HomeMy WebLinkAboutFIN 2023-06-12 Item 1B - Discussion - Honorary Street Designation for Jim Haggerton
City of Tukwila
Allan Ekberg, Mayor
INFORMATIONAL MEMORANDUM
TO: Finance & Governance Committee
FROM: Laurel Humphrey, Legislative Analyst
DATE: May 17, 2023
SUBJECT: Jim Haggerton Honorary Street Designation
ISSUE
Honoring former Mayor Jim Haggerton for his contributions toward the City with an honorary
street designation
BACKGROUND
Former Mayor Jim Haggerton passed away in November 2021. He was recognized by the City
Council for his outstanding character as well as the contributions he made in service to his
country as a United States Marine and to the City of Tukwila during his long career in public
service including as a Planning Commissioner, Councilmember, and Mayor. Last year the
Finance and Governance Committee discussed an honorary street naming but set the matter
aside until a new policy on naming of city property could be developed and adopted.
The City Council adopted Resolution 2052 on October 3, 2022, which outlines criteria and a
process for naming, including honorary street designations. The policy outlines the following
criteria:
Section 4. Criteria for Naming City Property
A. The following unranked criteria should be used to guide decision making on naming
City property:
(1) Geographical location
(2) Building or property’s purpose
(3) Cultural attributes
(4) Significant historical events
(5) Natural or geological features
(6) City identity and image
(7) Names of persons who have made an outstanding civic contribution to the
community, or whose names are of historic significance to the area
(8) Names of City officials who served for a minimum of 10 years and who made
outstanding contributions over and above the normal duties required by their positions
and had a positive impact on the past and future development of programs, projects or
facilities
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INFORMATIONAL MEMO
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The policy outlines the following process:
Section 8. Honorary Street Designations
A. Honorary street designations are intended to recognize and honor individuals or
groups without changing the official name of the street or the official addresses of
residents and businesses on the street.
B. Requests for honorary street designations must be accompanied by written rationale
for the name and significance of the proposed name to the criteria in Section 4.A.
C. If the proposed name complies with this Policy, the City shall provide an open public
comment period of 30 days that is advertised broadly including notification to all
members of the City’s Boards and Commissions.
D. The City Council shall review all public comment received in its determination as to
whether the public interest is served by the proposed honorary street designation.
In 2023, a new suggestion has emerged from
discussions with the Haggerton family that
would designate Southcenter Parkway
between Tukwila Parkway and South 180th
Street as an honorary “Jim Haggerton
Street,” as shown in yellow highlight to the
right.
Many major development and public
projects in the Tukwila Urban Center are
directly related to Mayor Haggerton’s
leadership including the Klickitat
interchange, Tukwila South Development
Agreement, Tukwila Commuter Rail station,
and Southcenter Parkway.
RECOMMENDATION
Staff is seeking Committee direction on proceeding with the public comment period required
by the naming policy.
ATTACHMENT
Letter from Carol Haggerton dated October 31, 2021 8
October 31, 2021
To: Mayor Allan Ekberg and Tukwila City Council Members
From: Carol Haggerton, 15820 —43`d Avenue South, Tukwila, WA 98188-2701
This is an informal request for consideration of having a Tukwila street named in honor of previous Mayor Jim
Haggerton not only for his 30 years in government service to the City of Tukwila, but for his more than 60 years
of dedication and commitment to the Tukwila Community as a whole, as a resident and Tukwila business owner,
volunteering his time and expertise in leadership to our schools and youth, our seniors, our military men and
women and veterans, and every resident within our city. He sincerely believed Tukwila is the City of
Opportunity, the Community of Choice as evidenced by his desire to adopt this new city motto while in office.
Late '50's — early '60's he volunteered as a Little League Baseball Coach and Umpire (no children of his own at
that time).
He was President of Southcenter Rotary (1984-1985) and hosted Exchange Students: A young woman from Italy
on a one-year program at Foster and a young man from Germany on a summer program. He headed the local
Junior Achievement Program mentoring young teens interested in business and becoming Entrepreneurs. Jim
was involved in "Northwest Harvest" and their beginning efforts as a food bank, and later joined the efforts of
Joe Tice for our local "Tukwila Pantry".
He volunteered his time and support to Tukwila's Heritage and Cultural Center because he considered it a
valuable resource for the city.
JI founded his business "HACO Services, Inc." in Tukwila in 1986 and lent his support to the community by
sponsoring Co-ed and women's softball teams where he became an advocate and financial supporter for our
current Tukwila Community Center.
As a U.S. Marine Corp. Veteran he joined Tukwila American Legion Post 235 and held many positions before
being elected Commander from 2006 •- 2008. He used every opportunity to speak out on the needs of our
Veterans at the Local, Regional, State and National levels. Many Christmas mornings would find him at the
Seattle Veterans Hospital delivering "Sweats for Vets" and visiting those men and women hospitalized and
unable to be home for the holidays.
Jim was our local advocate for the Boy's and Girl's State programs at Foster High and Seattle Christian Schools,
and the Boeing Academy STEM Learning program. He was appointed as Government Representative to the
SCHOOL ADVISARY BOARD Strategic Planning Commission by Governor Christine Gregoire and served for 10
years planning for the Growth and changes in our schools.
He rarely, if ever, missed a "Night Out Against Crime" and the chance to chat with residents about any
questions or concerns they had. He had an "open door" policy to his office and welcomed all. He enjoyed
having young school children visit and ask questions, and made time to visit them in their classrooms as well.
Jim made a habit of visiting local businesses to learn about their concerns and needs, and to celebrate with
them when they were awarded King County Srrjall Business Awards. At every opportunity he was an
ambassador for Tukwila, citing the benefits of opening a new business in our city. He attended many ribbon
cuttings — over 300 hundred new businesses were launched in Tukwila in one just year alone.
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His pledge to provide low-income housing for Seniors was realized with the opening of Tukwila Village and the
Shag Development.
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