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FRIDAY, AUGUST 2, 2013
Citizens group makes library case in five-hour public hearing
River Days ‘smooth,’ but attendance seems down By Brian Beckley
By TRACEY COMPTON
bbeckley@rentonreporter.com
tcompton@rentonreporter.com
City officials said this year’s River Days celebration went smoothly, despite hearing from “more than a few people” that the festival seemed quieter than previous years. Renton Community Relations and Events Coordinator Sonja Mejlaender estimated that 25,000 to 30,000 people attended the festival over the three days, but said it was impossible to get an exact number due to the non-gated, multi-access nature of the event. However, during the festival several vendors remarked that numbers seemed to be down from prior events. Mejlaender said she too had heard from people that things seemed less busy than in the past, but said it is hard to tell because of the spread out nature of the days. People may be at the car show or circus at the Cedar River Park, for example, and therefore it may look like
A citizens group, the City of Renton and a King County Library System renovation team have yet to see what a state hearing examiner makes of an appeal and site plan review before him. Phil Oblrechts, the hearing examiner, has given the group Save the Cedar River Library… Again! until Aug. 6 to make the case that there is a lack of cultural and historical mitigation plans in the environmental review for the downtown Renton library. Tuesday, Olbrechts presided over a public hearing for both the appeal and the site plan review and a permit related to shoreline work. The appeal portion of the hearing took most of the day, with entire hearing running from 10 a.m. to nearly 3 p.m. After the citizens group’s submission, the City of Renton has two days to submit a reply, after which time the hearing examiner can make a determination. He has 10 days to decide. Oblbrechts heard oral testimony in council [ more Library page 10 ]
There was lots to do for children of all ages at the annual Renton River Days festival this past weekend, including chasing bubbles in the Art Market. Brian Beckley, Renton Reporterr there are fewer at Liberty, the main site, she said. But Mejlaender also said the weekend’s blazing sunshine and heat could have played in to the numbers. Mejlaender said the heat Friday afternoon was certainly a factor and said the mornings and Sunday, which were
cooler, seemed to be better attended. “It just ebbs and flows,” she said. Mejlaender also said the last-minute change of the annual shuttle from the stadium lot, which is being re-surfaced, to the Senior Activity Center seemed to work out well. [ more River Days page 15 ]
County’s purchase of mobile home park means moving day is coming bbeckley@rentonreporter.com
Residents of the Riverbend Mobile Home Community just east of Renton city limits are not thrilled the county purchased the park and will be relocating all of the residents during the next three years. “I’m just crying right now,” said Gary Evett on Tuesday as he sat on his back porch overlooking the Cedar River. Evett and his wife Cathy have lived in the mobile home on the same spot overlooking the Cedar for 18 years. The home has been in Gary’s family even
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longer. It’s a beautiful location, with the geese flying up the river literally just feet from their back porch, which they said they just had built last year. “The salmon spawn right in front of our house,” Gary said, shaking his head. “It’s a crying shame.” But the Evetts, like everyone in the Riverbend Mobile Home Community, will be moving out in the next two or three years as the land they rent for their home will be turned into parkland. King County last week announced the purchase of the 18.6-acre, mobile-home park for $6.8 million as [ more RIVERBEND page 4 ]
Gary Evett sits on his back deck and watches the river. After 18 years here, he has to move soon due to the sale of the Riverbend community. Brian Beckley, Renton Reporter
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By Brian Beckley