The information contained in this email is being sent out to everyone on our email list as a courtesy to help disemminate general information and to raise community awareness of the Jail Site Selection Issue.

As part of the preparation for environmental studies for all the proposed sites, the communities have the opportunity to send in comments.

The 5pm deadline for comments tomorrow (Fri, Jan 30th) is for comments as to why environmentally the Totem Lake site is not a good location.
HOT INFORMATION

EIS Scoping comments are due by 5 p.m., Jan. 30, 2009. Please use this email address to submit EIS scoping comments: MunicipalJailSEPA@Seattle.gov

Near the bottom of this email you will find information regarding the subject matter that will be considered environmentally. There are also links to the website that pertains to the jail site selection process.

ALL COMMENTS REGARDING ISSUES YOU FEEL SHOULD BE CONSIDERED DURING THE ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW MUST BE SUBMITTED TO: MunicipalJailSEPA@Seattle.gov

As part of the preparation for environmental studies for all the proposed sites, the communities have the opportunity to send in comments.

The 5pm deadline for comments tomorrow (Fri, Jan 30th) is for comments as to why environmentally the Totem Lake site is not a good location.

Thanks go to Debbie Gates, Wendy DeLong, Susan Baird-Joshi, and others I'm sure who contributed the information below (the Totem Lake Email Signature).

Hi Jodi and everyone that is receiving this email,

Thanks for passing this information on.  The proposed jail site has been a topic of controversy since before last December when there was a public meeting held to discuss the six proposed jail sites.  At that time I emailed Wendy DeLong, the LWSD PTSA council President about the involvement of the PTSA at the local schools to see if there was anything we can do.  This is a portion of what she replied back to me at that time:

"I am aware of the proposed jail.  Where they have located it is at the site currently utilized by Waste Management, which is clearly an industrial area.  At the December 1^st School Board meeting, this was discussed and the board has no objections to this site since its location is not in a residential area and is not located where students would walk on their way to and from school.  Though it is often being referenced as allocation in Kingsgate, it is, in fact, in Totem Lake."

Clearly the school board did not realize at that time that this will affect the surrounding schools, parks, neighborhoods of the Totem Lake/Kingsgate areas.  This is because the location being considered is right next to our neighborhoods and schools (starting from less than a 1/4 mile away to residents and a city park to less than a mile away from Kamiakin JH and John Muir Elementary), and to get to the local transportation center at Evergreen, the people jailed at this site would have to walk through our neighborhoods to get there.  Even if the students do not actually walk in front of the site being considered, doesn't mean that the people getting out of the jail will not walk through our neighborhoods and near our schools through out the day and night, endangering the children that do walk along these same streets to get to the schools and parks in the area.

That being said, there were at least 200 people that showed up to oppose the proposed jail site on December 10th, 2008, but only 30-40 people showed up at the environmental meeting in January.  Even though this is the portion of the environmental study of the proposed jail site, it is very, very important that people write in, and/or call about how the jail affects the surrounding area environmentally.  The list below in the previous email are just some of the environmental topics that I emailed to Joe Joss to send out in his email to everyone at Kamiakin so comments can be filed with the committee as to why this is not a good location.

We need everyone we can get to send in suggestions as to why environmentally this is not a good site.  Anything that anyone can think of to add to the lists that have been started.  You never know when someone will think of something else that hasn't been thought of before, so any thoughts new or old are welcome and to bring to the attention of the review committee. 

The links below also have other environmental impacts that can comments can be made on as well.  Such as the one-lane streets going in each direction near the site and the traffic congestion and noise it will bring if the proposed jail is built at this location, etc.  So, comments need to be made in regards to the impact environmentally, anything that you can think of no matter how trivial is one more comment to add to the list. 

It is also a great idea to advise any of the people listed below of these concerns and more so they are aware of how everyone feels about this proposed jail site.  They say that even just one person writing in will count for what hundreds think, so if hundreds write in, then they will know what thousands of people think in regards to this proposed jail site.

Even if we have received numerous emails on this topic previously, we need to be heard now, time is running out and we need to make sure that everyone is heard, and the Lake Washington school board needs to be advised as well.  I'm sure that they have not attended the meetings or listened to the comments of the local residents before they made their statement back in December.  They need to be brought up to date as well.  This is not just a commercial site, but a commercial site surrounded by neighborhoods, families, children and local schools.

Here is another part of Wendy's email that she wrote in response to how to proceed:

"If you want to object to this site - and you have every right to do so - there are 3 ways to act.

1. As individual concerned citizens, you are free to participate in the process however you want.

2. Your PTSA Board of Directors can take a position.  This would require a majority vote by your board at a board meeting.  At public forums and in discussion or publicity you put out, this position can be stated, but it must clearly say that it is the position of the Kamiakin PTSA Board of Director's position.

3. Your PTSA as a whole can take a position.  This would require a majority vote at a general meeting.  The same rule apply as for a position taken by the board, only now you can state that the Kamiakin PTSA.........

It is my understanding that this site is currently the front-runner, so it will take a lot of effort to point the decision makers in a different direction.  Maybe you saw Toby Nixon's comments in the Kirkland Reporter.  He had not objections to the site as far as public safety.  His concern is that with the low income housing in that area, plus the casino, adding a jail will make this area an even more difficult choice for future annexation.  This would be a good question for the city council as most residents would like to see this unincorporated land become part of Kirkland at some point.  Will having a jail be a black mark toward that in the future?

Good luck to you.  This is a great way to get people on board and excited about making a difference in their community.

Regards, Wendy DeLong LW PTSA Council"

Now I want to thank Wendy for her input back in December, and we did bring this up in our PTSA meeting last week, but unfortunately it was our first meeting since November so we could not meet the deadlines of these other meetings to get a majority vote.  We had a guest speaker come to our PTSA meeting to talk about the proposed jail and we now need to get as many people of our community to call in and write to the addresses below of as many reasons as possible to show why this proposed jail is not good for our neighborhood, our schools, our parks, and most importantly our children.

 Please, please, please, pass this information on to family and friends, our deadline is fast approaching and we need all the responses we can before the January 30th deadline.

Thank you to everyone for your time and efforts.  We need to work together to get this out to as many people as possible.  We need to voice our concerns.  This is IMPORTANT!!

Sincerely,

Debbie Gates, Kamiakian PTSA co-President (and local resident living near the schools.)

----- Original Message -----

Sent: Wednesday, January 28, 2009 10:20 AM

Subject: LWPTSA AC: Jail in Kirkland/Redmond--Comment Period Ends Jan. 30

FORWARD TO:  LWPTSA Council and BOD; unit members

TO:  ALL LWPTSA UNIT LCS, AREA VPS AND PRESIDENTS OF UNITS WITHOUT LCS

FROM: SUSAN BAIRD-JOSHI, LWPTSA COUNCIL Advocacy Co-Chair, 2007-2009

King County wants to build a new jail.  It's selected six sites:  three in Seattle, one in Bellevue, one in Shoreline, and one in unincorporated King County (east of Totem Lake Mall in north Kirkland/Redmond area).  It's the last location about which several PTA units are concerned.  Because the site happens to be in an unincorporated area, e.g. no city council governance, many schools believe there is little or no representation for them at the deliberations.  In other words, that area needs residents to Speak Up.

Below is some information gleaned from several emails, along with web sites.  If you see the map, you'll understand the location/impact better.  Also below is the contact information for the three King County Councilmembers whose residents will be affected.

Thank you to Helen Keller Elementary PTA BOD member Deanna Crowe and Kamiakin Principal Joe Joss and the Kamiakin PTA for keeping us informed of these developments.

The email address to write is:


The website for more jail information is:
http://www.necmunicipaljail.org/ 

Site List with Addresses:
http://www.necmunicipaljail.org/SiteSelection.htm

North Kirkland/Redmond site map:
http://www.necmunicipaljail.org/docs/Unincorporated_King_County.pdf

The deadline for comments about the jail they are considering down the hill at the bottom of 132nd is January 30th.  They want comments as to why environmentally this is not a good location, in regards to:
𐂄 Police
𐂄 Schools
𐂄 Parks or other recreational facilities
𐂄 Transportation systems
𐂄 Vehicular trips
𐂄 Waterborne, rail, and air traffic
𐂄 Parking
𐂄 Movement/circulation of people or goods
𐂄 Traffic hazards
𐂄 Noise
𐂄 Risk of explosion
𐂄 Releases or potential releases to the environment affecting public health
(i.e., toxic or hazardous materials)
𐂄 Surface water movement/quantity/quality
𐂄 Runoff/absorption

The dividing line between the two districts in 132nd Ave NE. The potential jail site is in Ms. Lambert's district 3 (South of 132nd) and Ms. Hague's district 6 (North of 132nd).  Residents of district 1 (Mr. Ferguson) could also be impacted.  Everyone's contact information is below.
Kathy Lambert
Council Distr ict 3  
516 Third Ave., Rm. 1200
Seattle, WA 98104
Phone: 206-296-1003
Toll Free: 800-325-6165
TTY/TDD: 206-296-1024
Fax: 206-296-0198


Jane Hague
Council District 6  
516 Third Ave., Rm. 1200
Seattle, WA 98104
Phone: 206-296-1006
Toll Free: 800-325-6165
TTY/TDD: 206-296-1024
Fax: 206-296-0398


Bob Ferguson
Council District 1
516 Third Ave., Rm. 1200
Seattle, WA 98104
Phone: 206-296-1001
Toll Free: 800-325-6165
TTY/TDD: 206-296-1024
Fax: 206-296-0198