Community members are invited to join city staff in participating in a food drive to benefit Hopelink, a local nonprofit organization that serves homeless and low-income families, children, seniors and people with disabilities.

Hopelink’s mission is to promote self-sufficiency for all community members.

The city will collect nonperishable food donations between Oct. 30 and Nov. 9.

Food can be dropped off in bins located just outside City Hall elevators.

City Hall’s address is 12835 Newcastle Way, Suite 200

Most courses have fewer than 10 spots remaining. The first camp begins July 5.

Camps are for children ages 5-12, and they include golf, basketball, tennis, cheerleading and Mini-Hawk, which includes basketball, baseball and soccer.

Camps are five days each and range in price from $69 to $145. They will be held at Lake Boren Park, Renton Academy or Hazelwood Elementary School.

Get the full list of camps by going to https://register.skyhawks.com, and enter your ZIP code.

Call Newcastle Parks and Recreation at City Hall at 649-4444 or the Skyhawks at 800-804-3509, toll free, with questions.

Newcastle City Council, school districts and the Coal Creek Utility District will hold elections this fall.

Many candidates are already filling out the needed paperwork with the state. Others have announced their intentions.

City Council incumbents Lisa Jensen, Carol Simpson and Steve Buri will seek re-election. Sonny Putter will opt out after serving 17 years; Parks Commission Chair Andrew Shelton has said he will seek Putter’s seat.

Council candidates must be registered voters at the time of filing and have one year of Newcastle residency. Those qualifications are the law, but candidates should also bring the willingness to devote hours every week to numerous meetings and study of the issues. An elected official’s most important attribute is the ability to listen and communicate.

The issues sure to be hot topics in City Council races this year include future city budgets, future development in the city limits and mitigation of seasonal flooding on Lake Boren. Park development and funding is sure to come up, and the relocation of City Hall will likely get rehashed.

Both Issaquah and Renton school districts will have board member seats open this year. However, the director districts that encompass Newcastle will not be open until 2013.

The only CCUD commissioner up for re-election is Pam Martin. The commission meets twice monthly.

Elected office is the ultimate volunteer job. While some positions come with pay, the pay is nominal — far less than minimum wage.

Candidates will represent their constituency at the table for important decisions, but also at regional and state meetings. It’s not a job for the faint of heart — although some say it gets easier after the campaign!

The City Council election two years ago was a turning point for the city. Candidates were forthcoming about their differing visions for the city’s future. It will be interesting to see if the new direction the voters chose in 2009 will be upheld come Election Day 2011.

The race, which typically takes place in late August, will be held the morning of Sept. 10 as part of the festivities in Lake Boren Park.

The race typically begins and ends in Lake Boren Park. It follows a 3.1-mile path, circles the park and follows city trails to the south.

Valley Medical Center has again committed to sponsoring Newcastle Days with $10,000.

YMCA seeks students for international trip

The YMCA of Greater Seattle will send about 40 teenagers from Western Washington overseas this summer to learn about life and customs in other cultures as well as complete community service.

The trips are offered through the Global Teens Program and this year students will travel to Japan, South Korea, Colombia or Senegal for two weeks.

Students will meet twice a month leading up to the trip to learn more about the country they will visit, and the students will share their experiences abroad at the annual YMCA Growing Global Connections Celebration on Oct. 13.

Call or email David Kelly-Hedrick at 206-382-5343 or dkhedrick@seattleymca.org, or Monica Quill Kusakabe at 206-382-4362 or mkusakabe@seattleymca.org for more information.

Liberty High School PTSA to host electronics recycling drive May 7

The Liberty High School PTSA will host an electronics recycling drive from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. May 7 at Briarwood Market Place, at the corner of 164th Street Southeast and Southeast 128th Street.

It will take place in the back parking lot behind Doofers Bar & Grill.

Accepted items include working and broken electronics, appliances, bicycles, motorcycles, cars, trucks, batteries, fitness equipment, medical equipment, lawnmowers and barbecues. Be sure lawnmowers and barbecues are empty of gasoline and propane.

PTSA volunteers will collect the items, and Issaquah nonprofit 1 Green Planet will haul away the collections. Donating is free, but the Liberty PTSA appreciates monetary donations as well.

Cost of renting picnic shelters, community room now simpler

Fees for renting the Lake Boren Park picnic shelters and the City Hall community room recently became standardized, making the process of renting the spaces simpler.

Previously, rental fees varied based on how long the space was rented, the size of the group using the space and the day of the week.

Now, renting the picnic shelter for a half-day will cost residents $60 and nonresidents $120 every day. A full-day rental will cost $120 or $240, respectively. Renting the community room will now cost $30 per hour for residents with a $150 deposit and $60 per hour for nonresidents with a $300 deposit.

Community groups and nonprofit organizations may rent the community room without an hourly fee, but they must pay a $150 deposit.

Newcastle was hit by two strings of burglaries during the last two weeks, Police Chief Melinda Irvine wrote in an electronic alert to residents April 26. Irvine released descriptions April 29 of two vehicles of interest in the crimes.

The first string of burglaries occurred in the Lake Washington Crest neighborhood. Burglars forced their ways into three homes in the 8000 block of 119^th Avenue Southeast, entering through back doors. The burglaries occurred during the day April 19.

What appears to be a second burglar or group of burglars broke into three garages across the city at night between April 20 and 25, stealing items from cars parked inside, Irvine said.

The garages entered are in the 7500 block of 138^th Place Southeast, the 13700 block of Southeast 80^th Street and 6800 block of 132^nd Place Southeast.

The vehicles of interest are a boxy, light blue, older-style car, possibly an Oldsmobile, and a white Mercedes from the late 1980s or early 1990s, Irvine said. If you see cars matching these descriptions exhibiting suspicious behavior, write down their license plate numbers if you can and call the King County Sheriff’s Office non-emergency dispatch line at 206-296-3311.

Call 911 if you see a crime in progress.

Irvine gave the following tips to residents in the wake of the crimes:

– Lock doors, windows and garage doors even while you are home

– Keep the perimeter of your house well lit and shrubs trimmed back around windows and doors.

– Use timers on lights and radios to make your home appear occupied while you are away.

– Stop your mail or have a trusted neighbor or friend pick it up while you are away.

– Consider using an alarm system.

– Take advantage of the Newcastle Police vacation house check program. Sign up here or at City Hall, 13020 Newcastle Way. Forms are available outside City Hall 24 hours a day, seven days a week

If you have any information about the burglaries, call King County Sheriff’s Office detectives at 206-296-3883 or the Newcastle Police Department at City Hall at 649-4444, ext. 120.

For more information about participating in a block watch program, email Newcastle Police officer Ryan Olmsted at Ryan.Olmsted@kingcounty.gov.

Newcastle will take part in Passport Day USA, accepting passport applications at City Hall, 13020 Newcastle Way, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. April 9. Call City Hall at 649-4444 to make an appointment.

Bring a certified birth certificate, two passport photos and identification (such as a driver’s license), and be prepared to make two separate payments. You can have passport photos taken at Bartell Drugs, 6939 Coal Creek Parkway S.E., or the UPS Store, 6947 Coal Creek Parkway S.E.

Payment consists of a $25 fee per application and a variable fee depending on if you want a passport, a passport card (which is the size of a driver’s license and allows you to travel to Canada and Mexico only) or both. The variable fee must be paid by check or money order.

After applying, expect a four- to six-week wait for your passport.

Click here for more information about passports.

The reserves will take the biggest hit, funding $225,000, and the surface water management fund will cover the remaining $25,000.

The $250,000 will cover remodeling costs in the new building and all moving expenses.

That was one of two funding structures city staff proposed when the City Council voted in February to move City Hall from the Newport Manufacturing building, 13020 Newcastle Way, to the Newcastle Professional Center, 12835 Newcastle Way.

The city’s cumulative reserve fund has $1.5 million for capital purchases or unforeseen operating costs, although the city has never drawn money from the fund to pay for capital purchases, according to city code. Use of the reserves requires a two-thirds majority vote by the City Council.

The surface water management fund typically pays for maintenance of and repairs to the city’s surface water system, which includes drainage ponds. However, the fund is also used to cover overhead costs and salaries for employees who work on surface water projects.

City Manager Rob Wyman said that is the only fund — other than the general fund — that funds staff salaries and overhead, so it can bear some of the cost of the move.

Property owners in the city pay annual fees that supply the surface water management fund.

The alternative payment method city staff presented called for the $225,000 to be taken from the city’s Real Estate Excise Tax fund instead of the cumulative reserve.

Excise taxes from home sales provide REET funds. They are typically used for transportation projects, such as road maintenance and sidewalk construction. If the city had used that money to pay for the move, the REET fund would run out of money in 2013, according to the city’s projections.

However, even without using the using the REET fund to pay for the move, the fund is expected to dry up in 2014, according to those projections.

Members of the council spoke in favor of using the reserve funds to pay for the move, as it would not impact the city’s ability to complete capital projects.

“It’s got to come out of somewhere. It’s not going to come out of thin air,” Councilman Rich Crispo said about the money needed to fund the move. “I don’t want to see things — from an infrastructure standpoint — suffer because of what we’re doing.”

Councilwoman Carol Simpson agreed.

“I don’t want to see our REET funds go away,” she said.

Deputy Mayor Steve Buri said he viewed the use of the reserve funds to essentially be borrowing, as the city can replenish the reserves in coming years.

Councilman Bill Erxleben represented the only dissenting vote. He said the city needs to be disciplined and keep from using its reserves, which would help the city maintain a positive net worth.

“The expense trajectory that we’re on indicates that we’re not going to have much to pay back,” he said about replenishing the reserve funds. “As we spend this money down, we’re going to get to the point where we don’t have a positive net worth.”

Bring a certified birth certificate, two passport photos and identification (such as a driver’s license), and be prepared to make two separate payments. You can have passport photos taken at Bartell Drugs, 6939 Coal Creek Parkway S.E., or the UPS Store, 6947 Coal Creek Parkway S.E.

Payment consists of a $25 fee per application and a variable fee depending on if you want a passport, a passport card (which is the size of a driver’s license and allows you to travel to Canada and Mexico only) or both. The variable fee must be paid by check or money order.

After applying, expect a four- to six-week wait for your passport. However, if you apply in May or during the summer, expect a six- to eight-week wait because of the high volume of applications received during that time.

City Clerk Bob Baker said both parents should be present if a minor applies for a passport.

Baker and Public Works Administrative Assistant Sarah Jacobs are certified to accept passport applications, and Administrative Assistant Aleta Phillips will soon be certified as well.

“We’re excited to be able offer it now. People are really going to like it,” Baker said, adding that the service is open to all citizens, not just Newcastle residents. “If somebody wants to stop in from Austin, Texas, I’ll help them too.”

For more information about the city’s passport service, call City Hall at 649-4444 or go to the city’s website, www.ci.newcastle.wa.us, and click the “Passports” links.

Great! Does that make us a little closer to gaining our own ZIP code?

— Trina Sooy, Newcastle

I think hitting the 10,000 mark is a cause for celebration! We are a growing city … and that is good news for tax revenues and interest in our city.

— Jackie Foskett, Newcastle

Not much. It’s our quality of life that matters, not a number.

— Lee Strom, Newcastle

Now that we have that many people, we should probably put in a sixth bank.

— Ron Unger, Newcastle

The city is going to start enforcing leash laws in city parks. What do you think of this decision?

While I understand it may inconvenience some dog owners, it does give me peace of mind when running through local parks or bringing my children to play. Some off-leash dogs are a nuisance and downright scary to be around.

— Trina Sooy, Newcastle

I’m sure this will not make many dog owners happy. And it’s too bad we don’t have a leash free area in the park yet.

— Jackie Foskett, Newcastle

As a dog owner, I understand the want of dog owners to let their pooches run free and exercise. However, after a few incidents of aggression toward my fiancé and smaller dogs in and around Lake Boren, I will not hesitate to use any and all protective measures to safeguard either of them from an aggressive off-leash dog. If you love it, leash it.

— Dave Martinez, Newcastle

The city will pay for most of its $250,000 City Hall move with money from its reserves instead of money set aside for projects. What do you think of this decision?

Our current City Council billed itself, from the very beginning, as being very fiscally conservative. Now, they are spending our reserve to make an expensive move. I have three questions. Is this move necessary while our finances are so precarious? If our finances aren’t precarious, were they lying to us during the last election? Does this move in any way benefit a council member or his or her family financially?

— Will Winslow, Newcastle

I think we all understand moving from a manufacturing building to a proper office is about appearance and maturity. We should take care to ensure the city’s public safety, maintenance and other needs can be addressed in the event of an incident after the move. Is there a plan for that?

— Dave Martinez, Newcastle

Council turns down offer to use both floors of current building

Newcastle City Hall will move to the second floor of the Newcastle Professional Center, 12835 Newcastle Way, by the end of the year. By Tim Pfarr

So long, 13020 Newcastle Way. The City Council voted to move City Hall to the 7,500-square-foot second floor of the Newcastle Professional Center, 12835 Newcastle Way, by the end of the year.

City staff recommended the move, expected to cost $250,000.

City Manager Rob Wyman said it is the state of the current facility that prompted the recommendation. The city’s lease with current landlord Jim Denton expires at the end of the year.

However, Denton submitted a revised lease offer to the city Feb. 4, in which he offered to allow City Hall to occupy both floors of the building, doubling City Hall’s square footage.

The council held a special meeting Feb. 7 to discuss Denton’s new offer and possibly rescind its previous decision. However, the council was still in favor of moving, with councilmen Bill Erxleben and Rich Crispo and Councilwoman Carol Simpson dissenting.

The city will pay rent at its current site through the end of the year; it will not be required to pay rent in the Newcastle Professional Center until next year.

The city has rented its City Hall space above Newport Manufacturing for 15 years.

A new home

Wyman signed the lease with Strange immediately after the Feb. 7 meeting. Next the city will hire an architect to design the layout of the new space.

The current four tenants on the second floor of the Newcastle Professional Center will move to the third floor to make space for City Hall. The city will then have the second floor remodeled to accommodate its offices and Council Chambers.

Wyman said he was unsure of when City Hall would make the move, but it would likely be later in the year, possibly in September.

The King County Sheriff’s Office will also use space in the building, in which it will have “hot desks,” available to any King County Sheriff’s deputy to use to file reports while in the area. The sheriff’s office will pay about $17,000 annually for the space.

The new City Hall will include utilities and some operational costs, such as janitorial services, in the monthly rent.

The parking lot will include 27 spaces for employees and visitors during working hours, and as many as 63 spaces for after-hours City Council meetings. About 60 overflow parking spaces will be available at Valley Medical Center, 7203 129th Ave. S.E.

City Hall now has 17 parking spaces and about 20 overflow spaces available at nearby Precision Auto Craft.

City staff members say the new location will allow them to better interface with the community, advertise city meetings in the building’s lobby and increase attendance at city meetings.

They also said it would improve the city’s image, which they believe is adversely affected by appearing to be operated out of an industrial facility.

Mayor John Dulcich manages the corporation Newcastle Investments, which owned half of the Newcastle Professional Center from its construction in 2007 until March 2008. The corporation sold its half of the ownership to Geoffrey Strange, who had owned the other half.

The corporation is still active, according to the Secretary of State, but Dulcich said the corporation no longer does business. He said neither he nor Newcastle Investments has an interest in the Newcastle Professional Center.

The split decision

The proposal to move elicited an emotional debate from the City Council.

Deputy Mayor Steve Buri said it would be a good time to make the move, given the economy.

“Ultimately, it’s a question of whether it’s a sensible investment,” he said. “This is not just an additional expenditure.”

Councilman Sonny Putter said the move would give the city a more professional look, as he said some have commented that City Hall looks temporary.

“For too long, we’ve felt like this city is a temporary city,” he said.

Councilwoman Lisa Jensen said it would be easy to say no to the move, but that moving was the right decision, as it would move City Hall to a central location near the soon-to-be Newcastle Library.

Mayor John Dulcich said the move is a logical one, increasing employee productivity in a nicer location.

However, Crispo said voting against the move was simply a matter of priorities. He said it would be more beneficial to residents to use the money it would for the move for things such as additional street maintenance.

Simpson said she likes the new facility, but a $250,000 moving bill was simply too hard to swallow.

Erxleben said the city is just one more road failure from falling into the red.

“Anyone who has looked at our budget analysis for the next five years has seen that we’re headed for deep trouble after 2013,” Erxleben said. “This is not the time.”

The cost

*The $250,000 the city will pay for the move and remodeling of the new site. Some minor repairs will need to be done to the Newport Manufacturing building before the move, Wyman said. He said the repairs will likely cost less than $10,000.

Had the city stayed in the Newport Manufacturing building, it would have needed to make $100,000 worth of repairs to the building during the next five years, Wyman said. However, if the city had taken Denton’s offer, he would have paid for half of the repairs.

Outside, the stairs and wheelchair lift would have needed replacement. Inside, a wall would have needed repair or replacement, as would the carpet, which is torn in spots and trips employees.

“We have a significant number of people who almost face-plant around City Hall on a regular basis,” Wyman said.

To pay for the move, city staff brought forward two options. Both options call for a $25,000 draw from the city’s Surface Water Management capital projects fund. One calls for the remaining $225,000 to come from the Real Estate Excise Tax fund, and the other for it to come from the city’s cumulative reserve.

Excise taxes from home sales provide REET funds. It is typically used for transportation projects, such as road maintenance and sidewalk construction. If the city were to use this money to pay for the move, the REET fund would run out of money in 2013, according to the city’s projections. If not, the REET fund is expected to dry up in 2014.

Wyman said the city’s projections are very conservative, but if the REET fund were to run out of money, the city would need to cut back on capital projects or transfer money to it from a different city fund.

The city’s cumulative reserve fund has $1.5 million for capital purchases or unforeseen operating costs, although the city has never drawn money from the fund to pay for capital purchases.

Rent in the new building will increase steadily for the next five years, rising from $22 dollars per square foot in 2012 to $28 per square foot in 2016.

The cost of renting the space for the next five years will be $882,705. This is about $78,000 more than the city would pay if it extended its existing lease for five years, and about $275,000 less than it would pay renting both floors of the Newport Manufacturing building.

Craig Hill, senior vice president at the Seattle branch of real estate firm Grubb & Ellis, said the rent in the new facility is fair.

“It sounds like a very good deal. They must have had a good broker,” he said, adding that the free rent in 2011 is an attractive element of the lease. “That’s a great concession.”

The foregone alternatives

City staff also considered other alternatives to the city’s lease, such as constructing a new building, but considered it to be too expensive. Wyman said there is no other office space available in the city.

In Denton’s revised lease, he offered to drop the city’s rent from $13.20 per square foot per year to $9.75 per square foot per year. After 2016, this rate would increase by 2 percent per year.

Using both floors of Denton’s building for the next five years would cost $1.15 million, but the lower floor could have served as a maintenance facility. In addition to paying for half the building repairs, Denton said he would also pay as much as $50,000 to help remodel the downstairs.

Wyman said city staff is now evaluating options for a maintenance facility.

City Hall also has a $50,000 backup generator that it may not be able to take with it. The generator allowed City Hall to serve as an emergency shelter. Wyman said other facilities, such as the Coal Creek YMCA, could act as an emergency shelter if City Hall cannot take the generator to the new location.

* This story contains corrected information.