State shores up funding for flood control district
May 18, 2011
King County leaders praised state legislators and Gov. Chris Gregoire last week for supporting a measure to shore up funding for the King County Flood Control District, the agency responsible for flood-protection policies, programs and projects.
Gregoire signed a measure May 5 to protect funding for the district. The bill exempts the district from the statewide property rate tax cap by protecting up to 25 cents per $1,000 of assessed value. The exemption is in effect from next year until 2017.
Until the governor signed the measure, the district faced a steep drop-off in funding due to the decline in housing values and a state cap on property tax rates. The loss of tax money would have forced the district to delay work on several projects in the Snoqualmie Valley beginning in 2012.
The flood control district did not fight the bill’s sunset clause because it expects property values to improve by 2017, district Director Kjris Lund said in March after the bill passed the state House of Representatives.
In 2010, the district collected $35 million. It has requested $36 million in 2011.
Former North Bend resident is arrested again for voyeurism
May 18, 2011
A former North Bend resident and registered sex offender previously convicted of taking upskirt photos of unsuspecting women has pleaded not guilty to nearly identical charges in King County Superior Court.
King County prosecutors allege that Richard G. Burk used a hidden camera to illicitly take photos of a young woman at Westfield Southcenter Mall on April 23, according to court documents.
If convicted of voyeurism, Burk could receive four to 12 months in jail on a second felony conviction.
Since Burk was recently convicted of voyeurism, the prosecutor’s office might be able to push for “a higher sentence based on what we call rapid recidivism basis,” said Ian Goodhew, a spokesman for the King County Prosecutor’s Office. “But that is a high hurdle, so we will proceed with caution.”
At Tukwilla’s Southcenter Mall, Burk had gone to Claire’s, which sells accessories and jewelry for young women. The store’s assistant manager became suspicious of the 48-year-old Burk, who came in to the store alone and was suspected of having a camera, according to court documents.
The assistant manager asked him to leave and he contacted mall security after he thought he saw Burk take a photograph from beneath a woman’s skirt.
Puget Western’s Snoqualmie Ridge properties are going to auction block
May 18, 2011
Puget Western Inc. is auctioning off two tracts of land on Snoqualmie Ridge at a reduced rate after an early attempt to sell them proved unsuccessful.
The company, a subsidiary of Puget Sound Energy, previously offered the two parcels, on opposite ends of Snoqualmie Parkway, as a pair for $2.75 million. It reduced the minimum price by nearly $1 million in the auction hosted by Realty Marketing/Northwest.
Puget Western could not be reached for comment.
“Certainly, the market has gone through a re-valuation over the past couple years,” said Tim Reinertsen, co-owner of Realty Marketing/Northwest.
The property is priced for an investor to “park some money” until demand improves, Reinertsen said.
The larger of the two parcels is larger than 51 acres and sits at the junction of Interstate 90 and state Route 18. It sits in unincorporated King County and wraps around property formerly owned by the Leisure Time campground.
YMCA plans membership drive before groundbreaking ceremony
May 18, 2011
Work on the site of Snoqualmie’s future community center is slated to begin in late May with a groundbreaking ceremony set for June 9.
From June 1-8, the YMCA of Greater Seattle will launch a membership drive in the Snoqualmie Valley. The Y’s membership minibus will set up each day at a different location in the Valley to encourage residents to sign up as charter members of the community center.
Each membership completed during the first eight days of sales will be entered into a drawing to become the Snoqualmie Valley YMCA’s first member. The drawing will take place at the official groundbreaking ceremony June 9.
After the groundbreaking, a celebration sponsored by Radio Disney and Flatout Flatbread will follow.
North Bend home catches fire early May 15
May 18, 2011
A North Bend house caught fire early the morning of May 15.
Firefighters from Eastside Fire & Rescue responded to the blaze in the 13300 block of 433rd Court Southeast shortly after 1:30 a.m.
Firefighters could see flames through the windows on the ground floor.
They could also see one of the residents inside trying to get pet ferrets out.
EFR crews from Renton and Issaquah responded in support, and together they launched a defensive attack on the fire, according to EFR spokeswoman Josie Williams.
Both residents escaped without injuries, Williams said, adding that she did not know whether the ferrets made it out.
King County’s fire investigator is looking into the cause of the fire.
Letters
May 18, 2011
Road improvements are incomplete
The Snoqualmie City Council has approved the top priorities for roadwork in the city. The list has 10 streets — five in the downtown area and five on Snoqualmie Ridge. Nothing was said about the Stone Quarry Road. The last few years have seen construction projects for the Toonerville Trolley, otherwise known as the Northwest Railway Museum.
As the construction finishes on the museum building, the damage on Stone Quarry Road appears to be ignored. The little or nonexistent shoulder has been beaten down by dump trucks and cement trucks turning to back into the construction site. This county-sponsored ditch has had a lot of vehicles, including Snoqualmie school buses, in it.
I think it is time the Railway Museum and Executive Director Richard Anderson were presented with a repair bill for rebuilding a Snoqualmie street. This should include a seven or eight foot shoulder at least a 100 feet past the museum’s repair shed toward North Bend Way, plus the asphalt paving from Tom Weber’s site to the end of the new shoulder toward North Bend Way. The city of Snoqualmie should not have to provide profit to a nonprofit organization.
Frank McFadden
Snoqualmie
Cost of paper offers lesson for lawmakers
May 18, 2011
Saving money and saving the environment are two values held high in the Snoqualmie Valley — and to varying degrees, across King County.
Sometimes the two work in concert, but sometimes they are at loggerheads.
A state law mandates that schools take the lowest bid when buying supplies. State law is working against environmental values.
Saving taxpayers money in the short term is good and certainly worthwhile, but long-term costs must also be considered. Buying “virgin” paper rather than recycled paper can mean higher environmental damages. But recycled paper of lower quality can cause more damage to printers and copiers, requiring higher maintenance costs.
The state mandate, though, prevents schools from deciding based on environmental values.
What is the tradeoff? Cutting paper costs will not put another teacher in the classroom.
State asks residents to help crack down on illegal dumping
May 18, 2011
The state Department of Natural Resources has unveiled a Web-based map to show locations of more than 200 illegal dumping sites on state trust lands.
The state — through the departments of natural resources and ecology, plus other agencies — spends hundreds of thousands of dollars each year to clean up household trash, junked vehicles, and commercial and hazardous waste dumped on state trust lands.
“This is only the tip of the iceberg,” Larry Raedel, chief of law enforcement services for the Department of Natural Resources, said in a statement. “For every one of the sites we investigated, mapped and cleaned up last year, there are two or three more out there that we haven’t found yet.”
Illegal dumping often occurs near forest roads on the 2.1 million acres of forestland managed by the Department of Natural Resources. Hazardous sites, such as discarded industrial solvents or meth labs, can cost thousands of dollars each to clean up. Sending trucks to remote locations to remove abandoned vehicles is also expensive.
The agency manages forestry on the lands to generate revenue for public schools and local services in counties.
North Bend receives high credit-rating marks
May 18, 2011
The national credit-rating agency Standard & Poor’s gave the city of North Bend high marks during a recent analysis.
The agency rated the city AA-, which means “high quality.” It is the fourth highest rating possible.
North Bend sought the rating in preparation for its sale of $2.25 million in voter-approved bonds to pay for its portion of a new fire station it is building in partnership with Fire District 38.
The rating is among the highest for municipalities of comparable size in Washington,
Jim Nelson, an underwriter with Martin Nelson & Co., a Seattle-based investment banking firm, said in a news release.
Martin Nelson & Co. is underwriting North Bend’s bonds.
Police Blotter
May 18, 2011
North Bend police
No fishing for you
At 5:44 p.m. May 5, someone called police about a break-in. A man’s boat, parked on the side of a residence in the 300 block of East Second Street was broken into and someone took his fishing poles.
No driving for you
At 12:11 a.m. May 6, police headed west on Southeast Cedar Falls Road saw a car driving 10 miles over the speed limit. The driver said the car belonged to a passenger. That passenger said she had no vehicle insurance with her. A status check showed the driver must have an ignition interlock device in his car until 2012. The driver was arrested due to lack of the device in the vehicle. He was also cited for speeding.
