Good morning, everyone! I hope you're having a good week. It has been a busy week here with two trips to Olympia, a Kent City Council meeting, a Sound Cities Association board meeting, several press conferences and the Sound Transit-Dick's Drive-In news. Here are a couple of updates I'd like to share with you.

~ Mayor Dana Ralph

Sound Transit Considers Kent Sites for OMF - Including Lowe's and Dick's

If you haven’t already heard the news, Sound Transit is considering several Kent sites for their new operations and maintenance facility (OMF) for the light rail. One site is the property north of South 245^th Street, the site of Dick’s Drive-In, Lowe’s hardware, Starbucks and other local businesses. If selected, this site would permanently close local businesses and be inconsistent with the City’s Midway Subarea Plan, adopted in 2011 after extensive community engagement.

Sound Transit is also considering the Midway landfill, south of South 245^th Street, as a possible site. If selected, this site would preserve Dick’s Drive-In and Lowe’s and support the Midway Subarea Plan. An OMF would be an excellent reuse of this landfill.

Working together with the City Council, I will do everything in my power to prevent the tearing down of Dick’s Drive-In and Lowe’s and to encourage Sound Transit to choose the Midway landfill or other potential sites instead. For more info.,check out the latest edition of Kent Now where I had a chance to talk to Jasmine Donovan, executive vice president of Dick's Drive-In and the granddaughter of founder Dick Spady.

We will keep you posted as the situation unfolds!

Honoring a Local Hero - Col. Joe M. Jackson

This week we lost a hero with the passing of Col. Joe M. Jackson, 95, of Kent. Col. Jackson was a veteran of World War II, the Korean War and Vietnam, a Medal of Honor recipient and an Air Force legend. Originally from Georgia, Col. Jackson and his wife chose to retire in Kent, and the City honored him by naming the bridge on Veterans Drive (228th) the Col. Joe M. Jackson bridge. He was a true hero and will be missed by many. Read more about him and his amazing service and sacrifice on our blog. 

Stay tuned for these upcoming meetings and events!