Written by The flood risk for this season is mostly behind us, and the Army Corps may even have a shot at greatly reducing next season’s flood risk. Renton’s Mayor Law is back in Washington DC trying to help the repairs get funding. Here is the story.
Renton is working hard to keep the Federal Aviation Administration in town
For almost 20 years, Renton has had the privilege to be home to the Northwest Mountain Region office of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA.) It’s been a great partnership. Their current home is on Lind Avenue, across the street from Wizards of the Coast.
Now, following tremendous growth in aviation over the past two decades, FAA has outgrown their existing facilities. They are looking for a place to expand.
Our economic development specialists have worked with local landowners to identify for FAA ten possible sites in Renton that we feel would be excellent locations for their new Northwest-Mountain Headquarters building.
The FAA is a very important employer in Renton, as they currently provide almost 1500 high-quality aviation jobs in our community. In their new headquarters building, this number is likely to increase to almost 2000. They are currently our city’s fourth largest employer.
The FAA also attracts engineers, mechanics and business owners from all over the Northwest and Rocky Mountain states (Washington, Idaho, Utah, Oregon, Montana, Wyoming, and Colorado) for prolonged business visits related to work on their airplane projects. Many of these visitors stay in our hotels and eat in our restaurants, adding even more to our jobs and city tax base. The local FAA office also host national meetings and conferences related to their leadership role in commercial jet transportation (in aviation language, they are the home of the national Transport Airplane Directorate).
We strongly desire to keep them in Renton.
Here are the sites that have been suggested to the FAA:
• The FAA Building: Current home of the nearly 200,000 square-foot FAA Northwest Mountain Regional Office at 1600 Lind Avenue Southwest. Expansion is possible there.
• Southport: 17.5 acres at 1087 Lake Washington Boulevard N. on Lake Washington.
• Lakeshore Landing: 16 acres (total 21 acres) of Boeing property at Park Avenue North and North Eighth Street.
• Sunset Bluffs: 36 acres on State Route 900/Southwest Sunset Boulevard on northwest corner of Renton’s valley office and industrial area.
• Hawk’s Landing: 7.2 acres at 4350 Lake Washington Boulevard N., near the Seahawks’ headquarters.
• Former Sound Ford property: 8.4 acres at 750 Rainier Ave. S.
• Stoneway: 14 acres on Maple Valley Highway (former Stoneway concrete plant).
• Triton Towers expansion: 21.6 acres on South Grady Way at Renton Village.
• Longacres Office Park: 12 acres of Boeing property at Southwest 27th Street, visible from I-405.
• Regal East Valley Theaters: 12.3 acres at 3751 E. Valley Road.
You can read some more about this competition in this Renton Reporter article
Update to story about Cedar River Trail Harrasser; no arrests, but police are working it
UPDATE Wednesday Afternoon:
This information has just been provided by the police department:
A single incident was reported to police. The report, which was made two weeks after the event, stated that an individual was assaulted while walking on the trail. The reporting party was unable to identify the subject in a photo montage, and has since decided not to pursue the case. There have been no other formal reports of incidents occurring on the trail.
We have been told that there have been other incidents that are associated with the same suspect, however the Police Department has not received a call. This is a common theme as citizens are hesitant to call 911 unless it is a serious life threatening issue. We encourage our citizens to call 911 whenever they observe suspicious activity.
Because of the increased community concern, we have been conducting additional emphasis patrols on the trail.
There have been no arrests of any subject in relation to the alleged incidents on the trail. A person of interest has been identified. This person has been arrested recently for criminal violations not associated with intimidation on the trail.
___________________________
Original entry:
Word comes to us tonight that a suspect has been arrested in a case that was described this morning by Renton Blogger Lady P of the Picaroon.
Lady P’s description of events can be found here, and the mayor’s email informing us of the arrest is attached below.
Anyone who has been harassed is encouraged to contact the Renton police department to provide a statement.
______________________________________________
From: Denis Law
Sent: Tuesday, January 26, 2010 8:41:37 PM
To: Marcie Palmer; Terry Higashiyama
Cc: Council; Jay B Covington
Subject: Re: Cedar River Trail safety concern
Auto forwarded by a Rule
We will get you some details. A suspect has been arrested.
From: Marcie Palmer
To: Terry Higashiyama
Cc: Council; Jay B Covington; Denis Law
Sent: Tue Jan 26 18:40:10 2010
Subject: Cedar River Trail safety concern
I was surprised to read on the Picaroon blog (http://thepicaroon.blogspot.com/) the info about the creepy weird angry man harassing walkers on the Cedar River Trail. Our family walks this all the time and now I’m scared to do so. Can you advise us of details and anything else we should know please.
Thank you!
Marcie
On Monday we passed an ordinance that bans possession of dangerous dogs in Renton
At our council meeting on Monday night, we revised our animal keeping ordinance such that it is now a misdemeanor to keep a “dangerous dog”, as defined in the code based on the dog’s behavior and biting incidents, in the City of Renton. This is a substantial change from our previous ordinance, which allowed the keeping of a dangerous dog consistent with state law, with a secure fence, warning signs, and a large liability insurance policy.
I’m paraphrasing, but essentially under our ordinances, dogs can be determined to be “dangerous” if they cause substantial harm or death to a human or they cause substantial harm or death to a domestic animal while they are off of the owners property. They can also be considered “dangerous” if they are first deemed “potentially dangerous” and then they cause another minor injury or menace residents or animals (repeat offender). They can be considered “potentially dangerous” if they cause an injury (not severe) to a human, or an injury to a domestic animal while off of the owners property.
It’s important to note that this ordinance does not single out any specific breeds of dogs. Instead, if focuses on the dog’s behavior. This is consistent with recommendations from the Center for Disease Control, which provides this fact sheet and these recommendations relative to protecting a community from dog bites.
We implemented the new law because the city council felt that dangerous dogs are simply too much of a hazard to other residents and to other domestic animals in our city. While we’ve had countless dog bites in our city (there are five million per year in the United States), I can think of a few cases that immediately come to mind when it comes to dog attacks.
One of them was an incredibly heartbreaking case in 1994 (my first year on council), when a 5 year old Renton girl on Monterey Place (near I-405 Exit 7) was late for coming home from the school bus. Her grandfather went to look for her and found her mauled to death by rottweilers in a neighbor’s backyard. You can read more about this case here
Another case was a quarter-mile from my own home, on Devil’s Elbow road in NE Renton, the tree-canopied road closed in the late 80’s which now serves as a bike-path between Renton and Newcastle. Two Pit Bulls attacked one of our police dogs, and had to be put down by gunshots on the spot. I cringe to think of what would have happened if a resident had been walking their family pet on that road. Here is the story of this incident.
A year ago, a couple and their dog was attacked by a pit bull while strolling on Union Ave. Here is the story.
Lately, we’ve had concerns about new dangerous dogs coming into our community, and we wanted to prevent this. We also want to make sure that people take dog bites extremely seriously. With the new law, if an animal is judged to be “potentially dangerous”, (such as one that has bitten someone but not caused a serious injury) the owners must take every step to prevent another bite, or else face the prospect that they will have to remove the animal from the city if it bites or menaces again.
This not only protects neighbors and other citizens, but also protects the dog owners themselves from some serious risks. Under state law, if a dog (whether or not previously found dangerous) escapes its owners custody and seriously harms someone, the owner of the dog can be found guilty of a Class C felony and imprisoned up to five years. This happened earlier this year in Federal Way. You can read more here . Even if the owner is not found criminally liable, dog owners can expect to pay financially for dog bites. And serious ones leave people maimed, and sometimes unable to work, for years. Here is a story about the long term impacts from dog bite victims featuring the woman who was harmed in Federal Way.
Here is the state law that also covers the keeping of dogs; note that Renton will not allow dangerous dogs to live in the city, even though section (1) of state law does not ban them from the state.
All in all, council felt that banning dangerous dogs in our city was a proper step to take to protect the public safety. As a dog owner myself, I can understand the heartache that might come from owning a dog that bites someone, and then facing the prospect of losing it. This is why owners should chose their pets very carefully, and work with their veterinarian, professional dog trainers (obedience classes), hobbyist groups, Renton Animal Control (license and advice), and other resources to ensure that they get maximum safe enjoyment from their dogs.
Chance of flooding in Renton drops way down thanks to Army Corp repairs at Howard Hanson Dam
We received really great news today about the flood risk in the Green River Valley. Instead of a 1 in 4 chance of flooding, the Army Corp now predicts only a 1 in 25 chance of flooding. This is thanks to some significant repairs they just completed on the dam.
The risk of serious flooding in Renton is even reduced further than this. We were previously predicting about a 1-in-10 chance of bad flooding in Renton, so now we can say the odds are closer to 1-in-60 or so. This is still a concern, but way, way better.
Here is the story of the Army Corp announcement on King5.com.
Renton police ask for your help in identifying this suspect
Commander Paul Cline 425-430-7597 October 29, 2009
Renton Police Department
Media Release
The Renton Police Department is investigating two separate Armed Robberies that occurred at “Simply Espresso” located at 401 Airport Way N in the City of Renton.
1st Incident: October 1, 2009 at 11:48 a.m. Suspect approached on foot and ordered a drink. When given his drink he implied a weapon in his pocket and demanded money from the register. After receiving the money the suspect fled on foot. The suspect was described as a W/M, early 30s, 6’0 / thin build with Brown mid-length hair. He was last seen wearing blue jeans, zip-up fleece like sweatshirt with a Puma logo, a black hat and sunglasses.
2nd Incident: October 20, 10:44 a.m. Suspect approached the Simply Espresso stand on foot, displayed a handgun and demanded all the money in the register. After receiving the money he fled on foot. The suspect was described as a W/M 30-35, 6’0 / thin build, unshaven with reddish facial hair and having collar length dark brown hair. He was wearing a green CAMO coat over a grey hoody, a black baseball cap, and dark sunglasses.
The second Robbery was captured on video and still photos from that video are attached to this Press Release.
The Renton Police Department is asking assistance in identifying the suspect in these photos. Anyone who believes they can identify the suspect or has any other information about these Robberies is asked to call 9-1-1 or the Renton Police Department at (425) 430-7500. If you see this suspect or know who this suspect is DO NOT attempt to contact him as he is considered Armed and Dangerous.
Commander Paul Cline
Patrol Operations Division
Renton Police Department
I’m sad to hear that Uptown Glassworks is at risk for going out of business
The Renton Reporter recently posted this story about Renton’s Uptown Glassworks potentially going out of business. This would be a big loss for our city, as the unique glass art studio and retail shop is a big draw to our downtown and has introduced countless new students to the world of glass blowing. It has helped anchor our downtown for nearly two decades and has become one of my favorite spots to purchase gifts for far-away friends when I want to send something made in Washington.
I hope someone with a hundred thousand dollars in upfront costs and a couple years of operating reserve can step forward to purchase this business to keep it open. Whoever buys it for $100,000 will be inheriting a large loyal customer base and a nearly twenty-year excellent reputation.
In the above photo, a delegation from our sister city of Nishiwaki Japan gets a glass-blowing demonstration (and ever participates a little) at Uptown Glassworks
Council held a 90 minute discussion about flood risk last night; risk much less than in Kent, Auburn
In this map, Engineers estimate a risk of between five to ten percent chance of moderate flooding in the most southern parts of Renton this winter, to the depths indicated on the map. Fortunately, many buildings in the impacted area would not be expected to see flood waters reach their floor levels (loading dock level) in this scenario. (Note that there is a five percent chance of worse flooding, and a 90 percent chance of less flooding than shown on this particular map.)
The City has posted flood maps on its website: Click here to access the maps and other useful information about flood preparation in Renton.
These maps were a lot of work to prepare, as Renton Public Works engineers had to sift through data provided by the Army Corps of Engineers and overlay it into city models to get this resolution. They also had to work through channels at the Army Corps of Engineers and Homeland Security to get the necessary permissions to publish this information. It may sound surprising that they would have to clear this release at first, but there are a variety of issues that arise in developing and publishing maps like this.
One reason engineers are cautious about publishing maps like this is that like any analysis this is only a prediction, and the reality can easily be different for any number of reasons: the storm flow split above and below the Howard Hanson dam could be different than assumed, subtle grade differences may not be accurately depicted on city maps, local flood control measures such as sandbags could affect local flows, storm and sewage system backups can change things locally, and analysis can only do so much in such a dynamic fluid-flow situation. We would not want someone to fail to plan for flooding or fail to purchase insurance just because the map shows they are likely to be in a safe area. There can always be a bigger flood than the one shown.
Another reason engineers are cautious, and the reason Homeland Security has to approve the release, is that there is a great deal of analysis that cities have performed across the US analyzing disaster scenarios; this analysis is kept private from the public to avoid advertising any vulnerabilities that exist. Homeland Security has determined that it would be disadvantageous to the public security for every engineering detail of pipeline risks, storage tank issues, water system vulnerabilities, transportation weaknesses, levee weak points, and other such information all across the country to be shared with those who might intentionally do us harm. Therefore, the information is maintained on a need to know basis. For example, there have been times when I have authorized the city to accept funds from Homeland Security to analyze risks within the city, but I am not necessarily briefed on the results unless there is an urgent risk that I have to know about.
Even with the above cautions, Renton has determined that it is helpful to share these flood maps with the public, and the Army Corps and Homeland Security have given us the okay.
Council reviewed the map data and other emergency response planning at a ninety-minute Committee of the Whole meeting last night.
There was some really useful information shared about plans for sandbags, levee work being done along the green river, the roles of various city departments in a flood emergency, the plans for shelters, and many other details. Almost all of this information is making its way onto the city website, and the meeting can still be viewed on the government access cable channel or on the city’s website.
Some new items I learned were with regard to the effort to get every business in the likely flood zone to have their own comprehensive flood response plan, complete with information about how they plan to protect their buildings (if they do), how they might move or elevate their inventory, and how and when they plan to send their employees home. Our public works director reminded us that even trying to walk through a foot or two of flood water can be life-threatening, as manholes can be opened by water pressure (and you can fall in), electric lines can short into standing water, sewage and poison can be in the floodwater, and hydraulic forces can be high enough to knock an adult down in just knee-deep water.
We also talked extensively about work to protect our potable water system, which we hope to keep active to the unflooded areas during an emergency by using isolation valves. (We would try to cut off flooded areas to prevent flood water backflow, but keep water flowing everywhere else.)
We also talked about how critical it will be to keep the metro water treatment plan active, as the 8-foot-diameter interceptor is bringing sewage from the entire eastside (all the way to Woodinville), and this sewage will quit flowing if the Metro plant loses power. Yuck!!!!
There was too much data for me to cover it all here. But please keep checking back on the city’s website, at the page linked above, to get the latest advice and information.
Question: What can be messier than having the Green River run through your living room this winter?
Question: What can be messier than having the Green River run through your living room this winter?
Answer: Having Metro’s brown river running through you living room this winter.
A manhole cover in Des Moines Iowa get’s displaced by floodwater.
Photo by Jake Bauma (some rights reserved).
With the damage to the right abutment of the Howard Hanson Dam, there has been lots of talk about homeowner’s insurance, levee improvements, sandbags, pumps, and other precautions that cities, businesses and homeowner’s might take to minimize damage if the Green River floods.
I have not seen as much focus on another key safety device that would be highly recommended for many homeowners: sewage back-flow prevention valves.
Schematic of simple sewage back-flow preventer. Image thanks to City of Fort Wayne, Indiana
If your home is on the flat-lands, surrounded by hills, it may be a good candidate for a backflow prevention valve. This would be especially true if your home is less than ten feet above the elevation of the Metro treatment plant in Southwest Renton.
This is because the sewage that leaves your home, and that leaves the homes on the hills around you, travels by gravity to the Metro treatment plant. After all, everybody knows that *ahem* “sewage” flows down hill. But if the sewage reaches still water, it will stop flowing toward the plant. And when it stops flowing toward the plant, it can turn around and start making its way toward your house.
Planners are predicting that in a worse case flood of the Green River, the Metro plant could end up being on an island, with flood waters as deep as 10 feet on some of the streets surrounding it. Unfortunately, when streets get flooded, manhole covers start admitting water into the sewer system. These covers generally deflect rain, but they are not water-tight, and when they get submerged they will not keep water out of the sewer. In fact, as the sewer gets overwhelmed by storm water, manhole covers can be completely displaced by storm water… literally lifted up by the ebb and flow of the water, and then left dislodged to admit even more water.
In some scenarios, if the streets around the Metro plant all overflowed with flood water this winter, sewage from Renton Highlands, Talbot Hill, Renton Hill, and West Hill could literally start bubbling up in the homes in the lowlands. It’s nasty, and I don’t know for sure that this would happen, but it is a distinct possibility.
Your number one…and number two :-)…defense would be a sewage back-flow preventer. This is basically just an engineered check valve, which is installed in the sewer line where it exits your home.
My son and Renton Ben are working on a website for one local company that is helping outfit homes with these valves. And I’m sure there are many other plumbers that will help you to install one if your home is at risk.
If you have a home or business in the lowlands of Renton, I strongly recommend you research this a little further and consider having one of these back-flow valves installed if you don’t already have one. A sewage backup into your home would not only be disgusting, but it would be a bio-hazard as well, and obviously leave your home uninhabitable until you got it thoroughly cleaned. Finding help getting it cleaned could be very difficult if the Green River floods, since contractors and equipment suppliers would be inundated.
The effect of sewer backup in a basement is even more dramatic. Graphic thanks to City of Regina, California
Renton’s Cedar River Off-leash Dog Park celebrated with official “Leash cutting”
Several of my council colleagues celebrate and laugh along with the mayor and members of the public during the award presentation at the “leash-cutting” for the new dog park.
READ MORE »
Here is an interesting discussion topic; Water Flouridation– do you think we should keep doing it?
Water fluoridation has been a subject of some controversy for as long as most of us can remember.
Highly-respected agencies and scientific data suggests that for relatively small per-person costs, water fuoridation has helped reduce cavities in children– particularly those that may not otherwise have good access to dental health services and fluoride treatments. On the other side of the argument, there are people who question the data in light of the fact that many developed countries do not fluoridate water, and have experienced improvements in dental health similar to the USA since 1970. And there are people who have sensitivities to fluoride, who have to drink bottled water to avoid stomach aches or other problems associated with fluoride in the water.
The City of Issaquah still does not fluoridate its water. Every time the officials move to do it, the public largely objects and shoots the idea down. They are once again asking for input right now. Click here to see their meeting announcement
We were chatting about this in the Corman household tonight as we pondered ways Renton could consider saving money. I have no strong opinion on this myself, although one family member drinks bottled water to avoid too much fluoride because of sensitivities to it. I suspect it would save $100,000 to $200,000 a year in Renton if we stopped fluoridating our water, but I have never asked our staff for an estimate. If we stopped fluoridating, the savings would not help balance our general fund (it would not pay for police or fire) since the utility fund is separate; but any savings could off-set customer water rates.
Again, I am not advocating one way or the other, but I would be interested to hear your views on the topic.
Here is a pretty good article in Wikipedia, that covers a lot of aspects of this policy question.
What do you think Rentonites? Are you glad we fluoridate your water, or do you wish we would stop?
Good Times floating down the Cedar River; but use care and good sense
Here is a picture of the rest of my party, right before our recent adventure down the river. We managed to pop the raft on the right on a rock, and then a mile further downstream capsize the inflatable kayak in a tight river bend after three of us had crammed into it; We laughed so hard it made our ribs hurt, but that was thanks to some preparation.
A few days ago I led some of my family and a visiting friend on a float trip down our beautiful Cedar River. I’ve been doing this trip for twenty-five years, and it’s always a fun adventure. And it’s never quite the same from one trip to the other.
My favorite place to put into the water is Jones Road, just east of our city and the new 152nd Ave SE bridge that connects Maple Valley Highway to Renton Highlands. (There is great parking and a great launching beach right along Jones road, about a quarter-mile east of the bridge.)
The trip then takes you past Ron Regis Park, the golf course, under Maple Valley Highway, and finally along to a couple of great parks for exiting the river– one at the rail trestle, and another at Carco Theater. The total float time is between two and three hours, depending on the level of the river. When the river is low, as it is now, you’ll hit more rocks and slow sections, and it will take longer.
But there are many things to be wary of on a trip like this, and I don’t recommend that kids do it by themselves. While hopping on floating toys in twelve inches of water seems perfectly safe at the start, there are obstacles and hazards during the entire four-mile voyage, and the water gets pretty deep in some places. Furthermore, even shallow water can drown you quickly if it is moving fast and rams you into a log-jam, so you need to recognize these jams as the life-threatening hazard they are, and either competently steer clear or simply get out of the water and walk around them.
Furthermore, like nearly everyone else on the river, I’ve always used these hardware store type inflatables, never shelling out the $1000 needed for a real whitewater raft. About one out of every three or four trips we’ll damage a raft so badly that it is no longer usable without repair, so I have learned to always have more floating capacity than we have people. Have a way that people can double-up if one of the boats springs a leak.
Everyone that gets on the river simply must be able to swim. Anyone who can’t is going to be at far more risk, and may be terrified in some sections of the trip (which will put them at further risk).
In addition, we often use life jackets, which help reduce risk of drowning in flat calm sections of water, but can carry snagging risks when it comes to log jams. The trick here is to recognize the risks of life jackets, loose clothing, necklaces, etc when it comes to log jams, and to steer clear of the logs!
When I did this float trip in 1985, there were virtually no log hazards along the way. Now there are such hazards around every bend. This is primarily because of environmental and fisheries interests; the logs provide natural fish egg laying and resting zones. Hence, logs have been purposefully installed in many cases.
Another reason for the hazards is the 2001 earthquake and landslide, which swept many trees across the river near Ron Regis Park. In some cases these logs are simply impassable on the river, and boaters must disembark and carry the boat around the obstruction.
And do not tie the rafts together. This is never a good idea, and will only make it easy for them to become entangled or flip over on the fast moving sections of the river.
One last precaution for kids is that certain areas along the banks attract a lot of drinking and partying on the warm summer days. While I’ve never been bothered by the friendly, if inebriated, greetings from people on shore, I would not necessarily want my middle school kids floating past all these parties unescorted.
While this is an article mostly about precautions, I have to say I’ve had some great times floating on our own Cedar River, and while I’ve heard of people having close calls, I’ve never seen any bad injuries first hand.
Use good sense if you try it, and recognize that you are doing it entirely at your own risk. You alone are responsible for your own safety, and the safety of your children.
This picture is straight from a fisheries website, and shows the work done to create fish habitat using logs.
This is another picture from fisheries, showing a log that has been chained to the shore to keep it from floating away in high water.
This picture shows one of many logs spanning the river at the site of the 2001 landslide near Ron Regis Park. (Photo owned and hosted in this article here in the Renton Reporter)
Nishiwaki Reception and Party tonight
We enjoyed great food, gifts, and formal greetings tonight at the lovely Dochnahl residence, as we celebrated the Nishiwaki Delegation’s visit to Renton. We also talked about past visits, plans for the rest of the visit, and simply caught up with old friends.
Mayor Kishi from Nishiwaki delivered a warm and gracious speech in English, which he explained he had prepared on the plane ride over here. Denis Law and I spoke briefly on behalf of the city; the rest of the party was informal and just friends having fun.
Rentonites and our Nikiwashi guests share a saki toast at tonight’s reception
Click here to see the pictures
Our Nishiwaki delgates arrive!
Our sister-city delegation has arrived. Here are a few pictures from the afternoon’s activities at Liberty Park, the Library, Renton Historical Museum, and Uptown Glassworks.
The Nishiwaki delegation poses with us in front of a tree that was given to Renton by Nishiwaki 30 years ago. The tree was one foot tall at the time!
We’re seeing many good friends from Japan today! Nishiwaki delegates arriving in Renton today!
Our final farewell ceremony 16 months in Nishiwaki. It was hard to say goodbye.
Nishiwaki’s delegation is back in Renton, and they will be here for three days. Today we’re visiting Liberty Park and the many surrounding sites. If you are downtown perhaps we’ll bump into you! If so, please say welcome to our many wonderful sister-city guests!
I took many pictures last year when we visited them. Please click here to see those photos and entries. Be sure you keep scrolling down to find the pictures from our tours.
(Please note that delegates always pay their own travel costs)
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