Black Diamond NOW

Time To Visit The Cathedral

The Cathedral is among the most dramatic of the many spectacular places along the Green River Gorge.  With water levels lower, it is now easier to walk out into the river and see the full expanse of this unique sandstone formation.  Our friends the Sasses had Bill's father visiting from Long Island this weekend so both our families hiked from the Icy Creek trailhead down to the spur trail that veers off to the right at the bench located along the trail.  This is not your typical hike in the park as it requires navigating some pretty interesting terrain and clinging to roots as you descend to the river, but well worth it.  We were totally alone - isolated from the crowds on a beautiful sunny day.  Talk about relaxing, taking in the beauty.  As Bill's dad Stan noted, there aren't many places like this, so spectacular, anywhere in the entire country.  As water levels further decline during August, we'll re-visit the Cathedral and swim across the river - affording a full view of this incredible edifice.  There is actually a rope swing attached to a large tree there that looks to be great fun.  Will report again from the Cathedral later next month.

Judy Goodwin and Preston Sass enjoying the landscape and skipping rocks across the river.

King County Fire District #44 - Helps A Man With Dementia Get Home Through Dog's Microchip

Tim Perciful with Fire District #44 that serves our community, provides me with weekly updates re District activity, including medic calls, fire calls, etc.  Today I received an update with another wonderful example of the service we receive.  It's a great story.

Triploid Rainbow Trout - Or Not?

I've been hearing complaints this year about poor trout fishing in Lake Sawyer.  Peggy and Fred Hawkins have been keeping records of their trout fishing success for many years now and this year has not been good.  A couple of months ago, Fred showed me his log for the year and just 4 hatch marks were crossed off.  In prior years, he and Peggy have caught many more.  For perspective, Peggy is the grandaughter of the Joseph Neukerchen family who built and operated the Lake Sawyer Sawmill in the 1920's and 1930's - so their roots and history goes back many years.

In talking with Peggy and Fred I heard the term "triploid" for the first time.  Lake Sawyer is stocked each year by the Washington State Department of Fish & Wildlife with rainbow trout - but they are now triploid rainbows.  According to Fred, these triploids are much pinker in the color of their meat than native rainbow trout and less tasty.  Not sure of what a triploid rainbow trout really is compared to "normal" rainbow trout, so I decided to do a little research. 

As it turns out, we have both native rainbow trout and cutthroat trout on the lake.  Because rainbow trout can also "interbreed" (my term) with native cutthroat, fertilizing the eggs of cutthroat and creating hybrid trout and potentially even eliminating cutthroat species over time, fish and wildlife specialists apparently have turned to tripload rainbow trout for planting in lakes such as Lake Sawyer.  In essence, these triploids are "neutered" (again my term for it) and cannot fertilize the eggs of cutthroat trout. 

I certainly do like cutthroat trout and the idea of protecting native runs in our lake.  The biggest cutthroat I have caught is about one pound and tasted great going directly from the lake to the barbeque.  I am told that native cutthroat regularly spawn in Ravensdale Creek.  On the other hand, I wonder about the efficacy of continuing to plant neutered rainbow trout (triploids) as an alternative.  They can't breed and require planting year after year after year - not sustainable.  I can't speak to whether triploids taste different than native rainbows, but the Hawkins raise an interesting question. 

What are your thoughts?  Are we over "engineering" and managing our fish runs or should we better rely on our efforts to maintain watershed water quality at the highest levels and then let nature take its course?

Return Of The Lake Sawyer Knuckleheads

Over a year ago, I made a post about the Lake Sawyer Knuckleheads who were hitting golf balls off of their docks into the lake.  Well, the word is that the knuckleheads are back - this time vandalizing the recently installed swimming area buoys at the Lake Sawyer Boat Launch.  These buoys are here for safety reasons and to protect swimmers from the risk of getting into areas used by boaters.  Unfortunately, boat lauch user knuckleheads are choosing to destroy these safety measures.  Insuring access to the lake by all that want to use it is an important city priority.  Vandalism does nothing less that drive up the cost of maintaining city facilities.  We cannot afford to continue to repair the damage caused by these miscreants or knucklheads.  Please help us maintain the level of lake access that we all want. 

More City Finances - And Challenges

With all of the attention being paid to our national debt, where do we stand here in Black Diamond?

By far the biggest debt that we have as a City is a direct result of the City Council's decision in 2005 to purchase 500,000 gallons per day of additional water capacity from the City of Tacoma.  This is over and above the purchase agreement in 2003 that provides our community with sufficient water supply to meet potential water demand created by the proposed MPD's plus much more.  The City owned springs are more than adequate to meet current demand plus some, perhaps 5 or more years into the future.  The developers/land owners are obligated by prior agreements to fund the 2003 water purchase and as you might note, these loan balances are being paid down by over $550,000 per year by these developers/land owners, leaving just over 3 years to go before this debt is fully repaid. 

Not so with the 2005 water purchase, which was "pure speculation" by the City Council at the time.  We didn't need this water then, we don't need it now, nor do we need it in the foreseeable future based on adopted Comprehensive Plan growth, including full build out of the proposed MPD's.  But, current rate payers are burdened by this debt, which is one reason why water rates had to be increased this year.  At least in my opinion, government agencies should be in the business of meeting "planned citizen needs" and nothing more and should do so in the most conservative/safest financial manner possible.  Now, of course, there is a surplus of region water availability well past 2050, so we appear to be stuck with it.  Finding alternatives to unload this liability remains an important priorty for me.  Otherwise, our community will be burdened with this debt for a very long time - and it will generate no revenue!

A new auditor requirement this year was to include the liability if all city employees were to leave and how much vacation time, comp time and sick leave would be owed to these employees.  It's not an insignificant amount but also not likely to be an immediate concern.  Worth following the trends however.

End of year cash investment balances are as follows:

As you can see, City debt currently exceeds investment cash in the bank - essentially due to the speculative water purchase in 2005.  Appropriately so, investment balances were pulled down in 2010 to fund the "matching" requirements for completion of the Railroad Ave. and Morgan Street sidewalk projects.  We need to correct this balance however, debt exceeding investment funds, in future years.

 

Djeneba - Cruising The Broughtons In BC

We recently had the opportunity to spend time with wonderful friends boating in the Broughtons - an archipelego of islands just off of the northern tip of Vancouver Island in British Columbia.  George and Kathy Weyerhaueser can be seen to the right in back.  Too much fun reminising about my days with Weyerhaueser, which were great times for our family.  Believe it or not, I think that we had better weather up there the last two weeks than we did here in Black Diamond.  Anyway, much sun and fresh crab cooked every night.  Our biggest haul was 30 crab in one day - I had to have help getting one crab pot over the boat's bow, it was that heavy.  7 days - 7 days of more crab than 14 of us on 3 boats could eat every night, not to mention the salmon, halibut, shrimp and scallops caught earlier in the week.  Our shrimping adventures were particularly memorable as we dropped shrimp pots in 300 feet of water and ended up having to track them down nearly 6 miles from where we dropped them - pushed down current by the tides and how little weight we had on the traps.  But retrieve them we did and we even got a few fresh big shrimp in the process.  They tasted more like lobster than shrimp - very tasty. 

More pictures from the Broughtons.  Kenmore Air floatplanes to and from - very fun.  Judy and I are departing on the plane shown below.

Notice the WSU crimson of my shirts - a return to the Rose Bowl is certain for the Cougs very soon.

 Vancouver Island in the background.  One of the archipelago islands in the foreground.  Just beautiful!

How Do You Eat Kale? Try Kale Chips

We recently received a bunch of Kale in our CSA box from Mosby Farm.  If you are like me, you look at Kale and wonder how in the world do you eat it.  Thanks to a sampling prepared by our daughter Hillary, we now know how to enjoy Kale Chips.

Prepartion directions are:

1. Wash the kale thoroughly
2. Take the spine out, leaving the leaves
3. Toss in a bowl with sea salt and olive oil
4. Place in the oven at 350 for about 20 minutes or until crisp
5. Remove and place in a covered container until ready to eat

They are very tasty and likely a lot healthier than potato chips etc.  Worth trying.

LINCCK - Linking Civility, Compassion & Kindness

On June 27, I had the opportunity to attend the inaugural meeting of a new organization formed by local leaders working to combat violence in our local communities.  LINCCK stands for Linking Civility, Compassion and Kindness and is the result of a violence prevention task force and several health summits organized by the Enumclaw Regional Healthcare Foundation and the recently opened St. Elizabeth's Hospital. 

Trip Hart, a local Enumclaw attorney MC'd the event and introduced featured speaker Maggie Baker, PhD, RN, Associate Professor and Vice Associate Dean for Graduate Nursing Programs at the University of Washington.  Dr. Baker also co-chairs the King County Elder Abuse Council.  A victim herself of near-death at the hands of a psychopathic serial rapist and killer 30 years ago, Dr. Baker is one of the more compelling speakers I have ever heard in my many years.  She survived her experience but it was far from easy.  She explained that the man who attacked her was a neglected child and abused by a family member when growing up.  He then grew to become the abuser.  According to Dr. Baker, abused and neglected kids are more likely to continue the cycle of violence.  Good victim services are hard to come by.  Even if the abuser is caught, victims are so often left with no support system and must relive their trauma experience over and over again.  From personal experience having served on a jury in a sexual abuse trial, it appears to me that victims carry such an incredibly heavy burden.

Domestic violence is far more common than any of us would want to acknowledge.  Based on statistics maintained by  the Washington State Coalition Against Domestic Violence, from 1997 through the year 2010, 755 people in our State have lost their lives to domestic violence, including 44 children.  If this many people lost their lives in our state due to domestic violence, its frightening to consider how many victims there really are out there though they "survive" today, "living" a life we cannot imagine or wish upon anyone.

To combat domestic violence in its many forms, LINCCK is sponsoring three events over the next several months.  It begins with "National Night Out" planned for August 2.  Several neighborhood block parties are being organized across Enumclaw with the purpose of helping neighbors get to know neighbors.  The idea is that a victim of a domestic violence incident will very likely turn to a neighbor first before calling the police.  This event helps to ensure that neighborhoods are working together to help prevent abuse and crime.  Hopefully, we can plan similar events here in Black Diamond in future years.

In September, we have Rachels's Challenge focused on our schools.  Enumclaw School Superintendent Mike Nelson explained that Rachel Scott was the first person killed during the Columbine High School shootings in 1999.  Quoting from the Enumclaw Patch electronic publication:  "Rachel had written in an essay shortly before her death: "I have this theory that if one person can go out of their way to show compassion, then it will start a chain reaction of the same.  People will never know how far a little kindness can go."  While Mr. Nelson spearheads this project with the school district, LINCCK will work to involve the community beginning with a community summit on Sept. 1, an evening community presentation at Enumclaw High School on Sept. 2 and a final Rachel's Ralley sometime in the spring of 2012."  In our digital age, Facebook and Twitter bullying may be far more prevalent than many of us can imagine.

And then in October we have "Purple Light Nights".  Throughout the plateau, businesses will be placing purple lights in their windows to:

1. Remember those who lost their lives.
2. Support the survivors.
3. Bring hope to those still abused.

These events merit our support and we need to be aware.

Monday afternoon postcript - Lisa Parsons, co-founder of the Middle Green River Coalition, is a paramedic and had the duty this past Sunday of being dispatched to the devastation that had just occured at the Muckleshoot Casino in Auburn.  The case involves an estranged husband who entered the Casino and opened fire on his former wife, her dance partner and her sister.  How tragic.  Another example of how real domestic abuse is in our local communities.  For more information on this tragedy, follow this link to the Seattle Times.

Whitney Bridge Remains

I received several comments regarding the recent Whitney Bridge - Then & Now post.  Apparently the remains of the bridge just sat in a field nearby for a long time before finally being sold for scrap.  The following pictures taken by Chief Smith of Fire District 44 show the remains as they were in September 2010.  Worried by the potential for a wild fire being started during scrap reclamation efforts, Chief Smith visited the site regularly during this period.  Thanks Chief for sharing.

Peas Gone Wild

One positive from the cool weather is that our garden peas have gone wild.  The pods are so heavy that they have collapsed part of my makeshift structure that was supposed to hold them up.  But the one end that remains upright now has peas extending at least eight feet tall.  Next year I'll have to do some re-engineering.  What a treat as we just returned from a week of boating with friends in the Broughtons archipelago near the northern tip of Vancouver Island.  Highly recommended trip if you get a chance.  Might have to consider setting up a neighborhood vegetable stand - now allowed by the City's recently passed Urban Farming ordinance.  Simple pleasures.  How does your garden grow?

Rock The Green - Saturday, August 13

 Be sure to mark your calendar for Saturday August 13, from noon to 8 pm, for the second annual Rock The Green event sponsored by the Middle Green River Coalition (MGRC).  This year's program includes 5 live bands, a silent auction, beer garden, environmental education, guided tours, hikes and other activities for children, a native plant showcase and much more.  It promises to be great fun for all.  And this year, the event is being held at Kanaskat Palmer State Park in the heart of the Green River watershed - a very special place.  Plan to come early and stay late.  Admission is FREE.  Hope to see you there.

For Local Camping - Kanaskat Palmer State Park Is The Place To Go

Located just north of Cumberland, Kanaskat-Palmer State Park is the place to go for camping in our area.  Not only are there numerous sites available for tent camping and RV's, they also have Yurts - providing a comfortable place to get out of the weather if you need it.  The park encompasses 320 acres with a total of 50 camp sites and lots of trails for exploring.  This is the location where we put in our rafts earlier this year for our rafting trip down the Green River.  Water flows remain unusually high for this time of year so be careful.  This is not an area suitable for inner tubing.  For more information about Kanaskat-Palmer, follow these links - Hiking the Gorge West from Kanaskat-Palmer and More Open Space.  

Yerts for two families at one site.

The Green River and one of the many sandstone outcroppings that can be seen along the shoreline.

One of the many very large trees in the park that can be seen hiking along the trails.

Hike 101 - Ravensdale Creek

This past weekend, we were blessed with having both of our children and their families with us for what turned out to be an incredible weekend.  With the fairer sex focused on hot yoga in the morning, the guys took the kids on a hike around Ravensdale Creek and the beautiful natural area that we have here - less than two miles from our home.  This round trip hike is perfect for children that love nature but also want to move on - it took us about an hour.  Trailhead is off of 288th just before it reaches Hwy 169, the Maple Valley Highway. 

I call this Hike 101 because it has it all.  The birds were chirping in the background and the colors were so vivid - even the kids loved the trail.  After hiking about 1/2 mile, we reached Ravensdale Creek at the "Slatted Bridge" crossing. 

Notice how clear the water is here.  Our son in law Dan is explaining to the kids about all of the Caddis in the stream.  If you look closely at the rocks, there are black spots everywhere.  These are Caddis that eventually hatch and are a preferred food for trout in these streams.  It doesn't get much better.

More great trail pictures.  And this is an Urban Area?

Hops, Hops & More Hops

It appears that Washington and Oregon are in a big time competition for brewing the best ales in the country.  So far, Oregon and the Portland area seems to be ahead but the good news is that many of these great ales brewed in both states rely on hops grown here in Washington.  We are the number 1 hop grower in the country.  If you want a local IPA (India Pale Ale), then you must use Columbia hops.  The above picture, courtesy of University of Washington Libraries, shows hop pickers as captured by the famous photographer Darius Kinsey.

I am just amazed at how important hops were in our history - at least based on the photos available.

Photo courtesy of University of Washington Libraries and Darius Kinsey

Xterra Black Diamond - 2011

For the 4th consecutive year, Xterra Black Diamond is now planned for Sunday August 7 at Lake Sawyer Regional Park.  This is a great event that has historically received rave reviews from participants.  And how could it not given the wonderful course that we have here. 

For more information about this year's race, visit the Xterra Black Diamond web site and for pictures of past year events, follow these links to Xterra 2010 the Race and Xterra 2010 Race Results.  I'm still looking for someone in our community or near by to step up and take the crown.  Great event - deserving of our support.

Whitney Bridge - Then & Now

The above picture shows the Whitney Bridge as it was in 1932.  This bridge has since been replaced and was recently featured in my earlier post Whitney Bridge Park.  Notice how barren the shoreline was back then.  This is not what we want if we are looking to keep stream temperatures low and maintain suitable salmon spawning habitat.  Today, we have a newer bridge and much improved shoreline cover.

Logging Camps Circa 1910 - Not A Pretty Picture

The above picture, courtesy of Washington State Archives, shows a logging camp as was typical of the era in the early 1900's.  Not a very pretty picture.  A vast wasteland.  After treking through what must have been 3rd or even 4th growth forest this past week, I am really impressed by the nature and what can happen if we just act responsibly.

Lake Sawyer Boat Launch - The Latest

The good news - its finally going to happen.  The boat launch is going to be repaired and will be a much improved facility.  The bad news, it will require shutting down the boat launch from roughly mid August to mid September to make the repairs needed.  This timing is driven by fish migration patterns and maintaining appropriate fish habitat in the lake.  Delaying repairs to later in the year could compromise fish habitat and salmon spawning patterns.  Therefore, a little pain this year and lots of gain in future years.  For those who have experienced the challenges we now have with the boat launch, we trust that you will understand.

City Finances - An Inside Look

As a member of the Finance Committee, I continue to try to educate myself re the City's finances - where does the revenue come from, how is it spent, what debt burden do we carry, etc.  The above spreadsheet focuses on grants the City received in the year 2010 for projects undertaken.  For our small community, I was surprised by the magnitude of grant funding obtained last year.  The biggest projects were for improvements to Railroad Avenue and for the Morgan Street Sidewalk, where a large percentage of total project funding came from State sources.  I'm still not fully versed in all the lingo, like TIB and CDBG, but I can relate to the projects.  I fully expect that the sum of all of these grants of over $1.3 million is by far the most ever obtained by Black Diamond.  If you were at Miners Days yesterday, I trust that you saw how wonderful the net results of these investments have been for our community.  Many of the smaller grants, however, are much less visible but very important, like funding for marine patrol on Lake Sawyer, public safety investments, assistance in design of a new boat launch, funding our annual hazardous waste recycling event, shoreline master planning, etc.  Even as funds are available, it's up to us to take full advantage and put this funding to good use.

One of the dilemmas often faced by small communities is that to obtain grant funding, you must have matching funds available.  Last year, through accumulated  balances in city investment funds, sufficient city matching resources were available to obtain grants for which we qualify.  Personally, I don't expect this grant largesse to extend much into the future but it's often the smaller projects that provide the seed money to help us make the steps forward that we need.  Anyway, kudos to staff for doing such a good job in 2009 to provide this funding for us last year.  We look forward to positive results again for 2011 and 2012.

When I ask the simple question - how much money do we have in the bank - I find that our City has more funds held in reserve than I would have thought - nearly $4 million in the bank.  This stuff does get a bit complicated and the rules for how funds can be used for which purposes continue to cause me a headache - but the bottom line is that at the end of 2010 our City had $3,955,376 in the bank.  Part of the challenge, however, is knowing that these fund balances are typically "siloed" - meaning, for example, that wastewater funds must be used for wastewater and not parks or streets etc.  If we are short in water funding and want to fund a project, we have to get a loan from, say the stormwater fund or wastewater fund, and pay it back internally within 5 years.  Lot's of restrictions.  But, overall, looking at the City's fiscal health, these total fund balances are positive and helpful.

Thanks again go to May Miller, City Finance Director, for all of her diligent efforts and that of staff.  This is the first of a couple of posts that I plan on this subject - addressing questions like how much debt liability do we currently have as a City, what is our debt capacity, what effect would impact fees (e.g., for fire protection) have on future city finances etc.  I will say, that although this stuff can be pretty darn boring, it is also critically important to us.

 

 

Urban Farming - Black Diamond Ahead Of The Curve?

In an earlier post, I focused on King County's Farmland Preservation Program (FPP) and what a wonderful asset this is to our community.  Being surrounded by the beautiful open space and having access to local growers is a great asset to our community.  I picked up our weekly CSA box from Mosby Farm earlier today and was pleased to find Mosby Leeks, Mosby Peas, Mosby Swiss Chard, Organic Spinach, Organic Green Onions, Organic Radicchio, Organic Walla Walla Onions, Organc Radishes, Local Basil, Garlic, local Strawberries and a wonderful bouquet of sunflowers.  What a bargain for the weekly pleasure we receive.  There is still time to sign up. 

The above graphic, courtesy of Judy Herring, program manager for King County's Farmland Preservation Program, focuses on the Upper Green Agricultural District spanning roughly from highway 18 near Auburn to Flaming Geyser State Park to the east.  In all this agricultural area totals 3,400 acres with 900 acres of this permanently set aside as part of King County's FPP.  The areas shown above that are cross-hatched are currently part of the FPP program.  Sustaining and supporting agriculture here should be a priority for us all.

The more I learn about our City of Black Diamond, the more I find a history of agriculture here too - just northeast and across the river from the Green River Agricultural District.  Even though the city's nearly 5.4 square miles of land area are included within Urban Growth Boundaries, agriculture survives here even today - albeit on a smaller scale.  And as a city, we want to keep encouraging these practices.  Judy and I are blessed to be able to obtain fresh free range chicken eggs here from the Taylors - Fresh Local Eggs - What A Difference.  My son lives in suburban Spokane and has a chicken coop, but by current Spokane County regulations, our pastor son's chickens are illegal.  Not so here today.  And to go even further, the Black Diamond City Council passed a new ordinance last evening to encourage "urban agriculture" as part of our present and future.  Specifically authorized by Council last evening was an ordinance designed to (1) allow for single family homeowners to market produce and other food products raised on their property, (2) clearly allow for community gardens and the exclusive use residentially zoned properties, (3) allow for increased fence heights to protect crops and (4) legalize existing agricultural uses.  Both the Planning Commission and City Council voted unanimously to make these enabling changes to our current code.  Let's stay ahead of this curve and continue to seek more ways to support local agriculture.

My dream - in two years or sooner we will have a community garden in the City and within 4 years, a Farmers Market.