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REPORTER
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SCHOOLS | McCleary update: Court imposes penalty on state [5] CRIME ALERT | Redmond Police Blotter [3]
BUSINESS | 18|8 men’s salon opens doors in Redmond. [13]
FRIDAY, AUGUST 21, 2015
A DIVISION OF SOUND PUBLISHING
Redmond reaches voluntary stage of water curtailment ANDY NYSTROM anystrom@redmond-reporter.com
It’s been 23 years since this region of Washington has implemented mandatory water curtailment — and City of Redmond officials hope it doesn’t happen again. However, with the drought that’s clutched the state in recent months,
Redmond has reached the voluntary curtailment stage. By following the lead of Cascade Water Alliance, Seattle Public Utilities, Tacoma Water and the City of Everett, Redmond is asking residents and businesses to reduce their water usage by 10 percent. Late last month, the city informed residents that it and all the above parties
were following an advisory plan, the first phase of a water shortage response that notes to use water wisely and don’t waste. On Aug. 11, the voluntary plan — the second phase — went into effect; the third and fourth phases are mandatory and emergency, the latter of which has never happened in Washington, according
to Linda DeBoldt, the City of Redmond’s Public Works director. “We’re in this period right now during the remainder of the summer and into the fall where there is enough water in the region,” DeBoldt said. “However, the concern is that if the hot dry conditions remain into the fall, and the level of water usage also stays at a
higher level that it has been historically, the concern is that the amount of water in the reservoirs would not be enough.” Redmond receives its water from the Tolt River Watershed east of Carnation and the Cedar River Watershed near North Bend, both of which are managed by Seattle Public Utilities. Most of Red-
mond’s water is streamed from Tolt, but Cedar River water can be diverted to the city if needed.
VOLUNTARY STAGE
DeBoldt said that Redmond closely coordinates with the above agencies about what steps to take during a drought. Chuck Clarke, Cascade [ more WATER page 7 ]
Football season is just around the corner Propositions 1 and 2
fail in special election ANDY NYSTROM anystrom@redmond-reporter.com
King County Elections released the final certified results on Tuesday for the special election, and Redmond’s propositions 1 and 2 failed. Redmond’s Proposition 1 garnered a “no” percentage of 53.07 (4,089 votes) and a “yes” percentage of 46.93 (3,616 votes). It addressed public safety, infrastructure and walkability, and would have cost about $18.13 million over the course of six years. Proposition 2 amassed a “no” percentage of 54.03 (4,168 votes) and a “yes” percentage of 45.97 (3,546 votes). The proposed six-year, $6.9 million levy focused on capital projects in the parks department and parks maintenance. Both propositions needed a simple majority to pass. While sitting around a table in a room at Redmond City Hall on Tuesday, Mayor John Marchione and council members Hank Margeson and John Stilin offered insight into why they feel the propositions failed. The trio was out amongst residents on election night,
Aug. 4, which coincided with National Night Out Against Crime. They split their time between about 30 National Night Out block parties, and residents voiced their opinions in person after checking boxes on their ballots. “For the most part, what I heard was, ‘The city’s doing a great job, that’s why I voted against the levy,’” said Marchione, adding that residents were satisfied that the police respond in five minutes, the parks are clean and tidy and the roads are fine. “There’s no crisis. And without a crisis, they didn’t want to raise their taxes. The other reaction I got was, ‘I need to save the $100 because the county and the state and the school district are coming for it.’” Margeson added that the people he visited with felt there wasn’t a sense of urgency around the level of service and said they were taxed enough. “These were enhancements to our current services and they weren’t necessarily the basics, so we weren’t necessarily cutting things,” Margeson said. “And really we played the game by the rules, which [ more ELECTION page 8 ]
CITY NEWS
Redmond High football players stretch out before practice in blistering 90-degree heat on Wednesday afternoon. The Mustangs will play their opening 4A Kingco game at 7 p.m. Sept. 4 against Newport at home. Look for a team preview in the Reporter that day. ANDY NYSTROM, Redmond Reporter
Homeowner with indoor camera helps thwart burglary attempt ANDY NYSTROM anystrom@redmond-reporter.com
A Redmond resident who was
away from their home, helped police thwart a burglary in progress on Aug. 13 in the Woodlands area of Education Hill. At about 2:30 p.m., the resident received an alert via their home camera with motion-sensor capabilities, said Redmond Police Department public information officer Becky Range. The resident began watching a live video feed of an intruder in the home, called 911 and police quickly
responded. One male suspect from Seattle was apprehended at the scene and arrested. “The camera footage has amazing quality and makes for great evidence, so we are very grateful to the homeowner for acting so quickly and turning over the footage to the police department,” Range said. An investigation is ongoing. • For details on several other burglaries in the last week, see the police blotter on page 3.