Call to Order

Pledge of Allegiance

Roll Call

Public Comment on topics, which are not listed on the Agenda

Erin Weaver introduced herself as the newest member of the City of Maple Valley Council. She would like to see the two groups get involved in joint meetings; however, both groups meet on the same night so it will be difficult. She can be contacted by email or by phone at (425) 432-4767.

Review and Approve Agenda

Approval of minutes

7:10 PM

Sheriff’s Precinct Level Involvement Program:  Major Dave Germani

We received our quarterly update from Major Germani, and he asked if anyone had any issues.  Susan Harvey said she heard that there was a robbery near Gracie Hanson Park, and she wanted to know if there had been any more in the area.  Major Germani said that there have been a few robberies; however, there isn’t anything that is of great concern.

Captain Scott Somers also attended with Major Germani, and he is working on the flood team.  Scott said the two rivers that cause problems are the Green River and Cedar River.  They are looking on where the water will go based on past floods.  He said the problem with the weakened Howard Hansen Dam is that the dam was built with a minimum capacity of 30% and a maximum capacity of 60%.  Decisions have been made to keep the dam level at 30%.  The worst flood ever had a flow of 25,000 cubic feet per second, and with that they have identified the potential future hard hit areas and residents in these areas have been notified they are in a flood zone.  There are about 340 homes that are high risk in the unincorporated areas.  One of the things that he recommends for emergency situations is a NOAH radio, and King County is asking for information from residents on where they will evacuate.  They are creating a spreadsheet on the information that is being sent back to the Sheriff’s department, and they will follow-up with people who don’t respond.  Both the fire chief and the sheriff’s department will make the decision on when to evacuate.  They also have a plan to keep the roadways clear.  All emergency personnel will evacuate about two hours before the flood hits based on the flow of water from the dam.  If there is a flood, the river could change course so the risk of saving someone who stays will be assessed.  The King County Executive can declare an emergency, however, the sheriff and fire chief on the front line will determine if people evacuate.  For more information on flooding please see the King County website.  They are currently developing an emergency template for the Green River that can be used on the Cedar River.  The sheriff will lose 7 FTE’s because of the budget cuts. 

7:30 PM

5^th Legislative District Representatives Jay Rodne and Glenn Anderson

Representative Rodne is serving on the House Transportation Committee as well as the Insurance Committee.  The Highway 169 route development plan was approved in 2007.  He listed those projects that have been proposed in terms of major improvements and the price is about $300 million.  The funding comes from the gas tax.  The reality is that the major improvements in other areas are taking all the money that is needed for Highway 169.  In 2011 there will be some discussion on new revenue, and how this will be raised.  They will need to work to secure revenue for this area.   The GMVUAC members asked about the impact of two large developments proposed by Yarrow Bay in Black Diamond.  The corridor is estimated to increase by 80-90 percent.  Jay feels that the housing project in Black Diamond will be subject to significant mitigation to comply with transportation concurrency requirements. 

The question was asked that if the Federal Government comes up with more stimulus funds will our representatives ask for help.  They will ask for help.  Last January we received about 600 million in stimulus dollars, but the projects have to be at a certain stage in planning.   One of the members brought up the license plate reflectorization fee of $4.00, and asked why we need to pay this.  Both reelected officials said they were frustrated with taxation, and in fact Mr. Anderson has written a letter that has been ignored. 

We are facing a cumulative budget deficit of 11.5 billion dollars, and the deficit is growing.   We are going from a 36 billion dollar budget down to a 20 billion dollar budget, and the governor will provide a balanced budget.  The first proposed budget has to balance, but the budget she signs doesn’t have to balance.  The deficit will go on for the next 4-6 years.  There are 6 state retirement plans, and some of them are grossly under funded.  The state borrowed from these pension funds to fund other projects.  They have only funded 25% of what they should have funded, and what was funded lost 27% with the stock market.  Even if we get back to the hay day of 2006, we still need about 2 billion dollars to fund the pension fund.  One solution is that “we’ll pay as we go.”   The proposed tax package that they are looking at cannot be absorbed without impacting the economy and causing even more unemployment.  The cuts will probably be in schools and kids health care to entice us to raise taxes.  A comment was made about the amount that is being charged to business, a reseller’s permit was mentioned, and the question was asked why we need this.  The state has cut funds so some departments have discretionary authority to increase fees.  Mr. Anderson will propose legislation that over the next 4-6 years requires that the state pick up 50% of the unemployment bill.  The state has added 8,000 people since Jay has been in office, and we have the highest unemployment and L & I rates in the nation.   

Glenn Anderson then spoke to us about the Operating Budget, and legislators will be dealing with a projected $2.5 billion dollar deficit caused primarily by the ongoing recession.  This has resulted in greatly reduced tax receipts and has increased the need for public services.  One of the things that came up is the importance of transparency in government.   Both officials felt that where the money is coming from needs to be transparent.  There are big economic forces that are coming to play now so people are paying attention at a higher rate than normal.  Glenn feels that term limits are not the answer, and gave California as an example.  He said the problem is that the administrators, special interest groups, and other groups don’t have term limits, and your legislator needs time to learn the job in order to serve you better.  They believe that taxes should be broad based, low and transparent.

8:45 PM

Council Business

Elections – Gordon, Susan, Peter, and Steve will be available to count ballots this Thursday at 6:30 at the church.  Accepting ballots will continue until Thursday, and Steve will pick them up on the way to the meeting.   A motion was made that any ballots received after they are counted will not be included in the count.  

The election committee will consist of Les Dawson, Rob Morris, Eric Harris, Patrick Seiver and Gordon Mormon.  They will determine when to meet.                     

Web site guidelines – It was proposed that we give Nancy another $300 check because she is providing a service to the GMVUAC.  It was proposed that the council vote whenever someone wants to link to our website.  Peter will organize a group to look at what guidelines should go onto the website. 

DDES – Gordon provided information on Ravensdale Ridge.  The property is east of Gracie Hanson, and Gordon has walked it.  It’s above the township, and in the area that has been logged off.  Gordon walked it with Joan, and there is a proposal to bring in 450,000 cubic yards of dirt into the area.  There are several ravines that they’ll fill.   Erickson Logging filed for the reclamation permit, and it was filed March 11, 2008.  Joan reviewed the plan and they have an environmental impact statement for the first 100,000 yards, but there isn’t a transportation study or surface water study.  Richelle Rose is the person in charge of the project, and you can contact her at (206) 296-6608.  Mark Mitchell can also be contacted at (206) 296-7119  Residents can comment until Thursday, December 17, 2009 at 5 PM. 

9:30 PM

Adjourn