City of Lake Forest Park
17425 Ballinger Way NE
Lake Forest Park, WA 98155
www.cityoflfp.gov
206-368-5440 January 2024 |
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Mayor's Corner - A Busy Year Ahead
It is an honor and a privilege to have been selected by the people to be the 10th mayor of Lake Forest Park. Having served the City for 12 years as a Council Member and in leadership positions as Deputy Mayor as well as Budget and Finance Chair, I am excited to lead the Executive Branch beginning in the new year. With an excellent leadership team and staff, the City is well positioned to take on the challenges that 2024 and beyond present.
We have an outstanding incoming City Council that brings a wealth of differing skills and abilities to the policy-making side of our government. Our community is very fortunate to have neighbors who are willing to share their time in the service of the City. I look forward to working very closely with whomever they choose to lead the Council as Deputy Mayor and Council Vice Chair. The year ahead is a busy one, with a lot on all of our collective plates: - The Planning Commission will be considering the state-mandated Comprehensive Plan update with many opportunities for public input on the topic.
- The Administration will be working to greatly improve communication with Sound Transit to ensure that Lake Forest Park receives a project that is commensurate with the environment and character of our community.
- The Climate Action Committee will continue their good work on the Climate Action Plan, which will be presented to Council in the first quarter of 2024. The community will be asked to weigh in on this project at a variety of times throughout the year.
- The Tree Board will continue its good work helping our community protect our most valuable resource - our natural environment. The Administration will be doing all it can to support the charge of our arborist.
- 2024 is also a Budget year in which the Administration will bring a two-year budget proposal to Council for consideration. There will be a variety of opportunities to express your thoughts and opinions during the budget process which begins in early summer.
- The Council and Administration will continue to work collectively on improvements to make our roads safer for all. Lowered speed limits, improvements to pedestrian and multi-modal facilities are all important aspects of this work. The Council has made great progress on this topic and now it is time to find the funding for implementing a variety of safety improvements.
A wise friend of mine recently said that a new year is a great time to re-imagine what is possible. I am hugely optimistic about the new year, and I couldn’t agree more. With respect and appreciation,
Mayor-elect Tom French
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Welcome New Employee Katie Phillips
The Public Works department is excited to welcome its new hire, Katie Phillips, to the team. Katie began work as the City’s new Project Manager on December 11. In addition to her experience working in several industries, Katie has five years of project management experience and received her bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Columbia University. A resident of Lake Forest Park, Katie looks forward to working for the community she loves.
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Save the Date! February 21 is the Second Community Workshop for the Future Public Lake Front Park Property
The City of Lake Forest Park has acquired 2 parcels, totaling 1.91 acres, on the shores of Lake Washington to provide the community with active water recreation opportunities. This multi-year effort requires community participation and input. The City and its consultants are now embarking on the design of the future public waterfront that will feature expanded park and community space.
Your input is essential to the design of our future public lake front park! Share your thoughts and vision for the new lake front park improvement project during the Community Workshop in the City Council Chambers on Wednesday, February 21, 2024, anytime between 5:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. Be sure to view the project website for more information on the project, sign up to receive email updates, and go on a virtual tour of the park!
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Council Corner – Update on the Climate Action Committee
The Climate Action Committee will release the city’s preliminary Climate Action Plan in January. The committee, comprising a group of ten residents (including a couple of Shorecrest High seniors) and guided by the city’s Environmental and Sustainability Specialist Cory Roche, has been working for 20 months on putting the plan together. The plan will have recommendations on cutting greenhouse gas emissions in city operations and suggestions for homeowners, renters, and businesses to become more resilient in the face of climate change.
Reasoning that Lake Forest Park residents have much personal, business, and academic background and experience in understanding the Pacific Northwest climate and its changes, committee chair Sarah Phillips and vice-chair Anne Udaloy steered the committee away from hiring outside consultants. The result is a report that is literally tailored for Lake Forest Park and our unique geography, canopy, and community. The main recommendation of the report is the recognition that climate mitigation (reducing greenhouse gases) and resilience (adapting to climate change) cross multiple city operations (as well as many aspects of our personal lives). Designating a single person as a Climate Action manager will help implement the other recommendations of the report and assess, over time, how the city and its residents are meeting our climate goals. What effect will a climate action plan have on multiple 100-degree days, weeks of smoke-laden air and deluges of rain? We do what we can! The city’s leaf-blowers and other maintenance equipment are all now battery-powered. This year there have been 90 permits for residential heat pumps and 12 for solar-power systems. This past month, dozens of LFP residents participated in the Miyawaki forest planting (with native and non-invasive non-native species) at the Shoreline Historical Museum, a radical approach to increasing urban canopy cover. “The environment” was cited by the majority of respondents to our survey as to why they moved to LFP. The Climate Action Plan is a roadmap to preserving the environment we all cherish. With the discovery of several salmon fry in Lyon and McAleer Creeks, we are seeing the fruits of working on our climate actions. And the committee would love to talk to you about the report and any aspect of the climate that concerns you! Find us at the LFP Farmers Market (where we’ve been at the sponsor table the past two summers), or at Picnic in the Park or other city-sponsored events. Or, you’ll find us inviting you to take part in a survey, as we did in November 2022, to find out your concerns and your aspirations in mitigating climate change and building climate resilience (nearly 500 of you responded – thank you!). Or, you’ll come to one of our series of climate talks that we set up with the cities of Shoreline and Kenmore; we covered induction cooking, home and business solar power and heat pumps this past year. You can always get a hold of us at climate@cityoflfp.com. --Councilmember Tracy Furutani
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Winter, Snow, and Cold Temperatures Have Arrived
When snow and ice storms are in the forecast, our Public Works Department is here to prepare and respond. During a snowstorm, City Crews work around the clock. Designated Citywide priority routes are cleared first to accommodate emergency response, main arterials (including Bothell Way/SR 522 and Ballinger Way/SR 104), and bus routes. If snowfall is continuous, those arterials may require repeated plowing and sanding before crews can work to clear neighborhood streets. Click here to view the Priority Snow and Ice Routes Map. Department crews do their very best to minimize the depositing of snow on driveways; unfortunately, it is unavoidable when clearing the streets.
Residents and business/property owners are responsible for clearing snow and ice on their own driveways, sidewalks, and curbside mailboxes near their property, including the ridge of snow left along the edge of driveways by the snowplow. If you removed snow from your property, make sure the snow is not placed in the right-of-way. Catch basins must also be kept clear to accommodate melting snow to avoid pooling or flooding of water. Please understand that LFP is a small city with limited resources and approximately 120 lane miles to maintain. Public Works and the Police Department will be working around the clock to keep our streets as safe as possible. Remember to drive slowly, do what you can to prepare yourself, and help others when you can. Always check the latest forecasts and road conditions before heading out. For more information on emergency preparedness, click here. We appreciate your support and understanding!
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NEMCo Partners with Police Departments to Institute Winter Weather Wellness Checks
This January, the Northshore Emergency Management Coalition (NEMCo) is partnering with the police departments from Kenmore and Lake Forest Park to institute a new Winter Weather Wellness Check program. This program is designed to target the at-risk and vulnerable populations within our community and provide them assistance in the event of extreme cold weather, unexpected cold snaps, significant power outages, or other weather-related emergencies.
Modelled after the existing LFP vacant house check program, interested persons will be able to register with the city via a weblink (available soon) to receive wellness check phone calls or in-person visits, depending on anticipated weather conditions. For anyone without access to the internet, signup forms will also be available at City Hall after the new year. While the in-person visits will mostly be conducted by police officers, NEMCo volunteers will be tasked with making phone calls checking on the health and wellbeing of registered community members. Anyone interested in this program is encouraged to monitor the city’s webpage, eNews, as well as NEMCo’s website for further information on how to sign up. Additionally, we are asking that you please share this information with any family members or neighbors who you think may benefit from this program. Based on the responses to this program, we will most likely offer a similar program for the summer season.
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Grand Opening of the Shoreline Tool Library – Saturday, January 6, 2024
You are invited to the grand opening of the Shoreline Tool Library on Saturday, January 6, from 9:00 a.m. to noon.
The cities of Shoreline and Lake Forest Park have teamed up with nonprofit Seattle REconomy to create the Shoreline Tool Library (tool library), which is like a book library but for tools and other useful items. Located at the Evergreen RV building (16610 Aurora Ave N in Shoreline), the library offers everything you do not want to buy or store: pressure washers, power tools, catering supplies, table, chairs, party tents, lawn mowers, board games, seeds, toys, and thousands of other items. The tool library also offers discounted used building supplies such as lumber, flooring, hardware, and painting supplies as well as classes on topics like sewing basics, intro to power tools, and general home maintenance. Learn more at www.SeattleREconomy.org or stop by the tool library during open hours (Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 5:00 – 8:00 p.m. and Saturdays from 9:00 a.m. – noon) starting January 6.
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Ease into the New Year with Small Steps for More Sustainable Practices
Our partners in the King County Department of Natural Resources and Parks compiled a list of small steps you can take to be more sustainable this new year. We’re especially fond of the advice to choose safer alternatives, but all this advice will help you embrace environmentally friendly practices year-round and with little effort.
Looking for more inspiration? The regional collaboration Puget Sound Starts Here did a round-up of 23 small steps to promote cleaner, healthier waterways and protect the health of our natural environment. Check out the short video here!
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It’s Always Car Wash Season – Puget Sound Starts Here
Unfortunately, there is no filtration system between you and your storm drains. Everything done on streets, parking lots, and at home goes straight down the storm drain and dumps into the nearest outlet: a stream, Lake Washington, or Puget Sound. We all enjoy a nice shiny clean car, but home car washing can use excessive amounts of water and sends lots of pollutants like oils, heavy metals, detergents, soaps, and grime into the storm drains.
After a trip over or up to the mountains or a few snowy days around the City, our cars get dirty. The great news is there are ways you can help! The best way is to use a commercial car wash. Commercial car washes are required to send their soapy, dirty, grimy water to the same system as other wastewater from our showers, sinks, and toilets--so it can be treated and cleaned! If you cannot make it to a car wash, it is best to divert your dirty car wash water to grass, soil, or gravel and not your driveway or concrete. Grass, soil, and gravel can help filter the dirty water so not all the harmful pollutants enter a stream to Lake Washington or Puget Sound.
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Stay Current on City News
Want to keep up with what’s going on at the City? There are several ways to stay informed. Subscription options include notices of city meetings and events, planning announcements, emergency alerts, city newsflashes, and more! Click here for the full list of available subscriptions.
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