOCAL SOLID WASTE FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE AGREEMENT: Authorize the City Manager to sign the 2025-2027 Local Solid Waste Financial Assistance Grant agreement between the City of Des Moines and the Washington State Department of Ecology.
NEW BUSINESS
- CITIZEN’S ADVISORY BOARD ORDINANCE. Speaking of bad Jello Salad, I will vote no. According to this language, the Mayor chooses all twenty three (23) members. The CAB presiding officer (the Mayor, or someone chosen by the Mayor?) chooses all subcommittee assignments? Subcommittee members recommend grant funding which will not be reported directly to the Council? And with more at-large members than neighbourhood reps, it’s entirely possible for one or two neighbourhoods to completely box out everyone else. This is exactly the opposite of how to obtain sincere and broader representation.
| Main CAB | Up to 23 members 9 neighbourhood 2 business owners 1 marina 11 at-large |
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| Duties | • Advise City Council on issues. • Promote civic participation. • Review budget and goals. • Relay or revise subcommittee recommendations. • Raise issues needing Council attention. |
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| Alternates | Eliminated | |
| Term | 4 years. Initial terms staggered: half for 2 years, half for 4 years. 2 consecutive terms maximum. Must wait 2 years before reapplying. |
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| Meeting requirements | CAB must meet at least 3 times per year. | |
| Subcommittees | 3 subcommittees: Human Services, Senior Services, Arts. Each has 3–9 members. Additional subcommittees may be created by the City Council. | |
| Members may serve on only one subcommittee, unless another subcommittee lacks the minimum 3 members. | ||
Human Services: Evaluate funding requests and agency performance. Senior Services: Identify needs and promote engagement. Arts: Support public art and cultural visibility. All subcommittees report to CAB, not directly to Council. |
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| Subcommittees meet independently and report at next CAB meeting. | ||
Last Week
Tuesday
UECNA Noise Summit. Sea-Tac Noise.Info participates in about fifteen community roundtables, both in the United States and this one in Europe. We follow the UECNA conference because the European Union is several years ahead of us in terms of various regulatory standards like curfews and air pollution. In short, their airlines have been able to run profitably while treating their communities more equitable. (Don’t tell them that however. 😀 Everything is relative. But objectively speaking, they are waaaaay ahead of us and we have a lot to learn.)
Wednesday
Metro Regional Transit Committee meeting. We’re basically doing some last minute chatting about the Rapid Ride budget. Over 420,000 people are using KC. And about 117,000 are currently using Link Light Rail. As you can see, our Rapid Ride A has pretty much gotten back to pre-pandemic levels. The A-Line began in 2010 and is the oldest Rapid Ride line. And now we’re considering a ‘REV 2.0’. The new Des Moines and Federal Way Light Rail stations should be opened by end of 2025.
During the meeting, I mentioned I was about to get on transit to attend a Sounders game. And I was praised for ‘modeling good behaviour’. And my reply was “Modeling schmodeling. I’m doing it because it’s easier and cheaper. If it weren’t, I wouldn’t do it.” In my mind. 😀 But that’s the thing. I’m not ‘modeling’ anything. For me, it really is cheaper and easier – especially for events or day trips like to the fabulous new downtown walk.
Thursday
- King County Flood District Advisory Committee. We’re at the budget phase. The County originally only funded traditional, big river flooding projects. In the past decade, the mission of the Flood District expanded to cover urban funding – including neighbourhoods in cities like Des Moines. With recent cuts — including federal – the natural tendency is to dial back to basics. Our goal is to continue to defend funding for our projects. 🙂
My family got a discounted annual membership to the Pacific Science Center. Angle Lake Light Rail to Westlake – one elevator ride up to the Monorail – next stop, Seattle Center.
No punishing traffic, no parking woes, no stolen catalytic converters…just a cool train ride for pennies. KIDS RIDE FREE! https://info.myorca.com/youth-ride-free/