New Town Center consultant
While keeping urban design consultant Seth Harry on retainer for the continuation of the Town Center visioning work, the city has decided to hire a new community engagement specialist.
Karen Reed, a Seattle-based communications professional, is taking time during the visioning hiatus to get caught up on the project and “looking at ways to make the process better,” said Development Services Group (DSG) Director Scott Greenberg.
An interim report on the Town Center process will be published on July 31, Greenberg said.
The work, which started last year, centered around updating the development code written in 1994 and gathering public input about what the Town Center should look like over the next 20 years.
Island Crest Way roadwork update
In the spring, the city began its 2015 Water System Capital Improvement Project to upgrade parts of the potable water supply. In June, work extended to locations along Island Crest Way (ICW), at times causing traffic impacts.
By early September, contractors should be finished with planned ICW work, as well an extra, unplanned component: the addition of 850 feet of water main between S.E. 42nd and S.E. 44th Streets, due to access problems with current deeply-buried piping.
Each afternoon, a temporary road patch is placed to allow uninterrupted evening driving. These rougher patches will be replaced with permanent asphalt patches in September.
For information regarding this project, contact project manager Rona Lin at 206-275-7806.
Sidewalk, utility work on S.E. 40th
The city’s customary summer roadway paving and improvement is underway, and work is currently centered on S.E. 40th Street between Island Crest Way and 78th Avenue S.E., installing new curbs and sidewalks, and storm drainage, prior to late-August repaving.
For more, contact Street Engineer Clint Morris at 206-275-7807.
City earns workplace recycling award
For the second year in a row, the city operations of Mercer Island were named to King County’s annual list of workplaces with exemplary waste prevention and recycling programs.
Each spring, employers in King County (outside of the City of Seattle) are invited to apply for recognition as a Best Workplace for Waste Prevention and Recycling.
The 2015 list spans a wide array of employers, from education to transportation to local government, that have shown exceptional commitment to recycling and reducing the amount of waste their company sends to the landfill.
SPU issues water level advisory
Historic low river levels – combined with record-setting hot and dry weather that have significantly increased the demand for water – have led Everett, Seattle and Tacoma to implement the first stage of their water shortage response plans, according to a Seattle Public Utilities (SPU) press release.
The three cities are activating their plans as a precautionary measure, and joined together to ensure that the region is ready for a potential water shortage.
“We are asking customers to carefully manage their water use and make sure they are not wasting water,” the release states.
Mercer Island communications and sustainability manager Ross Freeman said there will be “no action planned from the city right now,” but he will be retransmitting SPU’s message and echoing their suggested advisory measures in the city’s usual channels.
“Of course, if it escalates to ‘voluntary,’ we will push a little harder,” Freeman said.
For advisory measures and more information, go to www.seattle.gov/util.
