October 2019 Meeting
The Area Council will hold its next regular monthly meeting on Monday, October 7, 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.
PLEASE NOTE — The GMVUAC’s planned guest speaker, Tahoma School District Superintendent Tony Giurado, tendered his resignation effective September 30th. The GMVUAC will endeavor to still have at least a brief presentation regarding issues facing the TSD, including funding of programs and future bond measures to be voted on. The TSD’s public announcement is reproduced here:
*****
Tahoma superintendent resigns
Posted on 09/30/2019
During a special meeting Monday night, the Tahoma School Board accepted the resignation of Superintendent Tony Giurado and, in a separate vote, appointed Assistant Superintendent Lori Cloud as Acting Superintendent. The School Board and Mr. Giurado issued the following statement:
The Tahoma School District Board of Directors and Superintendent Tony Giurado have discovered that, through the fault of neither party, Mr. Giurado’s considerable high integrity, skill, knowledge, and experience are not the best match for the present needs of the District. The Board and Mr. Giurado have agreed to separate and as part of that agreement, the Board accepted Mr. Giurado’s resignation from his position as superintendent effective September 30, 2019.
The Board thanks Mr. Giurado for his service to the Tahoma community, and wishes him much future success. Mr. Giurado stated that he is “proud of the work we have done in staying focused on students, listening to our community, and supporting all of our educators. I respect the Board’s desire to move in a different direction. I leave with deep gratitude that I have had the opportunity to serve the Tahoma community, staff, and Board as superintendent.”
*****
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_08 10 2019 Off-FC-Comm Matrix 08 08 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:
November 4: Mike Birdsall, GMVUAC Transportation Committee Vice Chair, to discuss traffic and transportation issues.
December 2: 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.