The Newcastle City Council roundups offer a digest of notable items for those who can't make it to the regular meetings. View the meeting agenda packet here,which contains supporting documentation and presentations for many of the items below. The meeting video is posted here.
Happy retirement, Gary! After 26 years of services, making him one of the City’s first ever employees, Maintenance Technician Gary Gomes will be retiring at the end of this month.
The city will be receiving unanticipated revenue from the state of $55,000.
Community Development Ordinances:
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Council unanimously adopted Ordinance 2021-632 related to FEMA flood insurance (National Flood Insurance Program), which means that Newcastle residents can now get flood insurance.
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Council adopted Resolution 2021-869: change orders for project S-038 (Storm Conveyance Rehabilitation Program) and approved project completion for the same. Council also adopted Ordinances 2021-633, 634, and 635 related to subdivision and site development. Largely technical in nature, the limited substantive changes are documented in the agenda bill. Learn more about these ordinances in the Meeting Agenda.
In addition to City Manager Wyman’s written City Manager Report, he had a roundtable discussion with Council that covered several topics:
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In-person public meetings – Council expressed the desire to postpone returning to in-person meetings until they can safely be conducted without requiring councilmembers to wear masks.
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Council vacancy –Councilmembers will provide the City Clerk with feedback on the basic proposed interview questions for candidates, as well as their preferred individual questions, so that all questions can be prepared for council approval on September 7. The Council is decides what questions to ask and which candidates to interview. More than one session may be needed to conduct interviews, depending on the number of candidates who progress to this stage.
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Fall Town Hall – There was discussion on the advisability and practicality of holding a virtual or in-person town hall this fall. While there is interest in resuming town halls and it is felt that they should be held in person, the ability to hold them while maintaining indicated public health protocols is unclear. Councilmember Kammin offered to work with other councilmembers to make a proposal on the subject. Council was reminded that Energize Eastside public hearings are also anticipated this fall, and the timing coincides with budget deliberations.
Police Chief Houck provided a second quarter crime report, noting a rise in domestic violence calls and traffic tickets and stressing that most car prowls are preventable if people will remove valuables from cars. Likewise, car thefts are directly tied to running cars being left unattended. He commented on the impact of new state laws on police enforcement efforts and officer shortages. Though we are budgeted to get an additional officer soon, there are doubts about the feasibility of a KCSO deputy being assigned to us this year. We’ll share more information as it becomes available.
Deputy Mayor Magers reported on the August 5 Finance Committee meeting, including that a contract for Management Partners was approved in a noticed meeting open to the public. Management Partners will consult on the allowable uses of the City’s ARPA funding.
Planning Commission Chair Charlie Gadzik reported on the Commission’s public hearing on subdivision code and related code amendments on July 28. He noted the administrative and technical nature of the code amendments, and stated directly that planned unit development standards in the code remain unchanged. He mentioned the work done to make the code clearer and updated to align with state law as a transparency benefit to the community.
Councilmember Kammin reported on news from the Eastside Transportation Partnership: the Sound Transit ST3 funding gap has grown to $7.9 billion (higher estimates and lower revenues) and they will prioritize eastside rail over rapid bus transit. East Link is now expected to reach Bellevue in 2023 and Redmond in 2024.
Do you want to give your opinions to your City Councilmembers? You can always email them directly at [email protected], or you can submit public comment, either live at a Council Meeting or by writing to the City Clerk at [email protected].