G.R.I.T. Update August 27, 2006

G.R.I.T. UPDATE SUNDAY, AUGUST 27, 2006

Important Information....

FIRST PEEK at the First draft recommendations for U. S. 2'S RDP: 7 PM Monday, Aug. 28th. Sultan City Hall, 319 Main Street: The bulk of the U. S. 2 Safety Coalition's meeting will be used for WSDOT's presentation of the results of the two-day planning charrette (i.e., "interactive brainstorming workshop") held at Sultan's Middle School Aug. 14 and 16 for the corridor's RDP working group members. This will represent the first look-see at draft recommendations for improvement alternatives for the four corridor segments: #1 Snohomish to Monroe, #2 Monroe, #3 East Monroe to East Gold Bar and #4 East Gold Bar to East Skykomish (45-mile length). For detailed information on the RDP, http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/Projects/US2/RDP/Default.htm For info on the U. S. 2 Safety Coalition and how you can make a difference: http://www.us2safetycoaltion.org

For those wishing to catch up, the minutes of the last three Coalition meetings (May, June and July) will be posted Monday morning on the Coalition's website.

ROAD CLOSURES IN SULTAN:

Road closures announced by Sultan's Public Works Director Connie Dunn at the August 24th council meeting:

Rice Road (339th S.E.) will be closed at the request of Snohomish County from August 30th through "mid-September" so the county can replace a culvert near the approximate location of Ed's Apples.
Sultan Basin Road will be closed "in October" to facilitate grinding down of the roadway's pavement at the crest of Sultan Basin Road, a condition of plat approval for the 85-unit Timber Ridge Estates.

The grinding of the crest will improve the line of sight for future homeowners of the 18 homes granted a private (if unsafe) road to access SBR near its crest. This was recommended by the developer of the project, Neil Latta (RTG Associates), the traffic consultant (Gibson Traffic Consultants), and by Rick Cisar, City Planner. The alternative roadway alignments recommended by us during the Hearing Examiner process was to configure the development so the roadway for the 18 homes on that private, dead-end roadway would connect to the main internal but public roadway southward. This would have resulted in a single incursion onto Sultan Basin Road, minimizing future congestion while enhancing safety risks on that critical slope. You will have no problem identifying this future community: it is the brown scorched earth on the critical slope above the ecologically-sensitive Wagley Creek that seems to run forever into the eastern horizon. (Note: A transcription of Mr. Latta's closing remarks on why it was not possible for them to use my suggestion will be posted tomorrow (Monday) morning on our website. Also included in his closing statement is his justification for the housing density of the Timber Ridge development.)

SULTAN POLICE LEVY MEETING: Wednesday, August. 30th, 7 PM - Chief Fred Walser will hold a public meeting to answer questions and take input on Sultan's Police Levy to finance police services in Sultan. As with the 800 Mhz bond situation (if it failed, there would simply be NO 911 SERVICE for sultan residents), this levy will also be a DO-OR-DIE situation. If Sultan is to remain a viable and safe city -- especially considering the approx. 1400 new homes being constructed over the next 2-3 year timeframe, mostly on the Sultan Basin Road) -- this levy must pass. Bring your tough questions to this meeting. We have attached a flyer given to us by Chief Walser. We are urging folks to PRINT IT OUT and distribute it to friends and neighbors around town. OTHER INFORMATION: Results of the survey the City took during the Aug. 17th Town Meeting -- which included several questions regarding how folks feel about current and future police service and how they wish to pay (or not pay) for it, will be posted on our website tomorrow (Monday) a.m.

Travel Safely,

Loretta Storm, Co-founder, G.R.I.T.
www.ittakesgrit.org