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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1984-04 Hazelnut Newsletter - Volume 7 No. 1THE HZflNUT Volume 7 Number 1 GARY VAN DUSEN, MAYOR April 1984 MAYOR'S MESSAGE The state of the City is good and the prospects for the future are excellent. Nineteen eighty-three was significant year as the City made some basic changes in its operation and defined some basic management goals for the future. I believe 1984 will be a hallmark as the Administration and Council develop new ideas and policies that will give new direction to the City for a better place to live, work, shop, and play. Many changes have taken place at City Hall. Several new employees have joined our ranks and some reassigned or given more defined job tasks. The new City Administrator, Don Morrison (see related article), and Ellen Callahan, Executive Secretary/Per- sonnel Assistant, are on board and will certainly enhance and strengthen the Mayor's office. The support to the Mayor and the additional leadership provided by these two will allow for even better management direction from the administrative office. The Mayor is certainly dedicated to providing the best in services for the citizens. We provide that quality not only be demanding the best from our personnel but also using management techniques that hopefully will guide and provide the attitude of excellence. The role of City employee is to serve the public, not the reverse. Key personnel in the future will be attending management seminars to better define and develop their ability to respond to the public and to complete assigned tasks. The Administration will continue to develop and refine administrative policies to make the staff more aware of this role as public servants. The future of the City not only lies in an economic sense through our business community, but also in the participation of its private citizens. As Mayor, I thank each and every citizen that has participated in this local government; past and present. For the future, I want to remind each and every one that your input is important. I can easily say that the input of one citizen in the affairs of Tukwila goes farther, at this grass root level, than at any other. City meetings are open to the public — you have an open invitation to become involved in the issues and make your feelings known. If you have a problem, please inquire at City Hall. We may take some time in threading legal maze but our goal is to serve and hopefully provide the required solution. The City will significantly change in the next decade, hopefully for the better. We must assure a good economic base, an efficient and responsive government, excellent living conditions, and issues (not personalities) are to be debated. Mayor Gary L. Van Dusen ANSWERING MACHINE: 433-1800 Recorded Council Meeting Agenda can be heard Saturday or Sunday, messages may be left at that time or after 5 p.m. weekdays. MAYOR APPOINTS CITY ADMINISTRATOR In February, Mayor Van Dusen appointed 34 -year old Don Morrison, from Whitefish, Montana, to serve as the first Tukwila City Administrator. During past administrations several mayors have had administrative assistants, but this is the first time that the job has been upgraded to the position of City Administrator. Morrison wil coordinate the efforts of all departments and provide professional assistance to the Mayor in the administration of City business. As the chief department head and personnel director, Morrison will report to the Mayor. For the past three years, Morrison has been serving as the City Manager of Whitefish, Montana, a resort community of 4,000 near Glacier National Park. Previously, he had served four years as an assistant to the Mayor and Community Development Director of the university town of Logan, Utah. Morrison is a member of the Great Open Spaces City Management Association. Don and his wife, Michelle, have two children — Chris who is two, and Emily who is one. They are purchasing the Voorhees home at 14423 58th Street and look forward to becoming part of the Tukwila community. Don and Michelle have enjoyed their first month here and Don looks forward to helping the Mayor and Council provide the best possible local government for the citizens of Tukwila. TUKWILA TRANSIT CENTER PUBLIC MEETING Metro's proposal to construct a permanent regional transit center in Tukwila Commercial/Industrial District will be discussed: Monday, April 23, 1984, Tukwila City Hall Council Chambers, 6200 Southcenter Boulevard, Tukwila, 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. A regional transit center is an on -or -off street station with shelters, lighting, and other amenities where a number of buses and riders can be brought together with safety and convenience. With this project Metro expects to promote transit use, schedule more convenient connections between south King County and other regional activities centers. The public meeting will give people an opportunity to review and comment on the transit center concept and on the consultant's preliminary findings on the 10 sites. Mem- bers of the project team from Metro, as well as Task Force members and City officials, will be on hand to answer questions and receive your comments and suggestions. For more information contact: Bob Flor, Metro Community Relations Planner (447-6586) or Rebecca Fox, Tukwila Planning Department (433-1848). CITY COUNCIL SETS GOALS FOR 1984 By Council President Doris Phelps The seven members of the City Council met for their annual goal -setting retreat at LaConner, Washington. All were hard at work on the agenda despite the quaint attractions and lure of fresh spring air and bushels of daffodils just outside the conference room. The agenda was devoted to lively discussion on four major areas of Council concerns: o Development (annexation, urban form, design study, CBD Metro transit center, and Metro's 8' pipeline along Interurban Avenue from the Renton Sewage Treatment Plant to Puget Sound). o Finance (compatible taxing and bonding revenues within the region, funding sidewalk plan, budget policy and budget controls). o Personnel (affirmative action policies, labor contract negoti- ations, personnel board study). o Council/Administration relations. The City Council set the following goals: I. Budget for timely effective programs and services to meet organizational and community needs. II. Promote and maintain active communications with the residents, public and private organization. Maintain an advocacy role for City interests with other governmental agencies. III. Provide an environment to encourage growth in the City residental and commercial areas. IV. Develop and maintain comprehensive plans and policies. V. Develop and maintain credible and accountable methods of evaluating impacts or results of Council actions. VI. Establish and maintain effective Council working proce- dures. Specific objectives or action plans were developed and a copy of the entire document may be obtained from the City Clerk. The results of these sessions are positive and progressive — the Council suggests we call them "advances" instead of "retreats." A NEW LOOK TO CITY COUNCIL MEETINGS The second and fourth Monday nights are known as Committee of the Whole Council meetings; that is, the Council meets as a seven -member committee to discuss agenda items, it is an informal work meeting, and no official action occurs at these meetings. The City Council invites your comments and participation in the discussion. This is important because most of the information, such as committee and administrative staff reports, is reviewed during the meetings. Your comments on any issue could be effective to influence a vote when the Council meets in a regular Council meeting (on the first and third Mondays where formal action, passing ordinances, resolutions and motions, and other final decisions occur). The City Council will listen to you, consider your comments along with all the other discussion before the final vote takes place. In order to encourage more public participation, the Council is stepping down from its lofty position at the Council Table to sit at small tables situated on the floor level directly in front of the audience. With this informal arrangement, typical in other cities for their work meetings, the Council hopes you will take advantage of an increased opportunity to let your elected officials know what you think — it will give the Council the opportunity to represent you better. Doris Phelps, Council President EXCHANGE STUDENT EARNS FIRST AID CARD Frank Karsten was presented a Standard First Aid Card at the Council Meeting on April 9 by Mayor Van Dusen. Frank is an exchange student from Alkmaar, Holland where his mother owns and operates a clothing store. He has two sisters and four brothers. In Tukwila he is staying in the home of employee Virginia Whitney. She says Frank is very impressed with the U.S. Air Force. As an exchange student, Frank is a senior at Foster High School where he competes in track events and the high jump. Dancing is another favorite activity of his. Frank, with members of the Civil Air Patrol, took a Modular First Aid class. This is a new class being offered by the City. AWARDS PRESENTED AT CHAMBER INSTALLATION BANQUET The Chamber of Commerce each year presents a Tukwila Citizen of the Year Award at its annual installation banquet. This year the award went to Maxine Anderson, Tukwila City Clerk. Mayor Gary Van Dusen and Council President Doris Phelps presented a Business of the Year Award to Randy and Barbara Coplen of Printing Control Services, 1011 Andover Park East, for exceptional contribution and promotion of the City of Tukwila and for being active in our business community. ATTENTION PET OWNERS The City of Tukwila is now selling King County Animal Licenses. The fees this year are as follows: Regular Spayed/Neut. Dog — $20.00 Dog — $10.00 Cat — $12.00 Cat — $ 7.00 All licenses will expire on April 1, 1985. If you have not yet renewed your pet license or need to purchase a new one, you may do so at the Office of the City Clerk, 6200 Southcenter Blvd., between 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. We will be selling licenses through June, 1984. ATTENTION BUSINESSES All business licenses expired on January 1, 1984. If you have not yet renewed your business license, please do so as soon as possible as you are now in the penalty period. If you have any questions or need an application please contact the City Clerk's Office at 433-1830. RECREATION NE\ PICNIC ACTIVITY KITS AVAILABLE As a service to local residents, organizations and busi- nesses, the parks and Recreation Department has picnic activity kits for your use at very low rental rates. The purpose of the program is to provide a bag of equipment that you may want to use at a large picnic or outing. Items such as volleyballs and nets, footballs, softball and bats, and other athletic equipment are included. Contact the Tukwila Recreation Office at 243-5198 to reserve a kit and obtain rental costs. TUKWILA DAYS AGAIN A number of years ago a volunteer group of local citizens organized and conducted a community festival known as "Tukwila Days." The annual event has not been held for several years; however, this summer the Tukwila Parks and Recreation Department will organize a "I Tukwila" festival to be held August 17, 18, and 19. It will include many activities, hopefully something for everyone. The fun will include a teen dance, kid's field day, adult dance, tennis tournament, kiddies' parade, golf tournament, marathon run, community picnic, "Music in the Park," and a festival of games and fun in a Tukwila Park. If you or your organization would like to volunteer to help, please call Lynn Devoir at the Recreation Office, 243-5198. FOSTER GOLF LINKS GREEN FEES INCREASE In May 1978 the City purchased Foster Golf Course from the private owners and established a policy that the course must be self-supporting and generate sufficient funds to purchase equipment, maintain the entire facility, and to pay for capital improvements. The 1978 green fees were not increased until 1981 and there has been no increase since that time. However, after a recent review of needed funding, the Mayor and City Council have agreed to increase green fees approximately $1.00 per round. This increase will insure the operation remains self-sufficient, and it will keep the green fees comparable to other course fees in this area. The new rates will go into effect on May 1, 1984. VOLUNTEERS NEEDED FOR BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS The Mayor's office is dedicated to making the next four years the springboard for the future. The previous Hazlenut had a request for volunteers for our many boards and commissions. I was impressed with the response to volun- teer and serve. I can only ask that citizens continue to apply for appointments. The following boards and commissions always require new volunteers: • Board of Adjustment • Planning Commission • Park Commission • Art Commission • Fire Board of Appeals • Building Board of Appeals I am presently compiling an on-going file of appointment requests and/or nominations. Since the selected officers in the City are nonpartisan, I approach each appointment in the same manner. I study each request attempting to balance personality, geography, philosophy, business or private citizens, to give the best representation possible on our boards and commissions. Gary L. Van Dusen, Mayor SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL BURGLAR .. . OR ... WHY SHOULD HE HAVE TO WORK AS HARD AS YOU DO? PAT LOWERY, Chief of Police Burglary is probably the most preventable of crimes. In fact, many of us actually help criminals in their work through our own carelessness. The number of burglaries could be significantly reduced if we were to take just a few simple precautions to safeguard ourselves. Burglary is our nations most common serious crime, affecting nearly 134,000 people each month — and that figure is rising. Break-ins and thefts are not largely confined to high crime rate areas, as some of us would believe. Nor are the rich the largest contributer to the financial well- being of the professional burglar, despite newspaper accounts of thefts involving many thousands of dollars. The usual burglary victim is someone like yourself — an average person, not too rich and not too poor. Two times out of three the loss amounts to morethan $100. A recent study disclosed that burglars attack targets they believe to be unoccupied. The analysis of 1,643 cases showed that the burglars simply walk through an unlocked door or enter via an unsecured window or transom in 15 percent of the cases. The study also revealed two thirds of the residential burglaries occurred in broad daylight when the occupants, mostly working folks, were away from home. A further conclusion of the study was that burglars could more easily be thwarted than apprehended. Two effective ways to accomplish this are to: 1. Make the burglar think someone is home. 2. Make it so difficult for the burglar to break into the house that he will either give it up or get caught in the process. How we can do this and some simple techniques that may be employed to place our local burglar on the unemployment rolls will be the subject of our next article. ENTRANCO ENGINEERS, INC., TO PREPARE FINAL DESIGN FOR INTERURBAN AVENUE Entranco Engineers have been retained by the City to prepare the final construction plans for Interurban Avenue beginning at the intersection of Southcenter Boulevard and continuing northward to the 1-5 crossing. It will include the relocation of some sanitary sewer utilities, a new and improved storm drainage system, new pavements, new curb and gutters, sidewalks and a bicycle path. A meeting is scheduled to show the project in detail and answer questions. The Interurban Corridor is being considered for the route of the 8 -foot diameter effluent pipeline from the Renton Treatment Plant to the Sound. This adds another dimension to things that have to be considered along with the interface with the new Foster Bridge construction and the new METRO Park and Ride Lot construction. Currently, there are no financing plans to pay for the project. All interested parties are encouraged to attend the project meetings as they are scheduled. THIIIANALATUT PUBLISHED QUARTERLY BULK RATE U.S. POSTAGE PAID TUKWILA, WA. PFRRAIT Kin 19 QR By the City of Tukwila 6200 Southcenter Boulevard Tukwila, Washington 98188 Written by City Employees TUKWILA, RENTON, W.S.D.O.T. TO BUILD NEW GRADY WAY BRIDGE The Washi ngton State Department of Transportation will adver- tise for construction of the new Grady Way Bridge in April. This long awaited project will begin construction in July. The sequence of construction will be to build the south half of the bridge first while traffic is using the old bridge and then transfer the traffic to the new south half while the old bridge is demolished and the north half of the bridge is constructed. It is estimated that thirty months will be required to complete the construction. The City of Renton is lead agent and Tukwila is co-sponsor with the Federal Bridge Reconstruction Fund paying eighty percent. The total project costs are estimated to be 8.8 million dollars. TUKWILA AND KING COUNTY TO BUILD NEW FOSTER BRIDGE The City of Tukwila and King County have agreed to build a new Foster Bridge to replace the 56th Avenue bridge. King County is the lead agency to provide the preparation of plans and the construction administration. The County and City each share ten percent of the cost and the Federal Bridge Replacement Fund provides the remaining eighty percent. The exact cost for the City of Tukwila will be determined following the opening of bids for construction. Currently the right-of-way acquisition process is under way, all of the necessary permits have been obtained and the project has been approved by the King County Design Commission and the City of Tukwila. The construction forthe new bridge will take approximately twelve months. Hopefully eighteen months from now there will be a new and beautiful shortcut to the Foster Point area. METRO TO BUILD PARK AND RIDE LOT The City of Tukwila has approved a plan prepared by METRO to construct a Park and Ride Lot on the northwest corner of Interurban Avenue and 52nd Avenue South. This project will provide a parking lot for approximately 260 cars. Included in the project are bus shelters with pull-outs provided on both sides of Interurban Avenue. METRO will include in the project, the signalization of the intersection of Interurban Avenue, 52nd Avenue South and the new intersection with the Foster Bridge. The project will be under construction by mid -summer and in operation in the fall of 1985. There will be no cost to the City of Tukwila. 1984 RESIDENTIAL STREET CONSTRUCTION PROGRAM SEA Engineers, Inc., are preparing the plans and specifications forthe 1984 residential street construction program. This program will provide sidewalks, new curb gutters and new asphalt pave- ment and undergrounding of electric power and new street lights on 55th Avenue South from South 144th Street to South 140th Street and on South 140th Street from 55th Avenue South to 53rd Avenue South. The project is complicated because of narrow right of ways and the need for clarifying which utility company will provide electric power. Meetings have been held with the abutting property owners to determine location of driveway openings and retaining walls. The project will be completed by early fall, 1984. FIRE SERVICE RECOGNITION DAY By Doug Gibbs The second Saturday in May has been designated Fire Service Recognition Day by the International Association of Fire Chiefs. This day is designed to focus attention to the varied and technical services being offered by the fire departments of the U.S. and Canada. The Tukwila Fire Department is hosting the "Fire Service Show" at the Southcenter Mall in celebration of this international event. There will be booths, displays and antique fire trucks to stimulate your interest. Today's firefighters are technically trained and highly skilled professional public servants. They perform many public services in addition to suppression of fires, such as: teaching proper techniques of CPR and fire extinguishers, conduct voluntary dwelling inspections, pre -fire planning, building plan reviews for fire safety, and fire prevention surveys of commercial/industrial facilities, schools and rest homes. Firefighters are often called heroes, yet their i mage is still largely that of a 1930 fireman, when there was not much to do other than put out fires. Today, with all of the different types of hazardous chemical incidents, fire prevention training and many other responsibilities, our days are full. We invite all citizens to visit the "Fire Service Recognition Days" at Southcenter Mall, May 11, 12, and 13 and see our firefighters in action. "Everyone loves a fi reman," is the saying. We want to show the public just what a fireman is.