HomeMy WebLinkAboutReg 2013-04-01 Item 8C - Report - City Administratormon
TO:
City of Tukwila
CITY ADMINISTRATOR REPORT
Mayor Haggerton
Councilmembers
FROM: David Cline, City Administrator
DATE: March 27, 2013
SUBJECT: Report for April 1, 2013 Regular Council Meeting
Jim Haggerton, Mayor
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. The report consists of
information provided by the Executive Team, with editing and input by the City Administrator.
Please let me know if you have any questions or need additional information about any of the
following items, and please feel free to contact any of the department heads for additional
information.
Intergovernmental and Local Issues Update
MEETINGS
• Business Development Forum - On March 23 Councilmember Duffie, Community
Development Director Pace, and Economic Development Administrator Speck attended
a business development forum at Pabla Restaurant intended for African businesses in
SeaTac and Tukwila. The forum was hosted by the City of SeaTac with business
outreach provided by the East African Community Services. The forum was initiated
based on results from a business survey completed by East African Community Services
in late 2012. Only one business attended but the event provided an opportunity for
multiple business service agencies to share information.
• Library Gala - On March 23 Council President Hougardy, City Administrator Cline, and
Economic Development Administrator attended the King County Library System
Foundation's annual fundraising gala. The Foundation is contributing all donations to
the new Tukwila Library. A video is available at: www,kcls,org /foundation /tukwila/
• Highline Forum - On March 27, Council President Hougardy and City Administrator
Cline attended the Highline Forum, which is now meeting on a quarterly basis. The main
focus was an update on the advocacy efforts for extension of SR 509. WSDOT and city
representatives discussed the current proposal called the "Puget Sound Gateway ",
which ties the extension of SR 509 to 1 -5 with the extension of SR 167 in Pierce County.
The current proposal is approximately $1.8 billion for the first phase of the extension.
• D.A.R.E. Graduation at Foster High School. On March 22, the Tukwila Police
Department led the annual 5th grade graduation of the DARE program at Foster High
School Performing Arts Center. Mayor Haggerton, Councilmembers Duffie and Kruller,
Judge Walden, City Administrator Cline, several department directors and their staff,
attended and congratulated the participants. This was a great opportunity to witness the
important investment that the City of Tukwila and the Tukwila Police Department have
placed in the District 5th graders.
69
City Administrator Report
Page 2
ii. Department Updates
MAYORS OFFICE
• On March 12 Councilmember Kruller and Economic Development Administrator Speck
attended the Tukwila International Boulevard Action Committee monthly meeting.
Representatives from Cash America attended to introduce themselves and their plans to
the community.
HUMAN SERVICES
• On March 12, staff from Human Services and Economic Development met with
representatives of Highline Community College to discuss recent changes in Highline's
StartZone program, which helps minorities, immigrants, women, and the disabled
populations start and grow small businesses.
• On March 20, staff joined 300 attendees at the 2013 Vulnerable populations disaster
planning conference.
• On March 21, staff attended the King County Refugee Forum, learning about the roll out
of expanded health care access to refugee populations.
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
• 5155 S. 160th Street — Abandoned Property:
This abandoned property continues to be a dumping spot and a nuisance for the
neighborhood. The property is still in foreclosure and after months of persistent emails,
the lender continues to delay the clean -up of the property until they acquire title at the
Notice of Trustee sale on March 29, 2013. Unable to obtain compliance, Code
Enforcement is moving forward with the cleanup of the property. We are working with
the Public Works Department to obtain bids from contractors for the cleanup of all the
rubbish, debris and garbage that has been dumped on the property, securing the
structure and obtaining an ecology block to be placed on the driveway to prevent people
from driving onto the property for more illegal dumping. Once the work is completed a
tax lien will be filed against the property
• Southcenter Plan EIS (Environmental Impact Statement) Scoping Meeting:
Staff held a meeting to gather input on the topics that should be addressed in the
environmental review of the Southcenter Subarea Plan documents. We plan to use a
relatively new SEPA (State Environmental Policy Act) tool called Transit- Infill Review
(RCW 43.21C.420) which would exempt development that complies with the
Southcenter Plan from SEPA review and protect those developments from appeal on
environmental issues for 10 years. About 10 business representatives and property
owners attended and they were generally supportive of the proposed plan. We will
accept comments through April 8th
PUBLIC WORKS
• Televised Council Meetings: The final system testing will done at the April 1st
Council Meeting in "record only" mode. It will not be broadcast live on the internet
and TV21 until the tests confirm that everything is working. Results of this video
recording test will be shared within days after the April 1st test.
• Local Improvement District No. 33: Staff presented a staff report at the March 27th
assessment roll hearing and provided an overview of the project need, necessity and
direct support for the special benefit provided to all properties in the Southcenter
area.
70
City Administrator Report
Page 3
PARKS AND RECREATION
• Tukwila Community Center Rentals April begins the busy season of large rentals at
the community center. Northwest Grocers will host their annual spring event on April
• 4th 55+ vendors fill the gym with items for 300+ grocery managers to sample and pre
order for the summer. April 12 through the 14th is the annual PNNA coin show, over
$12,000,000 in coins and collectibles will be on display and for sale in the gym, and
over 600 visitors per day attend the 3 day show. Later in April three large events
including a wedding with 450 guests, a maintenance conference & competition in the
gym and banquet hall on April 24th (250+ people) and a community celebration on April
27th
(350 guests). Finally, a full building rental by Free the Children (youth leadership
conference) with over 200 area youth is scheduled for early May.
• Events: April events include:
April 20th Tukwila Pool Grand Re- Opening Celebration. Ribbon Cutting, Tours, and
Demonstrations @ 10AM, April Pool's Day Event @ 1 PM. Call the Pool for more
information (206) - 267 -2350.
April 20th Duwamish Alive! Restoration work party at Codiga Park. Volunteers
welcome. For more information, or to register as a volunteer please go to
at http:// www .earthcorpseorg /volunteerephp.
April 20th Duwamish Alive! Restoration work parties at Duwamish Hill Preserve,
3800 S 115th Street, Tukwila. Volunteers of all age welcome! For more information or
to register as a volunteer please go
to wwweforterravorg /events /4 20 celebrate earth day and duwamish alive
April 20th Duwamish Alive! Restoration work parties at Duwamish Shoreline, near
the BECU Financial Center— 12770 Gateway Drive, Tukwila. Volunteers of all age
welcome! For more information or to register as a volunteer please go
to wwweforterravorg /events /Volunteer with the Challenge for Duwmaish Alive and Earth Da
April 27th Healthy Earth Healthy You 5K Fun Run and Walk. For information and
registration contact Tukwila Parks & Recreation Department, (206) 768 -2822.
April 27th Global 2 Local Spring Health Fair, Bartell Drugs parking lot on International
Blvd in Tukwila, 9:OOam- 2:OOpm. For information please contact Vicki Orrico
at Vickiorricoconsulting , com.
• Foster Golf Links: The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is conducting research on the
Duwamish River at the Foster Golf Course. The goal is to help the Washington
Department of Ecology understand the concentrations and loads of toxic chemicals
from upstream sources being transported by the Green River to the Lower Duwamish
Waterway. The USGS is collecting water, suspended sediment, and bed sediment
samples over a range of storm conditions for analysis of polychlorinated biphenyls
(PCBs), arsenic, dioxins and furans, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and
other toxic chemicals. The results will aid in assessing the potential for re- contamination
of downstream remediated sediment in the Lower Duwamish Waterway.
• Parks Commission: The Parks Commission has a vacancy as of March 17, 2013.
Scott Kruize has stepped down due to work commitments. Mr. Kruize has served the
Commission for several years, his dedication to the City's Parks and Recreation
Program has been valuable.
TUKWILA POOL — METROPOLITAN PARK DISTRICT (MPD)
• Pool Grand Re- Opening Event: The opening celebration is scheduled for April 20th
beginning at 10:00 a.m. with a ribbon cutting ceremony, tours, and aquatics
demonstrations. April Pool's Day celebrations will begin at 1:00 p.m. with water safety
information and swimming activities. In addition to the opening celebration a resource
71
City Administrator Report
Page 4
event is being held at the High School, staff is working on developing a parking strategy
for the day as the parking lot will be busy.
POLICE
• Tukwila International Boulevard (TIB) is a focus area for the city as the City staff work
together to implement the community's Strategic Plan. The Police Department teamed
up with the Mayor's office and executive staff and conducted tours on March 8th and 15th.
The purpose of the tours is to help staff gain a better understanding of TIB.
• Behind the Badge Foundation: On Saturday, March 23, Tukwila Police partnered with
Westfield Mall and the Tukwila Police Spouse Group to host the inaugural Behind the
Badge Foundation "We Are Family" - a Law Enforcement Family Network Social. The
event was held in the Sky Box at the mall. The Behind the Badge Foundation is a non-
profit organization that offers services to both law enforcement agencies and surviving
families of officers killed in the line of duty. Chief Villa and Assistant Chief Linton and
about 50 spouses and others attended. Behind the Badge is an invaluable asset during
these tragic times of crisis and Tukwila wanted to host this first event. For more about
the foundation visit its website at http:// www .behindthebadgefoundation.org.
FIRE
• Two probationary firefighters will soon graduate from the fire academy. They will
spend a short period on department indoctrination and then report for full shift duty
in late April or early May. Two additional probationary firefighters will be in a pre -
academy and recruit academy in mid - April, and should be available for shift duty in
late August.
111. Council and Community Updates
• Grande Terrace Apartments: During the Council of the Whole meeting on March 25
several residents living on South 158th voiced concerns about safety and crime at and
around the Grande Terrace Apartments. This is a complex of high police calls for
service and crime. Our Community Oriented Policing Coordinator Chris Partman met
with the citizens in the lobby. Ms. Partman conveyed that the City will dedicate the
necessary resources to make it a safer place for our citizens. The beginning steps
include the following: Community Policing Team and Crime Prevention staff met with
residents on March 27 for additional input and dialog; a sub - committee from our
Hotspots group, a multi - department team, is having a special meeting on April 4 to draft
a comprehensive solution; and, we are scheduling a community meeting mid - April. In the
meantime, we have increased our patrols in the area and will continue to attempt to work
with management of the Grande Terrace. There will be more information to follow as we
work together to change this environment for the better.
72