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LOCAL | Covington police respond to middle school lockdown [page 3]

New Balance | Plenty of new gymnasts from Kentwood, Kentlake and Tahoma are prepping for the upcoming season [11]FRIDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2014

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COVINGTON | MAPLE VALLEY | BLACK DIAMONDREPORTER

Cary Kemp watches as her nails are decorated at the Jamberry Nails booth Saturday during the Kentlake Craft Fair. Jenna Sagen and Becky Kinney sold Cancer Sucks T-Shirts. DENNIS BOX, The ReporterCraft Fair

BY REBECCA GOURLEY

rgourley@maplevalleyreporter.com

Th e Maple Valley City Council approved a .94 percent property tax levy increase, eff ective Jan. 1, 2015. But, the tax rate has decreased from $1.46 per $1,000 of assessed value to $1.25 per $1,000 of assessed value due to an

infl ux of commercial property, ac-

cording to City Manager David Johnston.

Th is means that residents can

rest easy knowing their property taxes will most likely not increase, despite the increase in the levy amount that was approved at the Nov. 24 council meeting.

However, the city is looking at potentially running a bond in the next year or so to fund capital projects for parks and recreation.

New park facilities is argu-

Property levy hike, tax rate decrease

BY ERIC MANDEL

emandel@covingtonreporter.com

Th e city of Covington’s identity remains under construction, but it’s being built with fewer drive-thru windows.

Th e city launched a new logo and slogan — “Growing Toward Greatness” — in July they hoped would help make the city more recognizable and to develop the idea that Covington is “a destination.”

But the heavy lift -ing behind the conceptual facade came years ago, during the vision statement for its Downtown Plan that cut the clutter of more than a dozen diff erent zoning clas-sifi cations to four. Among those changes was language aimed at limiting drive-thru services, instead focusing on pedestrian-friendly businesses and walkable

Covington moves past ‘drive-thru’ appearance

BY ERIC MANDEL AND DENNIS BOX

emandel@covingtonreporter.com and dbox@sound-publishing.com

Aft er 11 turbulent months on the job, Dave Gordon submitted his resignation as mayor of Black Diamond on Nov. 25. Six days later, at Monday’s special meeting, the Black Diamond City Council appointed councilwoman and mayor pro tempore Carol Benson as his replacement. Th e council chose not to advertise or request any applications for the position from the public.

“We had the public’s input,” Benson told Th e Reporter aft er her unanimous appoint-ment. “We all got elected by 70 percent.”

Benson won City Council Position No. 4 receiving 1,047 votes, 66.90 percent to 516 votes and 32.97 percent for Shawn Ogles-bee in the November 2013 general election. Th e turnout was 61 percent of the 2,752 registered voters.

Th e Reporter fi rst learned of Gordon’s resig-nation through an email from City Clerk Brenda Martinez sent at 4:30 p.m. on Nov. 25. Th e email included a revised notice and agenda for the special meeting, which included “discussion and appoint-ment of mayor.”

Gordon emailed a statement to Th e Reporter for the people of Black Diamond about 90 minutes later, saying he made “a very diffi cult decision” and that he was “very proud and happy to represent this city for the past year.”

“However due to circumstance be-yond my control, I feel I can’t serve the duties of mayor to the standard I set for myself,” wrote Gordon, who had three years remaining on his four-year term. “Th e current culture of City Hall is not in

the people’s best inter-est. I have worked hard to foster support from every political group and individual.”

Gordon also thanked his supporters and those who voted for him last November.

“I fi rmly believe you are part of the solution or part of the problem,” he wrote. “I no longer feel I’m part of the solution. I must step aside to shine the light brightly on the problem. To that resolve I submit my letter of resignation with im-mediate eff ect.”

RESIGNATION

When reached by phone following Mar-tinez’s email, City Councilman Ron Taylor told Th e Reporter that he only heard about the resignation that day.

“It’s a surprise to me, too,” Taylor said.

“I’m just learning about it like everybody else.”

Benson could not be reached by phone at the time, but Taylor said it was too early to make any comments about who would step into the mayor’s role.

“We’re just trying to fi gure out ourselves how do we go from here and have a smooth transition,” Taylor said. “We’ll certainly make sure things continue to operate and remain as stable as possible. Beyond that, I can’t say a whole lot because I don’t know a whole lot.”

Councilwoman Ericka Morgan was contacted by phone Nov. 26 said she was “mystifi ed” by the announcement and Gor-don’s actions came out of the blue.

Black Diamond was already without a city administrator, aft er Christy Todd resigned in May following a sexual harass-ment complaint against Gordon.

Benson appointed mayor after surprise resignation

[ more TAX page 10 ][ more COVINGTON page 8 ]

WEBSITE | Check the website for breaking news, sports and weather storiesmaplevalleyreporter.com or covingtonreporter.com

COVINGTON MAPLEVALLEY

[ more MAYOR page 7]

Carol Benson Dave Gordon

December 5, 2014[2] www.covingtonreporter.com • www.maplevalleyreporter.com

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[3]December 5, 2014www.covingtonreporter.com • www.maplevalleyreporter.com

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BY ERIC MANDEL

emandel@covingtonreporter.com

Covington police responded to a lock-down at Cedar Heights Middle School Nov. 25, which was eventually declared an “unfounded situation,” according to Police Chief Kevin Klason.

Klason said school offi cials reported early Tuesday that a student might be bringing a fi rearm to school. Th e student was contacted in the classroom and found not to be in possession of a fi rearm. Klason said the individual was younger than 13 years old.

“We made sure parents were aware and counselors were involved,” Klason said.

“Th e school and counselors are taking care of it.”

Kent School District Spokesman Chris Loft is said he wasn’t sure where the rumor of a fi rearm came from, but that the school always errs on the side of caution.

“Whenever you have a rumor or report of a weapon on campus you have to take every precaution,” he said.

Loft is said parents were notifi ed by letter and robocall during the day.

Reach Senior Reporter Eric Mandel at emandel@covingtonreporter.com or 425-432-1209 ext. 5054. To comment on this story go to www.covingtonreporter.com.

Covington police respond to school lockdown

The Washington Coalition for Open Government will pres-ent its 2014 Ballard/Thompson Award to Senate Majority Floor Leader Joe Fain. The award honors a member of the state legislature who demonstrated outstanding dedica-tion to the cause of open government during the previous legislative session.

The Coalition is honoring Fain for being the prime sponsor of Engrossed Senate Bill 5964, which mandates that most elected offi cials (except legislators) and public records offi cers are to receive training at least every four years on records retention, disclosure and public meetings. Sena-tor Fain was able to guide the bill through the legislative process, avoiding attempts to weaken it, and getting it passed and signed by Gov. Inslee.

This award is named in recognition of former Speaker of the House Clyde Ballard and former Chief Clerk of the House and Senator Alan Thompson. Ballard, a Republican, and Thompson, a Democrat, were champions of open gov-

ernment in the legislature, as well as founding directors of Washington Coalition for Open Government.

The award will be presented Monday, Jan. 26, in Olympia.

The Coalition will also hold it’s fi rst-ever WCOG Legislative Day in Olympia that day. WCOG members and members of the general public will gather at 9 a.m. in the Washington Room of the Pritchard Building on the capitol campus in Olympia for coff ee and pastries, copies of WCOG’s 2015 Legislative Priorities, and pep talks by our legislative experts.

ESB 5964 was amended in the Senate Governmental Op-erations Committee to eliminate the mandatory nature of training, saying only “elected offi cials” may participate in training. Senator Fain worked to exclude this amendment when the bill passed on the Senate fl oor. Senator Fain then worked with Representative Gerry Pollet and House lead-ership to get the bill passed in the House without further amendment.

Senator Fain recognized for open records legislation

The Covington City Council will hold a public hearing at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 9 to receive comments about the proposed Kent School District Impact Fee schedule for 2015.

The Kent School District Board of Directors denied a request Oct. 8 by the Inland Group for a reduction on school impact fees for the Polaris apartment buildings it plans to build for Covington’s Town Center project. The development would be located adjacent to Covington Elementary School.

Richard Hart, Covington commu-nity development director, told The

Reporter last month that he sent a decision to the city’s attorney that would disregard the school district’s recommendation and would instead recommend going forward with the fee waiver at 80 percent.

The city cites CMC 18.129.020 and RCW Chapter 26.70A and Chapter 82.02, which authorizes the collec-tion of impact fees for development activity to provide public school facilities to serve new development.

There will also be a public hearing Dec. 9 for adopting the Kent School District 2015-2020 Capital Facilities Plan.

Covington Council to hold public hearing on impact fees

COVINGTON COMMISSION OPENINGS

The city of Covington is looking to fi ll openings on its arts and parks

and recreation commissions.According to the city’s website, of the Covington’s fi ve commissions,

there are three upcoming openings in parks and recreation,

“for citizens who want to be advocates, proactive participants,

and leaders in the growth of Covington’s parks and recreation

facilities and programs.” There are also currently two open positions

on the Arts Commission.

December 5, 2014[4] www.covingtonreporter.com • www.maplevalleyreporter.com

Th ere is hope for the modern world, discov-ered in the most unlikely of devices.

In the past, my cellphone has masqueraded as a demon device suddenly calling strangers or refusing to ring when God is calling.

Despite what certain young women in the offi ce say (never believe them), I know how to work my phone; it is the cellphone that turned on me when I yell clean obscenities at it. Unless I used just the right tone and poked it in the proper place, it suddenly went dark and refused to speak or turn on the light.

However, in my hour of despair, I discovered hope.

At about midnight a couple of months ago I was driving to Anacortes to catch a ferry to San Juan Island for work.

I got lost somewhere on the outskirts of Enumclaw. It was dark.

I decided I would try one of those things (I know – it’s a stupid app) that mysteriously show up for no reason when I am trying to answer the ringing that is not in my head.

Th e thing is called “Th ere” or “Go there” or “You’re lost forever” – something like that.

Anyway, I pulled over in the dark, began whacking my phone and suddenly a light asked me where I was going and where I came from,

like some Philosophy 101 class I fl unked.Miraculously the magic light in my phone

fi gured out where I was going and a woman in white began talking to me.

I couldn’t believe it. I found a girlfriend in my shirt pocket.

Once we got rolling, every time I was going a mile or two over the speed limit, my new girl-friend started yelling at me.

Aft er a couple of yellings, I started speeding just to hear her soothing critique, to see if she still liked me.

Th en I took a wrong turn. Th at was nearly

nirvana.“Recalculating because you are a dummy,” she

yelled.I loved it. I started taking wrong turns and

speeding to see what my new cellphone jinni would do next.

Now I really like my cellphone and I never leave it alone.

I have my jinni tell me how to get to the gro-cery store a few blocks away, just to make sure I take the right route. One can’t be too careful.

I wonder if my jinni will grant me wishes. Hope.

Th e battle we are now witnessing between the president and the Republicans in Congress over immigration is a strange one. It is strange because both sides have forgotten how they have acted during the past six years toward each other and only see the slights and attacks from the other side.

President Obama, stung by the midterm congressional election race losses, is unwilling to accept his defeat easily, just as the Republicans refused to ac-cept their 2012 presidential loss. Th e Republicans are gloating over their recent congressional victories, just as Obama gloated over trouncing the Republicans in 2012, feeling he had a mandate.

Th e Republicans have forgotten their low approval ratings especially among the young and minorities, and their previous six years of obstructionism toward the presi-dent and his policies. Th e immigration issue brings the past six years of rancor and ill will to center stage.

Even as President Obama stressed his solu-tions to immigration in his recent speech, he knows his initiatives will anger Republicans but he doesn’t feel it will make any diff erence. He doesn’t trust them to act for the good of the poor and middle class or treat him with respect. Th ey’ve hated him from the beginning of his fi rst term. Nothing is going to change

that attitude. Relationships between the presi-dent and the Republicans in Congress will only get worse, not better.

Th e Republicans, feeling victorious, now ex-pect the president to forget their past actions and words toward him. Sen. John McCain, in a Nov. 6 MSNBC broadcast, summed up their attitude quite clearly by pleading with the president to wait on immigration until they take control of Congress in January: “We’ve got a new Congress. We’ve got a new man-date,” he said. “Let’s let the House of Represen-tatives decide if they want to move forward on immigration reform or not.”

President Obama probably is thinking that when only 40 percent of the eligible electorate

voted in early November, the word “mandate” does not seem valid.

He thinks back 16 months, to the immigration bill passed by a bipartisan Senate, and remembers how the Republican-controlled House refused to allow the bill to even be voted on, knowing full well that if that were allowed,

it would have passed with Democratic and moderate Republican support. He thinks to himself, “Why should I wait any longer?”

Former presidential candidate Mitt Romney had an explanation for the Republican refusal to pass immigration reform then in a Nov. 2, 2014, CNN interview: “I think the Republi-cans in the House were looking at what was coming up from the Senate and saying: ‘You know we can do better if we pick up some more seats in the Senate.’”

Th e problem with the passage of this Senate bill is that only 14 of 46 Republicans voted for it in 2013. Based upon Romney’s words,

the new Republican majority in January 2015 will want a greater say than they got with the June 2013 Senate bill. Republicans know the survival of their party is at stake. Unless they pass a comprehensive immigration reform bill, their chances of winning the presidency in 2016 are nil.

Th ere are three major concerns that Repub-licans have, according to Romney: 1) securing the border, 2) dealing with the those illegally residing in this country, and 3) “making the immigration policies…open and transparent to the many people who want to come here legally.”

Obama’s response from his recent speech is that he’d already done their fi rst priority: he’s nearly doubled security along the border and used drones to patrol diffi cult terrain. He’s deported thousands of criminals and, with his recent decision, will handle the Republicans’ No. 2 and 3 priorities until Congress gives him a bill to sign.

At that point he says he’ll tear up his execu-tive orders.

While Republicans do not dispute the presi-dent is doing good for immigrants and the nation, they do strongly believe it’s not his job it’s theirs. Both have forgotten that their own actions and words over the past six years have poisoned the other’s well of trust.

Th e issue is not whether the president can carry through on his plans or whether or how the Republican-controlled Congress will retaliate. Th e issue is that our government is functioning as the founders intended. Th ey designed the Constitution with the hope and expectation that there would be no love lost between the branches of government. We have seen their vision come to pass before our eyes.

D I D Y O U K N O W ? : For the second straight year, Air New Zeland was named airlineratings.com’s Airline of the Year.

Hope found in unlikely places

Tug and pull over immigration

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Question of the week:

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[5]December 5, 2014www.covingtonreporter.com • www.maplevalleyreporter.com

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All subjects in the police blotter are presumed inno-cent until proven guilty in a court of law.

RAPE• Police responded to a report of child rape at 8:45

a.m. on Nov. 25 at Kentwood High School. Police said the sex offense investigation involved a 15 year old who had sex with several adult suspects. Kent School District Spokesperson Chris Loftis said there was no report of an on-campus assault.

CHILD ABUSE

• Police reported at 10 a.m. on Nov. 25 that a Child Protective Services worker received a report from a school counselor of possible child abuse against a Tahoma Junior High School student. Police said the student reported to the school counselor that his father pulled him out of bed and pushed him against a wall.

CHILD NEGLECT• Police received a child neglect report at 11:45

a.m. on Nov. 25. Police said a mother and grandfa-ther left an 8 week old child unattended in a car in the QFC, 22131 SE 237th St., parking lot for 10-15 minutes while the pair shopped.

ASSAULT• Fourth-degree assault was reported at 9:27 p.m.

on Nov. 29 by a Walmart employee against a cus-tomer of the store.

• Police received an assault report at 11:29 p.m. on Nov. 22 involving a fistfight between a man and his son-in-law at a residence on the 27900 block of 166th Avenue Southeast.

LARCENY• Shoplifting of 14 pairs of jeans was reported at

5:07 p.m. on Nov. 29 at Kohl’s, 17002 SE 270th Place.• Shoplifting was reported at 3:53 p.m. on Nov. 28

from Walmart, 17432 SE 270th Place.• A window was broken and GPS and flashlight

were reported stolen from a vehicle parked outside Fred Meyer, 16735 SE 272nd St.

• A residential burglary was reported at 4:20 p.m. on Nov. 28 in a garage on the 26600 block of Tim-berlane Drive.

• Medical supplies were reported stolen at 11:44 a.m. on Nov. 28 from a vehicle parked on the street on the 19200 block of Southeast 268th Street.

• Wallets were reported stolen at 9:27 a.m. on Nov. 27 from invited guests at a home on the 26600 block of 197th Place Southeast.

• A commercial burglary was reported at 8:30 a.m. on Nov. 27. A lot attendant at Elephant Car Wash, 27240 168th Place SE, told police that suspect(s) entered the business and stole money from a vend-ing machine.

• Items and money were reported stolen at 7:21 a.m. and 7:42 a.m. on Nov. 27 from unlocked vehicles parked in a driveway on the 18600 block of Southeast 259th Street.

• A commercial burglary was reported at 1:30 p.m. on Nov. 26. Police said unknown suspect(s) broke out windows and scratched an obscenity onto King County Department of Transportation construc-tion equipment, located on the 27200 block of 228th Avenue Southeast.

• Shoplifting arrests were reported at 11:01 a.m. and 3:17 p.m. on Nov. 26 at Home Depot, 27027 185th Ave. SE.

• Shoplifting was reported at 8:33 p.m. on Nov. 25 at Fred Meyer, 26520 Maple Valley-Black Diamond Road SE.

• Mail theft was reported at 12:56 p.m. on Nov. 25 from a mailbox in front of a residence on the 27100 block of 189th Avenue Southeast.

• Shoplifting of shoes was reported at 7:45 p.m. on Nov. 24 at Walmart, 17432 SE 270th Place.

• Police reported a shoplifting arrest at 3:18 p.m. on Nov. 24 at Fred Meyer, 16735 SE 272nd St., of an individual with two Maple Valley warrants.

• A “backpack blower” was reported stolen at 2:39 p.m. on Nov. 24 from a vehicle parked in the Fred Meyer, 16735 SE 272nd St., parking lot.

• An attempted residential burglary was reported at 10:20 a.m. on Nov. 24 at a house on the 27800 block of 183rd Place Southeast.

• An auto theft was reported at 9:18 a.m. on Nov.

24 at a driveway on the 24000 block of 185th Place Southeast.

• Shoplifting of Legos was reported at 4:44 p.m. on Nov. 23 at Walmart, 17432 SE 270th Place.

• Items were reported stolen at 3:35 p.m. on Nov. 22 from a vehicle parked at the Soos Creek trail-head, located at Southeast 256th Street and 148th Avenue Southeast.

• Christmas gift shoplifting was reported at 12:08 p.m. on Nov. 22 at Fred Meyer, 16735 SE 272nd St.

• Police received a robbery report at 2:46 p.m. on Nov. 21. Police said a suspect picked up victims at a fast food restaurant, offered to sell them a laptop and then robbed them on the 18600 block of South-east 256th Street.

• Shoplifting by a juvenile was reported at 6:17 p.m. on Nov. 20 at Bartell Drugs, 22117 SE 237th St.

• A shoplifting arrest was reported at 4:49 p.m. on Nov. 20 at Walmart, 17432 SE 270th Place.

• Shoplifting was reported at 2:51 p.m. on Nov. 20 at Walgreens, 26705 Maple Valley-Black Diamond Road SE.

• Items were reported stolen at 6:02 p.m. on Nov. 19 from an unlocked vehicle in an apartment com-plex parking lot on the 26800 block of 171st Place Southeast.

• A bike was reported stolen at 9:45 a.m. on Nov. 19 from a residential carport on the 24100 block of Witte Road SE.

• Shoplifting of alcohol was reported at 11:01 p.m. on Nov. 18 at Safeway, 26916 Maple Valley-Black Diamond Road SE.

• Shoplifting of approximately $400 worth of groceries was reported at 5:15 p.m. on Nov. 18 at Safeway, 26916 state Route 169.

• Attempted thefts were reported at 8:01 a.m. on Nov. 18 to two unlocked vehicles parked in a resi-dential driveway on the 17100 block of Southeast 251st Street.

WARRANT• An individual was arrested at 11:43 a.m. on Nov.

19 on a criminal warrant following a civil dispute at the AM/PM, 17450 SE 272nd St.

DRUGS• Police reported at 1:56 p.m. on Nov. 19 that a

student at Kentwood High School was found to have marijuana in his person in a school classroom.

CRIME

ALERTThis week’s…

Police Blotter

December 5, 2014[6] www.covingtonreporter.com • www.maplevalleyreporter.com

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Taylor was among the council members that called for Gordon’s resignation following the controversy with Todd.

“It’s no secret that I’ve had my misgivings about his leadership, so I’m optimistic that we’ll be able to maybe operate a little smoother, but that remains to be seen,” Taylor said.

UNANIMOUS SELECTION

The council made quick work of their selec-tion Monday in front of more than 40 residents in the City Council chambers, with the meeting adjourning in less than 19 minutes.

Benson opened the mayoral appointment dis-cussion by saying there is a lot of “talent” on the current council and that picking from that pool would be the most expeditious course of action. The other four council members voiced their agreement for various reasons.

Councilwoman Tamie Deady nominated Benson, saying she was “the best for the position” and fellow Councilwom-an Janie Edelman said that Benson’s financial and fiscal background would be an asset.

There was no comment from the public on the matter at either public comment session opportunity. Multiple residents offered Benson congratulations and shook her hand following the meeting.

Benson directed the city clerk to advertise for a new council member immediately. The city has 90 days to make that appointment.

When asked after the meeting to explain the importance of the quick appointment, Benson listed a myriad of city business items that she said must be handled. She said the 13 work items on the list include, most notably, re-opening the Black Diamond Community Center to the public, the general facilities plan and three moratoriums.

Benson said she gets along with everyone on the council and that there will be less contention than there was with Gordon. She wouldn’t respond directly to whether she was “happy” Gordon was gone.

“I’m not gonna say that,” she said. “I don’t know yet.”

APPOINTMENT CONFUSIONIn a phone conversation Nov. 26 with Benson and an

email exchange with Edelman, both women confirmed the plan was to select a mayor at the Monday special meeting.

Benson said it was her understanding from City At-torney Carol Morris the council was required to select an “elected official” — meaning someone from the council. Edelman responded by email Wednesday afternoon that she had “no comment” on Gordon’s resignation.

A follow-up email query was sent asking, “Is it your un-derstanding that the council must select a mayor to replace Dave Gordon from among the members of the council, and the council will select a replacement Monday?”

Edelman replied, “Yes.”Morris attached the state laws in an email to The Re-

porter the morning of Nov. 26 regarding vacancies. The law states an incumbent council member is eligible for appointment to the office of mayor, but does not mandate as such. Morris also wrote in the email, “I will contact Carol Benson to make sure that she understands my advice and that the Council acts correctly on Monday.” Benson responded to an email from The Reporter on Nov. 27 ac-knowledging that the appointment does not need to be one of the city council members

When asked about the apparent confusion Monday night, Benson said The Reporter either misunderstood what she said or that she misspoke. She stated that she said she believed appointing from within the council was “the best route.”

“There was no misunderstanding,” Benson said. “ I

always knew (the appointee) didn’t have to come from the council.”

A King County Elections official told The Reporter via email that governing bodies have 90 days to make appoint-ments for vacant positions and that the position will be on

the ballot once again in November 2015. The King County Council would have filled the vacancy if no appointment was made in the allotted time.

Black Diamond has a mayor-council, sometimes referred to as strong mayor, form of government. Other cities like Maple Valley and Covington have council-manager forms where the mayor is a sit-ting council member selected by the city council.

ROCKY RELATIONSHIP FROM THE START

Gordon, who had no previous experience as an elected official, took office Jan. 1 after a conten-tious election that ended with a 68 percent victory over former Mayor Rebecca Olness in the 2013 November general election. The main issue in the

election involved YarrowBay’s master planned develop-ments, The Villages and Lawson Hills. Much of Gordon’s support came from groups and individuals fighting the developments.

The state Supreme Court denied a petition for review by Toward Responsible Development of the Court of Ap-peals and Superior Court ruling upholding the permits and YarrowBay’s plans for the two master planned developments.

Following Gordon’s resignation, Olness com-mented, “I don’t know any details but I’m very disappointed. It’s unfortunate that Mayor Gordon was unable to fulfill his obligation by completing his term.”

Olness confirmed that during the campaign she and others heard rumors circulating of a plan that if Gordon won he would take office and a short time later resign, allowing Benson to become mayor. The election rumor suggested that Benson did not want to run for mayor against Olness, who was seeking a second term.

Benson was contacted by phone Nov. 26 and asked to respond to the rumor.

“That’s ridiculous,” Benson said. “If I wanted to run for mayor I would have.”

FIRST DAY

Gordon shook the city’s foundation almost immediately, dismissing the previous city administrator, Mark Hoppen, upon taking office in January. When his new appointee, Todd, was confirmed Jan. 9, the firm acting as city attorney of four years, Kenyon Disend, promptly quit.

It didn’t take long for the council to start voicing its dis-pleasure with Gordon’s leadership style and governmental aptitude. In February, Gordon made appointments to the Planning Commission without the council’s involvement, a tactic the council had also taken issue with Olness. The relationship hit a boiling point in April, when Gordon alleged that Taylor and Edelman came to his office and demanded his resignation and threatened his job, mar-riage and reputation if he did not step down. The council members denied leveling threats, but did say they recom-mended he step down. Gordon called the meeting, “just a power grab. It’s a political coup. What this is about is a conspiracy effort to change the form of government to

council-manager after the people voted that down. This is a conspiracy and has nothing to do with the investigation.”

Taylor sent a statement to The Reporter on April 4 that issued a frank disapproval of Gordon’s leadership abilities, writing the mayor’s actions have caused “the fabric of the city government to unravel.”

“If Mayor Gordon truly cares about the well-being of the city, as he says he does, then I call for him to resign now and let the city pick up the pieces,” Taylor wrote in the statement.

In a response to Taylor’s statement, Gordon wrote the councilman leveled a number of “unwarranted” personal attacks that seem more like a “witch hunt.”

“Mr. Taylor’s letter is extremely unfair,” Gordon wrote. “He would ‘try and convict me’ in the eyes of the public by issuing his letter first – before the city has even had an opportunity to complete its investigation.”

HARASSMENT ALLEGATIONS

Todd filed a sexual harassment claim against Gordon Feb. 23, and subsequent retaliation claims against the city in March, April and May.

The documents alleged that the then-mayor made harassing and unwelcome comments, emails and behavior toward Todd.

An investigator for the Cities Insurance Association of Washington looked at the complaint and concluded that

Todd was “clearly uncomfortable” with Gordon’s informal communication style, that Todd never attempted to communicate her concerns with Gordon or Benson and that the concerns told to the then-interim city attorney were never passed along to the mayor. The investigator did not issue any recommendation. The City Council passed a resolution for another investigation into the conflict, but Todd agreed to resign and drop the complaint as part of a severance package May 15 that cost the city more than $60,000.

TURMOIL CONTINUESDuring and following the controversy, council

members repeatedly voiced concern over excessive spend-ing, specifically related to attorney’s fees associated with the mayor.

The council acted against the mayor in that regard in June, unanimously adopting a resolution that required a second signature for any and all purchases made with city money.

Edelman said prior to the resolution vote that city money is “leaving the coffers at quite a remarkable speed”

[ MAYOR from page 1]

[ more MAYOR page 13 ]

“It’s no secret that I’ve had my misgivings about his leadership, so I’m optimistic that we’ll be able to operate a little smoother, but that remains to be seen.” Ron Taylor

“I don’t know any details, but I’m very disappointed. It’s unfortunate that Mayor Gordon was unable to fulfill his obligation by completing his term.” Rebecca Olness

December 5, 2014[8] www.covingtonreporter.com • www.maplevalleyreporter.com

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BLOOD TYPESThere are four main blood types that humans can

have coursing through their systems: A, B, AB, and the universal O. Ever wondered what those four, seemingly random letters (or groups of letters) means? The letters represent the proteins, called antigens, that are on the surface of red blood cells. In addition to letters, blood types are followed by either a positive sign or a negative sign. These symbols represent the Rhesus—or Rh—factor. Rhesus represents another protein on the surface of red blood cells. Blood typing becomes vital when blood transfusions are needed. If the right type of blood is not supplied, blood cells can clump together, with fatal results.

Not all blood types are compatible, so it’s important to know your blood group to ensure that if you are given a transfusion, your body won’t make antibodies to attack the donor blood.

For more information, or to schedule an appointment, please call Southlake Clinic at (253) 395-1972. Our primary care providers are part of a multi-specialty physician network, with a clinic in Covington at 27005 168th Place SE.

streets.“(Th e public wants) Covington to be more than a subur-

ban shopping area, or more than a place you go through on the way from Interstate 405 to Maple Valley,” said Richard Hart, Covington Community Development Director. “Th e people who live here want to have an identity of what is Covington.”

In the eyes of at least one commercial real estate agent, though, this dedication to the plan means extra work, and, potentially, losing out on some business opportunities.

“(Th e Design Review) is put together by well-intended people,” said Brian Pounder, president of Regency Group, a commercial real estate fi rm located in Bellevue, who is assisting with the property previously home to the former Burger King that closed in October. “But there’s the old saying about unintended consequences of well-intentioned ideas.”

Covington, which was incorporated in 1997, has devel-oped commercial centers liked Costco and Walmart over the last few years, but is also working to build a true center of the community. Hart said surveys have shown Coving-ton citizens want the city to be to be more than strip malls and drive-thrus.

Th e city’s design standards refl ect that goal, with regula-tions depending on the street type — whether the area is more focused on pedestrians, normal driving traffi c or commercial vehicles. Each standard provides a checklist of requirements, some with a “menu” approach, according to Hart, giving developers and architects a slightly broader choice for construction.

Th e City Council established the permitted uses during the city’s downtown zoning study, which was adopted in 2009. Th e zoning codes and downtown design guidelines provide the parameter on how the site is developed — setbacks, drainage, parking, building orientation, signs and safety requirements.

Hart said limiting the zones to TC (Town Center), MC (Mixed Commercial), GC (General Commercial) and MHO (Mixed Housing and Offi ce) cut complication.

Hart said the land use regulations can’t be arbitrary.“You can’t just say this looks nice or not nice — that is

being arbitrary or capricious,” Hart said. “Our codes are very clear and say exactly what is required.”

New drive-thrus are not allowed in the Town Center or Mixed Housing and Offi ce zones. Th e city’s intent is “to provide a pedestrian–oriented core to the downtown,” ac-cording to Salina Lyons, Covington’s principal planner.

Current buildings in the zones, such as the McDonald’s, which was renovated in the last few years, and the for-mer Burger King, located on Southeast 272nd Street, are grandfathered in since their drive-thrus were built before

the city implemented the zoning requirements. Still, the city mandates that new drive-thrus can’t be directly facing Highway 516. For the Wendy’s, currently being built on Kent-Kangley Road, across from Fred Meyer, that means the drive-thru design must be either behind or to the side of the building.

Pounder said this requirement can be burdensome on potential businesses.

“Th ey have made the drive-thru aspect very diffi cult,” Pounder said.

According to QSR Magazine, which covers quick service and fast casual restaurants, the drive-thru can account for between 50 and 70 percent of a restaurant’s sales. In 2012, Th e NPD Group, a market research company, reported customers made 12.4 billion fast food drive-thru visits in 2011 and 2012.

Hart said the design requirement enhances the city’s ap-pearance and that studies have shown that city’s with high quality designs have greater economic value than commu-nities that don’t.

Hart said design standards “very rarely” kill a project, es-timating a 95 percent success rate of working with develop-ers since the process began. Hart said the rigid regulations

adopted by the city council make his job easier.“We don’t have a lot of fl exibility because if you don’t

treat everybody the same, then the second person comes in and says, ‘you didn’t treat the person before me like that,” Hart said.

LAND AND MONEYPounder, who said Regency Group has leased more than

200,000 square feet of space in Covington, claimed tenant improvement requests can take months to complete.

“Th ey analyze to a fault,” Pounder said. “If we want to attract good businesses, as much as it is important to ana-lyze, time is money… If you can do it in two months, why should it take 10 months?”

Lawrence Campbell, a commercial architect in Kent for more than 40 years, voiced similar concerns during his two most recent project’s in Covington. Th e fi rst permit he needed, Campbell said, was for improving a parking lot and went relatively smoothly. Meanwhile, he found that completing the second permit, a tenant improvement project, to be “time-consuming” and “irritating.” Campbell said the city’s major issue is cutting the delays on routine aspects — most notably the need to set up appointment for most everything.

“Th ey were very thorough, but the other side of the coin is you can’t even perform a very minor thing, like turning in a form that you’ve downloaded off their website without making an appointment with someone to do so,” Campbell said. “And that’s highly unusual in the building depart-ment. To me, it’s not a good defi nition of public service.”

Campbell, who is semi-retired, called Covington “prob-ably the least user-friendly department” he’s dealt with recently. Despite the complaint, Campbell said he respects the city’s dedication to thoroughness, a quality he doesn’t always see.

“Th ere are some very nice people (on the staff ) and, to a certain degree, they are trapped in a system that doesn’t make much of an eff ort to really provide that friendly, over-the-counter assistance that you experience in just about every other building department,” Campbell said. “…Cov-ington doesn’t stack up real well against some of the other local building departments, but I’m certainly not going to condemn them.”

COVINGTON STILL NEAR THE TOPTh e code requirements don’t appear to have any impact

on Covington’s overall economic desirability. Aft er at least six years in a row as the No. 1 city for annual growth in the Washington State Retail Survey, Covington dropped to No. 2 in 2014. Bonney Lake fi nished 19, Renton 20th, and Auburn No. 38. Neither Maple Valley nor Black Diamond cracked the top 50.

Covington staff are in discussion with Chick-fi l-A offi cials about the former Burger King location on SE 272nd Street. ERIC MANDEL, The Reporter

[ more COVINGTON page 18 ]

[ COVINGTON from page 1]

[9]December 5, 2014www.covingtonreporter.com • www.maplevalleyreporter.com

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Th ere was a time, not so long ago, when a snow fl urry would have roused my kids from their bed and sent them into a frenzy of fi nding boots, gloves, hats and jackets. Th ey would have thrilled at making fresh footprints across the yard, scooping the snow off fences, bushes and trees, throwing snow-balls, building a lopsided snowman.

On Saturday morning, as I enjoyed watching our fi rst snow of the season, my youngest got up to go to the bathroom. “Oh, it’s snowing,” then she went back to bed.

I was contemplating how much my kids have grown up on Black Friday when, rather than shop-ping, we make gingerbread houses. Th ey gathered a few friends and I was ready and waiting for the pandemoni-um to begin – and nothing happened.

My job during this event is to make frosting and keep a cap on the mess. However, the biggest mess that oc-curred was when I dropped a huge blob of frosting on the fl oor as I was

trying to put it in the decorating bag. Maybe it was the absence of food coloring this year that made it calmer or maybe they’re just getting older.

I can’t really say I missed the usual chaos, but I was a bit nostalgic for what it used to be. Th ey still laughed, joked around, put mischievous ad-ditions on their houses to push my decorating decree “no ninjas, blood or train wrecks” (there was a salmon farm with Swedish fi sh candy poking out from every available chimney and window, piled in the train and against the house). It was so uneventful for me; I actually went and took a shower.

As I got out of the shower and heard hysterical laughter. I chastised

myself for my lapse in judgment to leave a bunch of teen girls alone with frosting and candy. I dressed quickly and rushed out expecting a frosted explosion or the remnants of a candy infused food fi ght. Th ey were just laughing.

Th ey took their time with their houses,

thoughtfully choosing from a huge variety of colorful candies (I get a bit carried away when I buy candy to put on the houses) for decorating accents (salmon), unlike past years when the kids were too impatient to glue the pieces of the house together so dad had to do it and as much candy was eaten as was randomly slapped on the house (okay, the eating candy part is still the same).

I snapped pictures throughout the activity; construction, mid-decorating progress, completion. But besides making frosting, my help was not needed. When I asked them to clean up so I could get a picture of all of them with their creations, they all chipped in, cleared the table and stood, indulging me, for a photo shoot.

It was still fun, just very under-whelming. We’ll continue to have this tradition as long as one of my daugh-ters wants to do it. My youngest and I bake all the pieces together and that’s part of our mother/daughter tradi-tion; working together to complete that arduous task. Every gingerbread building mold is half a house, so for fi ve houses, plus fi ve trains, as we needed this year, we had a lot of bak-ing to do.

Still, it’s worth it in the end. And as I cleaned the last dregs of frosting, the memories from years past fl ooded in and made me smile. Th en I fl ipped over a kitchen chair to clean off the frosting sticking to its feet. Th ere was a huge splatter of chocolate on the underside of the seat.

Chocolate from our Christmas almond roca making tradition - how many years has that been there? I laughed to myself and put the chair upright without cleaning it off . Memo-ries indeed.

Gretchen Leigh is a stay-at-home mom who lives in Covington. Yo can read more of her writing at living-withgleigh.com.

Memories of gingerbread houses past

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December 5, 2014[10] www.covingtonreporter.com • www.maplevalleyreporter.com

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ably one of the top things that the community has ex-pressed a need for, Johnston said.

Johnston said one thing is for certain, the city doesn’t have a lot of park land, either developed or undeveloped.

The 2015 preliminary capital budget, outlined by Johnston and Finance Director Shawn Hunstock, has 30.7 percent of the capital revenue earmarked as voted bond proceeds for 2015-2020. This doesn’t mean that the city plans on running a bond in 2015, but it does mean that a voter-initiated bond is one of the few options the city has for funding parks projects, according to Greg Brown, parks and recreation director.

“You’ve got four projects (in the budget) that rely heavily on voted bonds,” Brown said to the council at the meeting.

Those projects include finishing Summit Park, a youth, community and senior facility, Lake Wilderness Park and a community park acquisition. The total estimated bond proceeds for those projects is about $18.8 million.

If the city decides to run a bond for these projects, it will be the first voter-initiated bond in the city’s 17-year history.

However, getting a bond on a ballot carries a hefty price tag, approximately $30,000. But, Johnston thinks that the

community may be willing to pass one for parks because of the need many of them have expressed.

It took two tries for the Tahoma School District to pass a bond for the construction of a new high school and regional learning center, but the $195 million bond did eventually get voter approval.

“Sometimes you have to do it more than once,” said Johnston, anticipating that it may not be a one-time effort.

The city has a clear revenue gap for funding parks proj-ects. One suggestion brought to the council last week was to close and sell Lake Wilderness Golf Course.

Les Burberry of Maple Valley said the timing is right. He said there may be someone willing to take the risk right now because Elk Run Golf Course has closed. But, he added, once one year goes by and Lake Wilderness hasn’t seen an increase in the number of rounds of golf, the win-dow of opportunity to sell will have passed.

However, Deputy Mayor Sean Kelly isn’t convinced the golf course is a lost cause. He said he wants the city to watch it and see how it does in the next year or more before entertaining the idea of selling it. He added that the council has not discussed closing the golf course.

The City Council is planning on approving their 2015 budget at next Monday’s City Council meeting at 7 p.m.

[ TAX from page 1]

TAHOMA ATHLETE MAKES VERBAL COMMITMENT TO COLLEGE LACROSSETwo-sport Tahoma High School standout Brody Sullivan made a verbal commit-ment to play lacrosse at the University of Mount Olive in North Carolina.

Sullivan, who will captain the Tahoma lacrosse team for the second year this spring and winner of two school letters in football, is the second student-athlete from Tahoma last month to commit to play lacrosse at the NCAA level.

Following graduation this spring, Sullivan will join a Division II Mount Olive squad that already includes nine Washington state players. The upcoming 2015 freshman class features four from the Evergreen state.

“It’s an honor to play at Mount Olive,” said Sullivan, a 6 foot, 200 pound mid-fielder, in a press release. “I feel privileged to have the opportunity.”

As a junior at Tahoma, Sullivan was selected to the Division I SPSL/Narrows All-Conference First Team, posting 34 points (19g, 15a) and 41 ground balls. The Bears finished on top of the SPSL/Narrows Conference with a 13-5-0 record, missing the state title game by a single goal after falling to Washington state Division I runner-up Issaquah High School in the state semifinals.

KENTWOOD ATHLETES SIGN LETTERS OF INTENTMultiple Kentwood High School student-athletes have signed Letters of Intent to play sports in college.

• Mike Ciancio — Seattle University (Baseball)

• Jennifer Oak — Western Washington University (Soccer)

• Chelsea Hartnett — verbal commitment to Western Oregon University (Soc-cer)

• Kendall Goodwin — Northwest Nazarene (Fastpitch Softball)

High School Sports Briefs

BY REBECCA GOURLEY

rgourley@maplevalleyreporter.com

Kentwood’s gymnastics team is young and mostly inexperienced, but coach Ann Diaz said she’d rather see the girls improve signifi cantly from the season’s start to the end, rather than win every competition.

She said most of the team is at the beginner level, with the exception of a few girls that have competed at the club level previously. But, she said there are a few gymnasts with raw talent that just needs experience. She said she is looking forward to seeing the team’s growth over the season.

Tahoma’s coaches, former University of Washington gymnasts Wendy Ward and Dachelle Pand, are eager to harness the strong work ethic and selfl essness they have already seen in their athletes so far this season. Last year was their building year with several gymnasts learning the sport for the fi rst time. Th is year they have a goal of qualifying as a team to the district and state competi-tions. But, they aren’t completely focused on winning. Th e pair want to, more than anything, promote love for the sport while improving upon their team score at every meet.

Who to watch - sophomore Tenley Mjelde and fresh-men Harley Rayburn and Kalani Pinter.

Kentlake head coach Lindsey Duerre said she wants to help each of her gymnasts build their skills so they can participate in a varsity meet.

In addition to a well-established team of six athletes that are returning this year, there are also 14 girls that are new to the team, making this a strong mix of experi-enced and beginner athletes.

Who to watch - sophomore Calista Webb (new to the team this year), senior Jolene Carlson on fl oor, fresh-man Brianna Tinnel on bars, and sisters Ali and Katie Beliveau and Amandy and Alex Gustafson.

Th e fi rst meets of the season for all three teams will be Wednesday, Dec. 10.

Tahoma will compete against Auburn, Th omas Jef-ferson and Kent-Meridian at 7 p.m. at Kent-Meridian High School.

Kentlake will host Auburn Mountainview, Decatur

and Olympia at 7 p.m. Kentwood will compete against Mount Rainier, Sum-

ner and Bonney Lake at 7 p.m. at Auburn Gymnastics Center.

Young, hopeful and ready to tumble[11]December 5, 2014www.covingtonreporter.com • www.maplevalleyreporter.com

Kentlake junior, Brianna Tinnel, above, practices on the uneven bars. Tahoma freshman, Kalani Pinter, top right, practices her fl oor routine. Both athletes are on their coach’s list of which gymnasts to watch this season. REBECCA GOURLEY, The Reporter

SPORTS

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UPCOMING WINTER SPORTS EVENTS

Boys BasketballFriday, Dec. 5, Tahoma travels

to Olympia for a game at 7 p.m., while Kentwood plays Rogers at Auburn Riverside

High School (time TBD).Wrestling

Saturday, Dec. 6, Tahoma will compete in the

Auburn Tournament at Auburn High School.

GymnasticsWednesday, Dec. 10, Tahoma

at Kent-Meridian High School at 7 p.m. Kentlake will host

Auburn Mountainview, Decatur and Olympia at 7 p.m. Kentwood at Auburn

Gymnastics Center at 7 p.m.

December 5, 2014[12] www.covingtonreporter.com • www.maplevalleyreporter.com

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The first storms of the winter season have left us with a holiday bonus. Fallen evergreen boughs, branches and berries are ripe for the plucking as you gather the debris from your lawn and garden beds. From plant protection to Christmas decoration, there are a lot of good things you can do with storm debris.

WINTER PROTECTIONNature’s insulation from freezing

weather is as close as the cedar and fir boughs that were blown from the trees during the latest storm. Gar-deners stuck indoors due to shorter days and colder weather have an excuse to get outside and get moving by collecting fallen leaves, evergreen boughs and other debris to layer on top of tender plants this week. The ground will be kept warmer by just an inch or two of insulation layered over the roots of tender plants like salvia, hardy fuchsia, lavender, canna, mums, and eucomis or pineapple lily.

Fallen leaves protect plants from freezing weather while fallen cedar limbs repel water and protect rot-sensitive plants from too much rain in the root zone. Plants like sal-via and lavender that insist on good drainage will welcome an umbrella of cedar this month.

CHRISTMAS GONE GREEN There is another use for storm debris that is catching on

with cities that want to go green and savvy private citizens. Instead of stringing lights and purchasing shiny ornaments, use the branches of cedar boughs to make garlands and evergreen bits from a mix of plants to fill the empty con-tainers and hanging baskets that once festooned the sum-mer garden. Window boxes can be stuffed with drooping

cedar and upright holly while the colorful but leafless stems of coral bark maple or red twig dogwood can be poked into potting soil to add a colorful accent line to rise above the evergreen color.

THREE STEPS TO DIRT CHEAP WINTER COLOR Step one: Start with the tallest branches in the center

or a pot or back of a window box. If you don’t have branches from white-barked birch or red-twig dog-wood you can substitute curly willow, filbert or any

bare branch with an interesting texture. The bare branches will give the container display scale and height so try to cut them long enough so that once inserted into the soil they are two-thirds as tall as the container.

Step two: Add evergreens to fill in around the bare branches. This is the time to prune holly, leucothe, pieris japonica, camellia or mahonia if the winds did not deposit a bounty of evergreens for your display. Any plant that has berries will add color so snip away at barberry, cotoneaster, snowberry and kinninick if you can’t find enough holly with red berries.

Step three: Save the drooping form of our native Western cedar for the front of your containers or to display all

along the edge of a pot. Allow the cedar to hide the stems of the other evergreen and spill forth from the rim of the pots. You can cut up cedar bits and wire it to picks or other branches as this tough evergreen will not wilt or dry out if the cut end is not in moist soil. Cedar is the most durable of our native evergreens once the branches are cut from the plant. Avoid using native hemlock in displays as the needles fall from cut hemlock as soon as the bough begins to dry.

ACCENTS THE FINISHING TOUCHAdd extra bits of color and texture using anything that

is weather proof. Pinecones and seed heads are traditional, red yarnbows adds a country touch while theme displays using anything from metal cookie cutters to a collection of nut crackers will add a personal touch.

Going green and going natural this winter has one more advantage – your outdoor holiday display can fill the voids and should continue to look fresh through out the chilly month of January. Then, when you are ready for spring, you won’t have to worry about storing the holiday display. Your collection of evergreens, bark and berries can go right into the compost pile.

Marianne Binetti has a degree in horticulture from Washington State University and is the author of “Easy Answers for Great Gardens” and several other books. For more gardening information, she can be reached at her Web site, www.binettigarden.com.

The C

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Storm debris provide plant protection and decoration

Lake Wilderness Arboretum is open to the public every day from dawn to dusk – especially during the holidays. Admission is free and free parking is available in the Arboretum lot near the front entrance, in designated parking space along the access road and at Lake Wilderness Park.

A welcome kiosk near the Arboretum entrance contains maps and brochures. You, your family and your pets can enjoy walk-ing all five acres of gardens and 37 acres of forest trails. Most garden paths are stroller- and wheelchair-accessible while natural stone stairs take visitors to forest trails. Lake Wilderness Arboretum’s six unique display gardens celebrate the North-west landscape and are created, transformed and maintained by dedicated volunteers for almost 50 years.

Benches are located throughout the property and a covered gazebo offers seating. Find public restrooms at Lake Wilderness Park.

POINSETTIA’S INFORMATIONThe poinsettia (Euphorbia pulcherrima) is one of the most popular holiday plants, known for its green leaves and red bracts, which can also be orange, pale green, cream, pink, white or marbled and are often times mistaken for the plant’s flowers. Poinsettia flowers are small yellow blooms called cyathia in the center of each leaf bunch.

A member of the spurge family of plants, poinsettias are indigenous to Mexico and Central America. Gardeners in warm climate states such as California are quite successful growing these shrubs outdoors where they bloom in winter.

Legend has it in 16th century Mexico, an angel inspired a poor girl to give the gift of poinsettias for the celebration of Jesus’ birthday. In modern times, the star-shaped leaves are said to symbolize the Star of Bethlehem. In the United States, Dec. 12 is National Poinsettia Day.

Here in the Northwest, place poinsettias indoors near a sunny window. They are sensitive to cold drafts and extreme tem-perature shifts. Poinsettias continue to bloom in temperatures of 65-75 degrees. They need humidity. Water frequently, allowing it to drain.

What’s Happening at the Arboretum

The annual Toys for Joy program is returning to the Covington and Kent area.

For the program, new, unwrapped toys are col-lected, sorted, wrapped, and delivered to local food banks and outreach programs for distribution to needy families in our community. In addition to toys, non-perishable food and monetary donations are also accepted. This year the program will also be working with the city of SeaTac to provide for their residents.

Toy wrapping parties are open to the public and scheduled for Dec. 9 and Dec. 18 at 6 p.m. Last year the public wrapped over 6,000 gifts.

Toy collection barrels will be at the following loca-tions:

• Fire Station 71, 504 West Crow St., Downtown Kent.

•Fire Station 72, 25620 140 Ave. SE., East Hill of Kent.

• Fire Station 73, 25612 Military Road S., West Hill of Kent

• Fire Station 74, 24611 116 Ave. S.E., East Hill of Kent.

• Fire Station 75, 15635 S.E. 272 St., Lake Meridian (wrapping party location).

• Fire Station 76, 20676 72 Ave. S., North Kent Valley.

• Fire Station 77, 20717 132 Ave. SE, East Hill of

Kent.• Fire Station 78, 17820

SE 256 St., Covington.• Centennial Building,

400 W. Gowe St., Down-town Kent.

• Fire Station 45, 2929 S. 200 St.. SeaTac - South.

• Fire Station 46, 3521 S. 170 St., SeaTac - Central.

• Fire Station 47, 3215 S. 152 St., SeaTac – North.

For further information on the Toys for Joy pro-gram and to get involved in a wrapping party, call the Toys for Joy Hotline at 253-856-4485.

Toys for joy program returns

[13]December 5, 2014www.covingtonreporter.com • www.maplevalleyreporter.com

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...obituaries

Place a paid obituary to honor those who have passed away,

call Linda at 253.234.3506 paidobits@reporternewspapers.com

Nellie Ulanowski YedinakNellie Ulanowski Yedinak, age 92,

died peacefully at home on November 3, 2014 in Covington, Washington of natural causes.

Born on March 27, 1922 in Moon, Pennsylvania she spent much of her youth and young adulthood in McKees Rocks, Pennsylvania. After meeting and marrying her beloved husband, Charles, in 1946 they traveled the country for Chuck’s job as a military contractor, raising a happy family of three daughters: Jean, Joanne and Deborah and one son, Jim. Work took them from Pennsylvania to Wyoming, Mississippi, North Dakota, Missouri, California and several other locations. But one thing stayed constant, Nellie’s deep love for her family and her friends.

Nellie retired as a retail clerk in southern California and enjoyed traveling to Mexico, Europe, New Zealand and Australia. Hawaii and Reno were a favorite destination for her and also traveling the country staying with her children in Oregon, Washington, California and Arkansas. She got to know and spend time with her growing number of grandchildren and great grandchildren. Her greatest gift to her family was her persistence at staying involved in their lives, off ering support and love always.

Nellie loved God, gardening, watching the Seattle Mariners and Seahawks and writing letters. She enjoyed staying in touch with a huge number of friends and family around the country and in Canada.

Nellie was preceded in death by her husband Charles and eldest daughter Jean. Two sisters, Helen and Jane, survive her along with numerous nieces and nephews. She is also survived by daughters Joanne Patterson (Floyd), Deborah Barnes (Bruce) and son Jim Yedinak (Patty) as well as her grandchildren Amy, Jennifer, Stacey, Charles, Elizabeth, Katy, Sean and Portia and her great grandchildren Noah, Jack, Andy, Luke, Oliver and Autumn Jean.

Her fi nal resting place will be with her husband at All Souls Cemetery in Long Beach, CA.

Memorial donations can be made to the Maple Valley Food Bank www.maplevalleyfoodbank.org and the Polish

Children’s Fund www.pwaa.org.1192207

2014-0457NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN

that the Hearing Examiner for the King County Council will meet in the Ginger Room on the 12th

tle, Washington, on Wednesday, December 17, 2014, at the time listed, or as soon thereafter as possible, to consider applications

ty assessment under Current Use Assessment Statute RCW 84.34, all listed hereafter;1:30 p.m. or as soon thereafter as possible.2014-0457 - E14CT021 – Aaron Doll for property located south and adjacent to 29730 329th Place SE, Ravensdale, WA

SIZE: 5.94 acres; REQUEST:

and/or Timber Land; Tax

Details are available from the

ural Resources and Parks, Rural and Regional Services Section, 201 South Jackson Street, Suite

600, Seattle, WA 98104; Phone

Dated at Seattle, Washington, This 5th Day of December 2014.

Anne NorisClerk of the CouncilMetropolitan King County CouncilKing County, Washington

Published in Covington/Maple Valley/Black Diamond Reporter on December 5, 2014. #1187497

PUBLIC NOTICES

To place a Legal Notice,

please call 253-234-3506

or e-mail legals@

reporternewspapers.com

CITY OF COVINGTON NOTICES

ORDINANCE NO. 13-14

AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF COVINGTON, KING COUNTY, WASHINGTON, ADOPTING THE REGULAR PROPERTY TAX LEVY FOR 2014 FOR COLLECTION IN 2015.

ORDINANCE NO. 14-14

AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF COVINGTON, KING COUNTY, WASHINGTON, SPECIFICALLY AUTHORIZING A PROPERTY TAX INCREASE IN TERMS OF BOTH DOLLARS AND PERCENTAGES AS PURSUANT TO RCW 84.55.120.

Passed by the City Council of Covington, Washington, at the City Council meeting of November 25, 2014 to take effect five days after publication.

Published in the Covington/Maple Valley/Black Diamond Reporter on December 5, 2014. #1192152.

and that the resolution lets the council have a role in the beginning of the process, as op-posed to finding out about an expenditure when the bill comes.

Following the meeting, Gordon told The Reporter that he was “disappointed” in the resolution because it lacked provisions for emergencies.

Gordon told The Reporter that he threatened to veto the “short-sighted” resolution in an email he sent to council members. Ultimately, Gordon said he decided that it was his job “to support the what the council wants” even though he thinks the resolution will slow down the government and everyday processes.

In an email later obtained by The Reporter from Gordon to Police Chief Jamey Kib-linger, Gordon called the resolution “hocus pocse (sic)legislation” and questioned if it was constitutionally legal, especially since he never actually signed the resolution.

In another case of miscommunication, on Oct. 30, Gordon apologized on behalf of Tay-lor, for what Gordon considered “offensive” remarks by Taylor at the Oct. 16 council meet-ing regarding adding two unpaid holidays for public employees. Taylor said at the meeting the resolution was “another step toward political correctness” and he added, “I mean, let’s face it, this nation was founded as a Christian nation. Tonight when we gave the pledge of allegiance, we said, ‘one nation under God.’ If one of us went to an Islamic country, do you think one of us could demand a holiday there. I don’t think that would go over very well.

Anyway, I don’t support this.”Gordon issued a statement assuring the public that Taylor “regrets what was said.” When

asked by The Reporter about Gordon’s assurance, Taylor denied ever making apologies about his statement.

AFTER THE RESIGNATIONAfter Gordon emailed his resignation statement, The Reporter sent him emails and left

two voice messages asking for further comments and clarification for his reasons to quit.Gordon replied in an email Nov. 26 following his statement, “At the moment I just don’t

have anything else to add.”He did not return phone messages left after Benson was appointed to the position.Next year the City Council will have four seats on the general election ballot and the

mayor’s position.The City Council members’ seats on the 2015 ballot are Deady, Edelman, Taylor and

whomever the council selects to replace Benson.

Reach Senior Reporter Eric Mandel at emandel@covingtonreporter.com or 425-432-1209 ext. 5054. Dennis Box can be reached at dbox@soundpublishing.com. To com-ment on this story go to www.covingtonreporter.com.

[ MAYOR from page 7]

A record 39 tree sponsors supported this year’s Purple Light Nights cam-paign in Covington, according to Victoria Throm, Covington Domestic Violence Task Force Director.

Sponsors pay $100 per tree as part of October’s Domestic Violence Aware-ness Month. For the second year,

students from Kentlake assisted with installation and removal of lights. According to Mr. Greg Kaas, a Leader-ship Teacher at Kentlake, the kids are a combination of Leadership, Falcon Crew and general students.

All proceeds from the campaign go to the Task Force, which provides ser-vices to victims of domestic violence and their children. This includes safe nights in a motel, rental assistance for families, gas cards, food and cell phones.

Purple Light Nights sets record Kent School District is

seeking input from the community as it selects a new superintendent. It asks that commu-nity members fill out

an online survey about the characteristics and qualities important in a new superintendent. The survey will be available until 8 a.m. Dec. 10.

District seeks input for Superintendent

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and a former member of the Covington Economic Development Council, said, as is the case with many newer cities, the permitting process is not always easy, but that Covington has shown a stronger willingness towards compromise since the recession “sobered everybody.”

Parnell said design review code some-times has a disconnect with preferred layouts and designs that national retailers and developers prefer. Parnell said there are several jurisdictions that want ideas such as “walkable” commu-nities, mass transit and no surface parking lots for retail experience. However, in his experience, the consumers actually prefer drive-thrus with lots of parking for ease of access.

Parnell said it takes time for smaller communities to develop and build a smart and effi cient code, but that Covington seems to be “coming out with a sharper focus; more willing to be collaborative and helpful,” specifi cally pointing to the city’s ability to adjust and collaborate in moving the Inland Development apart-ment complex deal forward.

“Th ere are good buildings that have been built in the city,” said Parnell, who helped broker the deal for the city’s new Wendy’s. “(Th e design review) just adds time and money to a process.”

When asked by Th e Reporter about some of the complaints, Hart said he believes Covington’s design regulations are simpler to follow and more read-ily accessible than those in larger cities around the state. He added that city staff

being able to make decisions, rather than taking the time going through a design review commission, cut out unnecessary steps. State regulations mandate that a city can only take 180 days to review a project, according to Hart, aft er which time the developer has the right to say they expect a permit.

“We’ve always met our time limit,” Hart said. “…I don’t think the process is dif-fi cult or onerous.”

CHICK-FIL-A UPDATERepresentatives with the

popular and controversial chain restaurant Chick-fi l-A met with Covington city staff for a pre-application process about taking over the Burger King location.

Lyons told Th e Reporter Dec. 1 that the franchise is evaluating the site. Hart said the conversa-tions have been “very positive” and that he believed the company is still interested in locating in

Covington.Pounder would not specifi cally state if

Regency was working with Chick-fi l-A for the land owner, stating only there was interest from a “national company.”

“If the tenant determines it is too expensive or time consuming, we reserve the right to pull out,” he said.

Pounder said if the permits are accept-ed the Burger King building will be torn down and a new structure will be built.

Hart said Chick-fi l-A’s initial design needed to fi x its drive-thru positioning.

“Th ey have a particular business de-sign,” Hart said. “Trying to fi t that into the existing footprint wouldn’t work.”

[ COVINGTON from page 8]

“There have been good buildings that have been built in the city. (The design review) just adds time and money to a process.” Josh Parnell

[19]December 5, 2014www.covingtonreporter.com • www.maplevalleyreporter.com

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