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HomeMy WebLinkAboutReg 2014-10-20 Item 7C - Report - City Administratormon City of Tukwila Jim Haggerton, Mayor CITY ADMINISTRATOR REPORT The City of opportunity, the community of choice TO: Mayor Haggerton Councilmembers FROM: David Cline, City Administrator DATE: October 15, 2014 SUBJECT: Report for October 20, 2014 Regular Council Meeting The City Administrator Report is meant to provide the Council, staff and community an update on the activities of the City and on issues that concern Tukwila. Please let me know if you have any questions or need additional information about any of the following items. I. Intergovernmental Update • TIB Link Light Rail Stations: Mayor Haggerton, City Administrator David Cline and Police Chief Mike Villa recently began meeting with individual members of the Sound Transit Board to discuss the need for commissioned police officers permanently stationed at the Tukwila International Boulevard Light Rail Station. Currently, the light rail station receives some of the highest police calls for service in the City and, while the seizure of the motels north of the station on TIB has resulted in a 30% reduction of crime in that area, the Sound Transit station continues to be a significant drain on Tukwila's law enforcement resources. City Administration has been working with Sound Transit staff for over 18 months to address this situation and believes that having commissioned officers assigned to the TIB Station would have a significant impact. • Regional Animal Services of Kind County (RASKC): The City Clerk's Office hosted the RASKC marketing group meeting on October 8. The group is comprised of members from area cities and King County coming together to collaborate on methods to increase pet licensing and outreach in their communities. Tukwila has been successful in utilizing a Tukwila resident volunteer in communicating with our residents. • King County Clerk's: The City Clerk's Office hosted the King County Clerk's Association meeting at the Tukwila Community Center on October 15. The featured guest was Nancy Krier, Assistant Attorney General for Open Government, with the meeting focus on the Open Government Trainings Act. The Clerk's Office is preparing materials for a training session with the City Council to be conducted in January, 2015. II. Community Events • Restore the Duwamish Restoration Challenge: DCD and Forterra staff led a work party of 40 volunteers from NW Realtor at the BECU shoreline restoration site on Friday October 3, 2014. The group helped clear a large area of bind weed, thistle and poison Hemlock and then put down cardboard and mulch in areas that needed additional protection from weeds. Several more work parties are scheduled in the coming months before the winter break which begins in December. • Allentown Canvass: On October 6 City staff initiated a canvass in Tuwkila's Allentown neighborhood. The purpose of this canvass is to better understand the issues facing the neighborhood and the priorities of the residents. To date, staff have knocked on over 70% of the doors in Allentown and will visit all of the homes in the neighborhood shortly. The goal is to make contact with 70% of the households in Allentown (contact means an 213 Dju?!Ben jojt ubt.ps!Sf opal Page 2 interview, individuals declining an interview or homes that indicate they do not want solicitors /have no trespassing signs). City staff will share the findings with City Council and all Allentown residents. • Tukwila International Boulevard Action Committee: Councilmembers Ekberg and Kruller and Economic Development staff attended the TIBAC meeting on October 14. Two representatives from the International Rescue Committee gave a presentation on international refugees and how they relate to Tukwila. Other topics included crime at the light rail station and whether the City should fence the lots once the motels are demolished. III. Staff Updates Public Safety • Cultural Competency Traininq: On October Tukwila Police Department provided a Cultural Competency training to department staff that were unable to attend previous trainings. • Significant Police Incidents: The Police Major Crimes Unit is investigating four significant events. These include a shooting at a residence in the 4000 block of S. 150th, a stabbing in the 14400 block of 37th Ave. S., a stabbing at Westfield Mall, and the recovery of a body from the Duwamish River. Suspects have been arrested in the shooting and both stabbing incidents. The investigation into the death of the person recovered from the river is on- going. Project Updates • Tukwila International Boulevard: On Saturday, October 11, Economic Development staff gave a tour of TIB to Forterra's board of directors as part of their annual retreat. Staff highlighted the City's partnership with Forterra on Community Connectors, Duwamish Riverbend Hill, Namaste Garden, Rainbow Trailer Haven, and Restore the Duwamish Shoreline Challenge. The board approved continued involvement with Tukwila. • Tourism Promotion Area: SeaTac City Council members voted on October 14 to establish the Seattle Southside Tourism Promotion Area (TPA) and charter the Seattle Southside Regional Tourism Authority (SSRTA), a public corporation and separate legal entity which will manage increased funding and tourism promotion activities for the cities of Des Moines, SeaTac and Tukwila. The boundaries of the three cities make up the Tourism Promotion Area (TPA). • Round One Entertainment — 2351 Southcenter Mall: A tenant improvement permit was issued to prepare for the new Round One Entertainment tenant proposed on the second floor above Seafood City. Westfield Mall is constructing the first phase of this tenant improvement valued at $3.4 million. The Round One tenant improvement, valued at $1.2 million is currently under review. Round One is a bowling, arcade, karaoke entertainment business. • National Ped /Bike Documentation Project: The number of pedestrians and bicyclists were counted at six key intersections throughout the City this week as part of a nationwide effort to collect data about these transportation users. The highest volume intersection is Strander Boulevard and Andover Park West with 602 pedestrians and bicyclists followed by 571 pedestrians and bicyclists at S. 144th Street and Tukwila International Boulevard. • Briscoe /Desimone Levee Repair: The Washington State Department of Ecology approved the shoreline variance request on September 11, 2014. No appeals were received by the Shoreline Hearings Board on this project. The City of Kent will now be able to begin construction of the levee repairs. 214 City Administrator Report Page 3 • ChangeLabs Webinar on Rental Inspection Programs: Kathy Stetson has been invited to be a presenter on a national webinar on rental licensing and inspection programs. The webinar will take place later this year and is sponsored by ChangeLabs, a non - profit corporation providing community -based solutions to common health issues, including creating healthy housing. The webinar will be cover development strategy, implementation process, and challenges /lessons learned in sustaining the program. • Tukwila Urban Center Transit Center /Andover Park West: Grading, forming, and concrete pouring for curbs, gutters and sidewalks throughout the project is continuing. The columns for the east Transit Center were erected on October 9 and the west side columns are scheduled for October 15. • Interurban Ave S: The contractor has been working nights to complete utility crossings. Multiple third party utility conflicts are creating challenges. • East Marqinal Way Storm Pipe Replacement: The north pipe run is nearing completion and the contractor will focus on the north end tie -in next week. • Klickitat Drive Elevated Walkway: WSDOT's project is ahead of schedule. The rock buttress and gravity wall have been installed and they are starting the transition walls for the walkway. Lane closures and night work are not expected. • Thorndyke Safe Route: The contractor is clearing and grubbing which includes trees and hedges. Water installation started with a temporary water shut down on Friday, October 10. A traffic detour is in place: S 150th St is closed except for local traffic. • Cascade View Safe Route: The contractor continues with the installation of storm drain pipes. There may be a project delay due to the delivery of the storm vault from the manufacturer. • BNSF Intermodal Access: Received submittal packets from three consulting firms in response to the RFQ. There are four review team members; two from Tukwila and two from BNSF Fort Worth. Community Services • Tukwila Pool Services Transition: City staff continue to work closely with the Tukwila Pool Metropolitan Parks District (TPMPD) to ensure a smooth transition of the pool by January 1st and minimize any impacts on pool users. The City's goal in this transition is that there is no significant loss of service and that the City provides the TPMPD with everything it needs to be a successful operator of the pool. All relevant City departments — from facilities to parks to finance — are involved. To finalize the physical transition and perform final equipment inspections, the pool is planned to be closed from 1:OOpm on December 24 until the TPMPD reopens the pool in 2015. This is the slowest time of year at the pool and should have the least impact on pool users. The City has initiated its communications plan around the transition to ensure that residents and pool patrons are aware of the upcoming transition. Pool patrons and all city employees received emails this week with information on the transition, an article was published in the Tukwila Reporter, signs have been posted at the pool, and the City's website contains information. The City will continue to use the various communications channels available to us to publicize the transition throughout the rest of the year. • Community Connector Workshop: On October 11, the City hosted a Community Connectors workshop in coordination with our partners from Forterra and Global to Local, along with Mayor Haggerton, Council President Quinn, and City staff. This workshop involved additional training and participants all shared feedback regarding the Community Conversations held this spring. Small targeted community discussions this fall will give Community Connectors the opportunity to take a larger role by facilitating and leading meetings with residents. 215