Disqus - Latest Comments for 98010

Re: Crowe gets my vote in November's Maple Valley City Council elections | Letter - Covington & Maple Valley Reporter

98010 — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 18:52:45 -0000

Great letter and well written. Thanks.

Re: Toward Responsible Development files appeal against YarrowBay developments in Black Diamond | Read Document - Covington Reporter

98010 — Thu, 14 Oct 2010 15:25:46 -0000

This is great news. Thank you so much Toward Responsible Development!

Also check out: www.saveblackdiamond.org

Re: The city of Black Diamond will be ruined forever | Letter - Covington Reporter

98010 — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 16:45:50 -0000

Very well said. Perhaps we as citizens should now erect a monument to their legacy on private visible land for all future generations to see the names and pictures of these spineless council members and city employees who sold us out to the highest bidder and destroyed a beautiful historic city.

Re: Black Diamond City Council considers YarrowBay projects The Villages and Lawson Hills - Covington Reporter

98010 — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 12:01:29 -0000

I've had no contact with Mr. Saas yet but this got me:

Councilman William Saas said at the Aug. 12 deliberations, “We are in the greatest time of influence right now, so we have to do our best to come together to figure out what is in the best interest of the applicant and what is in the best interest of the city.”

What about the best interests of the residents who pay taxes and moved here generations ago for our quality of life. Why is it only the best interests of the"applicant" first then the city second. I am so sick of this project and a council who mostly doesn't seem to have the intelligence to understand what's happening and they're being bullied into approving it. Grow some testicles and do what's right for the residents who elected you. We don't want it here and you know it.

Re: Twists and turns in Black Diamond's hearing for The Villages and Lawson Hills | Week One - Covington Reporter

98010 — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 16:37:42 -0000

I wholeheartedly agree. I was at that meeting on Thursday and what really made me mad was the council seemed lost by everything that was happening. Mulvihill even said she was lost at one point. We absolutely need a city council with enough intelligence to do the job, not get lost by it. They seemed to let Ms. Rogers bully them and use threatening language in her presentation. Including, but not limited to her statement that community displeasure can not be cause to deny the MPD. I took that to mean if the council backs out now & actually protect the residents & environment, YB will sue. And perhaps they can & should. Community displeasure should be very high on the council’s priority list. But they’ve become scared little puppets not leaders and don’t know how to fix it now, they’re over their heads.

In my opinion there’s so much valid concern over environmental damage, lifestyle degradation, traffic on surrounding cities, etc. due to YB’s developments, why is this council still moving forward? Are they too scared or lost to step back? If there is any valid concern, it should not be approved. If the estimates are flawed and Ginder Creek, Rock Creek, & Sawyer become completely polluted, it’s destroyed for decades. That’s not a gamble we should be taking.

And if I hear “Preserve small town character” once more time I think I’ll puke. It should never have gotten to this point, YB wants to push it forward very quickly before the voters remove their lost little lapdogs like we did with Bowie and whenever we can arrange recall, I’m on board. The sooner the better.

Re: Value is down, tax bill goes up - Enumclaw Courier-Herald

98010 — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 14:08:27 -0000

“The average Enumclaw parcel was assessed in 2009 at $274,800; applying a tax rate of $9.07, the owner paid an annual tax bill of $2,493.”

Lets say the value did not decrease in 2010 by 15% and it was exactly the same. The new rate of $11.28 would have put their tax bills at $3099. That would have been an increase of $606.

While it sounds really nice to say it’s only an increase of $145, also realize that your property lost real value. If it didn’t lose value, $145 wouldn’t have been so bad. At some point, people must force the state, county, cities, & school districts live within their means like we all have to on a daily basis. $145 would have been nice to spend at local merchants or on groceries to feed our families or on something to make our homes a little nicer. The tax payer now just saw their useable income decrease, just as if your employer gave you a $145 pay cut but you still have to work just as hard.

Only property owners should ever be able to vote on property tax issues. Likewise, people that use the schools should have to pay extra for that service.

Re: YarrowBay's The Villages and Lawson Hills Black Diamond developments clear first hurdle | Read Documents - Covington Reporter

98010 — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 18:38:20 -0000

That'd make the news wouldn't it? Then maybe the problems here might get more publicity.

I already contacted Rob McKenna and one other person regarding conduct with YB and other council issues. One thing that should be illegal is that a large majority of city employees are paid by YB. That's a huge conflict of interest. I would encourage all citizens who are upset by this councils dealings to write a letter to the AG immediately.

Re: YarrowBay's The Villages and Lawson Hills Black Diamond developments clear first hurdle | Read Documents - Covington Reporter

98010 — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 14:48:27 -0000

While the FIES might be deemed as "adequate", whatever happened to the fact that really nobody wants this in Black Diamond? We were sold out by our money hungry city council looking for property taxes, meanwhile, surrounding cities have very real issues with the whole plan that are being ignored. Us residents who have been here for generations got ignored even when we went to public meetings only to hear later that there were no "significant comments". We're losing our quality of life and will have to pay more property taxes for schools, police, fire, etc. for these developments we do not want!

And you Enumclaw residents who have had no say, these new schools that need property tax funding are in the Enumclaw School District. Your wallet is on the hook too for the decisions in the Black Diamond City Council Chambers.

I'd like to know if our quality of life will be deemed "adequate" after 6000 houses, with apartments & businesses are built, heavy traffic on our roads from Enumclaw to Renton, new property taxes to pay for the extra students & road widening and the developer has left town with wads of cash? Adequate isn't why I moved here.

Re: Groups urged to come together, carefully mitigate river system | Hildreth - Auburn Reporter

98010 — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 17:32:11 -0000

The flood of January 8, 2009 was not caused by debris or reduced capacity. It was caused by the Corps mismanaging the dam and releasing far more water than was ever safe regardless of any past capacity. You were on the news blasting them for doing so and not notifying you and the city in advance. If I recall, they did admit fault.

There are far too many “green” wackos in this state to ever have dredging on the table so the debris removal in the rivers is the more likely solution to the immediate problem. It is a hazard that impedes flow which encourages sedimentation and is absolutely the first step and should be dealt with swiftly. Once removed, the river will naturally dredge itself. The second step is to remove the incompetent employee that caused the flood on January 8, 2009.

For Parametrix to be hired to fly around Pacific and advise you or council to enact flood buffers on private property borders on legalized theft. Those folks have paid taxes on their land, some of which have been in their families for generations. Those taxes should be used in part to maintain levees and natural resources, not be spent to essentially take their property use from them. How would you feel if it was your land? I really wish politicians would consider that prior to any new restrictions against landowners such as the ones here. But it’s always easier to do it to someone else.

I urge you to consider, before approving any buffers, the rights and opinions of these taxpaying voters. You know, as well as all of them, that the flood was caused by the sheer incompetence of the Corps employee(s). Also to wait and see the huge benefit of debris removal prior to placing buffers. The buffers will not be needed and they definitely are not wanted.

Re: Phone surveys are testing water for tax increase - Enumclaw Courier-Herald

98010 — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 15:31:59 -0000

The city can sell reasonably priced rain barrels to collect the roof runoff and actually teach people how to install & use this water to water their lawns and plants, and teach people how to properly use fertilizer and pesticides. There’s some very safe ones out now. The whole system is very simple and helps immensely with water bills in the summer months. Whoever buys & uses the rain barrels doesn’t have to pay the “tax” or as our wonderful governor calls it “revenue generators”.

The problem with cars being washed is a harder problem, however, most car soaps now are “green” so it’s not adding to the problem as much as these politicians like to say it does. On top of that, how many decades have people been washing cars with soaps not as clean as what we have now and I still see lots of fish coming home every year. But there are carwashes around that recycle the used water too. Your biggest problem is laundry soaps but you guys approved the developers’ building permits so you should’ve had a plan then. It’s not the fault of the existing homeowners. I believe there are plants that help in the filtration process that can be planted by drainage ditches, and they'll look nice too.

It’s so frustrating that these people just sit on their rear ends in these council meetings and say “let’s tax ‘em!” instead of actually thinking about how to solve the problems. Increasing taxes should never be the first thought, especially right now. Although Gregoire would be proud!

Re: Black Diamond ex-City Administrator Leonard Smith files claim for severance against city - Covington Reporter

98010 — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 23:18:56 -0000

I agree and have said before that everyone involved with this embarassment should step down. This city is going in the wrong direction and that's toward corruption. I think tomorrow I'll write a letter to Rob McKenna regarding all the recent problems with this city government including the taking of property with the b.s. SAO since he's currently dealing with abuse of eminent domain by city governments who think they are entitled to what's ours. I know Mr. McKenna is already on the Combs fraud case.

Come on citizens, get on board and take our city back from these corrupt morons at city hall.

Re: Letter explains firing of city attorney - Enumclaw Courier-Herald

98010 — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 21:05:38 -0000

So as I see it, the city hired this guy and put him in an authority position for about 45 days before finishing a background check. The Mayor and Council put all of us citizens in harms way, the children at the skate park and elementary school, elderly citizens in the over 55 subdivision, all of us. This guy could have peeped on or harmed anyone here. That is a blatant disregard for the very people they should have protected.

Every involved council member, employee, and the Mayor should be reprimanded and removed from service immediately.

Re: VIEW DOCUMENT: Black Diamond reels from resignation and apparent investigations of city attorney - Covington Reporter

98010 — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 11:10:52 -0000

I saw that levy fail-tax hike also. But if I remember correctly, not all of the votes were even counted yet and it was still going back and forth when the meeting agenda notes to a November 19 council meeting showed the property tax increase. Of course, 3 + weeks later the website doesn’t yet have the actual meeting notes from Nov 19. So had the levy passed, which they didn't know at the time, we'd have been double hit. How's that for leadership?

The reporter who wrote this article tells us there’s more to the story coming soon. It is time the citizens do something so we need to get it figured out and all of us get together.

Re: VIEW DOCUMENT: Black Diamond reels from resignation and apparent investigations of city attorney - Covington Reporter

98010 — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 13:04:14 -0000

To Sad1a:
Pull your head out. The Mayor and the Council members have had nothing but the WORST intentions for Black Diamond and its citizens who have lived here for years. They threw us to the ditch and bent over for this big developer and its cash.
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“The Mayor, Mayor Elect and City Council members have always worked above board in public and have included the public were ever they could to insure a transparent governing process.”

Ask anyone who sat at the big SAO meeting at the elementary school while so many residents were shocked at what the council was planning on doing to us. We all voiced our opinions and several weeks later, in BD’s report to King County regarding the summary of that public meeting, they wrote “No significant comments”. (I still have it saved on my home computer so I’ll double check who that report was written to). “No significant comments” are you kidding me?
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“They have placed their trust in people that took advantage of that trust and used it for their own purposes, whatever those purposes were”

Who does that actually sound like? It’s not the council, it’s us citizens. Why do you think Bowie’s been kicked out? We placed our trust in them and they couldn’t care less about us, our town, our water, only the big developer and his money. They’re all an embarrassment to the community.
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“It is not the Councils fault if residents will not read the monthly newsletter, or look online or read public notices. To be an informed citizen, you must act responsibility to become informed.”

Everybody does read it, but they don’t put anything but flowery, glossed over details about controversial things in there. Their SAO pages written by Nix made it seem like it was such a great thing and we could get our property taxes lowered, we could use TDR’s, we could still build on it, etc. Nobody is buying TDR’s, our property taxes are lowered because they decimated our property values, and we can only build on a pea sized square of our own land we paid for. It was theft. Now we can’t even cut down a tree that’s endangering our house without a city employee coming by and harassing us. "Public Notices"? Where have those been? Oh that's right; they are on the door to the police station, as if we all go there on a regular basis. And the newsletter is bi-monthly, get informed.
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“In the mean time, show your support for the Mayor, the Mayor Elect and the Council for all the hard work they do.”

We elected them, and put our faith in them, they never showed one ounce of respect or support for us, so a lot of us are done with that until they show it to us, the taxpayers. The hard work you reference is what, working with the developer to make us into a Covington, taking our land, increasing our taxes, selling our water? What hard work are you referring to? Maybe during the bridge closure detour, putting up a sign to support local businesses with LEAH’S GIFTS first and biggest? Hmmm, how’d that happen? Was the Eagles Hall on there that just raised $1,779.50 for the BD K9 unit? We get it, it is very transparent.

For all of you that still think this is a wonderful little town, know that it USED to be and will be again when we get some honest leadership who hires honest employees. Until then, we’re stuck with what we have until the next 3 positions expire in 2011.

Re: VIEW DOCUMENT: Black Diamond reels from resignation and apparent investigations of city attorney - Covington Reporter

98010 — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 15:21:25 -0000

Over billing, double billing and possible fraud is very serious, especially when it comes to taxpayer dollars and the fact that BD is running in the red according to Olness in the debate at the school prior to her election. A lot of politicians do it regardless of the D or R by their names. It's not like any of these city council members or employees will or could ever run for anything important.

The point is that the corruption, shadiness and backdoor deals a lot of the residents have seen in the last few months and years is finally being addressed. I'm glad there's someone out there finally watching out for us. I wish someone would’ve been there for the citizens while all of my neighbors and friends lost a lot property to this ridiculous SAO which was nothing more than theft. The Mayor and Council disregarded anyone who stood up and disagreed, they didn’t even listen to us. Olness seemed to doodle on her paper while we all lost what we’d loved, worked, and paid for. We all watched the city attorney Loren Combs advise the council on the maximum amount of our individual properties the city could “take” as a buffer without them getting sued because of it. That’s not ever what you want in leadership. Hopefully now, everything he worked on will be null and void. Good riddance.

Thank you Mr. Hurst!

Re: Beware: Public asked to be on the lookout for dangerous wolf hybrid - Auburn Reporter

98010 — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 15:37:49 -0000

I am in the path between Ravensdale and Heather Highlands. On May 28, 2009 I found one of my goats dead on my acreage in Black Diamond. The department of fish & wildlife said that it must be coyotes. I saw the animal every day for the next 3 days and it was not a coyote, it was not a dog, and it was not afraid of me. It was huge. It looked like a tan, brown and yellow wolf.

Living out here, we do expect wild animals to visit our property. People out here welcome all kinds of wildlife. Unlike eagles, this thing isn’t “natural” wildlife. To intentionally breed something like this and not be responsible enough to keep it on their property is very dangerous. I hope they catch it and the breeder.

Re: Parks, Arts, Rec, and Employee Recycling Program step up with trailer purchase

98010 — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 15:34:03 -0000

Employee Recycling Program? Is that when you get less prductivity from your employees so you throw them into the wood chipper and use the what comes out as compost?

Ahhh, such beautiful flowers in the spring.

Re: Black Diamond severance agreement with former City Administrator Gwendolyn Voelpel released - Covington Reporter

98010 — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 15:12:44 -0000

Usually people that make almost 10k a month don't just decide one day and tell their employer that they might want to find another job, without having one already lined up, knowing that it may be a significant period of time before she found another job. Especially in an economy like this.

Seems as though there's far more to the story on both sides than what's being released here.

However, if Botts had the “authority to terminate Ms. Voelpel’s employment at any time” why was she paid $87,015.83 as severance compensation? Over 9 months of pay? Is this "hush money" for her knowing the city is doing unethical things, sexual harrasment, or what? I know she was a very nice person.

Regardless, hopefully the janitor at the elementary school, the street sweeper, and crossing guard won't say they may want to look for other jobs soon, Botts will give them each 9 months pay to leave too. Must be nice to be filthy rich with taxpayer money.

Re: Agreement outlines seven school sites in Black Diamond - Enumclaw Courier-Herald

98010 — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 12:31:21 -0000

They'll always get us for school taxes whether they need the money or not. While it’s nice of Yarrow Bay to set aside the school land, they got something in return for it. Now they'll build their planned 6000 homes in Black Diamond and walk away with pockets full of cash and leave us taxpayers to pay for building the schools to accommodate the new subdivisions they built. It does not seem right. If they want to build 6000 houses, they need to build the school buildings, police & fire buildings and turn them over to the city. Building the houses was their idea; very few, if any, of us residents want it in BD. It will ruin our quality of life and the mayor & city council didn’t seem to care at all. All they saw were lots of extra tax dollars and were being greedy.

Who’s going to pay for the schools, police, fire, and road improvements? Not Yarrow Bay. You and I are. Even people in the City of Enumclaw will pay for building schools in Black Diamond simply because they’re in the same school district. Why should a homeowner on Porter have to pay extra property taxes to build an elementary school in Yarrow Bay’s planned development in BD when they had no say and no communication about what was happening in our city? That’s wrong.

Re: Black Diamond election pivotal for future - Enumclaw Courier-Herald

98010 — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 15:25:51 -0000

This meeting was a huge waste of time! The questions were so soft & ridiculous. If you ask something like: "Should development pay for development?" Who's really going to answer" Oh no, I think the current citizen taxpayers should have to pay for the upgrades & new roads, drainage and utilities, while the developer walks away with tons of cash in his pocket" There was no other way to answer it but that development should pay for development. Big surprise there guys. But honestly, in the long run, we DO pay for it!

And I also agree with dlp2155's comment. 10k/ month of our tax dollars during a recession and an apparent city deficit is bad leadership. None of the candidates are overly impressive but anything is better than what we have now.

Re: Strong-arm robber punches woman, steals cash in Buckley - Enumclaw Courier-Herald

98010 — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 15:08:37 -0000

"walking her traditional route ", probably at the same time, every time? Who does that? Not too smart, even here. Maybe next time the employees should whistle, skip, and swing the bag the whole way.

Hard lesson to learn but at least she didn't get hurt.

Re: Leonard Smith hired as new city administrator in Black Diamond - Covington Reporter

98010 — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 13:58:14 -0000

$9,626.00 per month? Are you kidding me? Obviously money is not an issue for the city staff and council. However, in case you weren't aware, there are families in Black Diamond who are holding onto their homes by a thread and struggle with everyday bills during this recession while the city wants more tax money (higher 6 year replacement levy) from us to fund "Public Safety" while they ride around in new Dodge Chargers. Maybe you guys should cut back like the rest of us.

Who's running this town anymore? I don't blame her for wanting to leave. You guys are a joke and I hope you all get thrown out on your next election! Shame on you all! Get back in touch with the regular people you're supposed to represent!

Re: Writer concerned with Black Diamond candidate - Covington Reporter

98010 — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 14:07:34 -0000

I just really hope that they will have some kind of debate over this seat because the residents should know all of the candidates and their positions on current city events outside of these letters to the editor. The letters really aren’t productive either way.

Re: Black Diamond City Council candidate disputes allegations - Covington Reporter

98010 — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 14:15:00 -0000

Are there any debates scheduled for this position? I sure hope so because if his letter is false, you should have the chance to defend yourself outside of these exchanges. However, if the letter is accurate, the voters should know these facts.

I personally have had enough of these city council members and employees, for that matter, who walk on the rights of the citizens here. We need common sense in this city and someone who will actually look out for the people who elected them, not destroy their property values, rights, and try to sell their water and land large corporations to line the pockets of the city. The state of this city currently makes a lot of us very sick to our stomachs.

Re: Writer concerned with Black Diamond candidate - Covington Reporter

98010 — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 13:38:10 -0000

I wouldn’t pay for the sign either, that’s ridiculous. We need people on the council who actually understand the basics of serving the people.

While it would indeed be disappointing to be a neighbor of someone who chose not to maintain their yard, it is his property that he alone pays taxes for. Our private land in Black Diamond is ours, not the city’s to take on a whim. It’s very similar to the ridiculous sensitive areas ordinance, which most council members did not entirely read nor understand but voted in favor of anyway. That ordinance took away many peoples’ land use, rights, and property value.

We need common sense in this city for once and if this letter is accurate, this person may not be it.