Roll Call

7:15 PM

Dick Bonewitz updated us on the KingCounty flood advisory committee.  He represents the Unincorporated Area, and they are putting together a plan based on safety, economic impact, and other projects that are placed into a cue.  Projects are prioritized based on the availability of the property that needs mitigation, and the money that is available.  There are about 50 projects that are on the list, and most of the members of the advisory committee are Mayor’s or Councilmember’s from the suburban cities.  King County historically spends about $25,000,000 a year fixing flood events.  Much of last years expenditure was in the Green River Valley.  The sandbagging along the Green River has been completed which is a temporary fix, and some projects along the Cedar have been accomplished.  Other rivers in King County are also involved in ongoing projects.  This year the City of Seattle thinks the Board of Supervisors should add the Elliot Bay Sea Wall to the project list as it will impact business if there is a breach.  Seattle is really pushing to have their project pushed ahead of those that are already on the list.  Although we may disagree with what Seattle wants there are a lot of politics going on.  Dick was just asked to serve again as the unincorporated representative.   Julia Patterson is the Chair of this committee, and Reagan Dunn is the Vice-chair.

MultiCare Expansion Hugh Kodama, Administrator of MultiCare – MultiCare is here tonight because they wanted to connect with the Council, and receive any feedback that we have.  They need to expand the Covington  facility in order to fulfill the needs of the community.  They started in Pierce County, but recognized the need in our community.  They have over 300,000 visits a year, and operate clinics, labs, imaging, pharmacy, day surgery, and are an urgent care center.  They also have 4 overnight rooms with two nurses.   When they bought the facility, they knew it would need to expand.   47% of South King County residents are under the age of 35, and they recognize the need for inpatient care.  They want to create a hospital, and bring child birth, surgery, inpatient beds and other services that a hospital can provide.  One of the services they’ve determined our community needs is an emergency room.  More than 15,000 patients per year are forced to seek emergency treatment up to 30 minutes away.  The urgent care will be located next to the emergency room so they can triage the person into the less expensive service area.   Having the different levels of care will give patients the most cost effective alternative.   They are hoping that the Fire Department will choose MultiCare as the emergency care facility of choice.

The women and child care services are being designed with input from local women.  The women in the focus group said that they are looking for soft lighting, and not a lot of gadgets hanging around.  They would like beds for their spouses.   In addition, local pediatrics is also important.  MultiCare is associated with Mary Bridge Hospital.  They are also looking at robotic-assisted surgery and telemedicine as well as cost-effective leading-edge information technologies. 

In addition, they want to ensure that the facility fits in the community and they are looking at Green Building and the lead sliver standards.  They will be moving the children’s playground, and will keep the oak grove.  Phase 1 will be completed in 2012.  They are in the process of getting a certificate of need from the State of Washington.  

At the same time Auburn and Valley Medical are increasing their beds, which can impact the review.  Their viewpoint is that our area is growing so the need is here.  The question was asked if the hospital will be publicly supported.  MultiCare is non-profit, and they will be funding the building by issuing bonds and using their reserves.  They will not be using public funds.  A comment was made there is a need for this hospital because some insurance companies do not cover Valley Medical Center whereas  they cover MultiCare.  A comment was made about cardiology and neurosurgery, but at this time they cannot support a full time person.  They are also looking at having radiology and oncology on site.

Black Diamond MPD’s – Next Monday, May 10, the Hearing Examiner will be making a decision on the MPD Permit.  He earlier found the Final Environmental Impact Statements adequate, but will be imposing some major conditions on the permit in regards to transportation, runoff from Lake Sawyer, and noise impact.  The schools are still up in the air.  Four out of 7 are planned for the rural area.  There will be a public closed record hearing for the MPD application, and an open record hearing on the development agreements.  Peter will let us know about the hearing dates.

KCC Committee Report/Discussion – The rural area supporting urban development is a major focus of the subcommittees.  The Growth Management Committee and Transportation committee are now reviewing the code, and also the Comprehensive Plan.  The goal is to provide the County and the Executive with recommended changes to the code.  A list was prepared of major concerns by the committees, and anyone on the Council is welcome to attend.

Every two weeks the combined committees will meet.  May 12 is the next meeting at the Hobart Church.  We’ve broken into three subcommittees, and we are looking for other members.   July 1 is the deadline, and we will report our final recommendations at the July meeting.  We will give a progress report at our June 7 meeting.  Surface water run off was discussed at the committee meeting, and our goal is to find out why King County isn’t following through on the areas they can impact.  Solid waste was also discussed because MPD’s do impact the rural area as well as rate payers.    Bev gave an update on open space and parks.  Some of the reports needed for review are currently not available on the King County website so a call was placed to Julia Larson for help on the Farm Ordinance as well as the name of a contact person in parks who can help with obtaining the needed reports.  Peter reported on Transportation.  Both County Code and the Comp Plan, along with State RCW’s were found to be pretty strong, but must be executed.  The State has ultimate authority over Highway 169, and the infrastructure has to be in place to support the MPD’s or development in general.  The only exception is if you have a plan in the King County Capital Improvement Plan.  There was concern that the Black Diamond MPD could impact emergency services from Enumclaw to Maple Valley.   There is also concern that the state does not have the funds to make the needed highway improvements.   Gordon gave us an update on the Fire and Zoning codes, and also expressed a concern for additional help.  Patrick volunteered for Gordon’s subcommittee and Don will also review the code and participate on Gordon’s team.  Rob will assist Peter and Bev.  One member wanted to ensure that we speak to social services, and what their impact is on the rural area.

Train Show - This was put off until the next meeting, and Steve is looking for someone to take the lead on the train show.  Interested persons should contact Steve. 

Website Guidelines – Rob asked that Bev forward her notes from the last committee meeting, and he will set up a Bylaw committee meeting. 

General Discussion – Warren is going to draft a letter in regards to fire sprinkler code.