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A DIVISION OF SOUND PUBLISHING
LITTLE BIT PROVIDES BIG BOOST
City leaders put the breaks on traffic-camera petition efforts
Mayor Marchione says city will not forward signatures to county; Harlan calls decision ‘insulting’ BILL CHRISTIANSON bchristianson@redmond-reporter.com
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RIDING HIGH
$0-&."/ Redmond Reporter
Horse therapy organization expanding to Redmond SAMANTHA PAK spak@redmond-reporter.com
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ince 1976, Little Bit Therapeutic Riding Center has been helping people with physical and cognitive disabilities get back on that horse and make their everyday lives easier. And beginning January 2012, the Woodinville-based organization will expand its services to Dunmire Stables in Redmond at 18669 N.E. 106 St. Little Bit currently serves more than 230 riders and once the two phases of construction are complete on the 17plus acres of land in Redmond, Executive Director Kathy Alm said they will
be able to double their capacity. The first phase of construction — a welcome center and an existing, upgraded indoor arena — is already complete, which allows Little Bit to bring 12 classes with a total of 36 riders to Redmond. “We’re going to be limited because we only have one bathroom until we complete phase two,� Alm said. “Our hope is to build phase two next year.� Phase two will include an outdoor covered arena, a quarter-mile race track that can be used to exercise horses when they are not working and therapy rooms for in-room therapy. Alm said the latter would allow Little
Bit to be a full-treatment facility. Alm said the cost to complete both phases of construction is about $11 million and they have raised $8.7 million. The nonprofit is currently trying to raise $250,000 by the end of the year as part of a Murdock Foundation challenge grant. If they reach this goal, the Murdock Foundation will match that amount. Little Bit still has about $50,000 to raise. According to its website, Little Bit began after Margaret Dunlap teamed up with riding instructor Debra Powell Adams at Woodinville Riding Club. [ more LITTLE BIT page 8 ]
Redmond elected officials are not giving the green light to a citizen-driven petition calling for a vote on Redmond’s trafficenforcement camera program. Mayor John Marchione said the city has no plans of turning the 6,050 signatures over to King County to be validated for a possible ballot item in a special election next February. Elected city officials were advised they were not required to forward the petition, based on a recent state Court of Appeals decision INSIDE in Bellingham, Marchione said Wednesday afternoon t .BZPS $JUZ $PVODJM QSFTJEFOU in a conference room at explain city’s next City Hall. steps concern“Our attorney has ing traffic safety advised us that this parcamera program. ticular topic is not subject t 5JN &ZNBO CMBTUT to the initiative process city for decision and therefore the state regarding petition. law does not apply in this See PAGE 4. case,� Marchione said. “We have no intention of turning these into the county, but we are weighing their input with all the other input we have received.� Marchione said City Council members will use the petition effort as public input when they consider extending the one-year pilot program by Dec. 1. Union Hill resident and Redmond businessman Scott Harlan, the main organizer for Redmond’s first-ever citizen-driven initiative, said city leaders are “obstructing the initiative process that their citizens have engaged in.� “They are not even getting this out of the starting gate,� Harlan said. “It’s an insult to the entire population of registered voters. There’s plenty of time after it gets certified for the lawyers to take over.� Harlan claims Redmond is breaking state law RCW 35.21.005, which requires city officials to forward the petition to the county within three business day of receipt so the county auditor can validate the signatures. The law states, “Within three working days after the filing of a petition, the officer with whom the petition is filed shall [ more PETITION page 7 ]