The Newcastle City Council held its second meeting of the month May 20. Here is the Cliffs Notes version of what happened at City Hall. View the full meeting agenda online here and listen to the meeting audio here.

Neighbors call for speed bumps

A sizable group of neighbors from in and around Southeast 75th Street used the first public comment period to express their concerns about speeding on that roadway.

“Our street has become a dragway,” one resident said.

It’s not a new problem, they said, but they fear it could worsen when the new Renton School District middle school is developed.

The residents showed a video highlighting some of the excessive speeding on their street. Of particular concern was the 125th Place Southeast and Southeast 75th Street intersection.

Neighbors said they have trepidations about letting their children play in the yard, and are concerned about the effect the speeds have on a nearby bus stop as students wait for and exit the vehicle.

Residents, who noted they’ve come to the council with concerns in the past, asked the city to take a look at the street and consider speed bumps on the road.

Council wants feedback on disc-golf course

The Newcastle City Council said they’d need more public feedback about the potential installation of a disc-golf course in the city before they give staff the go-ahead to pursue a grant for the project.

Staff suggested applying for a King County Youth Sports Facilities grant to fund the project on the vast Southeast 95th Way property. The total cost is estimated at $60,000, and if the grant is pursued and approved, it would pay for half of that.

The Southeast 95th Way property has long been envisioned as a future sports park, and more recently (about three years ago) considered for an off-leash dog park.

Council members said they wanted to hear from citizens to see if this is something they would want in the city. Councilwoman Carol Simpson said she in particular would like to hear from the local baseball groups, who might feel they have some ownership in the property.

The construction of the disc-golf course would probably be such that long-term plans for a future sports park need not be scrapped, said City Manager Rob Wyman.

The subject will likely be brought up at the council’s June 3 town hall to solicit feedback. The King County grant application is an annual offering, so there didn’t seem to be much urgency if this year’s deadline is missed.

Odds and ends

The meeting was popular Public Works Director Mark Rigos’ last. He has accepted a position with the city of North Bend.

The council heard from A Regional Coalition for Housing (ARCH) representative and then proceeded to unanimously approve a work program and trust-fund award to the organization that works to preserve and increase the supply of housing for low– and moderate-income households in the region.

The council approved the work scope for its annual pavement rehabilitation program and awarded a contract to a company. They approved a plan that includes the base bid, and bid additive C. You can see if your street is in line for some overlay improvements on page 190 of the council agenda packet.

The City Council continued to discuss its impact fee programs as it looks toward an update. 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.

Lastly, the council tabled the marijuana moratorium discussion for a later date.

Mayor Steve Buri and Councilman Rich Crispo were absent from the meeting.

What’s next

The next regular Newcastle City Council meeting is June 17.

Before that, though, the council invites residents to provide their feedback on all things Newcastle at the city’s annual town-hall meeting June 3.

The Newcastle City Council held its first meeting of the month May 6. Here is the Cliffs Notes version of what happened at City Hall. View the full meeting agenda online here.

Marijuana moratorium coming?

The Newcastle City Council directed city staff to prepare an ordinance placing a moratorium on marijuana-related business in the city. It represents one of the body’s first significant actions on the subject since the drug’s legalization.

Councilman Gordon Bisset made the motion, which passed 4-3.

It mirrors the actions of neighboring cities Issaquah and Renton, both of which have moratoriums on marijuana business practices.

The direction came after a failed attempt to pursue a ban on marijuana businesses in the city. Deputy Mayor John Drescher made a motion directing staff to prepare a banning ordinance.

Drescher said after an informal polling of neighbors, he felt the universal feeling was that people didn’t want that sort of thing in Newcastle.

The motion failed, 5-2, with Drescher and Councilman John Dulcich as the only ‘Yes’ votes.

Some Council members said they felt an action on marijuana was premature, especially since the state Liquor Control Board’s retail-license lottery came and went without any impacts on Newcastle.

City staff considers the potential for any marijuana-related business activity in Newcastle very low. Based on the Liquor Control Board’s rules calling for a 1,000-foot separation between marijuana facilities and places such as parks, libraries and schools, there are only three Newcastle properties that could house potential locations for marijuana businesses or growers.

The council last considered a moratorium at its Dec. 17 meeting, but that motion failed. Staff will now produce an ordinance for the council to review at an upcoming meeting.

Thanks for the easement

A Newcastle property owner will likely get a bit of a tax break, thanks to his willingness to grant the city a public-trail easement.

The council unanimously approved the owner’s application to King County’s Public Benefit Rating System (PBRS). The program offers an incentive to preserve open space on private property in the county by providing a tax reduction to the owner.

A local jurisdiction must approve a PBRS application, in addition to the King County Council, if the property falls in an incorporated area.

The owner will save approximately $175 a year thanks to the property-tax reduction.

Garry Kampen, of Newcastle Trails, and Newcastle resident Giles Velte spoke in favor of the application, saying the easement was beneficial because it preserves public access to the city’s Horse Trail.

Odds and ends

Mayor Steve Buri mentioned that the city has secured a Fourth of July sponsor. AvalonBay’s sponsorship means that the fireworks will continue (technical difficulties notwithstanding, for those who attended last year’s celebration).

The City Council continued to discuss its impact fee programs as it looks toward an update. 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.

City Manager Rob Wyman said that the Newcastle Police Department is now using TrackMole, a new online service to assist in recovering lost or stolen items. The program is not effective unless property owners input the serial numbers of valuable items. Learn more about the program at www.trackmole.com.

Councilwoman Carol Simpson noted that she recently celebrated her 15th anniversary as a Newcastle resident.

What’s next

The next Newcastle City Council meeting is May 20.

We’ll keep reminding you until it happens, but don’t forget that the city’s annual town hall meeting is June 3 this year, not in the fall as it’s been in the past.

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.

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.

The Newcastle City Council held its second meeting of the month March 18. Here is the Cliffs Notes version of what happened at City Hall. View the full meeting agenda online here.

Put up a parking lot

The City Council approved a zoning code amendment allowing offsite parking for nonresidential uses in residential areas.

Residents won’t likely see a proliferation of parking lots in their neighborhoods though, since there are some specific criteria that must be met to allow the parking lot.

The change stems from a complaint surrounding traffic congestion and pedestrian safety outside of a popular home business — Suzie’s Swim School — which has served locals for almost 20 years.

In an effort to mitigate parking impacts by clients visiting the home business, Suzie and Mike Ervin, Suzie’s Swim School business owners, leased a property north of their home to install a parking area.

According to the yet-to-be amended zoning code though, such an offsite parking area was not permitted.

Since it was an ordinance, there was an opportunity for public comments, and both the Ervins and a neighbor spoke in support of the amendment.

The zoning code amendment passed 4-3.

Council liaison expires

Councilman Rich Crispo’s time as a liaison to the Community Activities Commission came to an end, as the City Council decided against renewing the position.

A council liaison was appointed last year to help the advisory board as it transitioned from the Parks Commission to the Community Activities Commission.

Crispo, who led the changes to the commission, was chosen to serve as the liaison. The council representative, which acted as a nonvoting member of the advisory board, was set to expire at the end of March.

Community Activities Commissioner Linda Newing spoke on behalf of the board at the beginning of the meeting, asking the City Council to keep the position.

Councilman Gordon Bisset made a motion to keep the liaison through the end of the year. It failed 4-3, effectively terminating the position.

The decision to let the position expire was due in large part to newly-hired staff member Wendy Kirchner, the city’s community activities liaison. One of Kirchner’s responsibilities is to work alongside the Community Activities Commission.

With Kirchner on board, and the commission’s transition to a body focused more on community events complete, the majority of the council members decided to let the council liaison position run its course.

City manager gets a raise

After evaluating City Manager Rob Wyman’s performance in several closed executive sessions, the Newcastle City Council approved a $10,000 raise for the position.

The raise, retroactive to Jan. 1, increases Wyman’s annual salary from $120,000 to $130,000. The council also granted Wyman two days of merit leave.

Wyman was hired as interim city manager in January 2010, and the council selected him as the permanent city manager that August. This is the third consecutive year that the council awarded him a raise.

With four years of experience under his belt as a city manager, City Council members felt it necessary to award Wyman’s performance and have his salary reflect what some of his peers are making.

The raise was approved by a 6-1 vote of the council. Deputy Mayor John Drescher was the lone dissent. Drescher said he had no qualms about the city manager’s performance, but he couldn’t in good conscience approve the raise due to concerns “about the costs we’re burdened by.”

Odds and ends

The evening began with a brief presentation from Waste Management about its work in the city and its means of outreach and education to residents.

The Newcastle City Council also approved a social media policy for the city. Adoption of the policy was seen as a proactive measure to provide the city with a level of protection in the event that abuses of social media by the public occur.

Many cities already have social media policies, and Newcastle, with its Facebook and Twitter account, did not have one prior to the March 18 meeting.

What’s next

The Newcastle City Council is expecting a full house at its next meeting, when it hosts representatives from Puget Sound Energy April 1.

Puget Sound Energy will be on hand to answer questions about its 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.

Learn more about Energize Eastside at http://www.energizeeastside.com.