March 23, 2018

Memorial Groundbreaking

The weather on Sunday, March 11, was perfect as a dedicated group of inspirational individuals came together for the Vietnam War Memorial groundbreaking at Les Gove Community Campus. The day had been in the works for at least 5 1/2 years, and the group’s efforts paid off as we broke ground for a beautiful memorial to honor those who served in Vietnam. This doesn’t just mean our brave United States men and women, but it also includes the men and women who fought for their country of South Vietnam. In 1975, the North Vietnamese regular army and the Viet Cong guerrilla forces overran Saigon, virtually eliminated the existence of South Vietnam. This memorial, when completed in a few months, will provide a place for those who served to come and remember, to honor those who lost their lives, and also to try and heal. This memorial will be a valued addition to our community - a community that values, respects and honors our veterans. We owe a great deal of thanks to the committee who has worked to make this a reality - led by Lan and Allen Jones and former Mayor Pete Lewis. 

Remembering Bob Jones

It’s so hard to believe, but it has been a year since our community lost one of its most compassionate and enthusiastic leaders - Bob Jones, athletic director at Auburn High School - to pancreatic cancer. Bob was a tireless advocate for students and for the American Cancer Society Relay For Life. I considered Bob a friend and mentor, and was honored to be able to name the portion of 4th St. NE in front of AHS “Bob Jones Way” last year. Several of us gathered Monday morning in front of the school to honor Bob and his legacy. The gathering was inspired by Jayden Henry & Dylan Winter - AHS Relay for Life Ambassadors. A banner was hung and ribbons - purchased for $1 to leave a message for Bob or to remember a loved one that has been lost - were tied along the length of the fence. If you’d like to join and donate, you can purchase the ribbons at Auburn High School Activities Office at 711 E Main St. 

Deputy Mayor Bob Baggett                    

What Does “Love Your City” Really Mean?

When Mayor Nancy Backus presented the State of the City at the Auburn Avenue Theater, my wife Pattee and I were struck by a key point she made. It isn’t enough just to live in your city … she wants us to LOVE our city. So, we started our own quest to identify exactly what that means to each of us.

To begin with, not everyone was lucky enough to be born in Auburn, Washington. Many people lived in other cities and came to Auburn for work or for other reasons. In my situation, I was born in Santa Monica, California, and spent most of my adult life in California until McDonnell Douglas transferred me to Houston, Texas.  About 20 years ago, after McDonnell Douglas merged with The Boeing Company, I transferred to Washington state, where I bought a home in Auburn. In my research to discover what love your city means, I found an article that talks about place attachment.

 According to Melody Warnick in an article about her book, This Is Where You Belong: The Art and Science of Loving the Place You Live, what most of us feel as love for our city is also known as place attachment.

What is Place Attachment? It’s a love for your city and its people, a belief that this, right here, is your place. It’s a sense of local belonging. It’s an emotional bond based on mutual history, responsibility and affection.

So how do you know whether you're truly attached to the place you live now? Start by answering these three basic questions:

1. Does where you live say a lot about who you are as a person?
2. If you could move anywhere right now, would you stay in your town?
3. Does your city feel like home?

Here's some good news! Place attachment is something you can create for yourself by doing the things that place-attached people do. So, even if the place you're living right now doesn't quite feel like home, it can in the future. You can make yourself feel more rooted. You can learn to feel the love, right where you are.

Here are some ideas!

• Participate in your local government.
• Volunteer for what interests you.
• Make friends with your neighbors.
• Enjoy the city’s parks and recreation areas.
• Find people who like to do some of the things you enjoy doing.
• Discover your city’s history and visit some of the historical areas.
• Begin making connections with the parades and celebrations.

The City of Auburn has so much to offer … make it feel like your home! Let the love for your city enhance your life and the lives of friends and family around you.

“Almost every successful person begins with two beliefs: the future can be better than the present, and I have the power to make it so.”
         
                                  -David Brooks

Not One More

Wednesday, March 14, was National School Walkout Day to honor the lives that have been lost to school shootings - specifically, those from the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting that had occurred exactly one month prior. Students from all four high schools - West Auburn, Auburn, Auburn Riverside and Auburn Mountainview gathered in the City Hall plaza in a peaceful rally to express their fear, outrage and desire to make a difference. They chanted “Not one more!” after 17 minutes of silence to honor the 17 lives lost at MSDHS. I met with them and listened to their concerns. We made a commitment to bring representatives from each school together to form an action plan. Regardless of which side of the gun control issue you are on, there should be no denying the need for additional mental health resources so that there is never a need for someone in a behavioral health crisis to pick up a gun and make that fateful decision to take innocent lives. I am encouraged by these students, their desire to make a difference, and their courage to do so!

Auburn Noon Lions Auction

Saturday night was the annual Auburn Noon Lions auction to raise money for sight and hearing needs in our community. The president or “King Lion” this year is Candee Smith and the organizers for the auction were Valley Regional FIre Authority Administrator Eric Robertson and Auburn School District Assistant Superintendent Heidi Harris. The organization does so much in our community and I am proud to call them friends! 

Fire Chiefs Spring Leadership Conference

Wednesday afternoon, VRFA Administrator Eric Robertson and I traveled to Yakima to attend the Washington Fire Chiefs Spring Leadership Conference. I was asked to be a panelist on the “Mayor/City Manager/Fire Commissioner Expectations for the Fire Service” panel along with Yakima City Manager Cliff Moore and Spokane Valley Fire Department Commissioner Joe Dawson. I’ll share two of the questions and my responses:

What do you consider the top challenges when it comes to providing Fire & EMS?

• Providing current or enhanced service levels with constricted budgets.
• Changing demands on the fire service such as community-based medicine, drug overdose treatment and mental health challenges.
• Maintaining competencies for skills that are in less demand (firefighting and hazardous materials responses) while developing new skills in the medical and technology fields.

What skills, knowledge and abilities do you believe an excellent chief fire officer should possess and demonstrate?

• Communication skills 
• Open-mindedness
• Moral courage
• Political savvy 
• Community focus 
• Technical proficiency 
• Strategic vision
• Sense of humor 
• Confidence
• Stamina/overdeveloped work ethic 
• Curiosity
• Self-awareness
• Cleanliness
• Calm demeanor

Other sessions included “Customer Focus on Public Safety,” “Managing Vision and Purpose,” and “History of Ethics and Values in Society.” It was time well spent!

Dance & Drill Teams Head to State

Guess who else was in Yakima at the same time?! Auburn Mountainview and Auburn Riverside High School Dance & Drill teams competing in the 2018 State Championships! I am always so proud of our students and their accomplishments, and I hope you are, too!

Councilmember Bill Peloza

This corner is all about recycling LATEX paint – I have several gallons of latex paint stored in my garage and I bet you do too. You can get rid of latex paint, but it is a laborious task and it takes a lot of cat litter. The solid remainder of hardened muck can be disposed of in the garbage. But there is an easier way!

The King County Department of Natural Resources & Parks, Solid Waste Division and the Metropolitan Solid Waste Management Advisory Committee (MSWMAC) which I’m a member of representing the City of Auburn, have been avid supporters lobbying state legislators to get a latex recycling policy approved. After five years, nothing has happened!

Then along came a private company out of Colorado and Arizona, GreenSheen Paint. They have set up shop in Kent (253-856-1442 to reprocess the latex paint (no oil base) for reuse at a reasonable salable price. They have contracted with King County and will soon have 28 collection sites that latex paint can be dropped off at for a handling fee.

Here in our city, Agrishop Auburn Ace Hardware on West Main (253-833-0870) is handling returned latex paint (no oil base) – price is $1.39 (quart) and $3.99 (gallon). I feel these are good, reasonable prices when you consider the alternative disposal method, i.e., labor plus cat litter costs. I wish you all good luck in this easy latex paint recycling innovation by keeping our planet eco-friendly.