December 2019 Meeting

The Area Council will hold its next regular monthly meeting on Monday, December 2, 2019, from 7:00 PM to 9:30 PM at the KCFD #43 (now part of the Puget Sound Regional Fire Authority) Maple Valley Fire & Life Safety Station #81 public conference room (22225 SE 231st Street, Maple Valley, WA 98038 — SE corner of intersection of SE 231st St & SR-169 (Renton-Maple Valley-Black Diamond Road SE)).  Click on this link to view the map for MVFLS Station #81. Richard C. Honour, Ph.D., is the intended guest speaker and will present to and discuss with us various environmental and health issues related to the proposed continuation and expansion of the Cedar Hills Landfill.  Dr Honour is a founder and principal of ‘Save Our Soil (SOS)’ and ‘The Precautionary Group (TPG)’ which are environmental organizations dedicated to ending land disposal of toxic sewage sludge.  Dr Honour has a BS in Biology from San Diego State University and a PhD in Plant Pathology/Soil Microbiology from UC-Riverside. In the meantime, we invite you to review the detailed report and slideshow prepared by Mike Birdsall, GMVUAC Transportation Committee Vice Chair, and presented at the Council’s November 4 meeting.  When King County performed maintenance on the Landsburg Bridge in August of this year, the month-long closure had a substantial impact on traffic along the Issaquah to Black Diamond Road, SR169, the City of Maple Valley and the Enumclaw area.  Mike is a former traffic analyst and decided the closure was the perfect opportunity to collect traffic data before and after the restrictions imposed on traffic and commuter routes.  Click on the following links to view Mike’s detailed report (Birdsall – Landsburg Bridge Closure Traffic Impacts Report) and companion slideshow (Birdsall – Slideshow in pdf Format) that present his findings — you will likely find this information quite startling and should give you a new perspective on the use and regional importance of both the SR 169 and Issaquah-Hobart-Ravensdale-Black Diamond transportation corridors. The Council will discuss general business matters, possible Committee assignments, review our ongoing 2019 GMVUAC Survey, swear-in any new Council Members, and conduct interviews of and vote on any additional candidates for Council membership.  A tentative schedule for future meetings is presented below — and is subject to change. The GMVUAC will hear from citizens in attendance and conduct business regarding and relating to current and future issues of concern to area residents.  Keep watch on this space for any special guest speakers and/or new issues to be presented and discussed at this meeting.  All members of the public are invited to attend. During the Public Comment period at the start of each meeting, members of the public can address the Area Council on any local issue. You are invited to visit our various Committee webpages and read about other topics of interest to you via the dropdown menus along the top of our Home webpage, in the Current Issues box, and in the important notices and information posted directly on our Home webpage.  Get to know the Council by reading a short biography of each current Council member, as well as the current Officers and Committee assignments:  GMVUAC Member Bios – 11 19 2019   Officers-FPs-Committees Matrix–10 09 2019.

Other Information of Interest

King County has published its 2019 Service Directory with contact information for the many services it provides — view it here: KC 2019 Service Directory.  Per the advice of KCSO Precinct #3 Commander Major Troy Olmsted, for both emergency AND non-emergency calls to the Sheriff’s Office, please dial 911 — and you will be assisted and directed accordingly.  KC DLS has an online website (MyBuildingPermit.com) for making an application for certain permits; read more about this online service here: Online Permit Information and Links.  The KC Assessor has an online tool to assist taxpayers figure the financial impact on them of proposed ballot measures: Tax Transparency Tool. KC DLS has published the 2019 Work Plans for the Greater Maple Valley-Cedar River Community Service Area (3 MB pdf): 2019 King County Work Plans.  Thanks to KCC Member Dunn for this handy postcard outlining the Fourth of July Fireworks Rules for the unincorporated area: Fireworks Rules – Unincorporated King County. The King County Sheriff’s Office is the local sponsor of the National Night Out Against Crime.  This year’s event will be held on Tuesday, August 6.  If your community wishes to participate, please contact Micki Christensen at the Sheriff’s Office Precinct 3 in Maple Valley (micki.christensen@kingcounty.gov) and visit the following website for more information: https://natw.org/about.  When you contact Micki, please give her the following information: name of your neighborhood; the physical address where you plan to hold the event; contact name, phone number and email address; any special activities planned during the event; approximately how many people you expect to have in attendance; and the best time for an officer to stop by. The King County Solid Waste Division is inviting residents in the vicinity of the Cedar Hills Landfill to submit an application to be considered for membership on the County’s Solid Waste Advisory Committee.  More information and links are provided here:  KC SWAC Invitation. View the presentation made by (former) Tahoma School District Superintendent, Tony Giurado, to the GMVUAC at our December 3, 2018, meeting: Tony Giurado-GMVUAC Presentation-Final-12 03 2018 .  Read a summary of the recent joinder of Fire District #43 /  Maple Valley Fire & Life Safety with the Puget Sound Regional Fire Authority: FD43_MVFLS_PSRFA_Overview .  In addition, read important information on Burn Bans and contacts: MVFLS Burn Ban Guidelines . Farm King County recently launched its Food Systems Data Center, which combines an interactive mapping platform with information and data on local agriculture to tell the story of King County’s farm and food system. Farm King County is a one stop resource for information and assistance for farm operations, and this data will be useful to better understand, analyze, and measure the healthy and viability of our food system. The major components of the data center include the King County Farm and Food System Map and food system indicator progress metrics.  Read KC DNRP’s Local Food blog post about the launch here.

Future Council Meetings and Planned Topics/Guest Speakers:

January 6, 2020: TBD February 3, 2020: TBD Periodically we will also have representatives from the Department of Ecology return and give us progress reports on the cleanup of the Reserve Silica and Landsburg mine sites.  We plan on having Chief Aaron Tyerman, FD#43/MVF&LS/PSRFA, back to present an update to us regarding fire and life safety services.  We also plan to periodically invite the Superintendent of the Tahoma School District to discuss with us funding issues and other matters of importance to our community.  As guests and topics are confirmed, we will promptly post information here.  At any time, for detailed information on any issue the GMVUAC is involved with at this time, please visit our various webpages listed in the Current Issues Box or in the Committee dropdown menu on our Homepage.