The Community Advisory Group working on Puget Sound Energy’s Energize Eastside transmission line upgrade project has made its final route recommendations and both include lines through Newcastle.

The panel – comprised of neighborhood, business and civic leaders – selected routes Oak and Willow at their final meeting Dec. 10. The advisory group’s final recommendation is based on its work over the last year, including discussion of community feedback collected throughout 2014.

Of the 20 advisory group members and residential alternates present at the meeting, 17 supported the final recommendation. Of those 17, eight expressed preference for the Oak route and five expressed preference for the Willow route, while four supported either route.

Three advisory group members had a dissenting opinion and supported none of the routes. One of those was Olympus resident Sue Stronk.

“I was one of the three that refused to vote on any final route as any vote would harm our residents since segment M is in both remaining routes,” she said in a letter to fellow residents. “The three of us not voting will sign a minority report and present it to PSE with the reasons why we did not vote.”

These are the final recommended routes that now move on to PSE for an even more thorough review:

• Oak (Segments A-C-E-G2-I-K2-M-N)
• Willow (Segments A-C-E-J-M-N)

Segment M is the one that goes directly through Newcastle.

Credit: Puget Sound Energy
The Puget Sound Energy Community Advisory Group recommended Oak and Willow routes for the Energize Eastside project. Both include Segment M, which runs through Newcastle.

PSE will ultimately make an announcement about routing after reviewing the Community Advisory Group’s recommendation, larger public feedback and opportunities and constraints surrounding the project. That decision is expected in early 2015.

The Coalition of Eastside Neighborhoods for Sensible Energy said in a news release that the “outcome of this process does not represent the wishes of the community.”

CENSE believes PSE prematurely eliminated better energy alternatives and never even gave the Community Advisory Group a chance to consider them.

The process appears far from over though, as affected cities, led by Bellevue, come together to hire an independent consultant to research the project, and work through the Environmental Impact Statement process.

Also during the coming months, PSE will work directly with property owners and tenants to begin detailed fieldwork to inform the route alignment, project design, the environmental review process, and permit applications; ask for community input on project design, which may include pole location, height, finish and other design considerations; and work with the city of Bellevue and other affected jurisdictions and agencies on the project’s Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) process.

“Olympus already has experienced a home buyer, after placing a down payment, back out of the sale after learning of this project coming to their back yard,” Stronk said. “Our residents will suffer monetarily by this project.”

Garry Kampen

This year is the 20th anniversary of Newcastle, a small city that ranks high in livability, and the 15th anniversary of Newcastle Trails, a nonprofit citizens group that has worked for parks, trails and open space, in close cooperation with the city, since 1999.

I’m writing to celebrate Newcastle’s amazing and still-growing trail system, and to encourage you to explore it and enjoy it. Check NT’s website, www.newcastletrails.org; download our latest map and trail guide; join NT by emailing info@newcastletrails.org (for trail news, no dues); attend our Oct. 6 board meeting (7 p.m. at Regency Newcastle); and consider volunteering for the board, or lending a hand with trail work, computer work (GIS, web, writing), lobbying, fundraising — whatever you’d like to do.

Newcastle’s trails are part of a regional network used by walkers, joggers, cyclists and equestrians. The city lies within a Grand Loop, a triangle of trail corridors with its base on the existing Lake Washington Trail (future Eastside Rail Trail) and its apex in Cougar Mountain.

The sides of the triangle are the May Creek Greenway (mostly in Newcastle) and the Coal Creek section of the Mountains to Sound Greenway (mostly in Bellevue). The triangle is crossed north-to-south by Coal Creek Parkway (continuous sidewalks) and the heavily used Waterline Trail (few sidewalks, many trees), with downtown Newcastle and Lake Boren Park sandwiched between.

You can walk the loop and its cross-trails now, with two exceptions: Renton’s May Creek Trail (partly complete, bridge needed), and the parkway underpass for the Coal Creek Trail (due soon). The Grand Loop is mostly wooded nature trails: The May Creek and Coal Creek trails include creeks, waterfalls, bridges, historic sites and sections of an old railroad; the Terrace Trail has switchbacks, lovely rock steps, views, fallen trees and giant moss-covered boulders. The Marshall’s Hill and Red Town trails (in Cougar Mountain Wilderness Park) link wilderness trails with the remains of Old Newcastle and its coal mines.

The west-to-east CrossTown Trail is Newcastle’s major urban trail (nature trails and sidewalks), a central connector linking schools, parks, neighborhoods and north-south trails. It starts near 116th Avenue Southeast and Newcastle Way, and winds past or through Hazelwood Elementary School, Hazelwood Park, Donegal Park, the historic Newcastle Cemetery and Lake Boren Park, continuing on sidewalks to Beit Tikvah and, after a gap, southeast along the DeLeo Wall (woods, views) from Newcastle Vista to Cougar Mountain.

Fall projects include new trail signs citywide, and changes to the CrossTown Trail: rerouting it at the new middle school and the planned Renton School District Newcastle development (between Olympus and Hazelwood), and rebuilding sections of trail between Newcastle Vista and Cougar Mountain.

Newcastle’s trail system has benefited from the cooperation of many groups, including Renton, Bellevue, King County and the Issaquah Alps Trails Club (check their websites for trail maps and guided walks). Volunteers were also essential. Much of the trail work was done by Boy Scouts, and parents, from Newcastle’s Hazelwood Troop, and other troops from Bellevue, Kirkland and Renton.

Puget Sound Energy will answers questions about its Energize Eastside project at a July 7 forum in Redmond.

The project, in response to the region’s growing power needs, will bring new higher capacity electric transmission lines to the Eastside.

The new lines will extend from a substation in Redmond to Renton, but the exact route the lines will take is currently undecided. One of the proposed routes directly affects the Olympus neighborhood, and many residents attended the April 1 and July 1 Newcastle City Council meetings to voice their concerns about the project.

The segment of concern for Newcastle is Route M, which is located from Southeast 95th Way to Newcastle Way. The corridor is on the westside of the Eden’s Grove subdivision and on the eastside of the Olympus and Hazelwood communities.

The question-and-answer session goes from 6-9 p.m. at the Redmond Marriott Town Center, 7401 164th Ave. N.E.

The Newcastle City Council held its first meeting of the month July 1. Here is the Cliffs Notes version of what happened at City Hall. View the full meeting agenda online here and listen to the full meeting audio here.

Energize Eastside

Energize Eastside was back on the agenda for the first time since Puget Sound Energy’s April 1 presentation to the City Council.

This time, a citizen group had the chance to offer their own presentation about the project, in response the region’s growing power demands, which will bring new, higher capacity electric transmission lines to the Eastside.

Keith Hargis, president of the Olympus Homeowners Association, detailed his community’s concerns, while more than 50 neighbors sat in the audience of the Newcastle City Council chambers.

Hargis highlighted health, safety, easement, pipeline and aesthetic concerns with the proposed installation of 230 kilovolt transmission lines along Route M, which goes through Newcastle.

Along the same proposed corridor sits a gas pipeline that supplies jet fuel to SeaTac Airport, and neighbors are very cognizant of the fact that “accidents do happen,” Hargis said, while pointing out the 1999 Bellingham pipeline explosion.

Installation of the taller transmission poles would not only affect Olympus residents that live directly on the corridor, Hargis said, it would also block views for neighbors, and would cause a visual blight for other parts of the city, including the views from The Golf Club at Newcastle.

Hargis said the community also has concerns about the true requirement of the project.

“This solution seems to be overkill for the problem that exists,” he said.

Hargis ultimately asked the Newcastle City Council and city staff to stay engaged in the Puget Sound Energy developments, ensure that the company’s assumptions are critically examined and consider the impacts to the residents they serve.

In response, Mayor Steve Buri noted that the City Council is “in listening mode,” right now, collecting as much information about the project as possible. Buri then opened the floor for public comment and council questions.

At least one resident was not happy with the city’s inaction when it came to the project, asking why it was the citizens giving an Energize Eastside presentation, not the city.

“What are you waiting for?” he asked.

Later in the meeting, after most had already left, City Manager Rob Wyman said that he and city administrators from other affected municipalities met recently to discuss the project and will continue to do so.

A few residents commented on the Community Advisory Group (CAG) process, organized by Puget Sound Energy to help the company choose a preferred route. The group includes residents and others from the affected communities. Those who spoke said the process was very heavily managed, going so far as calling it a “sham.”

It’s increasingly looking like Puget Sound Energy will select Newcastle’s Route M to upgrade its infrastructure, said CAG representative, and Olympus resident, Dave Edmonds.

He added that the CAG process does not represent the will of the neighborhoods, and posited that PSE had a route in mind from the beginning.

In another plea to the City Council, a resident said, “We need your help, because the process is stacked.”

Learn more about the Energize Eastside and its impact on the Newcastle community in this May 1 Newcastle News story.

Little Rhody Park goes over budget

Little Rhody Park, a new park in the city’s west end, is costing the city $25,000 more than anticipated, the City Council learned as they took a look at a series of 2014 budget amendments.

“This one got away from us, quite frankly,” City Manager Rob Wyman admitted.

The City Council originally allocated $60,000 in its 2014 budget for the development of the park, at the Southeast 80th Street and 113th Avenue Southeast intersection. Parcel improvements were to come in the form of a playground geared toward children ages 5-12.

City maintenance staff spent more time than anticipated on the project, and had to deal with the discovery of a manhole on the property, requiring them to move some pipes around, Wyman said.

The project also expanded as some other materials initially came in cheaper than expected. A $10,000 gazebo was added to the project.

“I think it was a case of everyone getting excited about this project and seeing the response from the neighborhood and wanting to do a good job with the project and it just got a little out of control,” Wyman said.

Deputy Mayor John Drescher, who has been outspoken about his family’s use and admiration for the park, was puzzled at how its cost could get so off-track.

“We don’t have this kind of money to kind of throw at it, even though I think it’s going to be great, and we’ll use it,” he said.

Looking back on it, Wyman took full responsibility, and said staff should have done a full accounting of man hours and costs, before making a decision on the gazebo, which was already purchased.

The City Council ultimately approved the $25,000 budget amendment, along with a few others.

Marijuana moratorium passes

An ordinance imposing a six-month moratorium on recreational marijuana businesses and medical marijuana collective gardens within the city passed 4-3.

Mayor Steve Buri, who voted in favor of the ordinance called it a “sensible mid-step.” Deputy Mayor John Drescher also supported the motion, though added that he would prefer a ban. Council members Gordon Bisset and John Dulcich both voted in favor, as well.

Councilman Rich Crispo said he saw no reason to take any action, and Councilwoman Lisa Jensen agreed, pointing out the low risk in Newcastle actually being able to accommodate a facility due to state rules. Councilwoman Carol Simpson was the other vote against the motion.

City staff considers the potential for any marijuana-related business activity in Newcastle very low due to state Liquor Control Board rules on where marijuana facilities can set up shop. Also, the state’s marijuana retail license lottery came and went without any impacts on Newcastle.

Odds and ends

The City Council wrapped up updates to the traffic and parks impact fees. Both fees were increased.

A representative from the Master Builders Association offered his support for the traffic impact fee, in particular, calling the fee “responsible.”

Transportation impact fees are collected to fund improvements that add capacity to the transportation system, accommodating the travel demand created by new development.

Parks and trails impact fees are collected to fund improvements that add availability of parks and trails throughout the city, accommodating the increased demand created by new residential developments.

Instead of holding their regular meeting, the Newcastle Teen Leadership Board decided to take a field trip to the Newcastle City Council meeting. The group, comprised of local teens, meets monthly to talk about things they’d like to see in the community and organize events.

By Christina Corrales-Toy
Members of the Newcastle Teen Leadership Board pose for a photo at the Coal Creek Family YMCA in April. The group took a trip to a Newcastle City Council meeting July 1.

The board is a partnership between the Coal Creek Family YMCA and the Newcastle Library. New members are always welcome. Contact teen services librarian Donna Day at drday@kcls.org for more information.

Up next

The Newcastle City Council’s next meeting is July 15.

Energize Eastside is again on the agenda, as Olympus resident Larry Johnson and the Coalition of Eastside Neighborhoods for Sensible Energy (CENSE), give their own presentation about the project. Get there early if you’re planning on attending.

It was a request heard loud and clear at the most recent Energize Eastside workshop. Residents wanted a forum dedicated to solely asking questions of the Puget Sound Energy representatives.

They are now getting that opportunity, as PSE has scheduled a question-and-answer session for April 21 in the Renton Technical College cafeteria, 3000 N.E. Fourth St.

The Energize Eastside project, in response to the region’s growing power needs, will bring new higher capacity electric transmission lines to the Eastside.

The new lines will extend from a substation in Redmond to Renton, but the exact route the lines will take is currently undecided. One of the proposed routes directly affects the Olympus neighborhood, and many residents attended the April 1 Newcastle City Council meeting to voice their concerns about the project.

The segment of concern for Newcastle is Route M, which is located from Southeast 95th Way to Newcastle Way. The corridor is on the westside of the Eden’s Grove subdivision and on the eastside of the Olympus and Hazelwood communities.

Residents will get the chance to directly ask or write down questions to share with a panel that includes a representative from PSE and national experts. The April 21 event is scheduled to go from 6-9 p.m.

Questions can be submitted online in advance of the forum at www.energizeeastside.com/question-and-answer-session. Questions were accepted online through April 18.

Those submitted online will be presented to the panel during the meeting and similar questions may be combined by the moderator. The panel will prioritize providing answers to questions asked during the meeting, but will address online questions as time permits.

PSE will also host its second sub-area committee workshop April 24.

The company has formed sub-area committees to delve further into three geographic sub-areas on the Eastside. At the workshop, the committees will work side-by-side with community members to learn more about the project, understand local area issues and assess potential route segments against community values.

The workshop is from 6:30-9 p.m. April 24 at Renton Technical College, 3000 N.E. Fourth St., Renton. Learn more about the project at www.energizeeastside.com. Questions should be directed to the project team at energizeeastside@pse.com or leave a voicemail at 1-800-548-2614 toll free.

Learn more about Energize Eastside at www.energizeeastside.com, and learn more about the local coalition against the project at sane-eastside-energy.org.

The Newcastle City Council held its last meeting of the month April 15. Here is the Cliffs Notes version of what happened at City Hall. View the full meeting agenda online here.

Impact fees

Prior to the regular meeting, council members reviewed an analysis of the city’s traffic and parks impact fee rates.

Impact fees are a comprehensive grouping of charges based on new development within a local municipality. These fees are assessed to pay for capital facility improvement projects necessitated by new development.

Transportation impact fees are collected to fund improvements that add capacity to the transportation system, accommodating the travel demand created by new development.

Parks and trails impact fees are collected to fund improvements that add availability of parks and trails throughout the city, accommodating the increased demand created by new residential developments.

It was one of the initial steps as the council looks to update its impact fee programs. View the full analysis beginning on page two of the agenda packet.

Odds and ends

Newcastle Surface Water Engineer Laura Frolich presented a report about the Lake Boren water quality. View that report and past ones here.

Volunteer lake monitors through King County’s Lake Stewardship Program make the reports possible. Residents can learn how to get involved at an April 26 volunteer training workshop in Preston. It goes from 9:30 a.m. to noon at the Preston Community Center, 8625 310th Ave. S.E. Learn more here.

The council passed two ordinances and held two resulting public hearings.

The first ordinance, passed 5-1, allows developers to pay a fee in lieu of retaining or replacing significant trees. The city had been accepting mitigation in the form of a fee for several years. The ordinance essentially codified the fee-in-lieu option.

The other ordinance, passed unanimously, amended the zoning code to revise the development regulations which can be modified by development agreements.

Mayor Steve Buri was absent, so Deputy Mayor John Drescher had his first opportunity to lead the council through the meeting.

What’s next

At the April 1 meeting dominated by discussion of Puget Sound Energy’s Energize Eastside project, resident Larry Johnson asked the council for time to give a citizen’s presentation about the project.

It appears they’ll get that chance at the next meeting, May 6.

Also, a reminder that the council plans to hold its annual town hall June 3. It normally holds the meeting in the fall.

It was a request heard loud and clear at the most recent Energize Eastside workshop. Residents wanted a forum dedicated to solely asking questions of the Puget Sound Energy representatives.

They are now getting that opportunity, as PSE has scheduled a question-and-answer session for April 21 in the Renton Technical College cafeteria, 3000 NE Fourth St.

The Energize Eastside project, in response to the region’s growing power needs, will bring new higher capacity electric transmission lines to the Eastside.

The new lines will extend from a substation in Redmond to Renton, but the exact route the lines will take is currently undecided. One of the proposed routes directly affects the Olympus neighborhood, and many residents attended the April 1 Newcastle City Council meeting to voice their concerns about the project.

Residents will get the chance to directly ask or write down questions to share with a panel that includes a representative from PSE and national experts. The April 21 event is scheduled to go from 6-9 p.m.

Questions can be submitted online in advance of the forum at www.energizeeastside.com/question-and-answer-session.

Those submitted online will be presented to the panel during the meeting and similar questions may be combined by the moderator. The panel will prioritize providing answers to questions asked during the meeting, but will address online questions as time permits.

The Newcastle City Council held its first meeting of the month April 1. Here is the Cliffs Notes version of what happened at City Hall. View the full meeting agenda online here.

Energize Eastside

In what was the most well-attended City Council meeting of the last two years, much of the time was dominated by discussion of Puget Sound Energy’s Energize Eastside project.

About 50 people packed council chambers to hear a presentation from Andy Wappler, PSE’s vice president of corporate affairs.

The project, in response to the region’s growing power needs, will bring new higher capacity electric transmission lines to the Eastside.

The new lines will extend from a substation in Redmond to Renton, but the exact route the lines will take is currently undecided. One of the proposed routes directly affects the Olympus neighborhood.

The region’s growth is straining the current transmission system, Wappler said, and by 2017 or 2018 demand for reliable power will exceed capacity, making power outages more likely.

Conservation alone is not enough to remedy the problem, Wappler said, significant infrastructure upgrades are also necessary.

PSE’s solution is to build about 18 miles of new 230 kV transmission lines from Redmond to Renton. That corridor west of Lake Sammamish is where the demands of the electric system are the heaviest, according to PSE.

There are 16 different route segments and 19 different alignments of them that the transmission lines can take, according to a PSE proposal.

Any of them that connects the north to the south, “gets the job done,” Wappler said. PSE doesn’t have a preferred route, either, he said, just a preferred outcome — one that ensures the company keeps delivering reliable power.

The one that goes through Newcastle is Route M, which is located from Southeast 95th Way to Newcastle Way. The corridor is on the westside of the Eden’s Grove subdivision and on the eastside of the Olympus and Hazelwood communities.

Newcastle residents had the opportunity to speak after Wappler’s presentation and expressed several concerns about the installation of high-voltage power lines through their community.

The main concerns were outlined in a petition, crafted by a local coalition of neighbors dubbed Citizens for Sane Eastside Energy, to the Newcastle City Council.

Health issues, loss of property values, safety and view obstruction were among the things that concerned residents.

There was debate between residents and the PSE representatives about the true nature of health concerns related to the electromagnetic fields connected to high-voltage lines.

Wappler said studies show there is no conclusive link between electromagnetic fields and health issues.

Newcastle resident Larry Johnson contested that, pointing to a 2002 California Department of Health Services study that notes electromagnetic fields could cause cancer.

“Are we going to be the guinea pigs to find out if this is true or not,” Johnson asked the PSE representatives.

Johnson also requested of the City Council to allow citizens to give their own presentation about what this project means to their community at a future meeting.

Another consideration unique to the community is the gas pipeline that sits along the corridor. According to Olympus resident Dave Edmonds, the Olympic Pipe Line Co. too has concerns about the project going along Route M, due to the potential safety issues of constructing along lines which supply jet fuel to SeaTac Airport.

One of the community’s requested alternatives is an underground power line solution. It’s a request that PSE hears often.

Underground lines limit the visual impact, but are far more costly than overhead lines, Wappler said.

PSE estimates the construction and engineering for underground lines is about $20 million to $28 million per mile, compared to $3 million to $4 million for overhead.

Furthermore, Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission regulations require the local jurisdiction or customer group requesting underground transmission lines to pay the difference between overhead and underground costs.

PSE is in the midst of a yearlong public outreach process to solicit feedback about route options. The company is the final decision maker when it comes to the route, though. Construction is tentatively scheduled for 2016 or 2017.

The Newcastle City Council took no action or position on the matter at the informational presentation.

Learn more about Energize Eastside here, and the Citizens for Sane Eastside Energy here.

Odds and Ends

The City Council had a few other things on its agenda for the night, including a discussion about marijuana. Three of the four agenda items were postponed due to the length of the PSE discussion, however.

In the only other business of the night, the council approved 4-1 a resolution authorizing the city manager to move forward in executing a contract with a construction company for 125th Avenue Southeast sidewalk and driveway improvements.

Deputy Mayor John Drescher was not in attendance, and Councilman Gordon Bisset abstained from the vote, since his driveway is among the improvements. Councilman Rich Crispo was the lone dissent.

What’s next

The council is expected to receive the quarterly update about capital projects in the city, as well as a report about the Lake Boren water quality at the April 15 meeting.

Further down the road, City Manager Rob Wyman also noted that the council plans to hold its annual town hall meeting earlier this year, on June 3.

Puget Sound Energy invites the community to the first in a series of workshops, as part of the company’s Energize Eastside project.

The project, in response to the region’s growing power needs, will bring new higher capacity electric transmission lines to the Eastside.

The new lines will extend from a substation in Redmond to Renton, but the exact route the lines will take is currently unknown. One of the proposed routes directly affects the Olympus neighborhood.

Puget Sound Energy has formed sub-area committees to delve further into three geographic sub-areas on the Eastside. At the workshop, these committees will work side-by-side with community members to learn more about the project, understand local area issues and assess potential route segments against community values.

The first workshop will take place from 6:30-9 p.m. March 27 at Renton Technical College, 3000 N.E. Fourth St., Renton. For more information, visit the project web page at energizeeastside.com. Questions should be directed to the project team at energizeeastside@pse.com or leave a voicemail at 1-800-548-2614.

In time I became familiar with defeat, and always attempted to be gracious and magnanimous, so I feel especially comfortable in Seattle, the bridesmaid but never the bride, close but no cigar, loud but no Lombardi. The Sonics left, the Mariners disappoint and the Seahawks … well, the Seahawks …

My God, the Seahawks.

There were many Super Bowl parties in Olympus on that fateful day. By pre-arrangement, two parties on our street decided that every time the Hawks scored, we would run to our respective front doors, throw them open and cheer at each other. At the beginning, it went according to plan, but after a field goal, one group did not appear. At halftime, I marched up to their door, demanding that we clarify the rules. After intense negotiations, it was decided that we would not cheer after a mere field goal, nor after six points were scored. We would mutually cheer ONLY when seven points were officially on the board. I went back to our party to report, and the very next play was Harvin returning the kickoff 87 yards. The rules went out the window, and everyone immediately headed for the door.

I’d felt for a long time that the Seahawks were a team of destiny, and a few minutes later I was so sure of it that I once again headed to the neighborhood parties, announcing that when we won — and we would — there would be a celebration in the cul-de-sac near our home. Then I headed to the grocery store (you could shoot a cannon down the aisles and harm nothing save for the crickets I could hear chirping in the background) and bought Champagne, plastic glasses and football cookies.

When the game ended, The Sainted One — who exhibits cat-like tendencies when it comes to getting wet or cold — bitterly complained as we hauled the party to the cul-de-sac, saying that no one would venture out on such a frigid night. Oh ye of little faith! “Wait,” I said.

And sure enough, they came. Coats were grabbed, doors opened, flashlights held by celebrants bobbed their way up the street. Champagne corks popped, cars honked as they passed. Fifteen people, tops. Fifteen minutes, tops.

Worth every frozen second.

You can reach Pat Detmer — who admittedly normally has difficulty sitting still through a whole game of anything — at patdetmer@aol.com