The “Do What You Say You Will Do” Challenge
Also: City cleanup this week; changes to bus routes; when firefighters bring sandbags, boats in front yards, and more.
This week:
Clyde Hill 2021 Cleanup
Bus Route Changes
Update on the 17th Street Repair/Non-repair
“Do What You Say You Will Do” and Trust
City Meeting Tuesday Night
The newsletter is late because I have been traveling this week. Thanks for your understanding. As always, feedback welcome.
Thank you —
Dean
Clyde Hill 2021 Cleanup
This week, your regular pick-up day (either Thursday September 16 or Friday the 17th) “is your opportunity to place bulk items, extra furniture and yard waste out for pickup:”
(Original flyer available at this link)
Request: if you already knew this was happening this week, please reply or send email to <newsletter@clydehillnews.com> and tell me how you found out. Thank you!
Bus Route Changes
Metro and Sound Transit recently presented the City a proposal for changes to bus services:
Cancelation of route 246 (100th – 24th – 92nd to SR520) due to low ridership;
Rerouting route 271 (SR520 - 84th – Bellevue) so that it avoids Clyde Hill and Medina entirely by running from Bellevue, up Bellevue Way to SR520 and across the lake.
The City Administrator report noted that “Medina and Hunts Point are obviously upset.”
The 17th Street Repair/Non-repair
There’s a paradox in physics involving a cat that is “simultaneously both alive and dead.” It’s not supposed to make any sense.
Similarly, the City has both formally abandoned repair work and also appears to be proceeding with investigation of the repair work. This is, tentatively, good news for the residents, even if it makes no sense. Here’s the latest from the City:
Staff have met with impacted property owners as well as our consultant engineers. Our contractor made an attempt to photograph the impacted line from three angles last Friday with no success. They return Friday September 17th to make another attempt to remove the root barriers that prevented running inspection cameras up and down the line. Once the line is cleared and videoed we will have a better idea of the extent of work necessary. One of the lines has actually recently been bored through (see photo at right) by a utility company. More to follow. [link]
For those of you just joining the story, here’s what’s happened so far:
The City said one thing in July: it will fix the 17th St stormwater problems, as it did 15 years ago, using the budgeted $250,000.
The City said the opposite in August: it is abandoning 17th St repairs to the residents who live there. [link]
The City said nothing to the affected residents for two weeks after making the decision to abandon the project. [link]
The City has not committed to perform the repairs… but has started some investigatory work related to repairs.
That’s where we are now. Homeowners — who have lived with basement flooding for over a year, firefighters coming out to place sandbags, and the expectation that the City will repair the problem — are hopeful for now.
“Do What You Say You Will Do” and Trust
“Do what you say you will do” is one of the basic patterns in building and maintaining trust.
It’s hard for the City to do what it said it would do about the 17th Street repairs when it’s said so many different things over the past few months.
Unfortunately, this situation not unique to this repair.
Most Clyde Hill residents can go about our lives and it’s great: the streets are clean and feel safe, kids can ride their bikes, and people can walk their dogs.
Residents who interact directly with the City have often had a different experience:
A crosswalk has faded and there’s a danger to pedestrians… can someone repaint it? (The City said no.)
An urgent and aggressive message from the City about hedges that need immediate trimming. (The City had the wrong address.)
Could the City please enforce a Bellevue Fire Department request regarding speed bumps? (The City said yes and then reversed itself.)
Could the City approve a permit that the Bellevue Fire Department already approved? (The City declined to process the permit, stating that the work might prevent emergency vehicles, like the Fire Department’s, from doing their job. Yes, this makes no sense.)
The stormwater repair issue this newsletter has been tracking for a few weeks.
Last week, your correspondent found another issue, involving boats (and, technically, trailers and RVs).
The City has been clear, on its website and in person, that
“One of the reasons that Clyde Hill is such a beautiful and pleasant neighborhood is because the City Council has implemented rules that govern neighborhood attractiveness and safety.” [link]
Specifically, along with tree and noise ordinances, the City code includes limits on boats, trailers, and RVs:
“These types of vehicles may be parked in the city for only 48 hours or less during any 30-day period.” [link]
Last week, after day four of walking by a neighbor’s boat on my way to the mailbox, I called the City and was surprised when it declined to enforce the code.
The City staff responsible for enforcement (who are great!) read the actual regulation (link) and found it too unclear to enforce. They sent email to the City Attorney for clarification.
One of my surprises since starting to write this newsletter has been how many residents have reached out to me about issues like this one. Whether it’s the flag ordinance, or rules about hedges that seem arbitrary and inconsistently enforced, or poor policy about permit appeals, City code might be great as is for the City but it’s falling short for residents.
If the City sees this trust problem, it hasn’t said anything. Which doesn’t engender trust.
Have you had an issue with City code or its enforcement? Please reply or send email to <newsletter@clydehillnews.com>.
City Meeting Tuesday Night
The next City meeting is Tuesday night (September 14th) at 7p — more information at this link.
This is your “opportunity for brief comments to the City Council.” It’s really easy — you just raise your hand in the online meeting tool and you will have the floor for a few minutes.
This typically happens pretty early in the meeting (around 7:10), after
Call to Order & Pledge of Allegiance
Roll Call
Approval of Agenda
Approval of Minutes
If you live here and have something to say, this is a good opportunity. If you’re shy or just want to discuss the opportunity, email me. I’m happy to help.
Again, feedback welcome. Thank you! 🙏