City Manager’s Weekly Report
for week ending Nov. 1, 2019
Public meeting on Sea-Tac Airport Impact Study Nov. 6 at Burien City Hall.
See: https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/WADOC/bulletins/26935dc. The Washington State Department of Commerce will host an open-house style meeting from 7 to 9 p.m., Nov. 6, in Burien City Hall’s public meeting room. This is an opportunity for the public to hear about the data gathering process to date, as well as the preliminary findings of the Sea-Tac Airport Impact Study. This Department of Commerce study is funded by the Washington State Legislature with matching funds (on a per-capita basis) from Normandy Park and five other cities immediately impacted by Sea-Tac operations and facilities. Access the Department of Commerce information page here: https://www.commerce.wa.gov/serving-communities/growth-management/growth-management-topics/sea-tac-airport-impact-study/.
Metro Community Connections. I’m betting private car ownership will continue to decrease and someday cease to exist! I recently heard a Mercedes public relations employee – Mercedes innovates its software in Seattle these days – project that such change will be realized within 20 years. These days, however, the first/last mile connection to light rail (and rapid transit generally) is a difficult hurdle everywhere. To negotiate this hurdle in part, Metro provides its Vanshare program throughout King County. Ridesharing for first/last mile has always been a tough nut to crack, and Metro is continuing to work on this solution set, and hopefully will have something to comprehensively solve this problem sooner rather than later. Along these lines, our local pilot Metro Community ride program, Normandy Park Community Ride, is alive and well! Both county employees who launched the pilot service in Normandy Park are no longer employed at King County, which is why we haven’t heard a lot from them in recent months. Nevertheless, the great news is that the Normandy Park Community Ride has some pretty impressive ridership, averaging about 155 trips a month, which is great for only 4 days per week of midday service. Metro is looking forward to continuing to work with the City of Normandy Park on the Community Ride service, which can connect people to regional transit at Angle Lake Station and Burien Transit Center, as well as to other locations within several miles of Normandy Park. Please feel free to reach out to me with any questions about Community Ride or refer to https://kingcounty.gov/~/media/depts/transportation/metro/schedules/pdf/03232019/normandy-park-community-ride.pdf. I hope we can expand days and hours of service dramatically. Note the service area map!
News from King County Council Chair Rod Dembowski. King County Council Chair Dembowski provides concise information about I-976, about the King County proposed Regional Homelessness Authority (a Public Development Authority to impact homelessness throughout King County), and more. https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/WAKING/bulletins/267a5a3. The proposed PDA is a good concept and is not slated to increase taxes, effectively pooling existing affordable housing resources. Of course, all local taxation is subject to state legislation.
Update of the Paving Moratorium Map. The street projects Paving Moratorium map primarily shows utilities where new streets cannot be cut for five years after construction, except that individual utility hook-ups may be accommodated. The map indicates how utilities and private property owners should schedule capital projects to avoid complications cutting new pavement. The map also displays city progress repairing streets per the engineering study from several years ago that outlines needs and costs for street renovation and maintenance. The projected projects on this map will not be impacted by the I-976 vote, but unmapped future projects will be significantly curtailed if the initiative is approved. Alternatively, if I-976 fails, then more streets will be paved than mapped in 2021 per the current engineering study. See the attached map.
Payment for new recreation, government and police facilities. At the next Normandy Park City Council Meeting, a contract with the architecture firm Miller Hull Partnership will be presented. Council approval of the contract will initiate resident engagement and facility design. The goal is to create facilities pertinent to Normandy Park’s public priorities and evocative of its structural history. This architectural and potential construction process is predicated on the notion that it must not increase property taxes or use dollars that otherwise are used for police services. Consequently, General Fund revenues will not be forecast to pay for this facility. How, you ask, could such a thing be possible? Without the General Fund, what revenues could be used to pay for the facilities? See the attached spreadsheet, Funding Source Options – Civic Center. Without donation, facility construction will almost certainly need to be phased. But, first, city citizens and City Council members will need to pin down design and cost. Real Estate Excise Tax revenues can only be used for capital projects. Metropolitan Park District revenues can only be used for parks-related costs. The upcoming process, if authorized, will be vital and interesting. City residents, city property owners and city business owners will be invited participate with Miller Hull Partnership in the public engagement portion of the design process.
Funding Source Options-Civic Center Oct 2019
Mark E. Hoppen, City Manager
City of Normandy Park
801 SW 174th Street
Normandy Park, WA 98166
(206) 248-8246 (Direct Phone)
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