Showing posts with label city of lake forest park. Show all posts
Showing posts with label city of lake forest park. Show all posts

City of LFP Grants for small businesses

Thursday, November 19, 2020

The Shoreline Chamber of Commerce has received money to distribute from the City of Lake Forest Park to help support small businesses in Lake Forest Park impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
 
Please see criteria set forth by the City of Lake Forest Park below:

Fill Out the Application: https://forms.gle/ZBeCcV2uP7yxZjqm9

Applications are due December 4, 2020.
  • Grant awards may be up to $2,500, based on allowed COVID-19 related expenses (see eligible expenses).
  • Grant applications will be reviewed by staff with a recommendation to the Shoreline Chamber Executive Board.
  • The Executive Board will make the final determination of grant awards.
  • Eligible expenses must be within the time period of March 1, 2020 to November 30, 2020.
  • Grant applicants are required to submit receipts for all eligible expenses into the Google Form application page for consideration and review prior to awarding Grant money.
  • Grant recipients must also submit a W-9 (https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/fw9.pdf). A 1099 will be issued to a grant recipient as required by the IRS no later than January 2021.
ELIGIBLE EXPENSES:
  • Rental/purchase of materials to increase the outdoor seating capacity for restaurant businesses.
  • Marketing material for businesses.
  • Business interruption costs not previously satisfied by other funding source.
  • Personal protection equipment and consulting services such as business surveys and training related to COVID-19.
ELIGIBLE BUSINESSES:
  • If awarded the grant, businesses will be asked to join the Shoreline Chamber of Commerce if they are not already a member: https://shorelinechamberofcommerce.wildapricot.org/join
  • Businesses must be located in the City of Lake Forest Park city limits.
  • Businesses of Twenty-Five (25) or fewer employees.
  • Loss of business income related to COVID-19, year-over-year 2019 to 2020, of at least 25% (e.g. 3 months revenue in 2019 versus 3 months in 2020 after COVID). Documentation must be provided.
  • Business in good standing (e.g. have current business license, City taxes and fees paid, current on all State and regulatory requirements, not facing pending litigation or legal action, including Lake Forest Park code enforcement).

If you have any questions, or cannot access the Google Form, contact the grant administrator at
lfpgrant.shorelinechamber@gmail.com




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Preliminary design released for LFP Town Center Parking Garage

Garage plan of the view looking down onto the structure, with north (and Ballinger Way) at the top. Courtesy Sound Transit
 

By Tracy Furutani

A “very preliminary” set of drawings of the proposed Lake Forest Park Town Center commuter garage were presented by representatives of Sound Transit at the LFP City Council Committee of the Whole meeting on November 9, 2020. 

These “10 percent design” drawings show a five-level structure situated on the footprint of the current Professional Building (adjacent to City Hall) and the parking lot immediately north. The proposed garage would contain 300 parking stalls.

“There’s still strong support for the parking garage [for commuter use], according to the survey at the open house Sound Transit held in August,” said Paul Cornish, Sound Transit’s Bus Rapid Transit Project Director. He also presented a timeline for the rest of the project, with the final design being finished in mid-2023, and the construction being completed in 2026.

Because of the pandemic and its effect on revenues, Sound Transit is undergoing a “realignment,” during which its Board of Directors determines which projects will continue and what changes to timelines must occur. 

“We’re at 10 percent design and on a hold,” said Cornish, “we will wait for the realignment process as we work with the Sound Transit Board,” and does not expect the project to go further until late 2021. “We have a little time to work on this,” he said.

Garage elevation. The view looking east towards the proposed structure. Courtesy Sound Transit.

Jamie Brinkley, a sustainability planner with Sound Transit, and Amy Shatzkin, Sound Transit’s Deputy Director for Environmental Affairs and Sustainability, presented parts of the Design Criteria Manual (DCM) that Sound Transit uses for its projects, including standards on sustainability, such as lighting efficiency, stormwater management and low-water landscaping.

Other elements that may be considered in the final design are solar power installations, a green roof and walls, and the use of low-carbon concrete.

City Council members peppered the Sound Transit team with questions about the design and its alignment with community values.

“The city has demonstrated a deep concern for the protection of the environment,” said Deputy Mayor and Councilmember Phillippa Kassover. 
“Because of these deeply held community values which include the support of pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure as well as mass transit, and the location of this garage, at the bottom of the Lyon and McKinnon Creek watersheds, which is above an aquifer, and within sight of the lakeshore, this Council has been asking a lot of questions about how we can partner with Sound Transit to ensure that the proposed parking garage reflects our common values around sustainability.”

“[The community wants] something iconic and joyful, not something we are putting up with,” said Councilmember Semra Riddle. “We want things to be ‘future-proof’,” she added, so if the need for parking decreases dramatically in the future, “[we] don’t want a derelict large building.” Councilmember Tom French “[encouraged] the project to be so green the region would be proud of it.”

Sound Transit appears to be committed to working with the city on the design. When Kassover asked about the use of cross-laminated timber in the structure, Shatzkin replied that, though that material does not appear in the DCM, she would have her engineers investigate its use in this project.

Council concerns about the height of the structure seem to have been met by Sound Transit. Councilmember Mark Phillips said “[the garage’s] height seems to be in line with citizens' comments about a structure that does not dominate the landscape.”

“We are currently finalizing our municipal code as it pertains to the parking garage,” said Kassover, stating that she intends to hold Sound Transit accountable for following their own sustainability requirements, as well as the city’s rules.

The changes to the city’s zoning code as it pertains to the proposed parking garage will be discussed further at a special meeting of the City Council Committee of the Whole at 6pm on Monday, November 23, on the Zoom platform.



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City of LFP seeks volunteers to serve as community reps if needed for a police use of deadly force investigation

Wednesday, November 18, 2020

The City of Lake Forest Park is currently seeking volunteers from the Lake Forest Park community who are willing to serve as non-law enforcement community representatives if an independent investigation becomes necessary to investigate the use of deadly force by a Lake Forest Park Police officer.

Washington’s Law Enforcement Training and Community Safety Act (LETCSA) requires that an independent investigation team (IIT) investigate any use of deadly force by a police officer when it results in death, substantial bodily harm, or great bodily harm.

The goal is to enhance accountability and increase trust between law enforcement and the community.

The IIT will consist of a team of qualified and certified law enforcement investigators and at least two non-law enforcement community representatives — possibly from the area where the incident had occurred.

The City Administrator will work with the Lake Forest Park Police Department Administration to appoint up to ten individuals to a roster. If an independent investigation is required, two or more individuals will be selected from the roster to serve on the IIT. The IIT will operate independently of any involved agency to conduct the investigation.

The IIT will conduct the investigation in the same manner as a criminal investigation. State law requires that the investigation be completely separate from the involved agency. Enabling community members to assess whether the investigation process is conducted in a trustworthy manner enhances accountability.

The non-law enforcement community representatives are a vital link between the IIT, the community, and the investigation.

Once state regulations are published in January 2021, the community representatives will participate in the selection of IIT investigators, review conflict of interest statements, be present at briefings, have access to the completed investigation file, be provided a copy of press releases and communication prior to released, and review notification of equipment use by the involved agency.

Community representatives will sign a binding confidentiality agreement.

If you are interested in applying to be a volunteer non-law enforcement community representative, please fill out the following online application by 4:30pm on Friday, December 4, 2020.

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YouthCare is coming to Shoreline/LFP

Thursday, November 12, 2020

In partnership with the City of Shoreline, the City of Lake Forest Park and the Rotary Clubs of Shoreline and Lake Forest Park, and with critical funding support from King County under the leadership of Rod Dembowski, NUHSA is working to bring a YouthCare Resource Navigator to Shoreline and Lake Forest Park.

This person will provide case management and connection to resources for homeless youth ages 14-22, including food support, health care services, behavioral health supports, legal assistance, educational support, employment/vocational resources, and more.

The position will be housed at the Teen Center in Shoreline and have an office at the Lake Forest Park Town Center but will work mostly out in the community to help youth navigate the complex systems for ensuring stability, safety and long-term success.

Please help fill this position! Share the application

Update: The City of Lake Forest Park and the Shoreline Rotary are also partners with NUSHA in this enterprise.



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City of Lake Forest Park Budget and Finance Meeting October 15

Wednesday, October 14, 2020

City of Lake Forest Park Budget and Finance Meeting October 15, 2020 6:00pm
Meeting to be Held Virtually

Committee Members for Budget: John Resha (Chair), Tom French, Semra Riddle, Phillippa Kassover, John Wright, Mark Phillips, and Lorri Bodi

  1. Director’s Report
  2. Deliberation and Recommendations on Mayor’s Proposed 2021-2022 Budget

Budget Committee Discussion Documents and Attachments HERE  pages 3-4

1. September 2020 Budget Monitoring Dashboard
2. Mayor’s Proposed 2021-2022 BiennialBudget


You are invited to a Zoom webinar.
Oct 15, 2020 6:00pm 
Topic: Budget and Finance Committee Meeting
 
Click the link to join the webinar: https://zoom.us/j/95265285864

Or iPhone one-tap :
US: +12532158782,,95265285864# or +13462487799,,95265285864#

Or Telephone:
Dial(for higher quality, dial a number based on your current location):

US:+12532158782 or+13462487799 or+14086380968 or+1669900 6833 or +1 301 715 8592 or +1 312 626 6799 or +1 646 876 9923
Webinar ID: 952 6528 5864

International numbers available: https://zoom.us/u/acOUxJccOd



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Public hearing for Town Center Subarea Code Amendment process postponed

Members of the public interested in the Town Center Subarea Code Amendment process are advised there will not be a public hearing before the Lake Forest Park City Council on October 22, 2020, as earlier advertised.

Once the hearing date is rescheduled, it will be published in the Seattle Times, the City’s newspaper of record. Notification of the rescheduled date will also be shared via City newsflash and social media.



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Message from Lake Forest Park: disappointed about cancelling National Night Out

Wednesday, October 7, 2020


Dear Lake Forest Park residents,

Tonight would have been National Night Out here in LFP. 

We at the Police Department are extremely disappointed this event had to be cancelled. We did not want to let this day go unacknowledged so I, along with your Mayor and City Administrator, got together and created a video message to all of you.

Know that our entire staff misses seeing all of you, and we are very much looking forward to next year. 

The link to the video: https://youtu.be/-xnmvr5SjPw

Chief Harden



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Upcoming opportunities to comment on Mayor Johnson's proposed budget for 2021-2022

Monday, October 5, 2020


Lake Forest Park Mayor Jeff Johnson presented his proposed 2021-2022 Biennial Budget to the City Council at the September 10, 2020 regular City Council meeting. 

On September 17, 2020, the Budget and Finance Committee, consisting of all City Council members when considering the topic of the budget, began asking clarification questions and noting items for future discussion. 

Prior to the City Council deliberating and providing recommendations, there was a meeting on Tuesday, September 22, 2020 for the sole purpose of listening to citizen comments. 

At every budget and finance meeting the committee allows citizen comments and welcomes the community to participate. If you are interested in viewing any of the previous meetings, they can be found on the City’s website.

There are still more chances to participate in future budget meeting discussions:
  • October 15, 2020, 6:00pm, Budget and Finance Committee Meeting
  • October 22, 2020, 7:00pm, Public hearings at the City Council Regular Meeting
  • Property Tax Levy for 20201
  • Biennial Budget for 2021-2022
  • October 29, 2020, 6:00pm, Special Budget and Finance Committee Meeting
  • November 5, 2020, 6:00pm, Final public hearings at a Special City Council Meeting
  • Property Tax Levy for 2021
  • Biennial Budget for 2021-2022
  • November 12, 2020, 7:00pm, Consider adoption of Budget at Regular City Council Meeting
  • If needed: November 19, 2020, 6:00pm, Continued consideration and adoption of Budget, Special City Council Meeting

All meetings will be held virtually, via the Zoom platform, and are open to the public. Zoom information is posted on the agenda for each meeting. Agendas, once available, are posted to the City’s website via the Meetings Calendar. Please see the Virtual Meetings during COVID-19 webpage for details about providing citizen comments at remotely held public meetings and public hearings.

You can find the Mayor’s Proposed 2021-2022 Biennial Budget here. To review other documents pertaining to the proposed budget, such as community partner presentations, check the Finance Department’s budget page.



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Lake Forest Park Town Center – Burke-Gilman Trail Connector: Overpass or Underpass?

Saturday, September 26, 2020

Option A Mid-block crossing approximately where the current Bank of America building sits.
Viewed from the south at Town Center
V+M Structural Design


By Tracy Furutani

How should pedestrians and non-motorized vehicles get from the Burke-Gilman trail to the Town Center and the proposed Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) garage and stops?

Three preliminary options, two of which involve an overpass across Bothell Way (State Route 522) and the other an underpass, were presented to the Lake Forest Park City Council Thursday night.

“This project has a lot of constraints on it, “ said Schaun Valdovinos, the president and principal engineer of V+M Structural Design, the firm hired by the city to perform the preliminary design, funded by a state Department of Commerce grant.

The constraints include Lyon Creek, which parallels Bothell Way in the project area, a patchwork of privately-owned parcels and buildings on either side of the roadway, and overhead power lines and buried fiber optic cables. 

Option B Overpass - viewed from the north
V+M Structural Design


Three alignment options for the crossing were investigated, he said:

  1. “mid-block” overpass (Option A) approximately where the current Bank of America building sits, 
  2. overpass (Option B)
  3. underpass (Option C) on the south side of the intersection of Ballinger Way and Bothell Way.

Councilmember John Wright raised the point of an underpass’s effect on the Lake Forest Park aquifer, and Councilmember Semra Riddle pointed out some seismic safety and traffic disruption concerns.

Councilmembers Tom French and Lorri Bodi both wondered if any of the options would be used by people crossing Bothell Way, rather than those people continuing to use the existing level crossings.

The cost of the construction of the crossing, which has not been funded, would be least for the mid-block overpass, according to Valdovinos.

Option C underpass on the south side of the intersection of Ballinger Way and Bothell Way
Viewed from the north on the Burke-Gilman trail
V+M Structural Design


The overpass at the intersection would be more expensive because of the need for an elevator for accessibility on the east side.

The underpass would be still more expensive because of the high water table in the area and the need for continuous pumping.

The mid-block overpass would have the least impact on the trees lining Bothell Way.

“This is preliminary design work to understand all the constraints of our future project and that we’re not presuming at this point that other property owners would concur or enter into any agreement that involves their property,” said Donnelle Dayao, Project Manager for the city.


The next step in the project is the December presentation of the Type, Size and Location (TS&L) report, which will contain information such as recommendations and numerical cost estimates.




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LFP Budget and Finance Committee meeting for public comments on Mayor's budget proposal

Tuesday, September 22, 2020

City Council Budget and Finance Committee Special Meeting (virtual meeting)
Tuesday, September 22, 2020,  6:00pm - 7:30pm

The purpose of this meeting is to gather public comments on the Mayor’s Proposed 2021-2022 Biennial Budget which can be seen HERE (106 pages)

This meeting will be held virtually. City Hall is currently closed to the public.

Page 2 of this document has information on how to submit comments and how to view the meeting.



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Lake Forest Park extends moratorium on Town Center development, again

Wednesday, September 16, 2020

A smoky Town Center


Story and photo by Tracy Furutani


The Lake Forest Park City Council voted unanimously to extend the Lake Forest Park Town Center zone development moratorium by another six months, at a council meeting last Thursday evening. 

This action staved off the Sunday expiration of the previous moratorium (Ordinance 1205), which itself was a six-month extension of the original six month moratorium (Ordinance 1197).

The moratorium would continue to stop the acceptance, processing or approval of permit applications within the Town Center zone, with few exceptions, until March 10, 2021. 

Council members noted that the original moratorium and the first extension were to provide enough time for careful consideration of any city code revisions by the city staff, Planning Commission and the City Council.

However, after the first extension was passed, the Governor’s “Safer at Home” proclamation forbade cities from carrying out any tasks that were not “routine and necessary” or “Covid-related”. 

“We determined that that [didn’t include] new Town Center regulations,” said City Attorney Kim Pratt, “so you continued on with everything that had had a public hearing and public input, but the Planning Commission was put on hold for a while cause they couldn’t really consider new things.” 

Recently, the Governor lifted that restriction (Proclamation 20-28.4) and the State Attorney General approved the use of virtual meetings for public input, “so you can do things that are not ‘routine and necessary’. I would say that most cities are holding virtual public hearings to get comments on things like [new legislation],” she said.

Councilmember John Wright praised the work of the Planning Commission, which has been holding extra meetings during the current moratorium, as an example of how effectively the extra time afforded by the original moratorium has been used.

Many council members noted that public meetings mediated via an electronic medium were becoming “normal” and that the Town Center process would have to adapt to holding such meetings in a way, as Councilmember Mark Phillips said, “that is authentic.”

“Moratoriums are matters of serious, serious policy,” said Councilmember John Resha. “We have a circumstance that has put us in a position where we could not engage with the community in a way we felt comfortable. This six-month period really has to be used not just to figure out how but to actually begin engaging and make progress on this work.”

Councilmember and Deputy Mayor Phillippa Kassover agreed, 

“We are going to map out the dates. We are going to understand exactly what our legal responsibilities are when it comes to future hearings, when it comes to the noticing that we must do to our community, and look for the ways that we need to involve our community and keep our community informed and engaged. We’ll work on that and I hope to come back to council with a fairly detailed calendar for the next six months.”

There were three public comments, including a statement from the Lake Forest Park Stewardship Foundation, on the moratorium extension, all of which were in support of the moratorium extension. Two of the comments expressed concern about the lack of adequate notice for public comments on the moratorium extension.

The Town Center owner Merlone Geier Partners was asked for a comment, but had not responded as of press time.



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Public Hearing on Town Center Zone Development Moratorium Extension - Thursday September 10, 2020

Wednesday, September 9, 2020

Just one of many proposals for the
redevelopment of Town Center

The Lake Forest Park City Council is holding a public hearing on Thursday, September 10, 2020, 7:00 p.m., to consider a six-month extension on the Town Center Development Moratorium.

In September 2019, the City Council adopted Ordinance 1197, placing a six-month moratorium on all properties located within the Town Center Zone in regard to acceptance, processing, and/or approval of clear and grade permit, building permit, subdivision, short subdivision, bind site plan, conditional use permit, variance, or any other type of development permit or approval for any proposed land use(s) or structure(s) located within the Town Center zone.

In February 2020, the City Council adopted Ordinance 1205, extending the September 2019 moratorium for six months. 

The public hearing scheduled for September 10 is to consider Ordinance 1211, extending the moratorium another six months.

Although the Planning Commission has held an extra meeting each month since the moratorium was put in place, additional time is needed to fully consider amendments to the existing land use code. 

The proposed six-month extension would provide the Planning Commission the time needed to complete and provide its recommended changes to the City Council and allow sufficient time for the Council to consider those recommendations.

Interested parties are invited to attend the meeting virtually and comment during the upcoming public hearing, via the Zoom platform. To review the agenda materials and access the Zoom link for this meeting, click here



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City of Lake Forest Park uses herbicides to clear invasive vegetation on Perkins Way

Saturday, August 29, 2020

Warning signs placed by the herbicide company spraying along Perkins Way. Photo courtesy Lake Forest Park Stewardship Foundation.


The City of Lake Forest Park responded to concerns about its use of herbicides to clear invasive plants, such as ivy, along Perkins Way. 

Perkins Way is a beautiful wooded street that winds downhill from Shoreline into LFP, following and crossing McAleer Creek, which in many places is just a few feet from the road.

The Lake Forest Park Stewardship Foundation said they were:

 "VERY DISAPPOINTED the City has contracted spraying of toxic herbicides along a salmon-bearing stream. This is happening right now along McAleer Creek in the Perkins ravine. This stream also flows through many backyards, with high potential of children and pets entering the water. 

"YES Ivy, blackberry and knotweed overgrowth is a concern along the stream. CALL the City and let them you know we want to see LESS TOXIC, MANUAL removal of non-natives.

"Use of these highly hazardous chemicals should be a last resort, and not sprayed."

The City responded that 

"This work is the first part of a project to restore native vegetation between the road and McAleer Creek. 

"The company conducting the work is Applied Ecology, LLC, which has been used by other cities, as well as Forterra, with great success for similar, but larger, restoration projects along the Cedar River and Bear Creek, the largest salmon bearing streams in our watershed.

"Their work has been funded by the WRIA 8 Salmon Recovery Council, the entity leading salmon recovery in our area.

"While it is unfortunate that herbicides have to be used at all, the careful, focused spraying of chemicals like glyphosate and garlon 4 is allowed by WA Dept. of Ecology to remove infestations of invasive plants so that native vegetation can be re-established. Phase 2 of the Perkins Way project, which will happen in the next growing season, will involve planting native trees and shrubs."



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Staffing, Equipment and Community Expectations emerge as challenges for the Lake Forest Park Police Department

Wednesday, August 26, 2020

Lake Forest Park Chief of Police Mike Harden presents
challenges to his department in a Zoom call Thursday night
at the city council Budget and Finance Committee meeting
Screenshot from zoom meeting
By Tracy Furutani

“Our community is amazing,” said Lake Forest Park Police Chief Mike Harden. 
“The support from the community is amazing – the emails, the food that they deliver, the community contact – we want to keep maintaining that.”

His remarks were in response to questions about challenges facing the LFP Police Department in the next few months and in the next biennial (2021-22) budget. 

Harden said that re-establishing ties to the LFP community were a priority after the Covid pandemic crisis was past. During the crisis, regular police department outreach, such as the National Night Out, are being severely limited, and even providing the level of service residents have gotten used to pre-pandemic is daunting. 

“We’ve had to get creative,” he said, mentioning the “Book Reading by Lake Forest Park Police” in which officers perform read-alouds of children’s books as an example.

Harden made a presentation titled “Police Department – Current and Future Challenges” at the LFP City Council Budget and Finance Committee meeting last Thursday. Committee chair and councilmember John Resha said the meeting is “the last in the first phase of our budget [development] process,” the other city departments having presented at earlier meetings.

Staffing, equipment and community expectations were the three main categories of challenges facing the LFP PD, according to Harden. 

Retention of current staff and training costs are major concerns in the staffing challenge, even though LFP PD doesn’t have the morale problem that some police department are having. 

As for equipment, Harden cited the department’s use of thirty-year-old radios as an example of an equipment upgrade that will be needed to comply with recent voter-approved Puget Sound Emergency Radio Network (PSERN) standard.

Councilmember Lorri Bodi asked if the department had received any funding from the CARES Act or other federal sources. Harden said that the department had applied for reimbursement of various Covid pandemic-related costs as well as funding for the PSERN-standard radios, but that they had been denied so far.

Harden concluded his presentation by saying that the LFP PD was a “reflection of our city administration, our council, our mayor making the department and the functions that we do a high priority.”




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Volunteer positions available on LFP parks board

Friday, July 24, 2020

Whispering Willow Park
Photo by Jerry Pickard

The City of Lake Forest Park seeks applicants for its Parks and Recreation Advisory Board which is responsible for advising the City Council and Mayor on parks and recreation issues including park master planning, recreation program evaluation and park comprehensive planning.

All board member terms are three years and members are limited to two consecutive full-term appointments.

If you are interested in serving on the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board please complete an application and attach a resume and cover letter describing your experience and interest in parks and recreation.

Completed applications, with resume and cover letter, may be emailed to Cory Roche, Community Volunteer Coordinator, at croche@cityoflfp.com or mailed to the Lake Forest Park City Hall at 17425 Ballinger Way NE, Lake Forest Park, WA 98155.

You can find more information on the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board here.



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Lake Forest Park Municipal Services in good shape to weather the Covid crisis…for this year

Tracy Furutani, reporter

By Tracy Furutani

The city of Lake Forest Park is generating enough revenue and has made enough spending cuts to fund municipal services for the remainder of the year, according to city staff presenting at the City Council’s Budget and Finance Committee meeting last Thursday evening.

“On the revenue side, there are two silver linings that look interesting,” said Councilmember John Resha, chair of the committee. 
“The Real Estate Excise Tax [revenue] continues to trend strong. We’re still seeing strong home sales in Lake Forest Park.” 
Many communities that have a heavy reliance on the sales tax are not doing well because of lost sales, but “we’re actually trending ahead in sales tax revenue. Why, we don’t know,” he said, though he speculated online sales may be compensating.

The presentation included the accompanying figure, showing the different revenue streams the city receives, each row being a different source of income and the length of the bar indicating the dollar amount of that stream in thousands of dollars. These streams are not all of the revenue that flows to the city, and there is some time lag in the reporting of dollar amounts in some of the streams.

The percentage on each bar shows how much of the anticipated revenue for each source has been collected. The city works on a 24-month budget cycle ending at the end of this year. So, as of the end of June, each bar should read “75%” to be on-target, explained city Finance Director Lindsey Vaughn. 

While the amounts for the Business and Occupation Tax, the Gas Tax and passport sales are down comparatively, the Real Estate Excise Tax is quite a bit up. Even with the high-profile closures of Town Center tenants such as Forest Park Cleaners and VSOP Jewelry, the revenue from Sales and Use Tax is still ahead of where it should be.

On the cost-cutting side, “the City Administration anticipated very early on that the City of Lake Forest Park could realize between a 12-15% revenue loss in the General Fund due to the COVID19 pandemic,” said Vaughn in a statement later. 
“City Administration quickly acted by freezing all vacant positions including not hiring seasonal positions, suspending all nonessential training [and] travel, freezing all discretionary spending, and reserving the ability to suspend contracted work as appropriate. 
"In addition, the City Administrator and Finance Director worked with all departments to identify 15% departmental budget cuts to reduce expenditures until more became known about the financial impact of the COVID19 pandemic directly to the City of Lake Forest Park.”

“Huge props to the mayor and the city administrator” for enacting the spending freezes, agreed Resha.

The City Council will be considering the next biennial budget in the coming months.



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Volunteer positions open on LFP tree board

5 Acre Wood
Photo by Dan Short

The City of Lake Forest Park is seeking applications for several positions on the Lake Forest Park Tree Board. 

The Tree Board provides outreach and education to the community on tree-related issues, organizes and facilitates public events involving trees, and provides advice to the City Council on policy and regulatory issues involving trees.

Tree Board meetings are generally held on the first Wednesday of each month, at 7:00pm, at Lake Forest Park City Hall. 

More information about the Tree Board is on the City website.

Board members should live within the Lake Forest Park city limits, but it is not required. Interests or backgrounds in urban forestry, horticulture, and habitat restoration are encouraged but not required.

If you are interested in applying or have questions, email Assistant Planner Lauren Hoerr.



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LFP City Hall has a new stock of masks to give away to residents

Saturday, July 18, 2020

As part of the State’s effort to ensure everyone has access to face coverings, the City of Lake Forest Park has received more masks for distribution.

The City is now offering pick-up by appointment distribution for Lake Forest Park residents at City Hall.

Call City Hall to schedule a pick up and the quantity you are requesting at 206-368-5440.

Appointments to pick up masks can be made Monday through Friday, 9:00am to 12:00noon.

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Free masks for Lake Forest Park residents

Thursday, July 2, 2020

As part of the State’s effort to ensure everyone has access to face coverings, the City of Lake Forest Park has received 4,000 masks for distribution.

In partnership with NEMCo (Northend Emergency Management Coalition), Washington State Public Health Agency, and Public Health Seattle and King County, the City is offering a drive-through distribution site for Lake Forest Park residents who do not have access to face coverings from other sources.

  • To the first 1,000 residents there will be a limit of four (4) masks per vehicle. 
  • Each vehicle will be asked to verify their neighborhood of residence. 
  • This event is limited to Lake Forest Park residents.

When: 
  • Friday, July 10 from 3pm – 6pm
  • Saturday, July 11 from 9am – 1pm

Where: 
Lake Forest Park City Hall Parking Lot
17425 Ballinger Way NE
Lake Forest Park, WA 98155



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Picnic shelter construction starts Monday at Pfingst Animal Acres Park

Sunday, June 28, 2020

Animal Acres Park
Photo by Mary Jo Heller

Two important capital projects are poised to begin construction in Lake Forest Park.

Accord Contractors is scheduled to mobilize on Monday, June 29, 2020 to begin work on a new picnic shelter at Pfingst Animal Acres Park at NE 178th Street/Brookside Boulevard NE

Redtail Construction is scheduled to begin work July 23, 2020 on the Culvert L60 Replacement project at NE 178th Street/44th Avenue NE.

Both projects are scheduled for completion this summer.



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