Here’s our recap of the Des Moines City Council meeting held on Thursday night, Aug. 8, 2024:
Report by King County Councilmember Dave Upthegrove
In his report to Council, Dave Upthegrove, who has represented District 5 on the King County Council for over a dozen years, explained what the role of the King County Council is. He said it acts as a local government for unincorporated areas of the county, like White Center and Vashon Island. In addition, the King County Council oversees important public services throughout the county, like bus systems, water treatment, solid waste disposal, public health, and the more serious criminal justice cases.
The King County Council also oversees a large arts & culture fund, which this year has a special restriction: 25% of the money must be spent outside of Seattle, in often overlooked outlying cities. It was asked why 75% of this money should go to art in Seattle, when that is not an equitable distribution by population size. KC Councilmember Upthegrove responded that the entirety of the arts fund has always been spent throughout King County, and this year 75% of the arts fund would still be spent throughout King County, not just in Seattle. However, 25% of the money is now earmarked specifically for King County’s smaller cities.
Midway Park Design Update
After much neighborhood outreach, plans for improving this Pacific Ridge Neighborhood park have completed the first stage. The neighborhood was described as high density and underserved. In addition, it was noted that Midway Park is hard to find and few people know about it, so waysigns may be a helpful addition. The area, just blocks off Pacific Highway, is hard to walk around safely, and the park was said to have a bad reputation. However, there is a popular summer meals for kids program at the park.
Outreach about the potential park project has included online surveys, which did not garner much response. However, tabling at Farmers Market was much more successful, with many people learning about the park’s existence for the first time.
The amenities requested most in a park makeover include a play structure for older kids, fitness area, community garden, public restroom, picnic shelter, dog park, an open lawn area and movie screen, and pickleball courts. If the plan is carried out, this would be the first park in the city to offer pickleball. Councilmember JC Harris said the plans for this park sound like they’re trying to do too much, and it would be more workable if it focused on only three offerings. In response, it was mentioned that this is just the dream for the park, and the plan will be whittled down in future discussions. Councilmember Jeremy Nutting said he believed the neighbors would really value the community garden, and it would be well-tended.
Mayor Traci Buxton asked why a splash pad was not part of the proposed changes, as that is something parents are always looking for to bring kids to on hot days. It was explained that splash pads require too much maintenance and equipment to keep clean and keep them running, but there could potentially be misters added to the plan.
The completion date is a long way off, as this is still the early dream stage for Midway Park improvements. Due to grant application dates to fund the project, the park is not likely to see a completed makeover until sometime after 2026.
SR 509 Completion Project Update
Council heard an update on the changes coming to State Route 509. When all is complete, there will be a toll to help fund the project, which connects SR 509 to I-5. Councilmember Harris said there needs to be more public outreach and education about this project as the public outrage has been terrible. In response, it was mentioned that outreach has been provided at the Des Moines Farmers Market for years. For those interested in staying informed about the project, you can sign up for email updates at the above link.
The only public comment came from a man who lives in Blueberry Lane, an area whose access points will be blocked during construction. He worried that school buses and emergency vehicles would not be able to get to his street, with only one available access point to the neighborhood. Later in the meeting, City Manager Tim George said there would actually be three remaining access points, so emergency and bus access should not be a problem. This demonstrated the type of concerns people have when there is a lack of solid information about such a big project. For residents who feel that the construction is impacting their homes, claims can be filed on the WSDOT website.
Second Quarter Financial Report
During this report, speakers had a bleak outlook on Proposition 1, which was on the recent ballot and is expected to fail. If it had passed, Prop 1 would have provided an increased, stable income source for the city, specifically to pay for heightened public safety and the officers currently being funded by expiring ARPA dollars.
As it stands, the city would have a half-million dollar deficit just in the first half of 2024, if not for the soon-to-expire ARPA funds. City Manager George said staff have already been working to cut expenses so much that in many cases one person is doing the job of two people, as they are waiting as long as possible to hire replacement staff when people leave. However, he said this is unsustainable, and will lead to burnout if allowed to continue.
Councilmember Matt Mahoney said people want more from the city than they want to pay for. Prop 1 will be back on the ballot in November, for a second try. Councilmembers hope to do more public education about it before then, so voters know how it will impact them and what it will mean for the city.
City Manager Recruitment Update
On August 19th, the names of finalist candidates for City Manager will be released. On August 27th, those candidates will be in Des Moines in person, to have panel interviews with the city council. In addition, they will have an opportunity to introduce themselves to the public, during both a short presentation and an informal chat afterwards.
Coming Events
From 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. this Saturday, Aug. 10 there is a Cambodian Cultural Celebration at Saltwater State Park. This festival is free to the public, although an annual or one-day Discover Pass is required for parking. The festival features music, food, dance, and crafts.
Also on Saturday, there will be a free pop-up art exhibit at Inkfish Gallery at 5 p.m. This display features a curated group of local artists, including Des Moines’ own Earl Harper of Harper Studios.
If that’s not enough for one day, you can also have coffee with Mayor Traci Buxton at 11am this Saturday at Marina Mercantile. During this Chat with the Mayor event, Mayor Buxton welcomes your presence and questions.
