My friend Rebecca did a great write-up on the car show today, complete with some wonderful photos. Click here to see Rebecca's "write-up".

Tickets for Seattle Seahawks Training Camp will be available at the Landing, on a first-come first-serve basis, starting July 16. Here are the details in the Renton Reporter.

Here are some photos from last year's brief test run of our city's new Seahawks Training Center:




All my photos from last years camp can be found HERE

Be sure to read Rich Zwicker's Day in the Life of a Councilmember , and then try to catch up to him this weekend!

I sent an email to the council yesterday, informing them that we will be discussing some proposed deep cuts in the already-modest council department budget in 2010. The following email was my personal initial thoughts, and we won't be discussing it as a council until a later meeting; so this is highly preliminary until the council gets a chance to deliberate. Even if we adjust the numbers somewhat from my proposal below, I am sure we will be cutting everything we possibly can from our department, and holding to just one staff person for all of council for the indefinite future.

We're looking awfully efficient compared King County Council based the numbers 41st District Senator Fred Jarrett shared in this article in the PI yesterday.

From the PI: " But Jarrett said the county council staff's growth was more disturbing. In 2005, before voters reduced the County Council from 13 to nine positions, the council budget was $13 million with 121 employees, Jarrett said. In 2009 the council budget was $16 million with 117 positions."

In rough numbers King County has about 23 times our population, but 160 times our Council Budget.

Anyway, here is my email from yesterday. I may be proposing slightly deeper cuts (by five to ten thousand dollars) than we can handle, but this is for discussion starters:

_________________________________________________________


Dear Council-

I wanted to let you all know that Julia and I have been working on a proposed zero-based budget for next year. In other words, we started with nothing, and systematically built a budget based on expenses we knew must be included in order to get the business of the Council done.

Julia is finalizing some of the numbers, and I've asked her to review it with Don Persson (President pro-tem) before we discuss it formally, but here are some highlights of what we came up with.

We are proposing having no council budget for cell phones. We budgeted over $200 per month for this in 2009, but none of us ever claim any of it.

We are proposing a travel budget of $3500 for the year, which gives each of us roughly $500 to make outings to Olympia or around the state. At this level, there would probably be no money for national travel by council without a special allocation... but this is probably appropriate in such a lean year.

We are combining several categories of small items, including small tool/furnishing replacements (broken office chairs, etc), office supplies, and food for long meetings. This new "office supply" category will contain around $4000-$5000 or so to cover all of these items, and Julia will prioritize the most important ones.

We cut the outside professional service budget from $20,000 in 2008 to $5,000 in 2009. Julia and I are proposing a further cut to $2000 in 2010. This gives the Council enough funding to ask an outside attorney or other professional for a preliminary review of something. We will have to find the money elsewhere if we need to go deeper into an outside review.

Our own part-time salaries of $11,400 annually are set by ordinance, and can't be changed over a single year (we have to each get re-elected for new salaries to take effect), so they remain unchanged. This would not prevent us from each personally rebating a portion of our salary back to the city as we all did in 2009, although the Mayor has asked us not to work that right now; if needed, we can consider that later, as a follow-on phase to this exercise.

Julia is of course our one and only legislative aid. I noticed in today's paper that King County has 117 people in it's council staff, even though they only have about 22 times our population. And Julia is constantly busy. So to maintain separation of powers, assure the council has ready access to information, and keep the legislative agenda managed, I propose maintaining one staff person shared by all seven of us (Julia). Julia has told me that if she has any available extra time, she will assist other departments, but we decided this would be so ad-hoc and uncertain that it should not be reflected in the budget.

This is an incredibly frugal budget, and represents about a 55% cut in our non-salary line items.

Don will probably have some good inputs, and he will have to oversee this next year. So please consider this highly preliminary at this point.

But, I wanted you all to stay in the loop.

Best Wishes,
Randy Corman

Council President 2009

Here is an interesting story on MSNBC about local governments struggling to continue providing services. I think the story describes our local situation pretty well. Note that I think Renton is doing better than King County and Washington state, but we still have lots of challenges ahead.

I was having fun going through my old photos tonight, and remembering the years when Cathy and I were just starting our family.



Above is my oldest daughter Katie in my arms at Disneyland, exactly twenty years ago this month.





And here is Katie earlier this week, at our "3rd of July" barbeque. She has grown up to be smart and beautiful.



Katie has announced that she and her husband Brandon are leaving Renton and heading to Japan to teach English. They have been accepted as a couple, and each of them will have their own classes. Brandon will take a leave of absence from his job with the Issaquah School District, and Katie will resign her job in computer sales.

I'm going to miss them both, but I'm also really proud of the two of them, and really excited for them.

They both studied Japanese in college, and they visited Japan earlier this year. In addition, Katie helped us host many Japanese exchange students throughout Katie's teens.

Katie and Brandon will be in Japan for about 7 months. Hopefully, they'll come back to us :-). Meanwhile, some Japanese kids are going to get to meet some really great American teachers.



Katie and Brandon this past spring, in Tokyo.

Our fire department is battling a two-alarm blaze at a recycling facility this evening. So far there are no reports of injuries.

Here is a link to the company's website.
__________________________
From: Randy Corman
Date: July 7, 2009 7:25:04 PM PDT
To: Randy Corman <rcorman@rentonwa.gov>, Don Persson <dpersson@rentonwa.gov>, King Parker <kparker@rentonwa.gov>, Rich Zwicker <rzwicker@rentonwa.gov>, Terri Briere <tbriere@rentonwa.gov>, Greg Taylor <gtaylor@rentonwa.gov>, Marcie Palmer <mpalmer@rentonwa.gov>
Cc: Catherine Corman <racorman@comcast.net>
Subject: Two Alarm Fire at Smurfit Recycling at SW 34th and Lind

Dear City Council,

Denis Law just phoned me to ask me to send you all an email advising you of ANOTHER multiple alarm fire!

The fire department is currently battling a blaze at 34th and Lind at Smurfit Recycling. Denis said this is a warehouse with lots of materials in it.

So far, there are no apparent injuries that anyone is aware of.

Denis is at the site. And he says at least one news helicopter is overhead.

I'll send another email if he phones with more info.

Thanks,

Randy

Miss Washington Contestants line up on the steps of Renton City Hall



Miss Washington and Miss Washington Outstanding Teen contestants have converged on our city in preparation for their upcoming pageant competitions. The contestants will be in and about our city through this week. You may spot them as they make their rounds and photo stops, and you can still get tickets for some of their scheduled charitable events from www.misswashintgon.org.

Here is a press release with more information:
_________________________________________

Contacts:

Peggy Miller, Executive Director, Miss Washington, 253-973-2733
Suzanne Dale Estey, Director of Economic Development, 425-430-6591;
Preeti Shridhar, Communications Director, 425-430-6569

Miss Washington and Miss Washington’s Outstanding Teen Coming to Renton

Hundreds of people will visit Renton to celebrate the weeklong events of the 2009 Miss Washington and Miss Washington’s Outstanding Teen pageants. The contestants will be welcomed by Mayor Denis Law at an arrival ceremony on Sunday, July 5, on the steps of Renton City Hall to mark the beginning of pageant week. Miss Washington and Miss Washington’s Outstanding Teen pageants provide young women the opportunity to enhance their personal and vocational development through scholarship and community service.


Throughout the week of July 5, pageant contestants, families and friends will stay in Renton hotels and enjoy Renton restaurants as they participate in pageant activities. Pageant contestants will visit Seattle Children’s Hospital as part of their charity work, tour the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco branch in Renton, and visit the Renton Farmers Market. Public events in Renton include visitations with pageant contestants on Thursday, July 9, at Brotherton Cadillac Buick Pontiac GMC and on Friday, July 10, at the Holiday Inn Renton, as well as the Miss Washington Alumni Luncheon on Saturday, July 11, at 12:00 p.m. and the Awards Reception and Ball on Saturday, July 11, at 10:45 p.m., both at the Holiday Inn Renton. All public events require tickets available for purchase at www.misswashington.org.

The Miss Washington organization has already hosted a number of activities in Renton leading up to the pageant events, including the Miracle Bowl for Kids at Cascade Lanes in Renton that raised over $25,000 for Children’s Miracle Network and Miss Washington scholarships. The Miracle Bowl was part of the Miss Washington Spring Forum held in Renton in early May. At the Renton City Council meeting on Monday, June 22, Mayor Denis Law declared July 5 to 11 “Miss Washington Week.” Following the Miss Washington pageant, Miss Washington 2009 will appear in the Renton River Days parade on July 25.

The Miss Washington Scholarship Organization is a not-for-profit organization that conducts the pageant as an official preliminary to the Miss America Pageant. For more information about the Miss Washington Scholarship Organization, please visit www.misswashington.org .

Mayor Law continues to perform as one of our city's best photographers. Here is one of his images of the fireworks at Coulon Park last night.

Dear Council,

I want to share with you an incident over the weekend that shows the tremendous danger faced by our officers these days. Police received a call of a disturbance at the 7-11 store in Cascade involving four individuals, one potentially armed with an UZI. Officer Aaron Hisel found the car westbound on S. Grady Way and officers were able to stop it on S. 7th near Rainier Ave.

Since they had information that the individuals may be armed, Hisel waited for adequate assistance prior to stopping the car. They ordered the suspects out at gunpoint and the passenger in the car fled on foot. He was captured across from McLendon’s. On the floor of the car where he was sitting was a fully loaded .45 caliber UZI with a 30-round magazine attached. A second magazine of ammo was also found. Police suspect that the weapon may have been modified to make it fully automatic, giving the suspect the ability to empty the entire magazine within a couple seconds. The weapon is being examined by agents with the Federal Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. If it proves to be fully automatic, the suspect may face federal charges.

You can imagine the potential danger to any officer who could have stopped this car on a routine traffic stop and not be aware that the occupants may be armed.

It’s a sad sign of the times!



Denis Law

Mayor, City of Renton

I hope everyone is having a great Fourth of July!


Independence Hall, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where our nation was born.



More blogs coming tomorrow :-)

Water cascades off of a Harrington Square tower as fire fighters pour ten thousand gallons per minute on the blaze and surrounding neighborhood. This rate of flow would fill the entire Henry Moses Aquatic Center every thirty minutes. (Photo by Gary Palmer)


The Harrington Square fire scene on Tuesday night was a dramatic flurry of flames, firefighters, emergency vehicles, spectators, hoses, and water-water-water everywhere. I was amazed by the number of fire hoses in action by the time I arrived at the scene.

I instantly thought about the conversations we had held about the fire flow capacity in this neighborhood several years earlier, and the complex projects our water department had undertaken to improve the condition.

In the previous year our water department engineering supervisors, Abdoul Gafour, Lys Hornsby, and Greg Zimmerman had lead their teams on a massive effort to improve the water capacity in this neighborhood specifically to prepare for a large apartment-house fire.

The improvements they made included trenching over a mile of street to put in larger water mains, the construction of a 4.2 million gallon reservoir near Hazen High School, and dozens of new connections and fire hydrants.

The new water mains were paid for through a Special Assessment District, that developers in the affected area pay into at the time of new construction of large commercial projects. This was determined to be the most fair way to get the water system necessary for safe large-scale development, without asking local homeowners to pay for it.

The water main upsizing came in under budget, at around 1.2 million dollars plus some city staff time. Considering that the two mostly finished Harrington Square towers (that already have carpet and appliances) were very possibly saved by the higher water capacity, we might have already seen a twenty to one financial return on these water upgrades. And if you consider that the water upgrades may have contributed to keeping other parts of the highlands from burning, the financial and emotional payback of the water upgrades is immeasurable. (For instance the Oakland Hills California fire of 1991 did two billion in damage and created overwhelming heartbreak; it was worsened by antiquated, narrow, water lines...fire fighters had too little pressure, or simply ran out of water while trying to battle that blaze.)

I spoke with our Water Utility Supervisor Abdoul Gafour yesterday, to commend him and his department for the excellent work. He responded with some very interesting data by email, which I have attached here:
_____________________________________________


Hello Councilmember Corman,

As a follow-up to our phone conversation this afternoon, attached are copies of City correspondences with background information related to the water main improvements, and to the new Hazen 4.2 Million-Gallon reservoir, which were completed in February 2009. The new 12-inch looped water mains (located in NE Sunset Blvd, Harrington Ave NE, and NE 9th St) along with the additional storage from the new reservoir were able to deliver sufficient flows and water pressure during the recent fire in the Highlands.

Although the new water mains were designed to provide 5,000 gallons per minute based on a design criteria using a lower flow velocity in the pipe during normal usage to reduce scouring, they can provide 8,000 to 10,000 gallons per minute during a fire fighting event, because water will be drawn from the hydrants at a higher velocity.

Our telemetry records showed that all of our booster pump stations performed very well during the fire fighting event, and were able to replenish water storage to the Highlands and Hazen reservoirs from other storage facilities located in other pressure zones within the City. I am also attaching some photos taken during the construction of the 12-inch water line.

I was able to visit the site later in the evening of the event, and saw that fire trucks from Renton and from several other Cities and Fire Districts were drawing water from at least 8 hydrants simultaneously and that the water pressure and flowrate were adequate. Each hydrant can deliver a minimum of 1,000 gpm.

Please let me know if you have any questions or need additional information. Happy 4th of July to you and your family.

Regards,

Abdoul Gafour
Water Utility Engineering Supervisor
425-430-7210

________________________________________________________





This scene, with many hoses being used, was the same on all four sides of the fire. Firefighters used additional hoses to spray down the surrounding homes.(Photo by Gary Palmer)





The day after the fire, a new hydrant hints at the massive water improvements undertaken by the Water Utility to prepare for such an event (Photo by Gary Palmer)






Below you can see the special assessment summary:






Last year: crews digging up Harrington Ave to install new water mains. (Photo courtesy of City of Renton)




A new water main placed in it's trench last year (photo courtesy of City of Renton)





New Hazen Reservoir, completed last year, holds 4.2 million gallons of water to meet fire and customer needs in Renton Highlands


CLICK HERE for a six page power-point presentation council received in Utilities Committee containing additional detail about these water upgrades.

Photos by Gary Palmer


We reopened Duval Ave yesterday, after a year of construction and patient coping on the part of our residents and businesses. The new road is five lanes, compared to just two lanes prior to the closure. In addition, we've added sidewalks, a new signal, underground power, and many other improvements.

We worked this project in coordination with the City of Newcastle, which provided the gorgeous new bridge over May Creek. We also had great partnering from King County and the State of Washington.

This upgraded road will provide far more convenient access to Newcastle, Bellevue, and the Eastside for the 60,000 or so residents in the greater Renton Highlands and May Valley area. The road will also give Newcastle residents improved connectivity to I-405, Renton, and Issaquah.

Here are some additional images that professional photographer Gary Palmer captured of the event.

Below the photos, I have attached a little more information for you.




























____________________________________
Some of the people present included:

o Mayor Denis Law and Renton City Councilmembers
o State representative Marcie Maxwell
o Federal, state and local elected officials
o Linda Dougherty from King County
o Renton School District Superintendant Dr. Mary Alice Heuschel
o Renton School Board Members Al Talley, RSD Community Relations Director Randy Matheson
o Steve Barger and Jim Hernandez, Northwest Cascade, Inc.:
o Local business leaders
o Representatives of the Renton School District
o Community members representing our Neighborhood Associations
o A number of our hard-working city Staff

__________________________________________________
And here are a few highlights from my comments:

• Without doubt this has been one of the most complex projects that we have undertaken as a city

• I remember a packed Council meeting last year when we had to make a determination on whether to have a complete road closure and finish the project in one year and save $4 million and 15 months in time or have a partial closure.

• It was a difficult decision and we had businesses and community members from all perspectives providing us with their input and concerns. And though we had several speakers almost everybody agreed that this work needed to be done – we had to make improvements to reduce the congestion and improve the safety in this very important corridor.

• We made the call to complete this project in a year but also assured our community that we would do everything possible to ensure the safety of the kids in school, the residents in the neighborhood, keep businesses open and provide local access and minimize disruption.

• It worked! We are here today – ahead of schedule and under budget.

• There are great improvements that this project has accomplished
• The project widened the road to five lanes, including a two-way left-turn lane in the center
• Overhead power lines were moved underground for added safety during storms and emergencies
• A new traffic signal was installed at Duvall Ave. and NE 21st St.
• New bicycle lanes, curbs, gutters and sidewalks were installed
• A retaining wall along the west side of Duvall Avenue NE was built
• A detention pond was constructed at the northern end of the project
• New utility lines were installed

As a reminder, we officially open Duval Ave tomorrow at 10:00 AM! There will be a ceremony and ribbon cutting. The event will be near Sunset and Duval (near the south end of the one-year closure). I hope to see you there!

This has some additional details about the subject incident

______________________________________________________________
Commander Paul Cline 425-430-7597 July 1, 2009


Renton Police Department
Media Release


On June 30th, at 9:25 pm officers of the Renton Police Department were assisting with traffic control for a structure fire at NE 9th Street and Harrington Ave NE. Officers were diverting traffic at the intersection of Sunset Blvd NE and Edmonds Ave NE. A uniformed officer was in the intersection directing traffic when a white Toyota Pick-up truck, driven by a 29-year-old male, was traveling southbound on Edmonds and turned left onto eastbound Sunset. The Toyota failed to yield the right of way to a Honda that was northbound on Edmonds and struck the Honda in the intersection. The Toyota then continued eastbound on Sunset in the westbound lanes of travel and struck the officer who was directing traffic. The officer was thrown across the front end of the Toyota and carried approximately 100 feet on the vehicle before he was thrown free. The officer then rolled under the front end of another vehicle that was stopped in the westbound lanes of Sunset. The Toyota then crossed over the center median and into the eastbound lanes of travel where it collided with a parked Renton Police Car and came to rest.

The officer, who has been with the Renton Police for approximately one year, was transported to Harborview Hospital with non-life threatening injuries. The officer was treated for his injuries and was released several hours later. The drivers of the vehicles involved in the collision were not injured. The Renton Police Department Traffic Unit is conducting the on-scene investigation. The driver of the Toyota Pick-up that struck the officer was arrested and transported to the Renton Police Department for investigation of Reckless Driving and DUI.

Dear Council,
As you know, a spectacular fire destroyed two buildings under construction at Harrington Square. Flames also destroyed a small house used for a commercial business at the southend of the block. This was a 3-alarm that also required at least one Strike Team from other jurisdictions. We had ladder trucks from as far away as Redmond and units from all over south King County and Bellevue at the scene helping with the fire.

Our fire fighters were successful at saving the two finished buildings on the northside.

While directing traffic at the intersection of Edmonds and Sunset, one of our officers was struck by a suspected drunk driver who dragged him nearly a block on the wrong side of the roadway and then swerved into the correct lane of travel and crashed into one of our patrol cars. The officer, Mike Thompson, was treated by paramedics and taken to Harborview Medical Center for treatment. Medics told me they didn't think he had serious injuries.

The driver was arrested. I have attached a couple photos I took at the scene.

Denis

Flames could be seen for miles tonight as two of four building at our brand new Harrington Square Apartments burned to the ground in Renton Highlands.

The complex of 5 story buildings caught fire in a dramatic fashion, in what many witnesses described as a loud explosion, or series of explosions. Some nearby property owners are even reporting cracked windows, possibly from the explosion.

Fire departments throughout the region sent support, to assist Renton firefighters as they battled to knock down the flames and keep them from spreading to nearby homes and businesses. Fire personnel were present from Kirkland, Woodinville, Eastside Fire and Rescue, Fire District 40, Bellevue, Seattle, Kent, Tukwila, Burien, and Skyway, and likely many others.

Fortunately, it looks at this point like no one was seriously hurt by the fire. Since the apartments units were under construction, they were unoccupied when they ignited. [INJURY UPDATE: See my next entry, an email from the mayor, for information regarding the injury of a police officer who was hit by a drunk driver while directing traffic at the scene]

Ironically, and very fortunately, the Harrington Square project had been delayed for over a year as we upgraded water mains in Sunset Ave NE specifically to equip this part of the city with the capacity needed to extinguish a fire in these buildings, on the prescient advice of our fire department. We completed our 1.5 million dollar water main work last year, and construction on Harrington Square began shortly afterward.

This apartment complex was built on the site of an aging strip mall, and is intended to jump start the Renton Highlands redevelopment effort.

While the two buildings affected are a total loss, I am hopeful the project will have insurance that can keep it moving forward. This is of course a huge setback in any case.

I am thankful to all the fire fighters toiling tonight to contain the damage. They have really had to work hard this month to keep the city from burning down.

Here is a link to the architects summary of the Harrington Square project.

Here are some pictures I took at the scene:

Our Newfoundland Dolly makes a new friend down at the all-new Cedar River Dog Park


This message just in tonight from RUFF , the organization of volunteers working to bring us an off-leash dog park:
_______________________________________________________

"Thanks to the amazing contributions of our volunteers, donors, and sponsors, we are pleased to announce that the Cedar River Dog Park is now open! This past weekend over 50 volunteers came through on short notice to build the fencing and install the gates. Be sure to check out the construction photos on our website.

If you don't know how to get to the dog park, you can get directions here. Before entering the dog park, please take time to read the temporary Rules & Regulations at the entrance.

Until the water spigot is hooked up (within a couple weeks), you'll want to bring your own water to the dog park. We suggest you bring water in plastic gallon jugs which you or others can take home and refill as needed. We will provide some plastic water bowls for the dogs, but if you have extra plastic dog bowls. we encourage you to bring them (just be aware that they may go missing at some point).

Garbage cans and "mutt mitts" (baggies) will be installed tomorrow at the park. Until then, please bring your own bags or grab a mutt mitt at the Cedar River Trail kiosk, and dispose of pet waste in a trash can along the trail.

The smaller fenced area of the park is for "shy" dogs that may not be comfortable playing in the larger main area. That includes smaller dogs who are intimidated by large and rambunctious dogs. However, all dogs are welcome in the main area, regardless of size. We just ask that you not bring large and rambunctious dogs into the smaller area.

The fencing is completed, but we still have a lot of work left to do, including hooking up the water line, constructing the informational kiosk, building the benches, spreading mulch, filling in low areas, and many other details. We'll be asking for volunteers to help with various projects in the coming days and weeks and hope you feel free to participate.

We look forward to seeing all of you down at the park!

Ruff!

Kevin Poole & Debbie Englund
Operations Committee


P.S.: The next time you're at McLendon Hardware, be sure to thank them for providing us with the fencing materials, an amazingly generous donation from our hometown company. And if you need construction or excavation work done, we can put you in touch with some fantastic companies that really came through for RUFF, including Perry Excavation, LaValley Backhoe, and Dochnahl Construction. Thank you all!"
_________________________________________________________

THANK YOU RUFF, for your amazing contribution to our community. We really appreciate the hard work of all of you who volunteered in construction, planning, fundraising, and all the other support to get this done. And thank you to the generous sponsors listed above, and for those of you who have contributed dollars for this effort. Great job everyone!

And here are additional photos from our visit tonight!


Walking to the off-leash area from the trail-head under I-405 (across the river from the community center)









Sturdy redundant entry gates, on both ends of a catch-pen, prevent other dogs from escaping as we enter the expansive off-leash area.

Elizabeth Stevens, who lives just west of Renton Airport, reported this on her Facebook this morning:

"Renton Police were all over our street and down to Rainier Ave late last night searching for a hit & run suspect. Advised us all to keep doors & windows locked. Wonder if they caught the suspect. We need RPD cruising our area more frequently these days."

I'll post more information when it comes in.

The New Hawks Landing Hotel at the Pan Abode site is pushing ahead, in spite of the tough world-wide economic conditions.

If you click here you can read some technical data from one of their forthcoming city hearings.

I think a new higher-end hotel at this location will be a great asset to the city. And we can certainly use the construction, sales and lodging taxes right now.

Here is my previous blog on this topic, which includes more information about the planned hotel complex.

Loopnet, A publicly-traded internet-based listing company, has become the hottest place to advertise commercial real estate these days. Most of the big brokers use this service. Some would say that Loopnet is to Commercial Real Estate what the Multiple Listing Service is residential real estate.

Loopnet charges a fee for premium access to all its listings, but it also posts teasers for free on the open internet. Here are their free listings from yesterday's Renton search.

This data includes both properties for sale, and properties for lease.

Some things that jumped out at me were the offering of the Greenfresh Market at five million, the East Valley 13 Theater and property for 11.5 million, and the new Walgreens property for 7.6 million (but it is leased, by Walgreens, for the next 25 years).

I also noticed that retail space at the new Hawks Landing hotel is said to be already leased. I'll post a new blog on this hotel in a few minutes.

I don't know anything about this billboard, but I think the concept would be fine. These are common fixtures in big city pedestrian areas. What do you think?

Here are some photos from yesterday's Duvall Ave Street Party. We will be formally reopening this road on July 2nd, after a year of closure and widening. Thanks to Assistant City Administrator Kelley Balcomb-Bartok for the great photos.


















From left to right: Councilwoman Marcie Palmer, Councilman King Parker, Councilman Rich Zwicker, me, Mayor Denis Law, Councilman Greg Taylor, Councilwoman Terri Briere. (Councilman Don Persson arrived at the event shortly after this picture was taken)

A quick acting PE teacher at Hazen saved his student's life with a defibrillator. Here is the story on the Seattle PI Website There is no greater act than to save a life.

Renton is saying farewell to a very good reporter today. Emily Garland has been a familiar face at many community meetings, celebrations and news scenes in the last few years. She is leaving the Renton Reporter to work for the Peace Corps, where she will be stationed in Cambodia. Those of us who have worked with her will miss her. See Emily's personal goodbye in the Renton Reporter here

Thanks Emily for all your great reporting over the years! Best wishes to you.

----------------------------------------
Sent: Thursday, June 25, 2009 10:48:09 PM
To: Council

Dear council members :

I am writing to you on behalf of myself and my neighbors in regard to ongoing cruising /speeding and illegal noise from vehicle stereos and modified muffler systems.

Renton police can only apply the ordinances they have to address this problem.

Currently the ordinances are too vague as to what actions officers can take to extinguish this ongoing problem.The penalties need to be such that it deters others from committing such offenses.

We ask that you pass an ordinance to prohibit vehicle cruising on NE SUNSET BLVD from UNION AVE NE to NE 12 TH and to also prohibit loud vehicular stereos and modified muffler noises.(including motorcycle modified mufflers)

Recently the city of KENNEWICK Washington has taken steps to make their city a better place by addressing these same issues.
http://www.tri-cityherald.com/kennewick_pasco_richland/story/590898.html

Renton can extinguish the community noise and generate needed Revenue by addressing this problem by passing ordinances prohibiting illegal noise.


Regards, Concerned residents

I received an email at city hall which identified the lawsuit that has been filed against several Washington cities regarding traffic enforcement cameras, and asking my opinion of it. This is a great question, and a good discussion topic.

In short, I do not have a strong opinion about this lawsuit. The plaintiffs assert that the state law should limit the traffic camera fines to no more than the city's highest existing parking ticket fine, and hence should be closer to $40 than the current $100 to $124 that many cities (including Renton) charge. The city defendants are stating that state law allows parking tickets to be in this $124 range, so it is okay. My view is that I will be happy to hear what the court decides, and comply with it without any argument.

I have mixed feelings about these cameras, but I currently lean toward the side of supporting the limited use of them. I don't want to make money from the cameras, but I would like them to help retrain the worst red-light violators to quit running red lights, and retrain us all to slow down in school zones.

If a smaller fine can do this as well as a bigger fine, I don't really care that much if we get forced to lower it. There may be contract issues with the firm that installed the cameras at their expense... but I don't know exactly what the contract says about this at this point.

So, philosophically, I'm personally fine with however this ruling comes out.

Please click HERE to get more background from my previous blogs regarding the discussion, debate, and engineering adjustments that went into the current traffic camera system.

Below is the email I recieved:
_______________________________________________________________

Randy,

Here's an interesting article from today's KING 5 web page. You might comment on this on your web page.

SN

http://www.king5.com/topstories/stories/NW_062409WAB-traffic-camera-fine-lawsuit-TP.1acd870.html

Suit claims drivers charged excessive traffic camera fines

10:39 AM PDT on Wednesday, June 24, 2009

KING5.com Staff



KING



SEATTLE – A class action lawsuit has been filed against 19 Washington cities, saying fines doled out to drivers caught on automatic traffic cameras are higher than the law allows.

Attorneys are basing the suit on a state law that was passed by the State Legislature in 2005. The law states “the amount of the fine issued for an infraction generated through the use of an automated traffic safety camera shall not exceed the amount of a fine issued for other parking infractions within the jurisdiction.”

The attorneys contend the purpose of the camera law was to increase traffic safety, not to raise revenue.


Related Content
Read the law

Read the lawsuit (.pdf)

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Based on the law, the attorneys argue that if a city’s highest parking ticket is $40, that’s the most you can be fined if you are caught on an automatic traffic camera. But, most cities charge anywhere from $101 to $124 if you’re caught by a camera – the same as if an on duty officer had caught you themselves.

The suit claims, in some cases, the cities are charging up to four times more than the law allows.

The law only allows cities to use the cameras at two-arterial intersections, railroad crossings and school speed zones.

The suit seeks restitution for anyone who has received an excessive fine in Washington and an injunction to stop assessing excess fines.

The case has been assigned to King County Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Ramsdell.


This email request originated from the following link: http://www.rentonwa.gov/government/default.aspx?id=1084

It's been a tough few weeks of news regarding some of the memorable personalities of the 70s and 80s. A friend just pointed out that beginning with David Carradine's death, we've lost icons from four entertainment genres; a kung-fu/adventure actor, a memorable and popular game-show/variety personality in Ed McMahan, then heart-throb actress and poster beauty Farrah Fawcett, and finally the iconic King of Pop.

It's a bit of an adjustment to think of them all passing on. Even though their public contributions were largely in earlier decades, I still enjoyed David Carradine's more recent performances in Kill Bill, and I would have been very happy to see him in new films. By coincidence, during this last year our family watched all the seasons of his 70's TV series "Kung Fu," (on DVD) and we all thoroughly enjoyed it.

And I wanted so much for Farah Fawcett to somehow regain her health, as she worked so hard to do. Watching an interview in which Ryan O'Neal struggled to keep Farah Fawcett cheerful reminded me of watching the 1971 Movie "Love Story", the original "chick flick" in which Ryan O'Neal plays a college student watching his first true love die from cancer. "Love Story" made me cry at age 12, and Fawcett's death made me just as sad today. (Many of my high-school friends in the 70's owned Farah Fawcett's one-piece swimsuit poster, and it became the best-selling poster of all time. At age 15 I could have purchased it as well, except during that year I met a beautiful real-life girl named Cathy, and I began decorating with Cathy's pictures instead.)

I had been following Ed McMahon's financial struggles, and I kept wishing that he could win one of the sweepstakes that he kept telling me "you may have already won" back in the 80s. (Donald Trump finally helped him keep his home). I loved reading McMahon's reflections about his extremely fond memories of his years with Johnny Carson. He says Carson told him..."Let's just go out and entertain the hell out of them." Ed McMahon was as important to Carson's Tonight Show as Carson was.

And then lastly there was Michael Jackson's death. A friend on facebook posted a link of one of Michael Jackson's videos from the Thriller era. I clicked it on, marveled at the music, the strong beat, the intensity and perfection of the trademark dancing,....and then realized, sadly, that I have actually missed Michael Jackson for a very long time. I'm sure there will be a lot of effort spent trying to understand the Michael Jackson of the last two decades, but the pop star version of Michael Jackson from my youth was absolutely incredible.

I feel a little older, and a little more nostalgic, as a result of these entertainment losses.

The libarary and some other city property were vandelized very early yesterday morning or very lat the night before. Renton's diligent blogger-in-the-streets Lady P has her first-hand observations of some of the damage, complete with detailed photos, in her blog entry Here .

I got the news initially from our mayor, who forwarded the interdepartment email shown below.

At this point the police do have some suspects. And this crime-spree will be taken very seriously, as there are some pretty high cost repairs involved. This significantly exceeds what I would normally think of as malicious mischief.

_______________________________________________

From: Gerald M Rerecich
Sent: Wednesday, June 24, 2009 9:03 AM
To: Denis Law; Jay B Covington
Cc: April Alexander; Terry Higashiyama; Leslie A Betlach; Peter Renner; Kelly Beymer; Kristine Stimpson
Subject: Downtown Library/Vandalism



Good morning Mayor and Jay,



The downtown library was broken into sometime last night. Entry was made through the rear door. Police are on site and investigating the area. I do not have a complete assessment of the damage yet. The library station wagon had all of the windows broken out. Due to the investigation there may be a delay in opening at 10am.



Within Liberty Park several trees were vandalized. An exact assessment is in progress.



At the Highlands Neighborhood Center both of the Recreation Division buses and a small van suffered vandalism and are temporarily inoperable.



I will pass on additional information to you as it becomes available.





Jerry Rerecich

City of Renton

Recreation Director

Photo: In March the Corps of Engineers briefed us on problems with the abutment of the Howard Hanson Dam

Word just came down from the Army Corps of Engineers that they will be dropping the water level behind Howard Hanson Dam due to very fast seepage through the abutment adjacent to the Dam. You can read a lot more detail on this abutment issue in my March blog on this topic here.

The new report further emphasizes the potential risk of flooding along the Green River when the rains return in the fall. All businesses and residents in the potential flood plain are encouraged to obtain flood insurance if it is at all possible.

Here is today's status from the Corp of Engineers:

___________________________________________
Engineers continue caution at Howard Hanson Dam; conservation pool levels being brought down

June 23, 2009

Contact: Casondra Brewster 206-764-6958 or Public Affairs 206-764-3750

SEATTLE - Testing in conjunction with the conservation pool rise at Howard Hanson Dam is ongoing. With the recent findings and observations at higher levels in the reservoir pool, Engineers are concerned that the right abutment is showing signs of internal erosion.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Seattle District, has been in the midst of testing during its traditional summertime conservation pool raise. The pool reached an elevation last week of 1,169.2 feet and engineers saw renewed reasons to believe that the abutment is still weakened.

Of particular concern is the recent dye testing that shows that water is moving through the right abutment very fast at higher pool elevations. These tests indicate that there are preferential flow paths within the natural materials of the right abutment that could lead to internal erosion within the right abutment if water is held at these higher elevations for extended periods of time.

“This phenomenon continues to be troubling,” said Mamie Brouwer, Program Manager. However, there is no visual distress of the right abutment that has been observed, she said.

Although data collected below 1,157 feet seems to stay within normal ranges, elevations going higher seem to cause more seepage and uncertain water paths through the abutment.

Therefore, the Corps of Engineers has decided to release water from the dam over the course of the next two weeks, to bring the pool level down to 1,155 feet above sea level. This operation will result in reservoir outflows that are not expected to exceed 1,200 cubic feet per second based on current weather and hydrologic forecasts, which is within established thresholds. Residents along the river will not see significant changes in the river flows over the next two weeks

Around-the-clock monitoring continues, as will other data-collection processes during the pool draft.

“We do not understand how the water is traveling through the abutment,” Brouwer said. “We know that what we may be seeing fits the traditional definition of internal erosion.”

The Seattle District’s immediate objective is preparing for the upcoming fall/winter flood season. Preparations include continuing with plans to construct an interim seepage barrier wall and improving the drainage tunnel to control seepage through the most critical part of the right abutment, and continuing to monitor the pool throughout the draft. Simultaneously, the team has initiated test borings, geotechnical modeling and analysis to support planning for a long term repair project to address seepage.

Meanwhile the Seattle District Commander, Col. Anthony O. Wright, wants the downstream community residents to know that the risk for higher flood levels is significantly increased compared to what they are typically used to, until such time as the issues with the dam’s right abutment can be resolved.

“I can’t stress enough our number one mission here is public safety,” Wright said. “We will continue to keep Green River Valley leaders and first responders informed. We ask that residents contact their community leaders and get as much information as possible on how to prepare for such a contingency.”

Wright was referring to the Corps’ efforts of working closely with King County and the downstream cities of Auburn, Kent, Renton and Tukwila to prepare for the fall/winter flood season with the increased risk of higher-than-standard flows from the dam.

“Regardless of the possibility of increased flow rates from the dam,” said Dam Safety Program Manager, Rob Romocki, “It truly is important for the communities to understand that this is a river valley and the potential for flooding exists even when Howard Hanson Dam has full operational capacity and the levees work as they should. So, it’s easy to see the risk increasing when the dam has a lowered operational capacity.”

Information on flood preparedness may be found at: http://www.kingcounty.gov/safety/prepare/FloodPlan_GRiverBasin.aspx

Updates regarding the dam may be found at: http://www.nws.usace.army.mil .