By Mellow DeTray

The Normandy Park City Council meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2025, highlighted the city’s commitment to community engagement and progress.

Key discussions included the next phase of Marvista Park improvements and a plan to enhance road safety along 1st Avenue.

The council also approved a new proclamation on homelessness.

In addition, there was a reminder about the upcoming Town Hall meeting, and some shifts in the council meeting schedule later this year to accommodate holidays.

Southend Indivisibles

A public commenter shared an invitation for more locals to join a large and growing group called Southend Indivisible. He said Indivisible is a progressive nationwide movement that began in 2016, in response to the election of Donald Trump. He said the aim of the group is to peacefully and non-violently protest against authoritarianism. They regularly meet and hold well-attended protests, including an upcoming rally at Southcenter on Sept. 12 and a protest every Friday morning outside the Department of Homeland Security. More information at the link above.

Town Hall Meeting

City Manager Amy Arrington shared a reminder of the next Town Hall meeting on Wednesday, Sept. 24. These meetings provide an opportunity for two-way dialogue about current issues in the city. The meeting on the 24th will kick off with a discussion of the city’s new scooter and e-bike ordinance.

Homelessness Response

Mayor Eric Zimmerman got unanimous council support for a new proclamation on homelessness. The proclamation gives councilmembers a bit more support in advocating for alternative ways to tackle the root causes of homelessness, rather than the current accepted management practice. Councilmember Mike Bischoff said recent management of homelessness has been a “substantive failure”.

Mayor Zimmerman said he was able to help lead the charge in defeating HB 1380, which would have taken power away from cities when it came to responding to homelessness. Rep. Mia Gregorson, who introduced the defeated bill, is planning to bring it back in another form. Mayor Zimmerman hopes to help fight it as successfully a second time.

It was mentioned that people outside Normandy Park assume the city doesn’t know anything about the homelessness epidemic, and are not affected by it. As Councilmember Lamanna explained, Normandy Park might not see much of the end result of homelessness, but homelessness could start here. Life-changing situations and drug addiction that can lead to homelessness can hit people anywhere.

November Meeting Moved

The council agreed to move the November city council meeting from Tuesday the 11th, which falls on Veteran’s Day, to Wednesday the 12th. Both the study sessions for November and December, which would have landed during the holidays, were canceled.

Marvista Park Improvements

Public Works Director Ken Courter presented the next stage in the project to revamp Marvista Park. He said seven years ago the city had decided to prioritize new landscaping for the park, and that the paths and sidewalks around the park are also in bad shape. He added that while this work is being done, the irrigation system, which is very old and problematic, should also be replaced. Another option being considered is installing a food truck pad in the southwest corner of the lot, and also siting a spot for a potential multi-use classroom in the future. There could also be a bocce ball court. In addition, there will need to be some kind of stormwater capture included in the project. Overall, this is a million dollar project and the design phase will cost 1/10th of that.

Money for this project is available, some of which is leftover from the planned pickleball court which was never built. If approved at this meeting, the park redesign could go out to bid right away, with construction beginning early next year. Several councilmembers expressed serious concerns about spending so much on this when there are other unknown and possibly large costs the city will face in the future. They said parkgoers are already enjoying summer events at the park, and waiting another year for improvements won’t make a difference.

Councilmember Shawn McEvoy said food trucks are self-contained; they don’t need water and electricity, so providing those things to the food truck pad is a huge unnecessary expense. However, it was explained that everyone would have a more pleasant experience if they didn’t have the noise of food truck generators. The idea that some of these projects could be performed by Eagle Scouts was brought up, in order to save money and provide the scouts with valuable experience. City Manager Amy Arrington said that couldn’t really be part of the city’s plan for this project.

Several councilmembers advocated for continuing this discussion in further detail, and in the context of other potential costs the city could face, at a study session, rather than voting on it at this meeting. Councilmember Sheri Healey reminded the council that they all decided to do this park redesign back in May. She said the citizens have already said this was important to them, and that it shouldn’t be stalled another year. Public Works Director Courter pointed out that the council could always throw out bits of the design that don’t make sense or will cost too much, after going through with the design phase. He added that waiting will only add to the cost.

Councilmember Bischoff said the pace of government is very frustrating. He said the council should move forward with this next phase. They had already decided on this park improvement, and shouldn’t stall again. By the end of the discussion, Councilmember Lamanna conceded that this is a needed step to take for now. Moving forward with the design contract for Marvista Park passed in a 4:3 vote, with Councilmembers McEvoy and West, along with Mayor Zimmerman, voting no.

Road Safety Plan

The city has a heat map of accidents and road safety data throughout the city. To no one’s surprise, the vast majority of accidents are on 1st Avenue South. Costs to improve safety along 1st Ave fall 100% to the city, despite the road being a state highway. Measures to improve safety include installing rumble strips, crosswalk lights that give pedestrians a 10-second leeway before cars can go, and installing mid-block crosswalks.

Councilmember Jack Lamanna said residents are asking for improvements to other roads throughout the city, and the plan shouldn’t just focus on one street. Public Works Director Courter said the data shows that when it comes to making the most impact in improving safety, 1st Avenue is the highest importance.

Councilmember Bischoff said the costs in the report seem shockingly high. Public Works Director Ken Courter explained that work along the 4-lane street has higher requirements than other streets. Pedestrian refuge zones must be installed midway along the crossing, as well as ramps–and then dealing with the Department of Transportation itself adds to the cost.

Bischoff said it really bothers him that the state built this dangerous road, and is then dropping its problems on the city. He said the state should take responsibility for the safety issues and fix them. The city should be advocating and demanding more from the state. Mayor Zimmerman responded that he would be happy to take that on.