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Redmond council votes to put levy measures on Aug. 4 ballot SAMANTHA PAK spak@redmond-reporter.com
At Tuesday’s meeting, Redmond City Council unanimously voted to put two property tax levy measures on the Aug. 4 ballot. The vote was 6-0, with one council member, Byron Shutz, absent. One levy will address public safety and infrastructure. The second levy will address the city’s parks.
BREAKING DOWN THE NUMBERS
The total cost of the two levies is $33.2 million and voters will be able to vote on each measure separately. For a home with an assessed value of $500,000, that comes down to an increase in property tax of $174.50 per year, or $14.54 per month. Mike Bailey, finance director for the city, said
the six-year levies are split into ongoing and one-time costs. The ongoing cost is about $4.83 million, meaning that is how much it will cost each year, for a total of just less than $29 million, Bailey said. Broken down, it is about $4.36 million for the public safety and infrastructure levy and $474,500 for the park improvements levy.
CITY NEWS
According to the city’s website, these ongoing costs include continued support for police, school resource officers and firefighters from a previous levy, investments in additional police personnel for property crimes and maintaining the city’s roads and sidewalks and parks and trails. The one-time cost of the two levies is about $4.2 million, with $200,000 for public safety and infrastructure and $4.044 million for park
improvements. Bailey said these expenses are for specific projects or items such as outfitting a new police officer with a uniform and car or a specific project such as fixing up a park and its parking lot.
WHY THEY’RE NEEDED
While Redmond City Council voted just this week, the levies were in the works for a while. Council member Hank Myers said the levies were
the only item on the agenda for council’s annual retreat, which was in February this year. He said with the council, it wasn’t a matter of whether or not to have a levy, it was about figuring out what would be the best package to present to voters. Myers said while he always feels the city can operate more efficiently, the things the levies will pay for are good projects. Though [ more LEVIES page 6 ]
Lawsuit settled between Trilogy homeowners and Shea Homes Inc. spak@redmond-reporter.com
Redmond Town Center Easter Eggstravaganza Children hunt for eggs at Redmond Town Center’s Easter Eggstravanganza last Saturday. Approximately 10,000 people attended the event. Children participated in three egg hunts, jumped on a bouncy house and obstacle course, painted Easter tiles, cracked thunder eggs, decorated eggs, blew bubbles, decorated bunny ears and had their Easter photo taken with festive props. Crowds enjoyed cotton candy and lemonade from the snack stand, petted bunnies, played giant Jenga and enjoyed a bean-bag toss. Goodie bags were distributed to attendees with discounts for Redmond Town Center retailers. Spirit 105.3 sponsored the event. Courtesy of Jessica Morgan
A class-action lawsuit between a group of homeowners from Trilogy on Redmond Ridge and Shea Homes Inc. was dismissed after the two parties reached a settlement last month. The terms of the settlement are confidential, but according to Shea’s recent public U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing, under its “Legal Claims” section, the company accrued “$13.3 million in connection with the settlement and related matters.” The filing continues, stating that one of Shea’s insurance carriers has denied coverage for the settlement and due to the uncertainty of this dispute, “there can be no assurance the ultimate
outcome will not be significantly different than the recorded reserve. If, for example, the insurance carrier prevails, (Shea) could be obligated up to an additional $9.7 million for the settlement and related matters.” The homeowners filed the lawsuit on Oct. 10, 2014 in federal court for the Western District of Washington against the California-based homebuilder for allegedly acting unfairly and deceptively in building, marketing and selling homes specifically marketed to elderly buyers. Seattle-based law firms Levy–von Beck & Associates and Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP represented the plaintiffs, which comprised 967 homes in Trilogy and more than 1,500 residents. [ more LAWSUIT page 5] 1277988
SAMANTHA PAK