City of Lake Forest Park

17425 Ballinger Way NE
Lake Forest Park, WA 98155
www.cityoflfp.com
206-368-5440

October 2020

Mayor Jeff Johnson

Mayor's Corner - Let's Hang in There-Together

This is a fall like no other in recent history and, if you’re like me, 2020 continues to test your patience. Things are not the same this fall, as we make tough decisions about how to celebrate favorite events while following best practices to maintain our health during a pandemic.

Halloween, for one, will be different this year, as families figure out new ways to be smart and careful. Many of the usual customs to celebrate are not the safest, and it will take some creative thinking to come up with fun, safe ways to enjoy the holiday. Please see the related article in this issue with CDC guidance to help make it safer to trick-or-treat this year.

I am encouraged by how well the LFP community is working together during these challenging times. By continuing to support our local businesses, taking appropriate measures to stay healthy, and being patient with and supportive of our neighbors and others we encounter throughout our days, we will make it through to the other side.

In case you have been staying in and have not been out and about to see the progress being made on our current capital projects, here is an update:

Culvert L60 Replacement Project: Contractor is scheduled to complete sidewalks and repaving and reopen NE 178^th Street to traffic on October 30, 2020.

Pfingst Animal Acres Picnic Shelter: Surface treatments and grass reseeding occurred the week of October 19 and the project is largely finished except for minor items.

Culvert L80-90 Replacement Project: Design work continues to 50% level and City staff is coordinating with WSDOT for replacement of all three culverts on Lyon Creek in the vicinity of SR 104 and 35^th Avenue NE.

SR 104/44^th Place NE Roundabout: Consultant selection activities continue and a consultant agreement for design of the roundabout is expected to be on the agenda for the regular City Council meeting of December 10, 2020.

In closing, please continue taking care of yourselves and each other because #WeAreAllLFP.

---Mayor Johnson

Guidance from the CDC to Make Trick-or-Treating Safer This Year

The CDC (Centers for Disease Control) has provided some guidance to make it safer to trick-or-treat this year:

Avoid direct contact with trick-or-treaters.

Give out treats outdoors, if possible.
Set up a station with individually bagged treats for kids to take.
Wash hands before handling treats.
Wear a mask.

Wear a mask

Make your cloth mask part of your costume.
A costume mask is not a substitute for a cloth mask.
Do NOT wear a costume mask over a cloth mask. It can make breathing more difficult.
Masks should NOT be worn by children under the age of 2 or anyone who has trouble breathing

Stay at least 6 feet away from others who do not live with you

Indoors and outdoors, you are more likely to get or spread COVID-19 when you are in close contact with others for a long time.

Wash your hands

Bring hand sanitizer with you and use it after touching objects or other people.
Use hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol.
Parents: supervise young children using hand sanitizer.
Wash hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds when you get home and before you eat any treats.

For more information, please visit: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/daily-life-coping/holidays/halloween.html

Small Business CARES Act Grants Available Soon

The City of Lake Forest Park is partnering with the Shoreline Chamber of Commerce to provide grants to small businesses within the City to help offset the impacts of addressing the COVID-19 pandemic. Updates related to fund availability and application process will be provided through the City’s website and social media accounts in the near future.

Qualifying businesses:

Fewer than twenty-five (25) employees;
Physical location within the City of Lake Forest Park in a commercial zone;
Experienced a loss of income due to COVID-19;
Business in good standing, meaning it has a current City business license, all City taxes and fees currently due are paid, compliant with all state and other regulatory requirements, and no currently pending litigation or City code enforcement actions pending;
Preference will be given to independent businesses; however, all businesses, including franchises, are encouraged to apply.

Eligible expenses:

Rental of materials to increase the outdoor seating capacity for restaurant businesses;
Marketing materials for businesses;
Personal protection equipment;
Consulting services such as business surveys and training related to COVID-19.

Still More Opportunities to Comment on the Mayor’s Proposed 2021-2022 Budget

The City Council concluded budget deliberations regarding the Mayor’s Proposed 2021-2022 Biennial Budget on October 15, 2020. An updated draft budget will be published at the end of October reflecting amendments offered as part of those deliberations. Due to the deliberations being finalized, the October 29, 2020 Special Budget meeting has been canceled.

The City held the first of two public hearings for the budget on October 22, 2020, with the final public hearing scheduled on November 5, 2020 at a Special City Council meeting. As we approach the proposed November 12, 2020 adoption date for the City of Lake Forest Park’s 2021-2022 Biennial Budget, there are additional opportunities to participate in the process prior to adoption:

CANCELED: Thursday, October 29, 2020, 6:00 p.m. (virtual meeting) – Special Council Budget and Finance Committee meeting
Thursday, November 5, 2020, 6:00 p.m. (virtual meeting) – Special City Council meeting for final budget-related public hearings on the proposed 2021 property tax levy, proposed 2021-2022 Biennial Budget, and proposed 2021 sewer utility rates
Thursday, November 12, 2020, 7:00 p.m.(virtual meeting) – Regular City Council meeting to consider adoption of the budget, property tax levy, and sewer utility rates
Thursday, November 19, 2020, 6:00 p.m. (virtual meeting, if needed) – Special City Council meeting for adoption of the budget, property tax levy, and sewer utility rates

If you have not had the opportunity to attend previous budget meetings, recordings are posted on the City’s website. Links to agendas for the above meetings will be posted, among other places, on the City’s website calendar. To learn how to provide comments at these meetings, click here.

Council Corner - Council Schedule for November

As we wrap up October and look ahead to winter weather and holidays, I want to review the City Council schedule for the coming months. But first, I encourage everyone in our city to be vigilant and careful as the COVID pandemic enters its third wave. We are fortunate here in the Puget Sound region to be home to a number of outstanding research institutions that are doing internationally respected work on public health mitigations for slowing the spread of the pandemic, as well as treatments for those infected with the virus. As we all make decisions about our holiday activities, please take advantage of this good work by following the advice of these scientists, who we are fortunate to have living and working in our larger community – some of them right here in LFP.

As we continue our own work, the Council has made an adjustment to some tentative dates for meetings on the Town Center municipal code amendments, mentioned in last month’s column. We have invited Sound Transit to join the City Council for a conversation about the commuter parking garage at a Special Committee of the Whole virtual meeting on November 9 at 6:00 p.m., and will follow this with a public hearing on the garage code at the regular Council virtual meeting on November 12 at 7:00 p.m.

At the November 12 Work Session virtual meeting, beginning at 6:00 p.m., we will hear the Planning Commission’s recommendations for the rest of the Town Center code. This will give the Council what we need for our own deliberations on the entirety of the Town Center code, including the garage code, which will culminate in a public hearing in January, and adoption of the entire code in February. The public hearing is tentatively scheduled for January 14 and the adoption of the code is tentatively scheduled for February 25. The Moratorium on accepting applications for development at the Town Center expires on March 10, 2021.

I want to thank the members of the Planning Commission, who are all unpaid volunteers, for taking time away from their families. They have spent numerous hours over the past couple of years on the difficult work of reviewing and rewriting the code which will govern how our Town Center might change over time. Their recommendations are crucial to the work the Council will complete as we deliberate and finally vote on the code in January and February 2021. We are very grateful for their public service and respect their close attention to public input and ideas.

Finally, I want to thank Council Member John Resha, Chair of the Council Budget and Finance Committee, who has skillfully shepherded the Council through five months of budget deliberations. The final public hearing on the budget will take place at a Special City Council Budget meeting on November 5, at 6:00 p.m. We are planning to adopt the 2021-2022 Biennial Budget at the Council meeting on November 12 (a busy evening!). The budget reflects the lean times we find ourselves in, but with some provisos for adjustment if the economy improves faster than expected.

For those interested in following the research on COVID-19, here are some useful links:

http://www.healthdata.org/covid/press-releases
https://publichealthinsider.com/category/novel-coronavirus/
https://www.doh.wa.gov/Emergencies/COVID19
https://www.fredhutch.org/en/research/diseases/coronavirus.html

--- Deputy Mayor Phillippa Kassover

Trees in LFP

Concerned about Trees on Your Property?

As we enter the rainy/windy season, it can be natural to have some concerns about trees on your property. The Planning Department staff is here to help offer some refreshers on best practices and permit requirements.

If a tree on your property is fully dead with no live foliage, you can email a picture of the tree along with a description and your address to the City Arborist for confirmation that the tree meets the code definition of a dead tree. Once you receive confirmation from the City Arborist, then you will be allowed to remove the dead tree without a permit.

If you’d like someone to come take a look at your trees and provide an assessment of their health and/or structural condition, the City recommends finding an ISA Certified Arborist. A Certified Arborist can evaluate your trees of concern and provide helpful information about the health of your trees and if any problems can be mitigated through pruning or other measures.

If you’d like to remove any live trees on your property that have a DBH (diameter at 4.5 feet above ground) of 6 inches or more, then a tree removal permit application can be sent via email to either the City Arborist or the Assistant Planner and payments can be made by check. Checks should be made out to “City of Lake Forest Park” in the amount of $76.13 (application fee) and can be submitted:

By mail to City Hall, 17425 Ballinger Way NE, Lake Forest Park, 98155; or
Dropped off at City Hall in a letter-sized envelope in the silver payment drop box (located on the west side of the building next to the King County elections box).

Once we receive the application and payment, we will contact you to discuss next steps.

If it becomes apparent that a live tree needs to be removed immediately and is an emergency, the City code does have provisions for emergency actions. We recommend contacting the City Arborist and the Assistant Planner for guidance as soon as you become aware that a tree may need to be removed as an emergency.

Feel free to contact the Planning Department staff if you have more questions.

King County Elections – General Election Day is November 3

Ballots were mailed for the Primary Election and ballot drop boxes (including the one next to Lake Forest Park City Hall) are now open. Election Day is Tuesday, November 3, so be sure to have your ballots postmarked by that date or dropped in the ballot drop box by 8:00 p.m.! For more information, please visit King County Elections' website: https://www.kingcounty.gov/depts/elections.aspx, or reach them by phone at 206-296-VOTE (8683).

LFP Veterans Memorial

Commemorating Veterans Day on November 11

Veterans Day is observed nationally on November 11 as a legal public holiday to honor and thank all veterans who have served, or are currently serving, in the Armed Forces. Veterans Day was originally known as Armistice Day, which signified the signing of the armistice on November 11, 1918, ending the First World War. President Dwight D. Eisenhower proclaimed in 1954 that Armistice Day would be known as Veterans Day and would "solemnly remember the sacrifices of all those who fought so valiantly, on the seas, in the air, and on foreign shores, to preserve our heritage of freedom."

Everyone is encouraged to acknowledge and thank those who have served our country in the Armed Forces!

Pink Patch coin - front

Lake Forest Park Police Department Pink Patch

LFPPD Pink Patch

Pink Patch Project coin - back

Pink Patch Project Continues through “Movember”

The Lake Forest Park Police Department is raising funds through October and November for both the Pink Patch Project for breast cancer awareness and “Movember” for prostate cancer research. Police Officers wishing to participate in “Movember” donate $50 and are allowed to grow mustaches/beards for these two months. The Movember Foundation and Cancer Lifeline Seattle are the two charities the Department is supporting this year.

If you would like to purchase a patch or coin, please email Lt. Rhonda Lehman or give her a call at 206-957-2852. Patches are $10 and coins are $10.

Before and after photos of the officers participating in Movember will be shared later on our social media accounts.

City Offers Low-Income Senior / Disabled Sewer Discount

The Lake Forest Park Sewer Utility offers low-income senior or disabled sewer customers a 50 percent discount on their sewer service. You must be an LFP sewer customer and meet the criteria to qualify for the discount. For more information and an application, click on this link.

International ShakeOut Day

On October 15, 2020, City of Lake Forest Park employees participated in the 2020 Great Washington ShakeOut. After announcement of the earthquake drill, LFP employees and LFP Police Officers followed the “drop, cover & hold on” guidelines and then evacuated the building. Some of the employees who are currently working from home also participated in this annual drill.

International ShakeOut Day-is always the third Thursday of October and is a good reminder that although earthquake hazards vary from region to region, most of Washington is prone to earthquakes. The ShakeOut drill is usually well attended, and this year there were over 970,000 participants.

For more information go to www.shakeout.org.

City staff member practicing earthquake drill

Drop...

City staff member participating in earthquake drill

Cover...

Staff member participating in earthquake drill

Hold on...to the table, not your coffee mug!

Street Sweeper sweeping leaves on city street

Leaves, Rain, and Public Works

As we move into the rainy season and leaves start to fall, the Public Works Department begins turning its attention to the City’s drainage system. Street sweeping is one component of drainage system maintenance. However, with close to 1,800 storm drains in town, we could use your help to keep the storm water flowing! The City is encouraging residents to clear any blocked storm drains that are adjacent to or in front of their property, keeping in mind the following:

Please do not create piles of leaves expecting the sweeper to sweep them away. Use your yard waste tote so they can be composted.
DO NOT rake leaves and debris into the street, ditch-lines, or rights-of-way.
If the sweeper encounters large piles of leaves, the driver must drive around them or the pile of leaves could damage the street sweeper and the process could come to a screeching halt.
Municipal Code 16.25.025 makes it illegal to collect lawn clippings, leaves or branches and discharge them into the path of surface water.
Never try to clear a storm drain or culvert if there is moving water greater than knee deep, and always be wary of traffic when working near a roadway.

Wet leaves are surprisingly heavy, so be careful not to overexert yourself. Debris from storm drains should be placed in yard waste containers. If flooding is severe, or you find evidence of dumping, please call 206-368-5440. If you need to report an after-hours public works emergency, please call 206-296-8100.

This is also a good reminder to keep an eye on vegetation encroaching into the right-of-way. This affects the City’s ability to sweep streets, and creates sightline hazards for pedestrians, bikers, and vehicles. Please help us by keeping trees and shrubs trimmed to no more than 12 feet above the walkway and street surface so the community can enjoy the walkways and have a clear sightline of traffic.

For more information on flood protection, click here.

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