Constantine to Sims: Take Puget Sound Park off the list now
(click to see a larger version of the letter)
Following up on last night’s update of the Puget Sound Park sale-proposal situation – that’s the letter County Council Chair Dow Constantine has just written to County Executive Ron Sims, asking him to take the park off the list of land he’s seeking to convert into “affordable housing” — as noted on this county webpage — or else, Constantine writes, if PS Park is still on the list when it gets to the County Council, he’ll move to take it off through legislation. We’ll be checking with the County Executive’s office for their response.
FRIDAY NIGHT UPDATE: While we haven’t yet received a direct response from the County Executive, his staff is working to arrange a chance for us to talk Monday with his point people on this project. We’ll let you know what we find out.
Tags: King County, Puget Sound Park
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April 3rd, 2009 at 6:13 pm
It’s just one more reason to elect Dow as County Executive in November. Once again he sticks up for neighborhoods against bureaucrats.
April 3rd, 2009 at 9:46 pm
private 24, I suggest you look at what has transpired to get to this point before you start heaping praise. Constantine has known for months about Sims’ proposal to sell the park. Yes, in the past Constantine has told constituents he was against the park sale. However, it appears that it took the efforts of the North Highline Unincorporated Council, the City of Burien, and many of his constituents to actually get him to take action.
If he’s such a fabulous Councilmember for White Center, why wasn’t he out in front on this issue, leading the charge to save the park?
Maybe you can also explain why he’s not leading the charge to save Evergreen Pool which King County will be closing. Instead, community members are mobilizing and doing what they can to try to save the pool, including looking for foundation grants so it can remain operating. It is my understanding that Constantine voted for the budget that removed the funding that would have kept the pool open. The pool is of tremendous importance to the community and not only used by children/youth, families and seniors, but I just learned recently, it is also used by the North Highline Fire Department firefighters for training.
He’s the only locally elected official representing White Center and it would be nice if White Centerites received as much attention from him as his constituents in West Seattle, where he lives.
He raised the property taxes of every property owner in King County to pay for the Elliott Bay Water Taxi for his constituents in West Seattle, something most property owners in King County will never use.
If he’s willing to do that for the people of West Seattle, maybe he can find some funding somewhere to keep the Evergreen Pool open for his constituents who live a littler further to the south.
April 4th, 2009 at 1:35 am
The county staff plans to rob N Highline of one of its few parks were revealed in November. Dow was contacted then.
So, why did it take him 5 months to decide he is against it? Coincidental that he’s running for office?
Maxine — don’t forget the water taxi district intends to put ferries on Lake Washington, too! Should we be subsidizing more ways (freeways, bridges) to make it easy for people to live miles away from their jobs? Or, should people be encouraged to live close in? Na, let’s just continue the poor urban/transportation planning the county has engaged in for 50 years.
Wasn’t it county planners who let people build homes near the airport? Didn’t we have to buy them out with taxpayer money? Well done King County!
April 4th, 2009 at 8:02 pm
I stand by my statements. Dow sure didn’t wait five months to jump in and oppose the jail that Nickels wanted to put on Myers Way, did he now?
I don’t know what the West Seattle water taxi has to do with this discussion. That was a secondary part of the King County Ferry District. The principal beneficiary is Vashon Island, also in Dow’s District, which faced the loss of state funding for the passenger-only ferry.
Dow’s leadership in forming the King County Ferry District has kept hundreds of exhaust-belching cars from clogging the highways and city streets. So saying he cares only about West Seattle is just bogus, and complaining because your taxes pay for a service you might not use is equally bogus. Dow is far and away the best candidate for Executive, for White Center and for the rest of the county.
And in answer to Diogynese: Most people do not have the luxury of choosing either where they live or where they work. Jobs change more rapidly nowadays than they ever have. So it is not always possible for people to live near their workplaces, if it is possible at all.
We “subsidize” people’s freedom to live where they damn well please, for their own reasons, because we are not cattle to be herded wherever some wannabe social engineer would prefer us to be.