In November 2016, Sound Transit is planning on asking voters whether they want to fund more transit projects in the Puget Sound region. This initiative is known as "Sound Transit 3" (ST3), and Sound Transit has begun a public process to solicit public input on which projects should be part of the ST3 plan. This input process will end on July 8.

It is imperative that Kenmore residents and businesses speak loud and clear in advocating for ST3 high capacity transit (HCT) projects that will provide speed, reliability, and capacity to the North Lake Corridor. In particular, the Kenmore City Council recommends that Kenmore and its North Lake Corridor neighbors advocate for the following three ST3 projects:

Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) on NE 145th Street.
Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) and Ultimately Light Rail on SR 522.
Structured Parking Along the Bothell Way Corridor.

What You Can Do to Help:

Go soundtransit3.org and complete the survey. Ask for Bus Rapid Transit on 145th Street and on Bothell Way, with Light Rail as the ultimate goal on Bothell Way.
Call or write to Sound Transit board members. You can send an email to the Sound Transit Board by using the following email address: EmailTheBoard@soundtransit.org
Help form a coalition of north lake corridor neighbors to amplify our voices. For more information on the coalition, go to 522transitnow.org or search for 522TransitNow! on Facebook.

Kenmore Downtown Green

No downtown is complete without a public place—a place that belongs to everyone, where people can come together to play, to relax, and to have fun. That’s why Kenmore is building its own town green! Located at the northwest corner of the intersection of 68th Avenue NE and NE 181st Street (just west of and across the street from City Hall), the town green will be about 20,000 square feet in size and will include a community building. It is slated to begin construction in fall 2015 and open for use mid-2016.

We recently launched a new Downtown Kenmore website! This site will be used to provide updates and information on the project as it comes along. For more details on the town green, including a cool video showing what the space will look like, visit www.downtownkenmore.org.

Northshore YMCA Lunch Program

The Northshore YMCA will be providing free summer lunches at Kenmore City Hall! Starting Monday, July 6 and running through August 28, all children ages 18 and under are welcome to enjoy lunch, engage in activities and meet new friends. The program is Monday through Friday, from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., with lunch service ending at 1:00 p.m. For more information, call (425) 485-9797.

Fourth of July Fireworks Show at Log Boom Park!

Join us for our fun and exciting Fourth of July Fireworks Show! Starting at 8:00 p.m., there will be music, fun activities, and food vendors at Log Boom Park. The professional fireworks show blasts off at 10:00 p.m. The event is free admission; please bring your own chair or blanket.

The City reminds everyone that the sale, discharge, or possession of any fireworks is prohibited in Kenmore city limits. To help ensure a safe and considerate Fourth of July, the city has a zero tolerance policy and will increase police enforcement through the Fourth of July weekend. Thank you in advance for your cooperation!

Join SEELC for Wild Wednesdays in the Park!

Each Wednesday during the summer starting July 8, the Saint Edward Environmental Learning Center will be offering free educational classes for families! Events start at 10:30 a.m. and last until 12 p.m. Class topics include Raptor Romp: Birds of Prey, Going Batty: Introduction to the World of Bats, Sun Art, Nature Journaling, Name that Tree, Nature Games, and Forest Impressions to Artistic Expressions. At the end of August, the learning center is offering a fun historical tour of Saint Edwards Seminary and then to wrap up the season, September 27 will be a Playground Resealing Day to help preserve the park’s play spaces. Class registration is not necessary—just show up the morning of! Classes will meet at the kiosk west of the parking lot. For more information, visit www.seelc.org.

New “Look” Crosswalks in Kenmore

King County crews have installed Kenmore’s new custom LOOK symbols at all of our RRFB Crosswalk locations. As a reminder, look both ways before crossing the street. Be safe and be seen!

Water Safety Tips

In Washington State, an average of 25 children and teens drown each year. Most of them are swimming, boating, or just playing in the water. Whether you’re splashing around Lake Washington, the Sammamish River or elsewhere, here are some tips to prevent drowning:

Always wear a lifejacket! 75% of boating fatalities could have been prevented if the victim was wearing a lifejacket. While on boats, around open bodies or water or participating in water sports, always wear a U.S. Coast Guard-approved life vest.
Boat sober! A large portion of boating accidents each year involve alcohol consumption by both boat operators and passengers.
Be aware of the cold water! Washington’s lakes and rivers are cold enough to cause hypothermia, even in the summer and evening among the strongest swimmers. Avoid high running water, check weather conditions, and swim in designated areas only.

We can prevent drowning if we all do our part. Let’s have a fun, safe summer!

CITY STAFF PROFILE

By Brennan Jernigan

Name: Cindy Shelton

Title: Volunteer and Events Supervisor

What She Does: Plans city events; recruits, trains, and coordinates volunteers.

Time with City: 3 years

Fun Fact: She’s a country girl at heart. Raised in Colorado, she was the child her parents “could never get out of the barn.” (Luckily, she still gets her horse fix by volunteering as the executive director of a local horse rescue.)

Cindy Shelton is exactly the type of person you want working for your city. It’s that simple. With 28 years of experience working with local governments, Cindy brings a wealth of experience to her position as the volunteer and events supervisor for the City of Kenmore—and we couldn’t be luckier to have her.

She also brings a little something extra to this position. With her country background, Cindy brings a down-on-the-ranch work ethic to all of her work; she seems to live and breathe the work she does. In fact, it’s hard to get her to talk about the bare nuts and bolts of her work with the city—because it so quickly blends in with the very way she views life and community.

“Community doesn’t exist without volunteers,” says Cindy. From time to time people ask her, “Why volunteer?” and Cindy replies, “It’s a duty. If they didn’t have someone volunteer in their life at some point or another, where would they be?”

But Cindy also recognizes that volunteerism is more than just a duty—she sees something in it for the volunteer as well. “People volunteer for a few different reasons,” she says. “They want to make an impact, they want to feel less isolated, they want to feel useful and that they have skills to offer, or they just want to have fun.”

In her work with volunteers, Cindy tries to tap into all of these motivations. She especially focuses on teamwork: “It goes with my philosophy—people don’t generally want to volunteer alone. They like to have a shared goal that they can work toward together.” She also encourages volunteers not to simply “check a box” in volunteering. She does this by navigating each person to a spot where they feel passionate and then giving them a sense of ownership.

Cindy also sees great purpose in the role she plays in planning city events. “Events are about turning a town into a community and creating memories and traditions,” she says. “When you talk to somebody about their hometown, as they tell you about it, you’ll notice that there’s usually an event involved.” Cindy likes the way events can get people away from their work and day-to-day responsibilities so that they can get to know their neighbors and those around them.

As you can see, Cindy believes in what she does and loves it. After so much time working in local government, much of it in management positions, Cindy is happy to be where she is now. “It’s nice to get back to the front-line. I like getting people engaged in their community.”

If you want to find out how to get engaged in our Kenmore community, visit http://www.kenmorewa.gov/volunteer to find out about various volunteer opportunities.

COMMUNITY / CO-CREATOR PROFILE

By Kathi Beckett

Tool Happy Patricia Fullerton welcomes citizens to the Kenmore Senior Center

If you are wondering what the Northshore Senior Center Kenmore Branch has to offer, citizen Patricia Fullerton has the tools to help. Raised on a farm where everyone could fix everything, this energetic lady is eager to use her knowledgeable toolset to help citizens get the most out of the various activities the center offers and learn more about Rhododendron Park, where the center is located.

Patricia helps create a warm welcoming environment for the Senior Center from the moment you step inside the door. You will be greeted with coffee and cookies, smiles and friendly conversation when you come to the center to with questions or to attend a class.

Born in Seattle, Patricia lived on what her father lovingly called “the ranch” in Kenmore, which was, according to Patricia, 5 acres of not much more than “stumps and rocks.” She lived on “the ranch” until she graduated from high school and moved back to Kenmore 14 years ago. When asked what she loves the most about Kenmore, she replied, “Kenmore has everything you need, except a good hardware store!” She continues, “People here are very nice; Kenmore has a small town friendly feeling.”

On any given day, Patricia can be found answering phones, greeting people, answering questions about the Rhododendron Park picnic rental, chit chatting with citizens and fixing things. “If I don’t have to tool to help, I know where I can get it in a hurry,” says Patricia. She has a good knowledge of the various events and classes offered at the center along with knowledge on how to fix most everything.

“Everyone is invited to the activities and classes at the Senior Center!” she explains with a smile. The wide variety of classes and activities offered includes topics such as yoga, creative writing, driftwood sculpting, bridge, surviving disasters, investing and avoiding fraud. Patricia also assists citizens with reserving the covered picnic area in Rhododendron Park, which includes six tables and two charcoal BBQ’s.

Patricia’s knowledge of tools comes in handy when the center needs to make small repairs. She put her extensive use of hammers and tools to use recently when she built a small wooden dolly to use in the Senior Center. She creatively uses tools at home too. A hard to open jar is no problem for Patricia. She simply pulls out her channel lock slip joint wrench and opens the jar in no time.

She is proud of her love of tools and the skills she has acquired and she has passed this on to her daughters. She explains, “If you say ‘hardware store sale’ in my family, every woman grabs their purse and runs for the door!”

Patricia welcomes the citizens of Kenmore to drop by the Kenmore Senior Center where she can use her knowledge and tools to help individuals discover the many activities open to all ages and to learn more about Rhododendron Park.

For hours of operation, schedule of activities and directions, visit the Kenmore Senior Center online.

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