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Renton Mayor’s office was pedaling backwards
Months before the news broke this morning that the Asphalt Plant was halted, “Save the Cedar River” leader Bob Baker was on record with a Churchill-like fortitude “We have every intention of stopping this project. We will take this to the very end. If it takes another five years, it takes another five years.” Similarly, County Councilmember Reagan Dunn made his position clear in an open letter to the King County Council, calling the plant a “Mistake of Monumental Proportions” which threatened the “Cedar River- the drinking water source for 1.4 million people in the region, and critical habitat for Chinook, Coho, Sockeye, and Kokanee salmon..”
Bob Baker’s “Save the Cedar River” organization and Councilmember Reagan Dunn worked to protect salmon spawning grounds and our drinking water aquifer
In contrast, Renton’s Mayor Armondo Pavone published a lengthy press release five months ago undermining Mr. Baker’s and Mr. Dunn’s strong positions, titled “Word on the Street.” This press release attempted to assure the public that the Asphalt Plant proposal was “relatively low” risk. It included two pages of arguments like “The contamination risk is further lessened by on-site requirements of the asphalt plant.” and “Any spills from those tanks would be confined to the containment areas to allow for cleanup.” The Mayor’s press release characterized the many environmental concerns broadly as “misinformation.”
The ridiculous “misinformation” label frustrated Mr. Baker so much that he confronted the Mayor and Council directly on the environmental issues at a Renton City Council Meeting this past March.
Now that Bob Baker, Reagan Dunn, and Lakeside Industries have succeeded in saving the Cedar River and its underlying aquifer from the risk of contamination by the asphalt plant, the Renton Mayor’s office is scrambling to articulate a new position.
In a new press release today, Mayor Pavone says “This is an important win for the Renton community and our environmental and sustainability goals,” (avoiding any discussion of the two pages of pro-asphalt-plant statements he had made in his February press release.)
The Renton Mayor could have stopped the asphalt plant two years ago with an amicus brief, a single letter Renton could have written to the Appeals Court. In the judges’ words this would have tipped the scales and stopped the asphalt plant. The Mayor had been repeatedly asked to complete the amicus brief by Bob Baker, but it was never done. This brief would have saved everyone (including Lakeside Industries) heartache, time and money.
In the Mayor’s press release today, he says “I’m proud to have been able to work in tandem with Councilmember Dunn to secure a resolution that is beneficial to King County.” But Bob Baker has informed me that the settlement negotiation included only seven people: Bob Baker, Reagan Dunn, Cody from Reagan’s office, two Lakeside executives, a Lakeside attorney, and Bob Baker’s attorney. No one else was there.
This reminded me of a time as a teenager when I rented a tandem bicycle with a friend to take a hilly ride around a lake. I rode in front, pedaling furiously, and could not believe how much effort it was to climb a steep grade. I looked back, and my friend, laughing, had removed his feet from the pedals and was relaxing as I powered us up the hill.
The specifics of who gets credit for today’s win isn’t the issue. What matters is how are we going to protect Renton’s sole source aquifer in the future, and who can we count on to do it. Who will carry the flag that Mayor Barbara Shinpoch waved as she oversaw creation and implementation of Renton’s first aquifer protection ordinance. Bob Baker and his large community of activists stepped in as private citizens, and (with Reagan Dunn’s support) overcame the indifference that Renton’s leadership was promoting. What happens if Bob Baker isn’t around the next time our Cedar River and sole source aquifer are threatened?
Working “in tandem” to protect the Cedar River Valley from the asphalt plant
For Reference: In February the Renton City Council President released a letter with the same content as the Mayor’s “View on the Street” press release, and I specifically addressed each of the erant claims, with links to the scientific data, in this blog post.
I’d be curious about what legal theory caused Lakeside to back down. Something more than bad publicity had to have gotten them to sit at the table.
There was no legal issues that “forced” Lakeside to halt the proposed Asphalt Plant. There were time constraints, but nothing that would of forced them to abolish the plant. I cannot speak for Mike Lee or anyone from Lakeside Industries, but what I heard in our meeting was simply they were looking for a way to utilize their property, while having a good relationship with the Community. Anything more is a private issue between the only 3 groups involved in negotiations, Lakeside Industries, King County and Save the Cedar River. At no time during those negotiations was the city of Renton involved (with exception of informing them what was transpiring) this includes the Mayor and City Council members. In fact every council member and Mayor had agreed to help stop the proposed plant during election time. Once elected, they refused to help in any way. In fact during a City Council Meeting I was explaining the dangers presented to the aquafir, when my alloted time ran out the Mayor immediately requested I stop talking, I replied that they should contact me for further information. Which they did not, I did return numerous times, each falling on deaf ears, with the exception of Council Member Kim Khanh Van who made a motion for an Amycus Brief, which died due to lack of support. Shame on you Mayor for trying to spin this decision as yours, You were not in that room, you were not invited to the meeting. This decision was promoted by Mike Lee CEO of Lakeside Industries, after some discussion, was all but agreed upon by myself (after I talked with the Save the Cedar River Board of Directors) and Brokered by Reagan Dunn.
Thanks Bob for your continuous dedication. Especially when there didn’t seem to be an easy victory. And sorry for all the politicos that said one thing and did another.
They probably didn’t have the business need or money anymore so they played it like this; fairly smar.
fairly smart.* lol.
Sadly, the City of Renton has numerous opportunities to solve this and chose not to. Five months ago in my response to the Council President’s letter, (after the City’s failure to produce the amicus brief or use eminent domain to end the asphalt plant), I wrote:
“One of the most alarming concerns about the failure of Renton’s leaders to act on this threat to the water supply is that this is politically an easy one to solve. Our Council Members get to be heroes. And not just heroes to residents of Renton, but also heroes to the Tribes, State Fisheries, King County Council, the King County Executive, County residents, rafters, sports fishermen, recreationalists, and environmentalists. There are several agencies that have offered grant money to help pay for this purchase. But by not acting on behalf of residents now, when it is politically easy, it raises the question whether this council would act on residents behalf when its politically difficult, and requires standing up to King County, the state, or the federal government. Renton’s elected officials are not elected to just passively watch events unfold, they are there to protect Renton’s interests.”
And specifically regarding the City’s reluctance to use eminent domain to purchase this site, I wrote:
“And ideally a sale could be negotiated without the use of eminent domain. If I was Council President we would likely already be planning our new park on this property, with a plaque recognizing Lakeside Industries for the cooperation in the negotiated settlement that saved our valley and our water supply for future generations. The plaque would also recognize all the regional, state, tribal, and private agencies that have offered grants for this to happen.”
History has now shown that Lakeside would have been amenable to this solution. Lakeside’s warehouse will be an acceptable solution as well, but they arrived at this solution with no help from the elected officials in the City of Renton.
I’m reminded of this classic scene from the Simpsons
Armondo yesterday: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cF44OPOEfYY
So far I haven’t heard or seen anything positive coming from the mayor and council. It’s either woe is me or look what great things I have done. I am so tired of lip service…. They need to do things that have value for our community or step down.
Disappointed….again but not surprised.
Great work Bob, Corman’s and all involved in discourging the asphalt plant! No thanks to the current leadership and hired staff who all are paid to protect our best interest and health. Our city is an unprecedented mess everywhere you look! Time for a change in leadership and management! Time for professionals to run our city!!
Let’s find the leaders who will make the land a park to protect our future and clean up this entire mess!
The mayor and council (with the exception of Kim Khanh Van) do not care about taking on hard, necessary fights for the residents of Renton. The folks coming to the table and negotiating are the real heros here and I’m glad this post brings that to light.
The Cedar River is perhaps the greatest natural wonder of our city, and its s a shame that in the 21st century it is still not receiving due respect and reverence from those in authority. This is a wonderful victory for nature today, and I would love to see more celebration and better treatment for this incredible river.