I like fire fighters. My son is a fire fighter. But Proposition No. 1 is not about supporting our fire fighters. It is an attempt to establish a new, unrestrained way to raise taxes (and therefore revenue) for a new governmental entity known as the Regional Fire Authority.
The April 9 edition of The Reporter carried my Letter to the Editor describing a violation of the open public meetings act by members of our City Council. This action concerned legislation in Olympia to form Community Finance Districts and the efforts by Maple Valley to modify the legislation. Nothing was ever discussed in the public arena as required by law before action was taken on behalf of the citizens.
I want to thank Kris Hill for taking the time to bring forward the story of the mountain bikers and the landowner (Real Life Church) and how a real negative situation is evolving into some very positive for the community.
Part of the story that was not told was none of this would have happened if it was not for the folks at Evergreen Mountain Bike Alliance (EMBA).
If you have not voted for Black Diamond’s Proposition No. 1 public safety levy, we invite you to do so as soon as possible. The levy is a continuation of funding for the Black Diamond Police Department, fire department and emergency services and replaces the 2004 levy that expires in December 2010.
The Municipal League of King County announced its support for the Kent Regional Fire Authority Proposition No. 1 on the April 27 special election ballot.
I am supporting Proposition No. 1, Black Diamond’s public safety levy in the special election on April 27 and I encourage others to do the same. The public safety levy covers a portion of the public safety funding that includes police, fire and emergency services. Proposition No. 1 is not a new tax; it replaces a levy that expires at the end of this year.
To the citizens of Maple Valley, I want to update you of some new 2010 legislation coming out of Olympia. This legislation creates the opportunity for individual property owners to petition city councils for the creation of new taxing districts. The tax dollars raised from these districts will be used to pay for the infrastructure needs coming primarily from new construction. This seems to have been done rather quickly and quietly in Olympia and was supported by developers like YarrowBay.
Voters in Black Diamond have an important decision to make on April 27. They must decide if they want continued police and fire protection, quick emergency response, marine patrol on Lake Sawyer, DARE program, K-9 drug program, and public education. A no vote will dramatically cut and/or eliminate these vital services.
You already know that there is an issue before the Black Diamond voters to replace an expiring public safety levy. Proponents say that the levy is critical to maintain the necessary levels of emergency services in the city. They speak about how we need to support our police, fire and medical services. However, should the levy pass, it is apparent that all the revenue will, as always, be funneled directly to the police department. Verbiage already in the proposal states that the objective is to increase police staff. Don’t get me wrong, I am not opposed to adequate police protection. But while I appreciate the hard work that the Black Diamond Police Department does, I would like to put some perspective on the expenditure of Black Diamond’s “public safety” funds.
Ode to ignoring the majority in Black Diamond
As many of us know, we have a primary election coming in August. Yes, it is not too early to be thinking about this as many of the candidates are already door belling. I want everyone to know that Geoff Simpson, the incumbent, voted in favor of doing away with I-960. In addition, he proposed the sales tax be increased by one cent, to go to the state. I realize the state needs to find a way to balance the budget, but repealing I-960 is not the answer.
Huge developments in Maple Valley and Black Diamond will have huge impacts.
As Mr. Ryals opinion column points out YarrowBay is “purely profit motivated” and the “I got here first and bought my land now I want to control what you do with yours” is not as true as it used to be.
Let me add my voice to the rising chorus of citizens who clearly understand that no more development can be allowed in Black Diamond, Maple Valley and Covington, until state Route 169, state Route 516, and numerous other east-west roads can be widened to accommodate the traffic we have right now!
The Dads of Maple Valley would like to thank everyone that donated shoes for the Shoe Drive for Haiti. We ended the month long shoe drive with 3266 pairs of shoes that are being shipped to Haiti to help the men, women and children survivors of the earthquake. The donations came in every sizes all the way up to a 12-½ women’s and 16 men’s.
From The Reporter of March 12 and 19, I get the idea people who live in the Maple Valley – Black Diamond area are not happy with the planned developments called The Villages and Lawson Hills. There is concern over traffic and school capacity.
From looking at the number of homes and apartments mentioned, it seems they will be dense developments, which is not what long time residents want. The quote from Jay McElroy in the hearing shows that.
While I fully support improving patient access to emergency care and agree with the need to establish a free standing emergency department (FSED) in the south part of the (public) hospital district (No. 1), this has been a severely flawed process with no public input. It is being prematurely rushed to a final vote for no apparent reason.
Can you imagine not having police 24-hour protection from our city police department. This is what we might be facing in the near future. The city of Black Diamond is asking its residents to renew its public safety levy to ensure the city has the resources to keep its residents safe via police and fire protection. This is not a new tax, but the renewal of a retiring levy. If this levy does not pass we will lose four of our nine police officers. We ask for your support to spread the word to our fellow voters.
I am speaking tonight in support of the current Master Plan for the development of Black Diamond. I have been a life-long resident of this town. As a member of this city’s first council and past mayor I was very involved in the original incorporation to create the city of Black Diamond. That was a change that was instrumental in Black Diamond continuing to move into the future in a planned and proper way.
Erika Morgan (New to Black Diamond, but not it’s problems – published March 12) hit the nail on the head, there is too much building with no regard to the impact on the traffic, roads, environment, etc., and it should be stopped until roads can be built at the expense of these big building groups since they have no interest except money as does the “city managers”.
I am writing to correct the Feb. 8 article in the Covington Reporter, which also appeared in the Seattle Times, “Condo fire leaves two homeless in Kent”. The truth is that there were five homeless and one family pet.
