Nickels Newsletter - March 2006

Dear Friends,

I was pleased to report in my March 6 State of the City address that the state of our city is strong. We have made progress over the past four years. We are enjoying some of the strongest job growth in the nation, a low crime rate, new investments in housing, and an international reputation as a leader in the fight against global warming.

But, as I have said before, we don't rest on our laurels. We roll up our sleeves and redouble our efforts to make Seattle as great as it can be for all of its residents.

This year I will propose a major funding package and ballot measure to end the backlog of repairs to our roads and bridges. If we don't act now, more bridges and roads will fall into dangerous disrepair.

As part of my goal to end homelessness in our city, I am putting forth a proposal to provide housing and services for 500 to 700 of the chronically homeless -- people with drug, mental or alcohol problems who live on the streets. It costs an average of $50,000 a year to provide shelter and other services for one chronically homeless person living on the streets. We can cut that cost to an average of $13,000 a year if we provide a place to live, health care and on-site support services for that same person.

We will encourage the creation of more affordable housing through tax incentives, zoning and other programs to reduce the cost of construction. I believe developers in every neighborhood should be required to build affordable housing for families in exchange for higher densities and other zoning changes.

It's not acceptable that one in four of our city's high school sophomores was reclassified as a freshman because of academic struggles. Through a partnership with the Seattle School District and Seattle's community colleges, we will help Seattle's 10th and 11th graders prepare for, and pass the WASL test. We will also open their eyes to the possibility of entering college and the work force.

Public-safety and quality-of-life issues are an important part of my action plan. I'm proposing to repair and upgrade crosswalks and signals around the city. We will create a program similar to our pothole repair program for graffiti -- we will respond within 48 hours to requests to remove graffiti on public property. And we will add eight additional officers to our police force.
Read the full text of the State of the City Speech
Review the list of accomplishments from the Mayor's first four years in office - Acrobat PDF 700 kb

I look forward to making more progress as we increase our efforts in transportation, work to end homelessness, create more affordable housing, improve public education and strengthen public safety. Together, we can make Seattle the most livable city for all of our residents.

Sincerely,


GREG NICKELS
Mayor of Seattle

Setting transportation priorities

As I mentioned above, this year I will propose a funding package and ballot measure to address our transportation needs. To help us define the package, Councilmember Jan Drago and I will host five transportation forums in March and April, throughout Seattle. We want to hear your ideas and priorities for fixing our aging infrastructure. Please see the Upcoming Events at the end of this newsletter for dates, times and locations of the forums.
Find out more about the forums

Alaskan Way Tunnel update

Replacing the Alaskan Way Viaduct with a tunnel is the right thing to do for Seattle. We have to remove the dangerous and deteriorating Viaduct now rather than wait for the next earthquake to do even more damage. The day of building elevated freeways is dead. Some think that a “rebuild” is the best option. Read the “Myths of a Big Ugly ‘Rebuild.’” We will not tolerate a larger and more disruptive new freeway blocking Seattle’s waterfront for another 50 years. On March 18 and 19, the Viaduct will be closed for inspection. This will be a great opportunity to visit the waterfront without the roar of the freeway. I hope you will join me on March 18 at 10:30 a.m. at the base of the Pike Street Hillclimb, across the street from the Aquarium, to show your support for the tunnel.
Read more about the tunnel

Honoring our heroes

I was proud to honor three heroes from our Police and Fire Departments for an extraordinary act of bravery and courage. Thanks to their quick thinking, Officers Jacob Haines (l.) and James Parnell (r.), and Firefighter Jason Lynch (center), rescued two people and four dogs from a burning house on Beacon Hill. These three heroes exemplify what makes Seattle so special -- people going out of their way to make a difference in people’s lives, and in this case, actually save lives.

More affordable housing opens in Rainier Valley

As part of my Southeast Seattle Action Agenda, we have been working with South East Effective Development (SEED) to revitalize Rainier Valley. One of the projects is the multi-phased Rainier Court development on Rainier Avenue South. We just celebrated the grand opening of Phase II, the Dakota, which provides 179 units of affordable family housing. Phase I, Courtland Place, provides senior housing. Construction of Phases I and II created about 200 construction jobs for each phase and we're well on our way with Phases III and IV. I'm proud of Seattle's partnership with King County and the Seattle Housing Authority to bring affordable housing to Seattle residents.
Read more about the Rainier Court project

World Cyber Games coming to Seattle

For a few days in 2007, we will be the center of the cyber world. Mr. Hank Jeong, chief executive of the global organizer of the world's largest computer and video game festival, joined me in a signing ceremony naming Seattle as the host of the 2007 World Cyber Games Grand Final. This is a fitting tribute to our thriving video game industry, which has more than 50 game development companies in the Puget Sound area. We welcome the opportunity to host participants from around the world. Last year, nearly 700 finalists from 67 countries competed in the Grand Final event in Singapore. More than 55,000 people attended the five-day festival to cheer on their respective countries.
Read the news release

"Learn to Swim" poster winner

It was a pleasure to meet Rosselle Macabata, the young artist who entered the winning design in this year’s "Learn to Swim" poster contest. Rosselle is a fifth grader at Dunlap Elementary School. "Learn to Swim" offers free swimming lessons to all third and fourth graders in Seattle, through ProParks levy funds.
Find out more about "Learn to Swim" and view more poster entries

Local artists spotlighted "OnHold"

Seattle has a great music tradition with local artists for all musical tastes. If you would like a sample, just call City Hall, and for once, hope to be placed on hold. We just launched an innovative program using the City's Web site and telephone system to showcase local artists and promote Seattle's music scene. If you want to find out more about the musicians you hear while on hold, you can link to them through the City's Web site. OnHold music will be rotated regularly. This is a great way to support local artists and expose more people to the incredible diversity of music Seattle offers.
Read the news release

Celebrating our neighbors

Neighbor Appreciation Day is an annual event unique to Seattle. I enjoy the opportunity to go out and meet neighbors from throughout our great city. This year I was able to visit a pancake breakfast in the Rainier Beach neighborhood and meet a family who received a Good Neighbor Award from its Laurelhurst neighbors.