Des Moines City Manager’s Weekly Report for week ending April 12, 2024:
Senior Activity Center Reopening!
I am very pleased to report that after several months of repairs following a pipe burst during our winter freeze, the Senior Activity Center is slated to reopen on Monday May 1st. Staff will be spending the next two weeks doing some final cleaning and organizing before we welcome everybody back. Stay tuned for more details on programming and events!
SR3 Community Open House
Have you ever wondered what lies behind their fence? Come to the SR3 Rescue Center Open House on April 20th! Swing by between 10a.m. and 2p.m. and take a tour (22650 Dock Ave S.). This is a family-friendly event and there will be activities for youth as well as a chance to shop their adoption kids, t-shirts and other merchandise! More info can be found here.
Redondo Fishing Pier, Bulkhead, & Restroom Replacement
In disappointing news, the City only received one bid for the Redondo Fishing Pier Replacement Project and it was approximately $5.5 million higher than our Engineer Estimate of $4.9 million. As a result, the City will not be awarding the project at this time. The project team is currently evaluating various alternatives to allow us to proceed within existing budget. Staff will provide an update to the Council on April 25th with suggested next steps.
Community Emergency Response Team Training
The cities of Des Moines and Burien will be partnering again in 2024 to offer CERT Training to community members of Des Moines, Burien and Normandy Park. Classes will be held Wednesday nights from 6p.m. to 9p.m., July 10th through August 1st, with a final Full Scale Drill on August 3rd. Registration materials will be distributed through City Currents, the City website and Social Media.
Marina Paid Parking Update
All gates and payment equipment have been successfully installed and are ready for operation at the Marina. At this point, we are finalizing payment processing details and necessary staff training. We anticipate beginning our rollout implementation of the system around the first week of May.
Chat with the Mayor
Do you have a question about our City or want to provide your feedback or insight? Join our Mayor Traci Buxton at the Des Moines Library (21620 11th Ave S) on Tuesday, April 16th from 6p.m.-7:30p.m. for a casual conversation.
Camp KHAOS
Summer Camp KHAOS Registration has begun! Camp dates are June 24-August 30, Ages 5-12. Let us fill your child’s summer days with play, fitness, friendship and new experiences under the supervision of caring, experienced camp staff. Leaders plan amazing activities, arts and crafts, outdoor games, friendly challenges, weekly field trips and swimming all around a fun weeklytheme. Registration information can be found here.
Meetings of Interest
In addition to day-to-day administrative duties, this week I met with Mayor Buxton to discuss upcoming City issues. I met with Mayor Buxton and Deputy Mayor Steinmetz to prepare for the City Council meeting. I met with the City’s Executive Leadership Team to discuss current and upcoming issues. I met with Councilmember Harris to discuss topics of interest to him. I met with the City’s Legislative Policy Advocate. On Thursday evening, I attended the Council Committee meeting and the City Council meeting.
City Council Meeting Summary
The City Council met on Thursday April 11th for a Regular Meeting. The agenda and materials can be found here. Highlights from the meeting included a legislative update, a kick off meeting with the City’s search firm regarding the City Manager Recruitment process and a further discussion on the potential for a public safety lid lift.
The Environment Committee also met on Thursday. The agenda and materials can be found in the link.
There is no City Council meeting next week as the Council generally does not meet on the third Thursday of the month. The agenda and materials for the meeting on the 25th will be posted here next week.
Sports Update
The great thing about sports is that when one chapter ends, another one always begins. The last few weekends were jam packed with men and women’s college basketball games, but now that South Carolina and Connecticut were crowned champions, I was expecting to be bored this weekend. But I turned the page and boom, it’s Masters Time! After a short weather delay, the first round of the 88th Masters in Augusta, Georgia kicked off Thursday morning. Tiger Woods finished the first 36 at +1 and will be swinging the sticks all weekend. At the time of publishing, big-hitting Bryson DeChambeau is leading the pack at -8 but there is still a lot of golf to be played. Personally, I would like to see Max Homa in a green jacket Sunday afternoon. The red-hot Mariners bring a one-game winning streak back to Seattle this weekend with a series against everyone’s second favorite baseball team the Chicago Cubs. The Kraken and the Sounders both play in Dallas on Saturday. My daughter’s tee-ball team has their first game of the season Saturday morning. Enjoy the sunshine!
Have a great weekend!
Tim George
Interim City Manager
