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Pike Place Market Levy
On Tuesday, July 1, 5:30 p.m. the City Council will host a public hearing to solicit public comment about the proposed Pike Place Market Levy. The hearing will take place at the Pike Market Senior Center at 85 Pike St, Suite 200 in Seattle. Real-time Hmong language interpreter service available for this meeting. All are welcome to express their support or concerns about the proposal.
On Thursday, July 3, 2:00 p.m., the Council’s Committee of the Whole will consider and possibly vote on the proposal to place a six-year, $75 million levy for improvements to the Pike Place Market on November’s ballot. The last major renovations to the Market were made in the early 1980s with $50 million in federal grants. Since then the Market has been in constant use with more than 10 million visitors each year, 500 full time residents and 240 businesses. The bulk of the levy would go for major repairs to publicly owned Market buildings including a new heating and cooling plant, major electrical improvements, new elevators and restrooms, and seismic updates.
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Styrofoam Ban and Fee on Disposable Bags
On Tuesday, July 8, 7:00 p.m., the Council's Environment, Emergency Management, and Utilities Committee will hold a public hearing on the proposal to ban certain Styrofoam products and encourage Seattleites to use reusable shopping bags. One part of the package creates a compulsory fee of 20 cents for disposable shopping bags provided at convenience, drug, and grocery store cash registers, beginning on January 1, 2009 The fee applies to both paper and plastic and is expected to reduce the use of disposable bags by more than 50%, or at least 184 million bags annually. Council President Richard Conlin said, "This legislation encourages choices that will help marine mammals in the Puget Sound, reduce litter, and cut greenhouse gas emissions."
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Parks & Green Spaces Levy
The City Council received the Final Report of the Parks and Green Spaces Levy Citizens’ Advisory Committee
and a briefing on Friday, June 27. The Council will next meet as a Committee of the Whole on Monday, July 7 at 2:30 p.m. (or after the Full Council meeting) in the Council Chambers, 2nd Floor, City Hall, to review and discuss the report and possible placement of a levy on the November 2008 ballot.
The Council’s Parks Committee will hold a hearing to accept testimony from the public on the proposed levy and advisory committee report on Thursday, July 10 at 5:30 p.m., also in the Council Chambers.
If you have comments or ideas for the proposed levy that you would like to share with the Council as it reviews the Committee’s recommendations, please send them to parksandgreenspaceslevy@seattle.gov
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Streetcar Forums
On Wednesday, July 2, at 4 p.m., in City Hall's Bertha Knight Landes Room on the First Floor, the Council will hold the first in a series of four community forums on building a streetcar network in Seattle. The first streetcar line in South Lake Union is complete and the City has begun to look at four potential new streetcar lines that would connect such neighborhoods as Fremont, Ballard, Eastlake, the University District, and the Central District to Downtown and South Lake Union. Each of the Council's forums will offer a presentation on the four lines, and then give community members a chance to view them up close and offer feedback. Councilmember Jan Drago, chair of the Transportation Committee, said, "In the wake of the great response to the South Lake Union streetcar,
we have the momentum to build a citywide network." The forums are free and open to the public.
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Taxicab Legislation
On Thursday, July 3, 9:30 am, the Council's Finance and Budget Committee will consider and possibly vote on proposed legislation that will change the regulation of Seattle's taxicabs. The new legislation would increase the number of licenses for taxis from 667 to 1000 and require that new taxis get 30 miles to the gallon. Councilmember Jean Godden, the chair of Finance and Budget Committee, said, "We hope to hear from the public about these important changes to how the City regulates taxicabs."
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Councilmembers Back Keeping City Light Chief, Seattle Times, June 19
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Council Committee Okays Speed-Trap Van, Seattle PI, June 18
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Council Urged to Back Public Campaign Financing, Seattle PI, June 16
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Downtown scooter rally gets Council's attention, Seattle PI, June 15
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Councilmembers Want a Bigger Tree Canopy, Seattle PI,
June 12
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Sally J. Clark on Town Homes, Seattle Times, June 3
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Licata and Godden interviewed by C.R.Douglas, Seattle Channel, May 28
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Scared To Cross the Street? Licata Website Wants You, Seattle PI, May 20
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Rasmussen and Conlin on Seattle's Passion for Parks, Seattle Times, May 13
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Council Approves Wider Mercer and Spokane Viaduct, Seattle PI, May 13
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