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Transitions at tonight’s meeting; Kathy and Toni say good-bye, Dan Clawson resigns effective Jan 1.
There were some warm good-bye messages for our departing mayor and retiring council president tonight, as citizen remembered their combined 44 years of public service (24 for Kathy Keolker, 20 for Toni Nelson). Then, near the end of the evening, Dan Clawson surprised everyone in attendance by announcing he was retiring from council as well, so that he could devote more time to his family and his business. Dan has given 12 years of service as a council member. His resignation is effective as of January 1.
All three retiring officials received standing ovations for their years of service, and they all received kind words from the public for their commitment to the city.
I wish them all the best.
We won’t meet as a council again until January 7. At that time, we will lay out the procedure we will follow for choosing a replacement council member to fill the remaining two years of Dan’s term.
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Latest Duvall email….
Received today….
Can’t make the council meeting tonite but wanted to put in my two cents worth.
We live just off 95th Way west of Coal Creek Parkway and will be impacted by the
widening re access to Sunset and Coal Creek but closing Duval for one year and
getting the job sooner sure sounds like the right idea. Traffic will be
disrupted no matter what you do but one year vs two years is a no brainer. I
would almost bet the contractor would come in ahead of schedule if there were no
traffic control to worry about. Plus the project will probably dovetail better
with the Newcastle effort.
Duvall Closure Website is on-line!!! Get the latest news!
City staff have created a website just for keeping people notified of the Duvall Closure options and planning.
Click here to see this website.
Click here to see that latest options matrix, which provides a study of each option proposed by he public at the December 3rd meeting.
After thoroughly reviewing all options, including the option of using two one-way streets (sometimes called a one-way couplet), the Transportation Committee is still recommending an option very similar to that discussed at the December 3 hearing, but with even more mitigation. (The one-way streets don’t work for local circulation and they cause pass-through traffic to overwhelm Summerwind), and the working-only-on-certain-days-or-hours causes the impacts to stretch out to two years again.)
In terms of added mitigation, we are adding traffic counting before and after the closure to make sure our modeling is correct. And we are investigating speed bumps on Union….probably not required on the peak hours, when traffic is backed up, but may be very important on the off-peak hours when drivers have an open road. Also, we are looking at increased signage for Summerwind, to try to shut-out any pass-though traffic.
For business owners, we are going to post signs on Sunset directing drivers to impacted Renton Businesses, complete with business names and logos. This should give them some good exposure on highway 900, to hopefully off-set some of the impact of the Duvall closure.
The website linked above has more info, and we will give the public a complete report at tonight’s meeting.
Thanks,
Randy
Renton-Seattle Ferry project plan underway ; Seattle Times
The Seattle Times ran another story on developing Lake Washington Ferry Plan.
Here is an excerpt:
“Ferries from Shilshole, Renton and Des Moines would go to Seattle. There is also some interest in creating an Eastside connector route that would parallel Interstate 405, but right now Bellevue lacks a dock site on Meydenbauer Bay, Arkills said.
If the city could secure one, King County could run an Eastside line from Renton to Bellevue to Kirkland, he said.”
Click here for the full story.
Former UW/New Orleans Saints Football star takes over leadership of Renton’s Food Bank
LonZell Hill has retired from his career as a football star, and will now lend his leadership and teaming talents to our Salvation Army Renton Rotoray Food Bank and Service Center. Click here to read the full story in the Seattle Times.
Local artist/historian Crystal Starr ponders old bricks
Crystal was recently featured on this blog and in the Renton Reporter, for studying the history of her Italian ancestry in Renton. She would like your input about these bricks if anyone knows the history on them.
Crystal ( crystalstarr) wrote,@ 2007–12–08 16:00:00 |
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| Entry tags: | bricks, history, renton |
I found these bricks in the Renton Wa area a few weeks back
I’m assuming they come from the Denny Renton clay coal company that used to exist. Nothing unusual about having a Denny-Renton brick if your from that area they can be found anywhere, but these i believe are older from when the company was just named “Renton Clay works” It wasn’t until 1910 it became Denny-Renton. These three do not have the symbol of Denny-Renton.
I’m talking with Rainer Vally Historical Society about the Columbia Brick now as that one is in the best shape and has many unusual markings. Plus it is golden toned not your normal red brick.
“”In 1901 two California entrepreneurs, James Doyle and J. R. Miller, discovered that the shale overlaying the Renton mine’s coal seams produced a high-quality clay. Tests indicated the material would make excellent brick, and with Seattle investor E. J. Mathews, Doyles and Miller organized the Renton Clay Works. They developed a plant on the south bank of the Cedar River that was briefly the largest producer of paving brick in the world. In addition, the Renton plant specialized in fire brick, terra-cotta, and decorative terra-cotta. In 1905 the plant was purchased by Denny Fire Brick Company and the entire company was renamed the Denny-Renton Clay & Coal Company.. “”
Street Hoops
The Transportation Committee met on Wednesday to discuss an issue recently raised concerning basketball hoops in the city right-of-way.
We had this issue on our agenda because a city truck had smashed a citizen-owned hoop and backboard, which was permanently mounted such that it protruded slightly into the street. The street department refused to repair it, arguing that it should not have been there in the first place based on city code, but our insurance carrier went ahead and paid the citizen for the cost of it…not being aware that the street crew was challenging it. So, all the parties affected came to council for some clarification.
After lengthy deliberation, our committee decided that we should not change our city code. If our report is accepted by the full council on Monday night, people will continue to not be allowed to install anything on the city right-of-way without a permit, including a basketball hoop. The code will continue to be enforced on a complaint basis, meaning if someone complains it will be investigated, and a notice-to-correct will be issued.
We also chose not to expressly attack basketball hoops, or single them out with a special section. We feel they fall into the same category as all other possible right-of-way issues.
Some of the discussion focussed on the dilemma posed by our desire to allow freedom for people to recreate and exercise responsibly, but that we in no way wanted there to be confusion about who has the right-of-way in city streets. A basketball hoop permanently mounted over the street may not cause an injury to an adult, for instance, but it might give children the illusion that they have the right of way when they are shooting hoops.
We were silent on the issue of temporary, rolling portable hoops. We assume that people are using these responsibly, that they understand the risk of being hurt or sited if they put them in the street, and that they are using appropriate care with this equipment. I have seen these set up at the back of a cul-de-sac at the end of dead-end street for years, with no complaints generated. The city will generally not patrol for them, but if another resident of the cul-de-sac decided it was a hazard or inconvenience, then the owner could be asked to remove it by the city. My recommendation is to keep them on private property, such as a driveway or a patio, unless you get a right-of-way permit to use them elsewhere.
Again, I’m smart enough to know that people will continue to play in streets once in a while, and the city can not stop this from happening. However, it’s important that people in the street know that vehicles have the right-of-way, and that they are in the street at their own peril. Any other belief on their part sets them up for injury or death, and puts the city in a position of liability.
I used to play kick-ball in my cul-de-sac growing up. But there were only seven homes, and every participant knew we had to clear-out the moment a car turned into the cul-de-sac. I won’t let my kids play anything on the through street in front of my own home.
A couple of colorful fall photos from the transit center
I got these two photos from the transit center, during the fall festival. The first one features the beautiful artwork donated by the Municipal Art’s Commission, and produced by students from Renton Technical College’s English as a Second Language class.
The second picture is my wife and daughter, with some of our close friends, leaving the Piazza Fall Festival.
A more and more common site in the Renton Highlands….
I’ve been seeing many single-family homes razed in my neighborhood, as property owners either subdivide or simply rebuild with an all-new start. Below is a recent one on NE 23rd ST and Edmonds Ave NE.
The houses are typically not derelict. They are usually occupied right up until about a month before they come down. This is a strong indication of robust underlying land values, even while the nation over-all is experiencing a soft real estate market.
There was a house right across Edmonds from this one that was torn down in the same month, and it looks like the two builders are in a horse-race to see which one has their property redeveloped first. (They both look like they are doing very professional jobs.)
This home’s address was 2216 Edmonds, and I live at 2216 Harrington. After the house came down, I had a piece of mail delivered to me that was addressed to 2216 Edmonds…perhaps a fill-in mail carrier was confused! (We sent it back…no longer at this address!)
The house below is two doors down from me, and their property abuts my own in the back yard. They are replacing one home with six homes.
It’s not the first time our family has weathered development of an adjacent property, so we think we are prepared for the temporary inconveniences. The hardest part will be watching many 70 year old fir trees come down, as the majesty of our Northwest forests still make us smile. We understand the developer will be trying to keep some of the big trees, so that should help.
Renton flooding
I found this on youtube. Flooding down in the valley, next to IKEA. This street was allowed to stay open during Monday’s flooding, but I would not have driven through.
The quality of this video is very good for a home video, and the informal narration helps you understand what is happening, but there are some profane exclamations in spots, as the water gets high around the vehicles. So turn the sound of if this will offend you.
Issaquah School Impact Fees
There has recently been a city hall email buzz about potentially spotty collection of Issaquah School District impact fees.
The City of Renton sits in three different school districts: Renton, Issaquah, and Kent. Both Issaquah and Kent charge impact fees for new construction of homes of a few thousand dollars per home, which is used to off-set the cost of the new schools that will be required to serve the new residents. Renton School District does not charge an impact fee for new homes.
While the fee on new construction is a pass-though, which goes directly to the school district, the City of Renton serves as the collecting authority…we are the agency that is permitting the constuction and collecting fees, so we are in the best position to collect the School district impact fees.
Lately, East Plateau resident (and Issaquah Distict resident) Claudia Donnelly has flagged some new developments where this fee was apparently not collected, or at least not on the time frame she would have expected.
It sounds like this needs to be investigated, as I am now starting to wonder exactly who makes the final declaration about which school district a property is in at the time of building application. For vacant land, it could take a survey and careful mapping to be sure that it is clear which side of the district line each home is on.
The city of Renton receives no benefit either way since the fee is a pass-through. If we are culpable in any way, it’s not because of trying to balance any budgets…it would be more likely process confusion. Clearly, Issaquah has the most to gain in terms of getting this process in order, but we may need to do better in some way ourselves.
The email below is a sample of recent correspondance. The bottom email is from Ms. Donnelly, and includes a letter she posted in the Issaquah Press; the top email is our City Clerk’s response back to her.
I’m sure we will hear more about this before it is completely resolved.
Taxi cab took out fire hydrant, closed Rainier Ave today
Oops! Perhaps someone was running a little late to the airport this morning! Here is the email:
Raymond Sled 12/06/2007 7:54 AM >>>
During the early morning a taxi cab hit a fire hydrant on Rainier between SW 7th.and Grady Way. Due to the mass amount of water on the road the valves were hard to locate so a larger than normal area had to be shut down. As of this time 7:45 am the water section crew are on site and are working getting the main repaired. It appears that the car has broken the foot valve off at the water main. The repair could take 1 to 5 hours to fix. A determination will be made after we have exposed the main line and see what damage has been done. Traffic is being rerouted at this time If you have any questions please give me a call at x7400. Thanks Ray
Ray Sled
Water Maintenance Manager
P/B/PW Maintenance Division
425-430-7400
Renton storm update; from our crews in the field
From: Julia Medzegian [mailto:Jmedzegian@ci.renton.wa.us]
Sent: Monday, December 03, 2007 11:07 AM
To: Dan Clawson; Denis Law; Don Persson; MarciePalmer; Corman, Randy; Terri Briere; ToniNelson
Subject: Fwd: Re: As of 5am this morn we are obviously battling withcapacity problems. Ripley Lane is under water
>>> Gregg Zimmerman 12/3/2007 9:21 AM >>>
I talked to Mike this morning, so 8:00 PM update:
1) The West Hill rain gage showed 3.5 inches of rain since Sunday morning at 8:00 AM.
2) Ripley Lane is flooded and closed. We are working with the State and Community Services to open up the pedestrian/bike trail for car access from the north.
3) There is water across the roadway at Lincoln and Monterray at the north end of Renton. Crews are out working on removing debris from the system.
4) There are full drainage ditches along some roadways in Kennydale, but no road closures at this time.
5) Some street flooding at Glenwood Ave. NE – capacity related.
6) Oakesdale under I-405 was flooded and closed for a while. Debris has been cleared from catch basins, the Oakesdale underpass is now open.
7) Hardie is flooded and closed again at the railroad tracks.
8) Late breaking word – Duvall Ave. Closed. More information on this shortly.
9) The Clarion Hotel on East Valley highway has a private parking lot flooding problem.
9) No landslides in Renton so far.
10) Two residences in low spots near Chuck’s Donuts have flooding problems.
>>> Michael Stenhouse 12/03/07 6:11 AM >>>
As of 5am this morn we are obviously battling with capacity problems. Ripley Lane is under water with signs posted, Oaksdale under I-405 is under water, the lift station at that location is running at full capacity also. We have two houses taking on water in the low spot behind Chucks donuts on NE 4th, FD is on site with Storm water verifying that it is capacity and not a plugged drain. Water over roadway signs already in place at Dennys in the North end. We have inspected the pond at the golf course, the flooding there is also due to capacity, but the new box culvert under Maple Valley Hwy is doing it’s job. The Clarion Motel at 3700 E Valley Hwy has drain problems in their parking lot threatening their front office, we will do what we can to help, but this one is a private matter.
Any questions, call
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