The Highlands Neighborhood center had power following the big windstorm, even when many surrounding neighborhoods did not. As a result, the city opened the center to overnight visitors who needed a warm place to sleep. The success of this shelter prompted the HCA president to make thw following suggestion. I like his idea, and would add a shower facility to the list of improvements.
Dennis, Randy, Marcie and Don
Question to each of you. Would it be possible to identify the Highlands Neighborhood Center on Edmonds as a permanent emergency shelter? This center housed over a hundred people during the recent power outage. If this is possible, I would recommend the following.
1. Direct the City Administration to issue an RFQ to accomplish the Following.
a. Installation of a permanent full time generator to support electrical service during power outages.
b. Construction of an additional out building that would be used to store emergency supplies.
c. Identify cost of Emergence supplies to support 200 people for a week.
d. Distinguish associated costs to form a resource team who could quickly be pulled together to man the center during any community emergency.
I know this is a basic request, but as your are aware, we currently do not have in our community any full time facility that can be quickly be set up and manned by qualified resources if we had another long term electrical outage or some other type of natural disaster in our area. Currently the Kennedale Association is looking at pulling together supplies that would be stored in large shipping container that could be used if there is a need.
This is a great start but we need to go beyond that and develop a full time plan that would support a large segment of our community who would need both food and shelter in the advent of another neighborhood emergency. I would like this to be a pilot program and if sucessful expanded to other areas in Renton that would have the same consideration for this type of project.
I would like to talk to each of you further on this subject. If you have a few minutes, please give me a call.
Thanks for you help.
Terry Persson President
Highlands Community Association
Home Phone: 425-228-5848
Cell Phone: 425-306-0320
Power outages are not natural disasters
The cost of a full time generator to supply full time power would be enormous. Fuel storage, disconnects and the generator itself could reach 100,000 dollars and that doesn’t include the out builing. On paper this sound like a great idea, but for an event once in ten years, this would be a waste of public funds. I don’t beleive comm. centers where ever conceived as being used in this way. Food could not be stored for ten years. Fuel would go bad, and the maintinance cost of the generator would be a constant drain. This is possible,even plausible, but certainly not practical.
Re: Power outages are not natural disasters
True, power outages are not natural disasters, but they are caused by natural disasters, and in a society built around power, not having it to supply heat, food storage, and in some cases even water (if they are on a well rather than city water) is a disaster. It is easy to die from not having a warm place to sleep. And what about the people that have had their homes crushed by trees – they obviously can’t stay there. People have died from trying to keep warm! I’ve shockingly burned homes with my own eyes that were obviously from either candles for light, or some kind of heater. Then, I think your argument is flawed in that this does happen more than every ten years. Not to this extreme, but even a couple of years ago there was an ice storm that knocked out power to many people, and that is a BAD time to go without heat.
Re: Power outages are not natural disasters
By the way, no matter the cost of the shelter, to me as a taxpayer, the cost of saving even one life is priceless. And, if you’re going to propose NOT saving people’s lives, be a man (or woman) and state your name!
from Inez Petersen: Being Prepared, Having courage to use your name
I personally support the suggestion of the Highlands Community Association President, Terry Persson. He has long been involved in helping to make the Highlands community a safer and better place, reference hca-renton.org/pdf/accomplishments.pdf (cut and paste into your browser).
Emergency preparedness for such a population dense area as the Highlands is just plain common sense. The mayor’s own Heartland Study indicates that 60% of the City’s families live within the 3-miles radius of the Highlands. Now if we citizens of Renton didn’t pay for a flawed study, then that statistic alone should justify consideration for Terry Persson’s suggestion. All the precious little children and their parents at the Highlands Community Association Christmas Family Sock Hop had been cold for days. The warmth and light of the Highlands Neighborhood Center were greatly appreciated.
We can’t tell when we’ll have the next big earthquake or volcanic eruption or big storm or even a terrorist attack or a contagious disease outbreak. That’s why we need to be prepared “just in case.” Frankly, I do not respect criticisms from people who don’t have the courage or the confidence in themselves to speak using their own names.
Mr. Anonymous, why not go to the City’s website and look up the Consent Agendas from the weekly Council meetings and tally up the “give away” dollars to developers in the form of sewer hookups, property tax exemptions and the like. $100,000 would be chicken feed compared to all the “give aways” the mayor has arranged for her development “partners.” These are exemptions ordinary citizens NEVER receive; and the lost revenues from these “give aways” must be made up by the ordinary citizens. The mayor certainly doesn’t lower her budget every time she gives a “freebie” to a developer friend. These “give aways” could be pulled back and the money used to develop a comprehensive Emergency Preparedness Program.
Terry Persson has his eye on the important priorities. PRIORITIES! That is what it was about yesterday, that is what it is about today, and that is what it will be about tomorrow. You can respect Terry Persson for being open and honest and speaking out using his name. In that way the real pros and cons can surface so that the best plan can evolve. And thanks to Randy Corman for providing a forum for open and honest discussion.
Re: from Inez Petersen: Being Prepared, Having courage to use your name
The reason I don’t use my name is because I have heard how you badger people who don’t agree with you. Let’s see if you can answer this question. If what you say is true, 60% of the population of Renton lives within a 3 miles radious of the community center. At 50,000 residents times 60% equals 30,000 people. It has been suggested to have on hand, food for 200 people for a week. What would the other 29,800 highlands resident do? This community center would become overwhelmed. Of course you would be one of the first to arrive, right?
Re: from Inez Petersen: Being Prepared, Having courage to use your name
Dear Anonymous:
Whoever told you that I badger people who do not agree with me is wrong. If you can find an example of this, please share it with me.
I base my opinions on FACTS and DATA. And I’ve consistently held to my core values of truth, justice, and priorities in spending. This is evidenced by the long history on my Renton Political Action Network at this web address http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Renton-Political-Action-Network/.
I am one of the most informed citizens in the City of Renton because I pay attention to what goes on at City Hall; and I study such documents as Mayor Koelker’s Heartland Study. I have a copy here http://inieleague.org/pdf/Heartland_070705.pdf May I refer you to Page 14 of 47 where you will learn that more than 32,000 households are located within the 3-mile radius of the Highlands. Either this statement is true or the mayor hired incompetent consultants.
Of course, we can never provide emergency relief for EVERY person, the UN can’t, the US can’t, Wash State can’t, King County can’t, and Renton can’t. But we, as individual citizens and as a community, can do all we can within reason, and that is all that HCA President Terry Persson is proposing.
At the last HCA general meeting, Terry Persson arranged for a short presentation on emergency preparedness intended to get the community thinking along those lines. My three-day emergency kit is comprised of a sleeping bag, t-paper, garbage bags for waste disposal, 6 gallons of water, ready-to-eat Mypolex Protein packets of 43 grams protein each (Power Bars are a good option too, no preparation in either case), a wind-up clock/radio, and a shaker flash light neither of which needs batteries . . . and whole box of hand and feet warmers. If everyone had an equivalent bare minimum on hand, it would go a long way to helping in weather emergencies such as the one we just had.
We must do all we can on our own, no one is recommending that Big Brother take over completely. But we do need a way to help the old, the young, and the sick who can’t take care of themselves. What Terry Persson proposed is a wonderful start. He should be applauded, not criticized.
I enjoy a good debate, ask Commander McClincy or Alex Pietsch. But you, sir, were no challenage at all. Could your name be Mr. Grinch by any chance?
RE: Highlands Shelter
(Anonymous)
2007-01-03 06:25 pm (local) (link) Select
I’m amazed at some stupid comments.
I’m sure they must have an elderly mother or father somewhere.
If they we’re freezing in the cold and not lights for 6 plus days.
Or if they we’re on oxygen tanks and respiratory equipment. Would
not not be concerned then.
I had a lady with two young children approach me at the HCA Community
Xmas Party asking for help and worried about her little ones getting
sick because of days already in the cold. I took her over to the mayor, Chief Daniels of fire dept and Council woman Marcie Palmer.
They jumped at it. And Marcie Palmer pushed to get the center open.
We had such great response. Even the young people who worked the
center told me next day when I took donuts down that if an older
person or person didn’t have a way to get there they would arrange
for them to be picked up.
And if they had pets could also be helped if they called ahead.
Those young people put their hard work and efforts into helping their
community and should be commended.
The fire dept worked countless hours and still stopped by to give
blood pressure tests check diabetis levels etc for the elderly and
disabled. Station 13 Captain lecoq said they brought coughts and
blankets down.
Everyone worked as a team. So I’m thankful we had our Xmas party
there that night so that the center could be opened for those in need.
This person needs to spend a couple of nights in the cold and see how
they feel then.
God Bless all of those who helped. That’s what community is all about.
Sandel DeMastus
Vice President
Highlands Community Association
Chair Human Rights Diversity Group Renton