Month: July 2007

Proposed garbage pilot program raising many questions

Written by Randy Corman 0 Comments

Citizens needed more information and involvment before the mayor launched this garbage pilot program….and a briefing to the council would have been very nice and appropriate as well.

I am not keen on the idea of garbage collection every two weeks…I think that is asking for trouble from pests and odors. Also, the idea of large housholds like mine stockpiling four cans seems like a lot of garbage sitting around in neighborhoods. And yes, we can put the food waste in the garbage disposal or the yard-waste container, but what about greasy food wrappers that attract rodents for weeks at a time.

If we are trying to pilot something like this, I feel we need an opt-out option for people who don’t want to be part of the pilot program, and we ideally should work though the neighborhood program to see if there is a neighborhood that would volunteer to test this concept. I don’t think it is fair to simply send someone a letter saying we are cutting their service and that they will have to pay the same fee as always…end of story.

Click here to see one of the emails council has recieved on this topic

Eight hundred dollars to tow an SUV and trailer five miles?

Written by Randy Corman 1 Comment

A certain Burien towing company just charged a Renton woman $408 to tow an empty U-haul Trailer from Renton to Burien. They also charged her about $400 more to tow her car the same distance. Appearantly, these seemingly ridiculous rates are their “posted rates” for such service, so presumedly they are what you would be charged if you hired them to take your car to the shop.

Sadly, this woman did not even want her vehicle towed. She had it parked at her Renton apartment complex, for the next day’s big move, and the apartment manger arranged a “private non-consent” towing. The woman tells me she was not parked in any of the complex’s marked and cross-hatched fire lanes, and she was not blocking traffic. But she says the owner has painted every curb red in the whole parking lot, and there is no place for a car-trailer rig to queue or park without being next to a red curb…she tried to do her best.

But she is not so upset about the fact that her vehicle was towed as she is about the how much that the tow cost her. She says she was billed over $800 by the towing company, to get her vehicle back a few hours after they took it from her complex. And they only tranported it about five miles.

I rooted around in some legal paperwork on the tow company’s website, and realized that this woman is incredibly lucky that the towing company did not store her car and trailer for any length of time. Their standard agreement with apartment owners says that they would have billed her $3000 per month for storage (for a car and trailer), again without her consent. At this rate, their lot may be the most expensive parking in the Seattle area, far exceeding prices charged at Seatac Airport, Quest Field, and Seattle Waterfront lots. In fact, the tow company could rent a five bedroom house in Belleve, and store cars in the garage, and it would be less expensive than the price they charge for their lot.

The tow company also features automobile auctions on their site…no doubt many of which are vehicles that people living paycheck-to-paycheck could never afford to get out of hawk. I wonder how many working people have lost their jobs because they can’t get to work because a towing company has charged them $800 for a five-mile tow, or $3000 a month to store their car. When this happens, and I know it does occasionally, the taxpayers cover it with Section 8, aid, foodstamps, and who knows, maybe even foster care for the kids.

This woman did the right thing though….fortunatly, she had enough money and had the presence of mind to pay the ridiculous fee, and get her car and trailer back before the tow company owned her car. After making her successful move, she has asked the Renton Council if we can find a way to better regulate such unfair circumstances.

I don’t know if state legislators give the Renton Council this power or not, but I intend to look into it. Meanwhile, I would ask the tow companies to voluntarily not charge more to non-consent customers than they do to consenting ones…it’s common decency and fairness. The tow companies’ role is to remove hazards and trespasses, not to issue fines on people and then keep the money! And if $408 is in-fact the going rate for this company to tow an empty U-haul trailer from Renton to Burien, and $400 is the price for towing a car the same five miles, then I’ll challenge this towing company to prominently post this rate on their website…I’m sure their potential customer base would like to know.

Come to Marcie’s campaign kick-off tomorrow!

Written by Randy Corman 0 Comments

There will not be a council meeting tomorrow night because it is the fifth Monday of the month. Instead, most of us will be attending Marcie Palmer’s campaign open house at Councilman Don Persson’s beautiful home on Renton Hill. You are all invited to join us!

It will be a terrific event, and will give everyone a chance to get to know Marcie better if they have not had an opportunity to visit with her yet.

Here is the invite off of her website:

Renton Citizens to Re-Elect Marcie Palmer Open House
Monday, July 30th, 2007 from 5:00 to 7:00 pm

Dear Friends:

I am asking you to join me and my campaign team–Renton Citizens to Re-Elect Marcie Palmer–at an open house being sponsored by the campaign at the home of Don and Vicky Persson on Monday, July 30th, from 5:00 to 7:00 pm. Stop by for some light refreshments and take a moment to meet with me and let me know what issues facing Renton are important to you. This information will be invaluable to me as I continue my campaign to retain my seat on the Renton City Council.

Don and Vicky live on Renton Hill at 538 Renton Avenue South. Parking is down the alley at the rear of the house. You can reach us at their place the day of the open house at 206-579-8804.

There’s nothing to bring (but your financial support of my campaign is always appreciated). I look forward to seeing you and we would greatly appreciate it if you plan on attending to please let us know by July 23rd by sending an e-mail to info@Palmer2007.com.

Many thanks,

Marcie Palmer
and Renton Citizens to Re-Elect Marcie Palmer

For more information visit www.marciepalmer.com

Whidbey News Tribune: Your home is not your castle

Written by Randy Corman 1 Comment

Hmmm-

Looks like Renton got a dishonorable mention in this special to the Whidbey News Tribune…

(I agree with Mr. Guppy’s perspective…you can learn how I formed my opinion by reading about eminent domain on my website, www.randycorman.com.)

Sound Off: Your home is not your castle

By Paul Guppy

Jul 21 2007

“…In Renton, Mayor Kathy Koelker said she envisioned “the next generation’s new single-family housing,” and attempted to take away the homes of working class families. Public outcry ended the scheme, for now….

read the whole article here

The Renton Reporter should balance column space given to politicians

Written by Randy Corman 1 Comment

I was just copied on an interesting email regarding the unfairness in the way the Renton Reporter is providing free column space in the midst of a very competitive campaign. Why did this column have to begin after both mayoral candidates had announced their intention to run for mayor…couldn’t the paper had waited until November to start the new feature if they were not going to give equal space to all? I have never seen another paper do this, and I thought the editor of the Renton Reporter had assured everyone that the disparate treatment between Councilman Law and Mayor Keolker would end after filing for election, a milestone that we passed early last month.

read the email I recieved by clicking here

Airport Leases in debate: A letter of concern from Kennydale resident Mark Hancock

Written by Randy Corman 2 Comments

 

Many citizens are taking a closer look at Renton Airport Leasing policies following the debate about an Airport Jet Center earlier this year. Here is a representative email to city council, asking us to be careful about what we approve. The city’s transportation committee has decided to hold the subject leases in committee for further study.

read the email by clicking here

Looking back on Almost Live!

Written by Randy Corman 2 Comments


Hororary Citizen of Renton John Kiester (wearing neck tie) sits with the final cast of KING5’s “Almost Live.”

Nine years ago, In May 1998, I and the rest of the City Council concurred in the proclamation by Mayor Tanner which bestowed the rank of Honorary Citizen of Renton upon John Keister, host of the hit television show “Almost Live.”

John Keister, bless his heart, arrived in person to accept the Mayor’s proclamation. Mr. Keister, who hosted the beloved comedy series though many emmy-winning seasons, and who was a part of the extraordinary comedy team for the show’s entire 15-year year run, was a crack-up at the council meeting. To amuse his many Renton fans in the crowd, he quipped that he would proudly display his Honorary Citizen of Renton Proclamation next to his coveted Radio Shack Battery-of-the-Month Club Membership certificate in his office. This comment drew howls of laughter from Mayor Jesse Tanner and all the rest of us who had the ability to look critically at ourselves, and recognize where our city could improve. John Keister also told us that we had done too good of a job over the previous few years, and it was getting hard to make fun of Renton anymore. I was gratified by this observation, being in my fifth year on city council, and Jesse Tanner was likewise gratified as he was performing remarkably in his third year as mayor.

One year later, in 1999, Almost Live went off the air.

I enjoyed reading the memory by Spirit of Washington Dinner Train Owner Eric Temple described in the Seattle Times:

Eric Temple remembers cringing, with a guilty laugh, when he first heard “Almost Live” host John Keister’s quip on late-night TV, back in 1992:

“I hear there’s a new dinner train,” Temple recalls him saying. “I guess things are going great for them — except once people get to the winery, they are refusing to go back to Renton.”The Times went on to give Mr. Temple his due credit for helping turn Renton’s image around.

I am very grateful to Mr. Temple, and others like him who invested in this community, for helping us improve our city and making it a more fun place to live.

When “Almost Live” went off the air in 1999, I missed the show immensely even though it poked fun at our city. Even as a Renton official I had looked forward to watching Almost Live each week. After all, Renton did have some significant issues we were working on. And the show was part of the Northwest experience of the 80’s and 90’s, like the Kingdome, Dick’s, the Elephant Car Wash, and Chubby and Tubby’s. Besides, “Almost Live” made fun of absolutely everywhere in the Northwest: Seattle Downtown, Queen Anne, Ballard, Fremont, Wallingford, Bellevue, Mercer Island, Kent, Auburn, Olympia, Bellingham, Tacoma, Spokane, Oregon, and Idaho were all widely lampooned by the show. In addition, no Seattle politician, celebrity, or sports teams was immune.

Almost live was so successful that it was televised nationally on Comedy Central, and it launched impressive and well-deserved careers for Bill Nigh (the Science Guy), Pat Cashman, Ross Shaefer (the original host) and of course John Keister.

I am sure that if “Almost Live” was in production today, they would still find a few things to tease Renton about. Last year we would have endured countless jokes about lipstick on mirrors, for instance.

And right now, while we are still working to try to get the right mix of businesses at the Landing, I can practically hear John Keister reporting in the John Report: “The city of Renton has spent 38 Million dollars to bring in what they have called the greatest new urban village to ever grace the Northwest. The Anchor Store?..Ross Dress for Less!…Citizens of Renton are reporting that they have not been this excited since Sizzler held an all-you-can-eat steak night.”

Or how about, “Renton just spent $50,000 to figure out that the new Sonics owners never had any real intention of staying in the Seattle area…appearantly Renton and four people in a submarine at the bottom of Puget Sound were the only ones who did not know this.”

Well, we don’t need the Sonics, and the council will step in and push for the right mix of shops at the Landing. We just need to keep our sense of humor, not be afraid to admit our mistakes, and aim for the stars.

Stealing from Mr. Keister’s trademark style…

I am Randy, and this was my report. Thank You.

The truth about Sound Transit funding; where is Renton’s share?

Written by Randy Corman 2 Comments

 

In 1995, voters of Renton overwhelmingly joined voters of the rest of the Eastside in rejecting a six billion dollar Regional Transit proposal that focussed almost entirely on Seattle. Eastside voters said the proposal was too expensive, and they wanted a pro-rated, fair share of the funding to be spent to improve transit on the Eastside…the dollars generated in the Renton/Eastside sub-area should be used in the sub-area. This “sub-area equity” proposal went back to the ballot with a scaled down Seattle rail system and eastside Highway and Bus improvements, and was approved by the voters…giving birth to Sound Transit.

Renton voters will contribute 100 million dollars in tax money to the Sound Transit proposal approved in 1996, and the Sound Transit Board agreed that our city would receive two I-405 express HOV on/off ramps, one at Talbot and one at N 8th Street, along with expanded express bus service, in return for this huge investment. This is what Renton voters expected and deserved.

Sadly, Sound Transit began losing site of their bargain with Renton voters as they became distracted with bigger projects in Seattle and Bellevue. Mayor Jesse Tanner and several of us on council attended countless meetings to try to get Renton projects underway, but ultimately Sound Transit informed Renton that prices had escalated and they had under-estimated, and they could now only build the HOV on/off ramp at 8th street, and it would cost 80 million (with the other 20 million going to other cities).

When Jesse Tanner got this news, he informed Sound Transit that they would put the other 20 million back into RENTON projects, not send it elsewhere, and they would proceed immediately to plan and build Renton’s new off-ramp at N 8th street, before it got more expensive; AND… they would get our bus service going. When the King County Executive and the Sound Transit Board balked at Renton’s mayor telling them what to do, and threatened to ignore Renton, Jesse Tanner took the effective and intelligent step of withholding an easement that Sound Transit needed from Renton to support their north-south rail project until they returned to the bargaining table. Having been out-maneuvered by Mayor Tanner,and with the politics against Sound Transit, the Sound Transit staff capitulated and returned to the bargaining table. Renton and Sound Transit then held very productive discussions, and finally agreed that Sound Transit would build the 8th street HOV off-ramp post-haste, and that the 20 million would be used specifically to improve Rainier Avenue and Hardie Avenue so that Sound Transit buses could more easily reach our transit center from the south, something that the HOV off-ramp at at Talbot was supposed to have done.

But, alas, it did not end there. Next thing we knew, Sound Transit was telling us that the 8th street HOV off-ramp would now cost 160 million, because part of I-405 would need to be realigned to create better sight distances when the new project was installed. Sound Transit suggested that they should go ahead with the 20 million dollar Rainier Avenue improvements, and then work regional I-405 financing proposals to get the additional money. Renton reluctantly agreed to wait and see if voters would approve new I-405 money, but again Jesse Tanner made it clear that no matter what, the 100 million would improve Renton transit and not go elsewhere.

Jesse Tanner retired, and Mayor Keolker took office right around the time that voters rejected additional money for I-405. Sound Transit proposed to the new Keolker Administration that they would link our off-ramp improvements to the pending future voter approval of the mega-big Regional Transit Investment District (RTID) and Sound Transit Phase-Two proposal, a FIFTY BILLION dollar bond issue which would still need voter approval. Also, Sound Transit would prioritize our off-ramp project near the END of their list of Phase-Two projects, meaning even if we approve the 50 billion dollar Sound Transit/RTID Bond, Rentonites will not see our new off-ramp (promised in Phase one) until the year 2030, over 30 years after we paid for it. Sound Transit also determined that the Rainier and Hardie Avenue improvement, the other 20 million dollars in Sound Transit funding, was held up because Burlington Northern railroad had no interest or willingness to rebuild their Renton trestles and provide enough clearance for the new roadways.  Sound Transit is attempting to back away from their promised improvements in Renton.

But those of us on Council have not let Sound Transit off the hook for the promised money, and earlier this year Marcie Palmer, Don Persson and I told Burlington Northern Railroad and the State DOT that we would fight their abandonment of the Eastside Rail line (and eviction of the dinner train) in Washington DC if they did not rebuild the trestles in Renton, thus freeing up the 20 million in Sound Transit money. The mayor let the three of us know that she did not like our request and pressure upon the Railroad, but as a council we prevailed. BNSF and State DOT are now working to rebuild these trestles, which will at LONG LAST get Renton taxpayers some value for their Sound Transit money thanks to the work that Marcie, Don and I did at this key meeting.

A bigger issue is how do we get our remaining 80 million dollar share spent to ease Renton congestion, if taxpayers decide not to approve the Phase Two (fifty billion dollar bond commitment)?  The Council Transportation Committee certainly cares about this, and we will continue to pursue this.

 

Railroad trestle work will add to our traffic maze this summer, but it will be worth the pain

Written by Randy Corman 0 Comments

We ARE trying to fix some of the traffic problems in town, but it will be a little painful this summer :-(.

We are replacing FOUR railroad trestles within a few months, and three of them span roads which will need to be closed temporarily.

This will ultimately allow us to widen Rainier Ave, Hardie Avenue, and Shatuck Ave, which will give us more North-South lane capacity through our city…yay!

This will also allow us to fully update these rail crossings while we still have the East Side Line to carry freight to Renton’s airplane factory, such that the city will have new crossings in place when the rail line through Renton becomes the only rail access to the Renton Boeing plant.

The Shattuck rail underpass (just east of Rainier Ave) will change from a one lane “cow-tunnel” to a two lane road, but it will still only have an 8 foot clearance…if you have not see this tunnel near the downtown Radioshack you may want to see it before it closes down…I understand it was originally designed to let cattle pass under the railroad track, but now it allows one car at a time to go under the track as long as the cars are not taller than about 6 feet….the top timbers of the tunnel are lacerated by cars that were just a little too tall but never-the-less driven into the tunnel!

Here is today’s Seattle Times Story on this forthcoming traffic maze:

Continue reading →

Photo tour of the Landing!

Written by Randy Corman 2 Comments

The City’s Transportation Committee held a public meeting at “The Landing” construction site, and Gary Palmer captured the event in pictures.


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Councilman Randy Corman and his wife Cathy

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City officials and citizens standing near the center roundabout in the entertainment area of the Landing.

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This Roundabout is between Park and Logan, on a new private entertainment street in the Landing, where it crosses a new 10th street. The center plaza will be planted and signed “The Landing”


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One half of the new Logan Avenue is paved in concrete as it passes the Boeing Plant. This road is new, and will carry cars directly from the Highlands (exit 5 area) right into the center of Renton downtown (connecting with the existing Logan). This connection has not existed for 50 years, but can now be reconnected since Boeing has released the property.
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It goes very close the the Boeing Final Assembly hangers…drivers and pedestrians will get views of Boeing Planes that they have not ever had in this area before.

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This is the area that the Sonics wanted to purchase, north of the Boeing buildings that line 6th street. For those of you who work at Boeing, you will know this as the site of the 10-80 building. The street in the foreground is the new extension of 8th street…an all new segment that used to be inside the Boeing gate. This section of 8th street should be open for Boeing employees to get to work as of Monday (July 2.)

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Verizon, Panda Express, and other shops will go in here

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This is a new view down Park Avenue, from the intersection with the new 10th street. With all the new streets, traffic is predicted to flow better than many citizens expect. There will also be lots of parking, including a 700 stall parking garage.

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Cranes hover over the start of the new apartments, which will be seven stories tall and provide housing for thousands. It’s not too early to look into renting if you are interested.

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Another view down the new 10th street, near the roundabout

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New view of Boeing Final Assembly hangers

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New movie theater will have 16 screens

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Another view down 10th

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More construction shots

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The city and developers are providing nice finishes on all the streets, and sidewalks that are 14 feet wide. All paving is being done in concrete, with different colors and patterns to add character and make it more clear how to get around. This grid pattern marks the edge of the street where parallel parking will be allowed. Major intersections will be done in brown concrete, which looks like larger tiles.

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Still more street work! The City expects to have Park Avenue open for traffic in just two more weeks!!! Yay!

Hope you enjoyed this exclusive tour…leave me your commets please!

Thanks, Renton WA