Easter Bunny Dock Stops Announced!

This coming Easter Sunday, April 21st, the Easter Bunny will have his basket full of eggs and other surprises ready to hand out to any eagerly awaiting children. The Bunny Boat will be on the water between the hours of 9:30 and 11:30 am.

The Easter Bunny Dock Hop travel times and locations are displayed on the Map that is available for downloadable HERE

If you have small children at home and/or plan to have grandchildren visiting on Easter Sunday and would like to visit the Easter Bunny, please travel to the scheduled locations as listed. 

And don’t forget to remind the kids that Bunnies just love carrots!

Getting Things Done Through Those You Know

We've all heard that it's often not what you know but who you know. And to get neighborhood issues resolved, that might be truer than you think.

There are plenty of smart people out there in the community however, no one knows city business better than the staff employed at city hall. But how are you supposed to know who within which department does what? You can certainly reach out to a member of the council however if it is not a topic of policy, they can only assist in directing your issue to those who have the responsibility or authority for administrative and operational issues. 

So how do you cut out the ‘middle man’? 

This is where the Community Leadership Academy comes into play with the opportunity it affords the participants to learn about how the city government operates. The academy includes presentations on topics including fire, police, parks, streets, city administration and much more, and more importantly, introduces attendees to the leaders who manage each of these departments. 

Exiting the program you’ll have a greater understanding of how requests can be made and know who you can direct your issues to in having them addressed.  

The City of SeaTac Community Leadership Academy consists of two sessions to take place from 9 AM until 5 PM on Saturday, April 27th and May 4th. The course is capped at a maximum of 20 participants to ensure a quality learning experience. Applications will be accepted up until April 15th and enrollment is awarded on a first come, first served basis until all seats are filled.

Refer to the following website to request enrollment:

http://www.seatacwa.gov/how-do-i/apply-for/community-leadership-academy

If you need additional assistance, please contact Lesa Ellis at 206.973.4810

How Far Will They Go?

A major environmental transformation is planned for Angle Lake.

The Seattle Southend Regional Tourist Authority has recently been granted authorization to fund a 4.1 million dollar initiative aimed at encouraging Sea-Tac visitors to spend more of their time in the SeaTac area. The goal is to emphasize the natural beauty found in the region with the campaign directing tourist attention toward Angle Lake. 

In recent years, the City of SeaTac has completed a series of capital improvement projects targeted at enhancing the public space at the west end of Angle Lake, including the addition of a nature trail connecting the former Hughes Property into the park system and replacement of the children's play equipment. The 4.1 million dollars approved will fund a monumental effort aimed at improving the quality of the lake itself.

The latest phase headed up by the Tourism Bureau is expected to transform the lake from the current dark and dank gray condition to a sparkling bright blue, generating a feeling of a more comforting and inviting ‘outdoor pool’ experience for users of the lake. “While there are several indoor pools available in our area, what SeaTac lacks is a nice outdoor swimming facility” states Ima Schlemiel, Destination Development Committee Representative “We are confident that by transforming the environment of Angle Lake from a dingy, muddy, morose body of water into a brilliant azure basin filled with fresh clean water – people will travel from all corners of the globe to witness its brilliance and shall be compelled to stay within SeaTac to experience this wonder instead of opting to travel to that smelly ole’ waterfront of Seattle.”  

 

Acting in collaboration with the Southend Agency, the plan calls for staff from the Washington State Department of Natural Resources to engage in the effort by corralling all species of fish to the west end of the lake where the fish will be transferred into containment tanks for the purpose of relocation to nearby lakes in Burien and Federal Way. Once the waters are cleared of aquatic life, the team will then begin the process of draining the lake so that the lakebed is exposed and may be cleared of all vegetation and debris and replaced with a bright blue "non-toxic, and environmentally friendly" aquatic sealant to be applied to the lake bottom surface. The final action will then be to refill the lake with filtered, ionized treated fresh water for ultimate brilliance.  The entire process is expected to be completed prior to the annual 4th of July festivities this summer. 

   

In celebration of the completion of this momentous occasion, the Tourism Agency will offer "Angle Lake Turquoise Blue" paint samples to people visiting the lake so that they can take the SeaTac color back as souvenirs to their own home towns.

"This is our gift to the community of SeaTac and to promote tourism to our area” Uri Kidder, Seattle Sourthend RTA Director proclaimed “We will all have to do our part to make sure this lake remains beautiful. I’m just happy I can say I was a part of this initial effort and I hope my own great grandkids will consider doing the same in a hundred years from now”.

(Postscript:  This is an April Fools Joke)
To view other shenanigans from the past decade click HERE

Community Engagement

• Community: a unified body of individuals sharing a feeling of fellowship with others, as a result of sharing common attitudes, goals and social, economic, and political interests
• Engagement: participate or become involved in.

When considering the attributes that contribute to making a desirable community – community engagement typically ranks as high in priority as a safe environment and quality streets. 

Community engagement is the process of working collaboratively with individuals and/or groups to address issues that impact the well-being of the collective entity. Activities that help encourage community involvement include credible and transparent reporting, town hall meetings and collaborative decision making.

Opportunities for involvement range from individuals investing mere minutes to alert city representatives about issues upward to making multi-year commitments in an effort to improve the quality of life and livability conditions within their community. The following opportunities are available for citizen involvement:

OUTREACH	CONSULT	INVOLVE	COLLABORATE	LEAD
Short term, Limited Participation Communication flows from one to the other to inform.	Spontaneous Community Engagement Greater community participation on issues	Devoted Community Engagement Engaging neighbor participation in resolving issues	Dedicated Community Engagement Communication flow is bidirectional. Partner with each aspect of projects from concept, through development to solution.	Long Term Investment in Community Community leader, decision maker
Outcome: Optimally, establishes communication channels.	Outcome: Visibility of partnership established with increased cooperation.	Outcome: Visibility of partnership established with increased cooperation.	Outcome: Partnership building, trust building.	Outcome: Decisions that affect the broader community. Strong bidirectional trust.
Opportunity ·  Community Leadership Academy ·  Community Police Academy	Opportunity ·    SeeClickFix ·    Public Comment	Opportunity ·  Block Watch ·  Citizens Emergency Response Team (CERT)	Opportunity ·  Citizen Advisory Committee Member	Opportunity · City Council Elected Official

Please consider increasing your involvement within your community.

If you have questions about how you may increase your participation, please contact Councilmember Clyde ‘Fuzz’ Hill at chill@seatacwa.gov to discuss opportunities available.

SMP Open House and Public Hearing

The City of SeaTac and Washington Department of Ecology are accepting comments for the periodic review of the City’s shoreline master program (SMP) as required under RCW 90.58.080(4). 

The period for public comments is open from February 19 until March 21 at 5 pm. Comments may be submitted orally at the March 5th Public Hearing; or by mailing City staff member Jennifer Kester at 4800 So. 188th St, SeaTac, WA 98188 or through email to jkester@seatacwa.gov. All comments received by the City will be forwarded to the Dept. of Ecology. 

SeaTac’s SMP, a land use plan for local shoreline areas applies to Angle Lake and 200 feet landward of the lakeshore. SeaTac is updating its SMP to:

• Address recent amendments to state laws and guidance
• Make it easier to navigate for staff and the public
• Ensure consistency with other City plans and regulations

This specific periodic update of the SMP will not: 

• RE-evaluate the ecological baseline of the shoreline
• Extensively assess no net loss criteria other than to ensure that proposed amendments do not result in degradation of the baseline condition

A succinct summary of the proposed City shoreline master program amendments available for review HERE.