Month: November 2007

Clam Lights at Coulon Park

On Friday, Nov. 30, Ivar’s Clam Lights at Gene Coulon Memorial Beach Park begins. A ride on Santa’s Covered Wagon, holiday entertainment, and the Parade of Boats kick off the holiday season. The fun starts at 6:30 p.m. with the official lighting ceremony at 7:20 p.m. Clam Lights runs through Jan. 1.

Here is a beautiful comment I received from a North Renton reader.

We Agree . . . Renton is Beautiful . . . .

A walk along the Cedar River as you watch the salmon, the many herons, ducks galore, an occasional bald eagle(!!) and a beaver or two enjoy what the river has to offer . . . .

A crisp fall evening as the lights from Renton Memorial Stadium fill the night, along with the roars of the football and soccer crowds . . ..

The smell of fresh vegetables and herbs at the Renton Pea Patch . . . .

A stroll along the Cedar River Trail . . . .

A gathering of friends and neighbors at the Piazza for a farmers’ market . . .

Little League and softball games at Liberty Park . . . .

A quiet reading at the main branch of Renton Public Library . . .

A noisy day at Clayton Scott Field as you watch Boeing’s jets fly away . . .

The Landing . . . The Landing . . . . The Landing . . .

Welcome to North Renton. Renton’s Finest Neighborhood.

We’ll see you soon, because we truly are the “Heart of Renton.”

Whether you live in a classic century-old tradition home downtown, or near the shore of Lake Washington, or down by the Cedar River, or in a highland plateau neighborhood, on one of our many view hillsides, or in a 1950’s era neighborhood just like mine, there is beauty all around that is unique to the Northwest.

This is a photo looking down my street yesterday.

We have so much to give thanks for.

Last night’s council meeting was very productive, and a lot of fun for the council.  While we accomplished much serious business, some confusion and miscues left all of us laughing….at one point so much so that Marcie Palmer was nearly in tears, and most of us had a difficult time uttering “aye” during a roll-call vote.

We all seemed to share equally in the goof-ups that lead to the laughter.  Council President Toni Nelson was sitting in for Mayor Keolker, but Toni occasionally missed her cue when someone asked for the floor by stating “Madam Mayor.”  When this happened, Toni would silently look at whoever was speaking for a few moments, and then suddenly remember that she was in-fact madam mayor.  At which time she would laugh, and we would all laugh with her.  Don Persson thought he would be helpful by referring to her as “Madam Toni,” which cracked us up even though it was a practical solution.  We had a complicated docket of resolutions, ordinances for first reading and advancement to second reading the following week, ordinances for first reading and advancement to second reading last night, and ordinances that had been read before but required a second reading last night.    At one point, I tried to help Toni with the order, only to realize I was giving her bad advice and mixing her up further, which led to another laugh.  At one point, Toni called for a roll-call vote, and then proceeded to read the roll herself, a task that the clerk typically does.  She made it though just fine, with nobody saying anything about it, but laughed out loud when I whispered a reminder to her that she could leave that to the clerk.  After that, several members mixed up one another’s names, and made some other amusing comments.  Once we were all laughing, the laughter itself made us laugh harder.  When roll-call voting, I watched as one colleague after another struggled to say “aye” when their turn came up because the were laughing too hard for the words to come out.  Since I was last, it was most difficult for me…it was  not easy to compose myself enough to vote audibly.

Through all the laughter, we managed to get a lot of important business done, and we had a nice time doing it.  We set the property tax rate for next year (1% increase over this year), we took some zoning actions, voted to maintain the current driveway width standards, selected next year’s president and president pro-tem, and took care of other miscellaneous items.  For as long as I have known her, Toni Nelson has always done a nice job of managing council meetings.  For the council members, and the audience in attendance, this meeting was a productive, nice, upbeat session after a difficult campaign season.

Click here for more information about the proposed Duvall closure, from the City of Renton Website.

And below is an email where my council colleague (And Transportation Committee chair) Marcie Palmer directs our City Transportation Administrator to your concerns expressed on my blog. Continue reading →

Kennydale resident Mark Hancock suggested I ask readers to share some of their best dining experiences in Renton. In particular, if there is a place you really like, or a recent discovery that you wish to share, we would all like to hear about it. Renton has many nice restaurants, with a wide variety of offerings. What are some of your favorite places to go?

Here is a recent blog posting from Team Reba Real Estate on this topic:

Is Renton ahead of the eating curve?

Posted by Reba Haas on November 16, 2007 , link to teamreba.com

When I first moved to the Seattle area back in late 1989 my first home was in Renton.  Back then it seemed a sleepy enough little place and the downtown area was not my favorite place to hang out because it was a little on the “low brow” side of things; which meant I drove into Seattle a lot to see friends and to try new places for entertainment, volleyball, restaurants, etc.

Now, so many years later, I am a Renton resident again having just purchased a home in the Talbot Hill area. Downtown is still sometimes a little sleepy compared to downtown Seattle but there are definitely a lot more cool places to go hang out for dinner.  Recently we spent some time at the “new” location for Armondo’s, Whistle Stop Ale House, Vince’s Italian (ok, that’s up the hill on Sunset/SR900), and a Japanese/sushi place on Benson called New Zen Sushi (Benson Hill).

I’m happy to say that so far we’ve been pleased with the gastronomic results. A few folks with even more insider info gave us a hot tip that we need to get to the ”Red House” and we soon will.  After reading up on their website what they have to offer I’m sure we’ll be there within the next few weeks, as well as getting to Fin N Bone and Melrose Grill (owned by the same folks as Armondo’s).

The Coal Creek Parkway detour entry has attracted many interesting comments. I expect we will be taking this issue up at city hall in the next week or two. I have no idea what we will do, but I value your input. Please Click Here and leave your comments, so we will know your opinion on this topic.

Email received at City Hall from our Economic Development department:

Subject: Spirit of Washington Events Center rumors

Councilmembers and Mayor…
Last week, we learned of a rumor circulating Downtown about a possible purchase of the Spirit of Washington Events Center operation by one of Eric Temple’s employees. I have contacted Eric and he denied that any sale has occurred, but he did indicate that he is exploring options and that things are “fluid” now due to the uncertainty of the Dinner Train operation.

Here is exactly what he said: “We all knew taking over the Events Center would get interesting if the Dinner Train shut down, and here we are. Our first priority is serving the Events that are currently on the books, to the best of our ability, so that neither the City’s nor the Event Center’s reputation is damaged.”

To a follow up, he responded with the following: “We are exploring many alternatives, none of which I am willing to comment on
at this time.”

As you will recall, the lease agreement with the City does not allow the transfer of the lease to another party without the City’s consent. We’ve offered to sit down with Eric to discuss challenges he may be experiencing and potential options, but so far he hasn’t taken us up on the offer. We’ll certainly let you know if and when we learn more.

The latest King County Budget includes a water taxi demonstration project in Renton. The project is a small part of a new tax that the County Council just imposed, to support a ferry district.

While I am am generally not a fan of new taxes, I’m glad that this one will come with a benefit for Renton residents. The Renton Water Taxi seems like an exciting concept, and it looks like many of you are also enthusiastic about it based on your comments. The route has not yet been determined…I suspect you may have an opportunity to help select it.

Here is the story.

• A property levy of 5.5 cents per $1,000 assessed valuation will fund a ferry district that will operate the Vashon Island passenger ferry and the Elliott Bay Water Taxi and will pilot several other ferry routes. The tax will cost the owner of a $400,000 home $22 a year.

Click here for the PI Article on this topic.