By Mellow DeTray

Here’s our recap of the Normandy Park City Council meeting held on Tuesday, May 9, 2023:

Presentation on South King County Community Impact Fund

Established by the Port of Seattle in 2019 to create more equity in communities surrounding the airport, the South King County Community Impact Fund (SKCCIF) awards grants of up to $20,000 per year or $60,000 for three year projects, to organizations that can provide matching funds. Until recently, SKCCIF required a 3:1 match, meaning organizations had to raise a lot of money before the grant could be awarded. Now, they are lowering the match requirement to 2:1.

The types of projects these grants can fund are things that address economic development, noise mitigation, environmental health, and sustainability in airport communities. The Friends of Normandy Park Foundation has received $29,448 from SKCCIF, to restore portions of the forested land in Nist Park. Community work parties will remove invasive species and plant trees. They will also provide educational opportunities on urban forest restoration techniques.

City to Celebrate 70th Anniversary on Thursday, June 8

Highline Heritage Museum will host Normandy Park’s 70th anniversary celebration on the evening of Thursday, June 8, from 5 – 8 p.m. The festivities are open to anyone, but an advance RSVP is required and the event is likely to fill up. More information can be found here.

Proclamations

  • Affordable Housing Week is May 7 – 13. This proclamation recognizes that all people should have access to safe, healthy, and affordable homes. Home is the foundation for education, employment, and health outcomes, and an affordable one is defined as costing no more than 30% of the occupants’ income.
  • National Police Week will be May 15 – 21. Additionally, May 15 is proclaimed as Peace Officers Memorial Day. To honor this week, the community is invited to come have Coffee With A Cop on May 20 from 9-11 a.m., at Empire Coffee.
  • National Safe Boating Week will be May 20 – 26. This week kicks off boating season with an important reminder about safety. Anyone 12 years or older may drive a motorized boat with a Washington Boater Education Card. Each person onboard a personal watercraft must wear a US Coast Guard approved life jacket. Irresponsible boating results in 650 fatalities nationally per year.

New Business

Council voted to renew the two year contract with Ogden Murphy Wallace for city attorney services. They also approved an ordinance requiring the city to hold in-person council meetings, with the option for individual councilmembers to attend remotely as needed. More discussion on this topic will take place at the June 13th meeting.

Mellow DeTray is a Seattle native who has spent the last 16 years raising her family in Burien. 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.