Hi, I'm Randy Corman, Renton City Councilmember. I am the most senior member of the council, currently in my 25th year (I have been elected seven times). I pay for this website with my own funds. Please recognize that all views expressed in my journal entries are my own, and not the official position of Renton City Council, other councilmembers, nor the city of Renton. Thanks for reading.
Debris burns on one of the floors of the tall building at Renton’s Garden Plaza on Park Avenue
I received a link to an Instagram Post which shows the inside of the dilapidated Park Avenue (Garden Plaza) buildings. The owner of the Instagram account states in one of the comments that the photos were sent to him, so the time of the photos is unknown.
I also stumbled upon a youtube video from August 17, with thousands of views, showing the hazardous state of the inside of the buildings. It was obvious that no steps had been taken by the building owner to remediate interior hazards as of the time these images were captured.
The photos and video underscore the danger to anyone moving about within these buildings, and the fire danger these buildings represent to the community. Recently, even Renton’s firefighters and police officers have been instructed not to go into these buildings unless there is a critical life-saving emergency need. No one from the public should enter them. I’ve only included a few sample screenshots from the Instagram post in this blog entry.
The link to the photos was sent to me after this six-minute television news story was broadcast about these dangerous buildings and the negative impact the buildings are having on the community.
This image from the youtube video shows a deadly drop down an open elevator shaft. No one should be going anywhere near this hazard without fall protection. Given that the the building remains unacceptably physically open to workers, the unhoused, and curious explorers, the owners should immediately be installing safety railings and caution warnings on these elevator shafts to prevent falls.An open elevator shaft is visible in this image
This view inside the parking garage appears to include a pile of metal shavings (likely associated with metal theft activities.)Most of these windows are now gone on the east side of the three-story 10-13 building, and the structure is being damaged by the elements
pacnorthwest_media, which owns the Instagram account, explains that the pictures were sent to himTwo days ago when a concerned group of residents walked around the outside of the building we found at least four open fence openings, such as this person-size gap in the chain link. While we didn’t go onto the property, it looked like there were also unsecured openings into the inside of the buildings.This fence should not be relied upon to keep children out of this building
Art Jenkins holds a box full of envelopes containing 9-1-1 emergency call records for his condominium complex, at a meeting of “For a Better Renton” on September 4th.
Art Jenkins has become so frustrated with a lack of City of Renton action to enforce nuisance ordinances and state laws at his condo that he began a petition on August 13. He has already gathered 680 signatures. His Petition can be found here.
Mr. Jenkins’ situation raises red flags about whether Renton is adequately prepared to manage the inevitable conflicts that arise with higher levels of density, even as the city completes a city-wide rezone that allows fourplexes in nearly all of Renton’s single-family neighborhoods. His concerns also raise questions about city liability if anything tragic happens; just two weeks ago King County had to pay $21 million to a dog-attack victim after King County failed to address numerous code-compliance complaints.
I had a chance to meet with Mr.Jenkins at a recent meeting of the “For a Better Renton” organization, where he shared the details of his ten-year struggle to keep his condominium unit habitable in the midst of constant flooding from above, nearby drug crimes, firearm concerns, fights, noise, and other challenges that are beyond his control. He’s worked with his condo association as much as he could, even serving as a member of his HOA board, but most of these problems are beyond the condo board’s authority or ability to effect change.
He brought a heavy box of papers with him that document all the 911 calls to the vicinity of his condo unit, activity that far surpasses the number of calls that define a “Chronic Nuisance Premises” in Renton’s 1-3-3 Nuisance Code. The primary request of his petition, is that this Renton code be enforced. He’s also asking Renton to enforce the applicable state laws, and to coordinate with King County Health Department to ensure King County’s codes are met. Mr. Jenkins said he has reached out to King County directly regarding mold from the constant flooding and other health concerns he’s observed, but King County said they need the City of Renton to take the lead on resolving these concerns.
Mr. Jenkins came across as pleasant, sensible, patient, and compassionate, even as he described an odyssey that would literally drive many people from their homes. And though he has spent many thousands of dollars and countless hours mitigating the impacts and seeking assistance, he’s not looking to punish or seek retribution; he just wants the city to take actions that will allow him to peacefully live in his Renton home.
He’s encouraged that the petition has already gotten city attention, and a couple of Council Members have come out to see the situation for themselves. He’s hoping more elected officials will come out, and then take action on his concerns.
I encourage you to read Mr. Jenkins petition, and sign it (electronically) if you feel so inclined. I am one of the many hundreds of Renton residents that have signed it. If Renton is going to begin replacing single-family homes with fourplexes throughout our entire city, we’ll need nuisance code enforcement systems in place that can keep the peace and keep units habitable.
According to witnesses, a fireworks mortar lit on a downtown sidewalk on Sunday August 24th set these trees and occupied home on fire. The house could have burned to the ground if not for the immediate response of attentive neighbors and Renton Fire Authority.Emergency responders at the scene of August 24th fireworks blazeCarter Farmer, who lives within a few hundred feet of the fire, had previously spoken to Renton’s Mayor and City Council on July 7th, seven weeks before this fire. She had warned that ongoing fireworks were continuing to be a problem in her neighborhood, and she had asked for better enforcement of fireworks laws.
Fireworks are illegal in Renton. In 2006 Renton voters voted 62.57 % – 37.43% to keep them illegal, confirming a 2004 vote by Renton City Council that first made fireworks illegal. But enforcement of the ban has recently seemed spotty to non-existent, and many residents are now understandably complaining. Among them is Carter Farmer, a North Renton neighborhood resident who took the Mayor and Council to task at a council meeting on July 7th, demanding action, after having sent them numerous emails and suggestions on the subject in previous years. Ms. Farmer’s testimony can be watched here on the City’s Youtube Channel, at 41 minutes and 30 seconds in. About seven weeks after she gave her testimony, a home near hers was set on fire by fireworks.
Renton’s voters and Renton Council made fireworks illegal after there were simply too many documented incidents of structural fires and wildfires, emergency room visits, and distress by residents and animals caused by fireworks on our streets. In the year before the Council ban, both a new home and a City Parks Building burned to the ground after being set on fire by fireworks. As urban wildfires across the west become more deadly every year, the ban on fireworks only makes more sense.
The year that Council implemented the fireworks ban in 2004, we knew many residents would miss the excitement, brilliance, and percussion of Fourth of July fireworks, so we initiated a new tradition of a professional fireworks show at Coulon Park. While we knew that some residents may be tempted to light their own, we felt that holding the professional fireworks show and a city 4th of July celebration at our biggest beach park allowed us to direct fireworks enthusiasts to the show instead– providing a necessary alternative to lighting fireworks throughout the whole city. But a couple years ago the professional fireworks show was stopped, and this year Coulon Park was not even open for fourth of July BBQs after 7:00 PM.
My recommendation would be to restore the City 4th of July Celebration, and simultaneously warn residents that Renton intends to aggressively enforce the fireworks ban in future year, with more fireworks confiscations and fines for violators. Then, as we’ve done in the past, Council should insist on getting reports from Police and Fire Chiefs after each 4th of July with metrics about how many citations were issued and pounds of fireworks confiscated. And Council should hold public meetings to gather ideas from residents like Ms. Farmer regarding how to better enforce the ban.
Some of the fireworks being lit in Renton violate just city laws, but many are also in violation of state laws. Fireworks that send projectiles into the sky or make loud percussion sounds (booms) are not legal anywhere in the State of Washington outside of Reservation land (Reservation lands are subject to Federal Laws and Tribal laws, which allow some aerial and percussion fireworks when manufactured and sold to certain standards). Penalties for lighting fireworks that are illegal in the state could be made more severe than penalties for lighting fountains, ground-flowers, or smokers. In any case, all of these are illegal in Renton outside of licensed shows, based on a democratic decision by nearly two out of three of Renton’s voters. And while it may remain challenging to stop every violation on the evening of the 4th of July, there should be no tolerance for continued fireworks use through the summer– it’s just too dangerous to our residents’ lives and property.
I would enjoy hearing from readers on this topic. Please feel free to comment with your ideas, perspectives, and suggestions. You may leave comments anonymously if you choose.
I’ve written several posts about the derelict office buildings on Park Avenue, including how they got to this condition, what is currently being done about them, and what the future may hold for them.
To help residents and businesses better understand this issue, “For a Better Renton” has asked me to host one or more conversation walking tours around the outside of these buildings (staying in the public space outside the fence, so no personal protective equipment is required). Since I used to work in these buildings, and I also served on City Council from 1994-2021, I bring some unique experience to this discussion.
I want to keep the walk to a manageable group size to support a conversation, so we’re asking people to RSVP to 4aBetterRenton@gmail.com and let us know if you would like to participate. We’ll add additional times if we get more interest than we can reasonably accommodate in this first session.
The walk will begin at Park Avenue and North 6th Street, at 2:00 this coming Sunday, September 7, and last for about one hour. There’s not any parking on these block of Park Ave or North 6th, and nearby lots are private or blocked off, so if you are driving I recommend you look for parking a couple blocks west, on Pelly, Wells or Williams.
The following Saturday there will be a second walk around the neighborhood impacted by the Renton High School eminent-domain expansion, another subject I’ve written extensively about. That walk will be hosted by Sarah Becker.
Renton School District is demolishing homes and businesses obtained by threat of eminent domain
Below is the official announcement for both walks by “For a Better Renton,” which includes additional details:
For A Better Renton (www.4aBetterRenton.com) is hosting its first two “Field Trips” on September 7th and 13th. The purpose of these field trips is to give Renton residents a clear first-hand understanding of some of the issues facing our city, our neighbors, and the direct impact on our taxes, health, future, ability to draw new businesses and residents to our city, growth, and pride in where we live and work.
PARK AVENUE DERELICT OFFICE BUILDING We’ve asked Randy Corman, who served on Renton City Council for 28 years, 1994-2021 (with six years as Renton Council President) to lead the field trip and discussion at the derelict Park Avenue Building. Randy was also with Boeing, as a mechanical engineer and manager, for 33 years, and worked in the building we will ‘touring’. Date: September 7th Time: 2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. Meeting location: Park Ave & 6th (directly across the street from Mighty Mugs Coffee Stand)
We will commence walking the entire block, around the external of the building. We will start at the old main entrance and then work our way along Park first, then to 5th and then around the backside of the building. We will be joined by a business owner who has been directly impacted by the activities at this derelict building since it’s abandonment by the owner and property manager, ION Renton and AAA Management. We will share information on what the Mayor and City Council has/has not done regarding addressing this building, the current state, the potential future state, and Department of Ecology reports.
Please RSVP at 4aBetterRenton@gmail.com. We look forward to seeing you there.
RENTON HIGH SCHOOL EXPANSION/EMINENT DOMAIN Date: September 13th Time: 10:30 – 11:30 (with the potential to extend to 12 noon) Meeting location: Ikea Performing Arts Center parking lot – right next to Renton High School.
We will commence the field trip by walking clockwise down 2nd , take a right at Tobin, and continue on Logan. We will likely turn left on Logan and walk to the corner of Logan and Airport, then backtrack down Logan to 2nd.
We have asked Sarah to lead this field trip. She has spent a significant amount of time speaking at both City Council meetings and Renton School Board meetings. She was an active leader on helping secure over 500 signatures on a petition, along with 20+ businesses, and 3 associations – and the petition was presented to the school board and City Council and Mayor. She continues to stay abreast of all actions by the school board and city (the city owns Tobin Street).
We will also be joined by John Houston who has vivid memories of the trauma caused by the Renton School Board who used eminent domain to get his families property under the pretense of building a school – which they never did – and instead sold his families property to a developer. John, along with the support of Senator Hasegawa, got SB 5142 unanimously passed this year and signed into law by Governor Ferguson – though it does not help John and his family, it will help others whose property is taken under eminent domain. (Unfortunately it does not impact the 20+ homes (owners and renters) and 8+ businesses who are being displaced by the Renton School Board – again!) Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.
We will be joined by at least one, if not several, homeowners who are being displaced under this most recent ’eminent domain’ tactic by the Renton School Board.
Please rsvp at 4aBetterRenton@gmail.com
And a few other gentle reminders: RSVP’ing is important as we will have handouts/information for you to take home. And John will have a few of his recently published books on hand for sale. Please dress accordingly as we will be hosting these field trips regardless of weather. And wear comfortable shoes!
Gerry Kingen, Renton High class of ’62, receiving a “Wall of Honor” recognition at a ceremony at Renton High in 2013. Photo courtesy of Renton History Museum
Note: I owe this blog post to Anon E. Mouse -probably not their real name 🙂 –, who left me a comment on this previous post about this restaurant at 423 Airport Way being demolished. I was not aware of the link between that restaurant and the founder of Red Robin, and I decided this information was worthy of a post of its own.
During his high school years, Gerry worked part-time with his parents and brother at Renton’s “Kingen’s Steak House”, one of their family’s popular restaurants. They served steaks, burgers, and other american-style food in a bright, inviting building that they had specially constructed at 423 Airport Way, across the street from Renton Municipal Airport.
An advertisement in a 1963 Catholic Newsletter shows Kingen’s serving dinner at 423 Airport Way in RentonA Red Robin prototype? The 76-year-old Kingen’s Steakhouse Restaurant building as it looked two months ago, after a forced purchase by Renton School District; this building was inspirational for modern Red Robin restaurantsInterior of building that was once Kingen’s Steak House
After getting his education and learning the family business, Gerry purchased a small tavern in the Seattle U-District. He remodeled the tavern, added an outdoor patio, and he changed the menu to one that more closely matched the Renton family business. He changed the name from “Sam’s Red Robin Tavern, to simply “Red Robin,” and it became an immediate success. The “Red Robin” chain was born, and Gerry was soon adding restaurants and selling franchises.
Renton School District recently used the threat of eminent domain to acquire the still-pristine restaurant building that the Kingen family built that was such important inspiration for Red Robin and Salty’s. The District spent six million dollars in taxpayer funds to acquire the restaurant. Then, without acknowledging the building’s distinguished alumni history, they bulldozed it along with many homes and other businesses with an intent to construct a baseball field on the site in five years, likely the nation’s most expensive high school baseball field ever. The Superintendent and the Board based their actions, ironically, on their flawed premise that Renton High is an inferior school that needs its own lighted baseball field in order for its students to achieve their potential (the school currently already has several unlit baseball fields).
Gerry Kingen and his mother are among many distinguished alumni from Renton High, including Sally Jewel, former US Secretary of the Interior and former CEO of REI, US Olympian Aretha (Hill) Thurmond, Hollywood music producer Ron Hicklin, and many others. In this previous blog post I discussed other well-known and less-well-known-but-equally-important successful alumni from Renton High School.
The still-pristine Kingen’s steakhouse building was demolished last month. It had been freshly remodeled and was ready to reopen as an Asian food restaurant.King County records show that the building was constructed in 1949, making it 76 years old when it was taken by school district (for $6,000,000) and then demolished.Historic photo of Seattle’s original Red Robin Restaurant. (The building has been replaced by the Robins Nest mixed use apartments and pizzeria.) Photo and history in this Seattle History Blog A typical modern Red Robin Restaurant; Photo from wiki commons
Renton airport in summer 1966. The Boeing Everett factory opened the following year.
This colorful picture of Boeing’s 727 flight line in the summer of 1966 has been shared at least a couple times on Reddit. The original poster three years ago also provided information on how long each of these individual airplanes performed in service. Several of them were flying until at least 2005, and one flying until 2014.
When I joined Boeing in summer of 1984 the company was still making 727 airplanes, but the last one was delivered to Federal Express a few months after I started work. Most customers looking for single-aisle airliners switched to ordering 757-200 airplanes (certified December 1982) and 737-300 airplanes (certified November 1984).
This photo serves as another reminder of Renton’s proud history in aircraft production. Renton is the birthplace of commercial jet aviation, and Boeing has played a major role in our city’s success for over 80 years. Renton should strive to keep Boeing building airplanes here for decades to come.
I’ve written more about Boeing’s significant contributions to Renton’s economy in a previous blog entry here.
The detailed information for these airplanes is below the break.
KOMO news photo of the property that was the subject of many complaints, before dogs from the property maimed a jogger
King County has agreed to pay a severely-injured woman $21,000,000 in a negligence settlement for failing to act on complaints about squatters with dangerous dogs. There is an important lesson here for all municipalities to act on complaints, and not sweep resident concerns under the rug.
Renton auto theft rates have become much worse over time, spiking during the (now-rescinded) police pursuit restrictionsUS auto theft rates have trended down since 1990
A commenter on my previous blog entry requested long-term crime statistics for Renton, and I’m providing the information here. The data was originally gathered by Renton Police Department, and then submitted to and maintained by the FBI. The FBI Crime Data Explorer, where I acquired this data, can be found here. The reporting systems aren’t perfect, but to my knowledge this is the best data we’re going to find for this time period. (Renton provides five-year crime statistics on the City’s website, as I’ve previously discussed here, but does not supply statistics going back further.)
I’ve chosen to show homicide rates and auto thefts as representative samples on this post because these crimes have a high likelihood of having been consistently reported through the years, and they can help determine meaningful trends.
Unfortunately many serious crimes go unreported. For example, it’s estimated that as many as 75 % or more of rapes go unreported, so an increase in reported rapes from one year to the next might represent an increase in reporting versus an increase in the crime. Many assaults and domestic violence crimes also go unreported. But homicides have usually been reported through the years.
Similarly, shoplifting, petty theft and even burglaries have increasingly gone unreported in our state, but auto theft is usually reported due to insurance and licensing implications. Auto theft is is also correlated to increases in other crimes, as autos are frequently stolen to facilitate both property crimes and violent crimes.
Lasty, I’ve included statistics on highway fatalities, since about half of fatal accidents are related to criminal driving offenses like DUI and reckless driving, and car crashes have a devastating impact on many people’s lives. For every fatality, there are about three serious maimings that impact victims’ long-term quality of life. Much routine patrol work in our city and state is dedicated to reducing these crashes by pulling-over errant and criminally-reckless drivers.
In summary, while local crime trends have somewhat improved in the last year, Renton and Washington crime numbers are near all-time highs, and have not kept pace with the reductions in crime across the US overall.
The following three charts are homicide statistics for Renton, State of Washington, and US from 1986-2024:
Renton homicides from 1986-2024Washington state homicides from 1986-2024US homicides 1986-2024
The following three charts are automobile theft statistics for Renton, State of Washington, and US from 1986-2024:
Renton auto thefts from 1986-2024State of Washington auto thefts from 1986-2024
US auto thefts from 1986-2024
The following two charts are auto fatalities trends in Washington State and US:
Washington State Traffic Fatalities; increased 50% from 2019 to peak in 2023. Source LinkUS Traffic Fatalities; increased 18 % from 2019 to peak in 2021; Source link
This photo (taken two days ago) shows the continuing deterioration of the deathtrap Park Avenue office buildings through a gap in the unmaintained security fence. Councilmember Rivera, chair of Renton’s Public Safety Committee, has repeatedly promised the public that the City has reached agreement with property owners to secure this site. The lack of follow-through puts the public and first responders in danger.
In a move that looks a bit like Superman endorsing Lex Luthor for City Council, the Renton Police Guild leadership shocked many local election watchers by endorsing Councilmember Carmen Rivera’s reelection bid against challenger Mary Clymer.
Recent publications have shown that Councilmember Rivera also has serious anger-management issues that she won’t acknowledge or own up to. She has left a trail of grieving victims of her bullying, many of them former allies that once trusted her. She’s been arrested for domestic violence in the past, and caused at least one current council member to request legal protection from her.
In contrast to Councilmember Rivera’s record, challenger Mary Clymer has a long history of supporting Renton city employees and the community. Ms. Clymer has a commitment to safety that she learned from her grandfather Earl Clymer, a two-term mayor of Renton who helped reverse rising crime rates in the early 1990’s. And rather than let derelict buildings become blight, Ms. Clymer has been beautifying our older buildings through her dedication to public arts, often helping organize community murals and other beatifications– even wielding the paintbrushes herself.
I respectfully encourage the Guild to reevaluate this endorsement. I would have expected this endorsement to go to the deserving Mary Clymer, who will make an extraordinary Renton City Council Member.
Renton’s well-equipped police station can trace its roots to a study that Mayor Earl Clymer commissioned in 1994. This study recommended a larger police station, which ultimately was the impetus to move Renton City Hall (including the police station) to its current larger location.
This 2010 Public Service Announcement law ensures public officials running for election don’t get unfair benefit from publicly-owned communication channels. This law was recodified in a new chapter starting next year, but the basic law will remain the same. (See new version at the end of this article).
A Councilmember acquiring a municipal leadership certificate by attending Association of Washington Cities training and workshops is not exactly breaking news. Outside of a handful of Renton City Hall insiders, few people could typically tell you which Council Members have this certificate. In recent years Renton has sometimes announced the awarding of these certificates, largely to make the public aware of how Association of Washington Cities (AWC) programs positively contribute to the City of Renton education and functioning. Renton pays dues to AWC for these services.
However, per RCW 42.17A.575, cities must be very careful not to include public officials running for election in Public Service Announcements, to avoid using public facilities to help a candidate. Ironically, the prohibitions about using city resources to campaign is one of the many topics on ethics that Councilmembers might typically learn in AWC training.
The law says “No state elected official or municipal officer may speak or appear in a public service announcement that is broadcast, shown, or distributed in any form whatsoever during the period January 1 and continuing through the general election if that official or officer is a candidate.”
So Renton should be careful about timing announcements about candidates so as not to prop up campaigns with public dollars.
This week’s City announcements were the most unfair timing possible. In the hard-fought race for Renton City Council Position 2, the third-place finisher Raman Mann (who got nearly a quarter of the primary votes) just TODAY endorsed second-place finisher Mary Clymer. Ms. Clymer now has a strong chance to unseat the incumbent Carmen Rivera, who is so mired in controversy that the British “Daily Mail” just reported on her campaign troubles to its tens of millions of readers.
The same day Raman Mann’s campaign made his endorsement of Mary Clymer, the City of Renton was flooding social media sites, the City’s email list, and the City’s website with flattering stories about Councilmember Rivera’s AWC certificate.
The City’s website article is quite lengthy, and includes so many testimonials by and about Councilmember Rivera that it reads precisely like a voter-pamphlet submittal: “Renton raised me, and I’m honored to give back through public service…(more content)….the training strengthens the work I do every day fighting for equity, transparency, and practical solutions that serve our entire community…(more content)…Born and raised in Renton, Councilmember Rivera resides in the Tiffany Park area with her spouse.”
This statement appears to be exactly the kind of city-sponsored support piece that the state legislature determined should NOT be paid for with taxpayer dollars in an election year, let alone in the critical weeks between a primary and what is sure to be a close general election.
I’ve included samples of the City Facebook post, the City Bulletin (which is distributed to a mailing list), and the City Website that were all just published promoting the incumbent, the same day that the challengers were combining their campaign teams to make a winning run in the general election. The Renton City YouTube Channel also features a council meeting presentation of the award. Taxpayers pay for the staff time to film, write, edit, prepare, and upload all of these statements.
An agenda bill at Monday’s Council Meeting announced that Renton taxpayers will have to pay even more money for having hosted a King County Shelter in our former Red Lion Hotel.
Renton’s former Red Lion Hotel and Convention Center, once a vital anchor of our Renton Village Shopping Center before it got destroyed during use as a pandemic-era shelter, continues to cost Renton taxpayers money. As of this week the hotel will cost Renton taxpayers another $600,000, and will cost Renton’s insurance carrier another $900,000, for a total of $1.5 million. The money settles a lawsuit that the hotel owners filed against Renton asserting that Renton’s 2020 zoning changes, which restricted the size of homeless shelters, lessened their opportunities and profits on the property.
While I have not been party to the legal negotiations and won’t comment to the validity of any of their specific claims, I will point out that the public record shows they purchased the hotel for about $8.8 million, and sold it to King County less than ten years later for $36.2 million. This represents more than 400 % return, or about 40% per year on their investment. They also reportedly rented the property to King County for $330,000 per month for several years, for an additional payoff of somewhere between 6-10 million dollars.
The aftermath of Friday’s demolitionThe restaurant on 423 Airport Way as it looked a month before demolition. It had been in Renton School District possession for many months. The District paid six million dollars for it right before it was scheduled to open as a freshly-remodeled Asian restaurant.
Many Renton residents on social media yesterday were asking about the restaurant getting demolished on Airport Way. This is just the latest in a string of demolition projects– up to as many as 32 homes and 8 businesses– to make way for expanded athletic fields at Renton High School.
Even though the demolition is happening today, the replacement ballfields won’t be open for use for about five more years (the school has four other ballfields onsite they are using now). In addition to the heavy human toll of destroying homes and businesses, the high prices of these downtown Renton properties likely makes this the most expensive high school baseball field in our nation’s history. I covered the controversial timing of these demolition projects more extensively in a previous blog entry here and in another entry here.
I fondly remember dining on this once-inviting dining patio with Boeing colleagues in the summertime. The patio and building became neglected under Renton School District ownership
Like many long-time Renton residents, I have warm memories of this restaurant at 423 Airport Way. I first knew it as Schumsky’s All City Diner, a popular choice for those of us working in nearby Boeing Renton facilities. In addition to satisfying and fast lunch service, the All City Diner offered us a large bright upstairs banquet facility that we used for retirements and other celebrations. And during summer days we enjoyed dining on their outdoor patio. This was one of five restaurants owned by well-known Renton restaurateur and active community leader Don Schumsky.
Around 2006 the restaurant switched from a diner to a sports bar format, and was known first as Home Run, and then later as Touchdowns. I was working at Boeing Field at that time, so I visited less, but I heard it remained popular with Boeing employees.
Most recently the restaurant was purchased by partners that were preparing to run it as an Asian restaurant called Kirin. The new owners had completed years of expensive remodeling and upgrades on the building to get it ready, and were just weeks away from opening. As they made final preparations for opening day, the School District lawyers informed the owners the property would be purchased under threat of eminent domain.
The School District paid the owners six million dollars for the property. They then neglected the building for months as they prepared to demolish the neighborhood.
Mary and me at this year’s dragon festival downtown. The festival was put on by Renton Arts Commission, a group that has benefited immensely from Mary’s involvement and volunteer work.
I’ve been encouraging Mary Clymer to run for Renton City Council for many years. She is an inspirational leader in our community, an experienced Renton business owner, and a beloved producer/promoter of the arts. She has been demonstrating in all her work and community activities that she is perfectly-suited to help lead Renton towards an even brighter future.
Mary has been around Renton leadership all her life. I enjoyed serving on Renton Council with Mary’s grandfather, Earl Clymer, when he was Mayor of Renton. We worked together on such key projects as finalizing Renton’s Aquifer Protection Ordinance, creating our first Economic Development Department, bringing IKEA into town, and accommodating rapid growth in manufacturing at Boeing and Paccar. Mayor Clymer wanted to hear from residents, giving each resident TWO five-minute opportunities to converse with council at every council meeting– once near the start, and once near the end– a practice which kept us connected to our residents and their needs. Mary has told me she wants to help foster that same degree of open dialogue her grandfather did, even on difficult subjects, and ensure the Council, Mayor, residents and businesses work closely together on a bright Renton future. Mary’s parents, like her grandfather, modeled Renton community engagement and service to her throughout her life.
To get the positive, safe future that everyone in Renton deserves, we need a healthy change in Renton Council Position 2. Mary Clymer is ready to be that change. Please vote for Mary by August 5.
From left, me, my wife Cathy, Mary Clymer, and Former Mayor Denis Law at Renton’s Farmers Market
A recent press release from the City discussed the impending purchase of the Stoneway Site for extension of Cedar River Park, but did not mention the environmental remediation challenges that will come with it.
A graphic in a Department of Ecology letter shows locations of petroleum and formaldehyde contamination on the Stoneway site
I support the city purchasing this site as long as Renton gets it for a fair price and we get assistance from the Department of Ecology, State Fisheries, and others to help fully clean it up.
According to the Department of Ecology, there is still formaldehyde, petroleum residue and potentially other industrial waste on the site that is acceptably capped and monitored so long as none of the soil, concrete, and buildings are disturbed. Any digging on the site requires Department of Ecology approval and likely a new environmental remediation plan. The site is also subject to continuous monitoring for chemical movement, and carries liability for whoever owns it.
