Council Member Sally Clarks Seawall Visit

My email to the Seattle Council Members regarding the Seawall project:

I could not believe that 5 of you council members plus King County Deputy Executive, Fred Jarrett (I don’t have a clue what his real duties are at all) would make a trip to the Seawall to attempt to frighten voters into voting for Prop. 1. Real cheap shot. To trek to the seawall and announce that a Sandy could happen here. Sure a Sandy could happen here. A container box could have a bomb in it too. The seawall could go in an earthquake. You guys are not weather, earthquake or experts on anything. That was to try to scare a bunch of people who might think you “actually know something”.  All you want is $290 million. You have no plan. You don’t know what you want to build how long the seawall will be. You don’t know how you are going to build it when to start or when it might finish or any caps on the spending. If proposition 1 passes the seawall may never get built, the money diddled away like the monorail on planners, architects, and consultants. When the $290 million is gone we still wont have a sea wall but you will need more to fit the specifications these jokers have came up with.

You say if it fails it will disrupt traffic and transportation. Sure it will but only for about 12,000 who travel it. More lies.

Makes me think of Andy Griffith and Little Opie sitting on the piers fishing. Maybe they were fishing for suckers but it was a totally different kind of sucker than your trip to the seawall were fishing for. If you don’t get the 290 million for a sea wall you will get more than that by making us property owners sign up and pay a fee in what ever amount you decide. Just more screw the taxpayers. Georgetown pays some of the highest property taxes in the city and we cant even have a bus. The new improved service misses us completely. My nearest bus stop from Corson Ave. is at 4th and Michigan. Must be at least a half mile. Used to be a block and a half to Marginal way and I could get the Bus #131 or 134 right into Burien. Or go to Carlton and Willow and get the 131 to downtown no transfers. They stopped the 134. and the only stop in what metro calls Georgetown is at 4th and Michigan. Wow.

Why haven’t you thought about making us install some sort of thing on our front gates (charge us to do that of course), then it would work like a meter or toll bridge thing. Every time we used the side walk we would be billed for the wear and tear we cause. Its about the only thing left to charge us for. Thank you Lilly Marek

Surprisingly I got a response this time from Seattle council member Sandy Clark.  Here it is:

Hello, Lilly –

Thanks for emailing. Unfortunately, you couldn’t have been more wrong in your understanding of the seawall replacement need and funding. If you read the article in the Times or saw the coverage on TV, you would know that we talked about natural disasters other than hurricanes. The Seattle seawall is most at risk of fracture, damaging major regional utility lines and commerce routes in the event of an earthquake. Engineering assessment estimate that roughly 50 percent of the wall is compromised by decay.

We do know how to rebuild the seawall. We do know how to do it in a way that’s better for marine life. We have been working with designers and engineers for several years now on precisely these questions.

The seawall defines the west corridor of several major utilities that serve the entire city – electricity, natural gas and steam. The roadway held in place by the seawall (remember this was all sand and shore up to First and Second Ave. before the seawall) makes possible the surface connection for roughly 10,000 vehicles a day and connects Seattle’s two manufacturing/industrial areas. Employees, services and materials go back and forth between these areas throughout every day.

I’m sorry your bus routes have changed. That’s something I would like to improve with King County (which operates the bus system).

Thanks again and I hope you will reconsider the function the seawall plays and the importance of the wall to commerce and utilities.

Sally

Council President Sally J. Clark

With the response from Sally Clark, I had to write back.  Plus, she was the only one on the council who bothered to reply and it seemed personal not like the other templated replies I usually get.  Obviously, I know the seawall is rotten it’s been like that for many years now while the money continues to carelessly spent.  You would think we would have saved a little right.  Here is my reply.

Hello Sally:

Thank you so much for reading my e mail and answering. You are the only council member who bothered. If you were running for election tomorrow I would vote for you because of all the things taxpayers want is for their elected officials to listen to what they say. Not simply dismiss us as kooks because we don’t’ agree with you.

I completely agree the sea wall needs to be replaced. I absolutely agree it would be a disaster if it failed. But the trip to the seawall just before election day is nothing but a fear tactic. Did you discuss how stupid it would be to go ahead with building the expensive tunnel so it could fill with water in case we get a “Sandy”. Why did the city (who the heck is in charge) agree to build a tunnel, and bore right along a seawall that is in such dire need. It’s the same as if my foundation was cracking but I just went ahead and added on another floor to my home. You should have repaired the seawall before there was any talk of a tunnel or arena or more buses etc. I know you need the tunnel so you can charge tolls. I am just sick of the greed and lies. None of it will affect me. I will not be alive to have to pay for any of it. I am 89 but thinking about my great grandchildren. Thanks again for answering and that puts you way way up above the rest of the councel members. It certainly is not all your fault.

Lilly