Eyes on Kenmore

Kenmore Public Buildings Play Musical Chairs

Posted by the Kenmore Crow | Filed under Construction | 4 Comments

Part of the whole master plan for Kenmore in the coming years involves moving the Kenmore branch of the King County Library from the trailer home it currently resides in on 73rd Ave into the building currently occupied by the Post Office on 181st. Under this plan, the Post Office would naturally have to move somewhere. The current concept is for the Post Office to move into the existing City Hall building once city government moves into the fancy new City Hall building on 68th St.

That’s quite a few different public organizations that all have to coordinate and work together to make everything work out as planned, and there has been some (justifiable) doubt as to whether everything will indeed come together in the end.

Here’s an update on the latest status of the Post Office’s part of this scheme, courtesy of KBIN:

The City and The USPS are now negotiating the fine print and details of an initial five year lease/rental agreement for space, 1985 sq. ft., in the current City Hall.

The agreement also acknowledges that at some point the Post Office could move into a space to be developed and owned by Urban Partners. The proposed lease terms, initiated by the Post Office, while still in review form, is now back in the hands of the Facility Division of the USPS Western States Office in Denver. The initial five year terms are potentially followed by five year increments up to 2041. We are anticipating final agreement by the end of October, if not sooner.

The main thing I’d personally like to see out of a new Kenmore Post Office would be the addition of an Automated Postal Center, so we can actually mail packages any time of day rather than only during business hours.

Tags: city hall, Construction, KCLS, library, Urban Partners, USPS

Read more | Comments (4) | August 23rd, 2009

It’s Almost Banner Time!

Posted by the Kenmore Crow | Filed under General | 6 Comments

Has anyone else noticed the exciting new development pictured below in the last few days along Bothell Way / SR-522 through Kenmore?

I’m talking about BANNERS! That’s right, unless we’re just making a move for the title of “most pigeon-friendly town of all time,” I’m betting that those poles sticking out horizontally from the light posts are for a set of classy banners.

If you ask me, it’s about time this town got some banners. It is an obvious fact to anyone with a basic understanding of civics that a lack of banners is one of the top things that has been holding Kenmore back from actualizing its full potential as a premier destination.

If you tell me that you can think of something better than banners to spend limited city resources on during a severe economic retraction, you’re probably lying.

At right is a great example of optimal banner usage from our neighbor to the east, Bothell, who uses their banners to promote such unique and attractive local features as lady exiting building while talking on cell phone and wooden foot bridge (not pictured).

So what do you think we should put on our new banners? Construction photos? The shuttered card room? The gravel factory? Downtown Kenmore?

So many choices! If you’ve got any great ideas for what Kenmore should put on our soon-to-come banners, drop me a line and I may whip up some mock-ups to send over to City Hall.

Tags: 522, banners, Bothell, photo

Read more | Comments (6) | August 19th, 2009

Resources to Help You Decide on Kenmore City Council Candidates

Posted by the Kenmore Crow | Filed under Politics | 2 Comments

Well, it’s the night before our mail-in ballots must be postmarked, and none of the three candidates for Kenmore City Council position #2 have responded to my questionnaire. This is quite unfortunate.

We will of course attempt to get a response out of the candidates that emerge victorious from the primary, but for now here is the entirety of resources available to help you make your decision:

Bob Black appears to have no campaign website.

If you don’t want to risk your ballot getting lost in the mail, there is also a convenient King County ballot drop box located outside the lower entrance to Third Place Books just down the street in Lake Forest Park.

Happy voting!

(Updated to add KBIN election links above. Thanks for the heads up, Bill!)

Tags: city council, election, Politics

Read more | Comments (2) | August 17th, 2009

KOMO Overlooks Kenmore with New Cookie-Cutter Sites

Posted by the Kenmore Crow | Filed under News | 3 Comments

Via TechFlash: KOMO parent Fisher dives into Seattle neighborhood blogging

KOMO launched a so-called “hyperlocal system” of Seattle-area community websites today, with 19 pages for Seattle neighborhoods, 9 eastside cities, 9 southern cities, and 6 northern cities.

One city that was notably absent from the list of new websites happens to be Kenmore. Luckily for you, you’ve got Eyes on Kenmore, so you don’t need a corporate-sponsored faux-community portal. Of course, neither do West Seattle, Ballard, or Capitol Hill, but they all still got one from KOMO anyway.

Tags: blogging, corporations, KOMO

Read more | Comments (3) | August 17th, 2009