As Chuck Parrish Sees It

Last Monday, March 26, Peggy McCarthy was appointed as our new finance director. Peggy has been a resident of Tukwila almost all of her life. Her parents are Helen and Eugene (Gene) Ives. Gene has passed. Helen is doing well. Gene served as a Tukwila council member for many years in the mid to late sixties.

Peggy graduated from WSU with a BA in admininistration with a specialty in accounting and subsequently became a CPA. Hired as deputy director of finance in 2008, she has served as acting/interim finance director since Aug 2011.

There were approxiately fifteen applicants for this position. Congrats to Peggy for earning this important position. It is very cool that our finance director is a long time resident of Tukwila.

A CFL is a compact fluorescent light. Usually the curly looking lights that you thread into a light socket. Not the long fluorescent lights. Now you have an option for disposal right here in Tukwila.  Go to city hall (6200 bldg..the one with the city council chambers), go in the front door, turn left and head towards the end of the building. By the window on the left is a box for CFL lights provided by Puget Sound Energy. Rebecca Fox, planner in the Department of Community Development,  checked with PSE about whether or not it is ok for City Light customers to bring their bulbs. It is just fine. Kudos to Puget Sound Energy. So there you are. If you live in Tukwila, you are welcome to dispose of unbroken CFL bulbs at city hall.

My letter to the Tukwila City Council and Mayor Haggerton on the panhandling issue.

To: Mayor Haggerton and Tukwila City Council

subj: Nov 28 council agenda item 4. d. An ordinance banning
solicitation in certain parts of the City

Hello, all

This email is a request to delay consideration of item 4. d. An
ordinance banning solicitation in certain parts of the City. While I
share the concerns of many on this topic,  the possibility exists that
we may be inside an echo chamber listening to each other.  This would
not be a good thing.  It is important to hear alternative points of
view.

The cutbacks at the state level are hitting the most vulnerable in
Washington the hardest and we can expect to see more Washingtonians
homeless with little experience as to how to deal with that situation
and keep themselves safe and fed. Now is the time to think
compassionately about our fellow man. It is in this spirit that I
suggest that we take a little more time to hear the other side of the
story. This may result in a needed but more compassionate ordinance.
In particular, I find that 8.29.030, no. 2 to be overly broad. It
covers two huge areas: essentially all of the Tukwila Urban Center and
the Tukwila International Boulevard area from the light rail station
north to S 140th St and from 42nd Ave S  west to Military Road.

In a social justice forum that I attended recently, I met a remarkable
man, Mr Tim Harris. He is the creator and executive director of the
Real Change News.  Please read this article at the Stranger.
http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/tim-harris-and-real-change/Content?oid=4887748
The title of the article is Honorary Political Genius: Tim Harris and
Real Change

The small group that I participated in discussed homelessness and anti
panhandling laws.  He was and is very involved on the Seattle
political front on this.  I advised Tim that Tukwila is in the process
of creating some legislation on this issue. Would he be willing to
speak to our city council?  He said yes.

I am not aware of any immediate safety concerns.  Therefore, I
recommend tabling the ordinance for 2-3 months while I make
arrangements for Mr Harris to speak to the council on the subject.
Note: I am not talking about the five minute citizen comment part of
the agenda but a bit longer time frame to allow for questions and
answer.

I will not be available for the Nov 28th meeting.  I hope that you
will find this suggestion acceptable.

Warmest regards

Chuck Parrish

My letter to city council regarding upcoming council meeting.

Tukwila Councilmembers and mayor

Item 4.G. on the council agenda for Nov 28
Supplement 9 with KPFF for theTukwila Urban Center Pedestrian Bicycle Bridge

On Nov 21 at a budget workshop focused on Capital Improvement Project
priorities, Councilmember Robertson suggested that the council
consider not moving ahead with the authorization to design the bridge.
Councilmember Ekberg indicated that he felt somewhat averse (negative)
on the project. The financials on this project, page 14 of 49 of the
packet available that day, show that the project is estimated to cost
$9.2 million with the majority to be paid for by grants and expected
park impact fees. City revenues required for this project are
anticipated to be in the area of $922,000. Grants of $1,496,000
already been awarded and are funded over the years of 2010 thru 2013.
If things go as planned, Tukwila residents will be paying
approximately 10 cents of every dollar on this project. It is a great
deal for Tukwila residents.

Everyone understands that the trend lines for the budget are not good
because there is a structural imbalance in the revenue stream versus
cost of conducting the city’s business on behalf of its residents.
However, this is not a project that should be on the cutting board.

This project is not in the same category as the Klickitat project or
other projects which there is an identifiable traffic flow
restriction.  In such cases, it is appropriate to look at  business
LID or business local improvement districts for partial funding as the
existing businesses will benefit greatly if the restrictions were
removed and traffic flow improved.

The bridge is a critical element to the feasibility of planned TOD
(transit oriented development) area east of the Southcenter mall. This
TOD area is a key component in the TUC (Tukwila Urban Center) plan
which is yet to be approved by council.  Developers made it clear in
planning commission meetings in which I served (2006-2010) that it
would be necessary to see investment from the city of Tukwila in this
area before they could consider developing residential over retail.
Pedestrian friendly amenities and parking (most likely structured)
were discussed.  The existence of the bridge will attract potential
residents to the TOD area because they will be able to easily walk to
the commuter train station in order to get to work in Seattle and
other places. Additionally, development will be more feasible east of
the river with the existence of the bridge.  Asking staff to project
usage of the bridge based on any current patterns is not feasible and
off the mark.

The construction of this bridge will have both short term and long
term economically stimulative benefits to Tukwila. That is rare in a
project. City staff have done an excellent job of identifying and
submitting grant requests in a very competitive environment for such
grants.  Ten cents on the dollar? Come on now. In particular it tells
us that those responsible for analyzing and granting such requests see
the justification and merit in the project and have agreed to put up
the dollars to fund it.

I suggest that the process that got us this far be respected, the go
ahead for the design be approved and that the council spend its time
and energy looking at how growth can be sparked and accelerated in our
business zones.  Eliminating economically important infrastructure
projects is not the way to go in an attempt to address concerns over
the budget.

Unfortunately, I will not be able to attend this meeting.

Respectfully

Chuck Parrish

Congratulations to Kathy Hougardy, Dennis Robertson and newcomer Kate Kruller.  It is always stressful to run for office whether one is an incumbent or a new candidate. I appreciate and respect the individuals that took that step. Keep in mind that there will be other opportunities in two years. Now…on to the business of governing and stewardship.

Offered for your consideration.

Elections with one candidate are not addressed.

Director of Elections
Sherril Huff

Port of Seattle Commissioner Position 2
Gael Tarleton

Port of Seattle Commissioner Position 5
Dean Willard

City of Tukwila

Mayor
Pamela Linder

Council Position No. 2
no recommendation

Council Position No. 4
no recommendation

Council Position No. 6
Kate Kruller

Advisory Measure No. 1
Licensed Card Rooms in the City of Tukwila
Yes

Measures
Proposed by Initiative Petition
Initiative Measure No. 1125
No

Proposed by Initiative Petition
Initiative Measure No. 1163
No

Proposed by Initiative Petition
Initiative Measure No. 1183
No

Proposed to the People by the Legislature Amendment to the State Constitution
Senate Joint Resolution No. 8205
Approve

Proposed to the People by the Legislature Amendment to the State Constitution
Senate Joint Resolution No. 8206
Reject

I am very grateful to those who arranged the candidate forum. I know that Mary Fertakis was a part of that team and I think that Ellen Gengler also participated. I am not sure who else.  Many thanks to you.

It was well run with timers. Former mayor of Seattle, Greg Nickels, served as moderator. In attendance were school board directors Mark Wahlstrom and Dave Larson, both of whom are running unopposed. Council candidates Kate Kruller, Abshir Mahamed, Dennis Robertson, Mackenzie Weitzeil and Kathy Hougardy were there. Candidate Strander was not available. Mayor and candidate Jim Haggerton and mayoral candidate Pam Linder were present.

A good part of the time was spent on school related questions. Dave and Mark did a great job of updating us what is going on in the school district.

Abshir Mahamed and Kate Kruller generated a lot of buzz during and after the meeting. It was the first time that many Tukwila citizens had met the two candidates. The buzz was very, very positive and bodes well for the future of Tukwila politics.

Mackenzie Weitzeil obviously struggled some but I am very impressed with her. She faced her fears, stepped up and said what she had to say in straightforward fashion. With respect to the card room measure, she was really the only candidate that did not “dance” a little around that subject. She spoke clearly and strongly in favor of a yes vote on Advisory measure one and also said that she thinks that more should be spent to on public safety. She left no doubt on these issues. I like that very much.

The disappointment of the evening for me was the response of Dennis Robertson and Kathy Hougardy on the card room question. Robertson stated that he does not buy the idea that employees of the card rooms would lose their jobs if the card rooms closed. Instead, he thinks that they would be transferred to other card rooms in the region.  He offers nothing to support that assertion. In addition, he again brought up the idea that card rooms could be located next door to almost any neighborhood. This is unfortunate because he and everyone else knows that the trends are down on card room businesses in the state and he was part of the council that approved ordinance 2349 effective Sept of this year. If proliferation were ever possible, this ordinance stopped it in its tracks because the gambling tax rates jump dramatically if even one new card room is established and then makes another major jump in a second new card room is established. The “cardroom in your neighborhood” argument is without merit.

Regarding how to fill the $2,000,000 hole in the budget that would be created if the card rooms had to shut down, Hougardy and Robertson were both vague saying that there are some things that they can do with the golf course and with the pay/benefit packages of employees. They offered no details.

Pam Linder said that she did not think that the card rooms should be closed unless there were a very clearly defined path to offset the annual $2,000,000 shortfall.

Pam made an important point. She noted that with the closure of the Neighborhood Resource Center, the crime level is up on the Boulevard. She supports a focused and intense effort to clean up that area before Tukwila Village is built.  This would be a great thing to do.

Mayor Haggerton talked about the accomplishments of his administration. It is certainly fair to say that several projects happened on his watch and that the mayor’s office did a good job of facilitating the process. He has had to deal with the worst kind of financial crisis and deserves credit for that.

A final note: I think that if a candidate is serious about serving as a council member or mayor, they should be showing up at the council meetings regularly to prepare themselves. To their credit, mayoral candidate Linder and council candidates Kruller and Strander do so. Candidates Abshir Mahamed and Mackenzie Weitzeil do not. I do not know why.

I hope that we can have a candidate forum every time there is an election. I would like to see them run about three to four hours with a break so that the speakers are not limited to two minutes to discuss an issue. It is not enough. We just get a “snapshot” of the candidates.

However, without the efforts of the organizers, we would not have had a candidate forum at all so…………THANKS TO ALL.

Don’t miss the the re-opening of the Klickitat project at 2 pm today. Park behind the Cheesecake Factory.

At 7 pm, we have the candidate forum at at Billy Baroo’s, golf course clubhouse. Thanks to Mackenzie Weitzeil for the additional information on the forum.

6:25 pm Coin Toss for Position 6 seat placement
6:30 pm Attendees may write out questions (form provided in meeting room);Candidates can interact with attendees as they arrive
7:00 pm Question submission time is closed
7:01 pm Introduction of Moderator/ Panel – Forum Begins
7:05 pm 2 Minute Response from each candidate to the following questions:a. “Why are you running for office?”b. “What is your vision for Tukwila?”
7:30 pm Questions from panel to candidates
7:45 pm Questions submitted by attendees to candidates
8:40 pm 2 Minute Summary by each of the candidates
9:00 pm Forum officially ends;Candidates may interact with attendees while the meeting room is being cleaned up