By Mellow DeTray

Here’s our recap of Tuesday night’s (Feb. 14, 2023) Normandy Park City Council meeting:

New Councilmember Jack Lamanna
Jack Lamanna took the Oath of Office at the meeting’s start, then began serving in Council Position #5. He was selected by Council to replace Michelle Sipes-Marvin during the Special Meeting on Feb. 6, 2023.

Normandy Park 70th Anniversary
June 8, 2023 will mark 70 years of incorporation for Normandy Park as a city, and Council is looking forward to a big celebration for the occasion. They are open to ideas for what to include in the festivities.

Branding Guide Nearly Complete
Councilmembers were presented with the new branding guide created for the City of Normandy Park. The branding includes a new logo with the elements of trees, water, sun and moon, as well as the date Normandy Park was established, 1953. The branding aims to show that the City is steeped in history, but leans into the future, and includes website updates, new Zoom profiles, email signatures, and business cards for all Staff & Councilmembers.

The new logo and other elements will gradually be phased into City materials, both online and physical. Councilmember Shawn McEvoy said that this has cost too much of the City’s funds, and wasn’t a good use of $70,000. Councilmember Eric Zimmerman said that while he has been skeptical of the expense at times, he is pleased with what was presented, and sees this as professionalizing the City’s image.

SKHHP Funding Approved
South King Housing and Homelessness Partners (SKHHP) received approval of funding from Normandy Park’s sales tax revenue. SKHHP formed in 2019 through an interlocal agreement with several neighboring cities to pool resources in order to increase affordable housing options regionally. Normandy Park is a SKHHP founding city, and Councilmember Zimmerman is on the board. Normandy Park’s contribution of $2,755 is quite small compared to that of other cities. The program will receive nearly $1.5 million through regional partner cities.

Three affordable housing developments applied for funding through the program, all of them in Burien. The two selected include Habitat for Humanity and Mercy Housing Northwest. Habitat for Humanity will receive $300,000 to build 20 three-bedroom homes for families earning less than 50% of the Area Median Income (AMI). Mercy Housing Northwest will receive nearly $1.1 million to build an 89-unit, multi-family mixed use space with 1, 2, and 3 bedroom apartments, all for below 60% AMI, with 20% specifically for disabled persons and 40% for people experiencing homelessness. The third applicant, EcoThrive, was encouraged to reapply this coming year.

Councilmember Zimmerman said that while he believes this is a good use of a relatively small amount of city funds, he would like to see addiction treatment talked about and funded more, rather than only focusing on housing.

Mellow DeTray is a Seattle native who has spent the last 16 years raising her family in Burien. She has volunteered at many local establishments over the years, including the Burien Library, Burien Actors Theatre, and Hot Feet Fitness. After working for 10 years at Burien Community Center, she moved on to teaching fitness classes and to work the front desk of a Burien yoga studio. For many years Mellow kept a moderately popular cooking & lifestyle blog, and she had a brief stint in political journalism during a local election. Clear and informative writing has always been a side hobby of Mellow’s and she looks forward to bringing you unbiased coverage of City Council meetings.