18 ms·

To be perfectly clear, I don't necessarily _blame_ redmond or seattle. I just think the convolution around "who funds what and who deals with the pragmatic res

To be perfectly clear, I don't necessarily _blame_ redmond or seattle. I just think the convolution around "who funds what and who deals with the pragmatic result" is both unnecessarily opaque in this situation, and not a question I've heard any good answers to. This is why I handwaved at this problem as "things we're less good at." Going to years of township meetings and getting effectively shrugs and "we know this is a problem but no plan to address it outside of waiting for more upper tier funding" doesn't really engender much faith in this category, unfortunately. (also, I was under the impression that the allocated growth targets were "set on high by the powers that be" and handed down to the townships?) Good to know I'm not _totally_ in left field with my remembering of those meetings though... (I'm fascinated how you "Called around a bit" though, civ-e/govt work? I wish I could get those sort of answers as a resident :P)

debatem1 8y ago
Honestly, I'm not super well connected so I'm not sure what to make of the comment that the process is opaque. For example, the PSRC is just one of the groups involved in this kind of funding but it's probably the one most at loggerheads with Duvall on this issue as far as I can tell after an hour or so of looking into it. They have a website and it really is super clear as to what they're doing and where the money is going. They publish the agendas for meetings on a nice calendar with links to minutes and presentations going back several years, and for more recent years have full audio and video recordings of meetings. You literally wouldn't have to step outside of your door to know everything that happened at one of those. To me, that's unbelievable transparency. Regarding "the powers that be", I'm sure they are. Duvall is pretty small potatoes in the grand scheme of things, and while it does vote on the PSRC it's just one vote of 80-- and that's not even thinking about the myriad other planning bodies involved with roadworks or civil planning in King County. How much say in them Duvall has I can't guess, but if I had to I wouldn't assume that it ran the show. Regarding calling around, it wasn't very backroom-- I just called the office of my rep on the city council and they emailed me back about two hours later with a bunch of information, most of which was useless and some of which was on point. In the meantime I called a friend who does property development and got the basic lay of the land. Between the two perspectives I got the general sense I've conveyed in these messages and not much else, since I haven't had much cause to think about the roadworks in that area before. I hope that doesn't sound dismissive-- I just don't live there and so haven't thought that much about it.
- existencebox 8y ago
  No not dismissive at all, everything you've said sounds quite sane, thanks for indulging my dumb questions :) I've just had different experiences when interacting with local govt, so this is in part the self-reflective "what am I doing wrong" question. (I've emailed reps before and gotten what amounts to form letters back, if even that.) And similarly, the transparency you mention from the PSRC site, I simply never got from our local transit meetings. Bluntly, they've never even mentioned that acronym to us, insofar as what little notes I have say. May simply be that I'm asking the wrong questions or the wrong people.
  - debatem1 8y ago
    I've never gotten anything but a form letter from my rep either. I usually just call their office and say I have a general question about X, could you please help me find who to ask. The staff seem helpful and knowledgeable as long as you're sensitive to their limits and position-- they can't actually do anything themselves generally. It can take time, although in this case it didn't for whatever reason.

debatem1 8y ago

Honestly, I'm not super well connected so I'm not sure what to make of the comment that the process is opaque. For example, the PSRC is just one of the groups involved in this kind of funding but it's probably the one most at loggerheads with Duvall on this issue as far as I can tell after an hour or so of looking into it. They have a website and it really is super clear as to what they're doing and where the money is going. They publish the agendas for meetings on a nice calendar with links to minutes and presentations going back several years, and for more recent years have full audio and video recordings of meetings. You literally wouldn't have to step outside of your door to know everything that happened at one of those. To me, that's unbelievable transparency. Regarding "the powers that be", I'm sure they are. Duvall is pretty small potatoes in the grand scheme of things, and while it does vote on the PSRC it's just one vote of 80-- and that's not even thinking about the myriad other planning bodies involved with roadworks or civil planning in King County. How much say in them Duvall has I can't guess, but if I had to I wouldn't assume that it ran the show. Regarding calling around, it wasn't very backroom-- I just called the office of my rep on the city council and they emailed me back about two hours later with a bunch of information, most of which was useless and some of which was on point. In the meantime I called a friend who does property development and got the basic lay of the land. Between the two perspectives I got the general sense I've conveyed in these messages and not much else, since I haven't had much cause to think about the roadworks in that area before. I hope that doesn't sound dismissive-- I just don't live there and so haven't thought that much about it.

existencebox 8y ago
No not dismissive at all, everything you've said sounds quite sane, thanks for indulging my dumb questions :) I've just had different experiences when interacting with local govt, so this is in part the self-reflective "what am I doing wrong" question. (I've emailed reps before and gotten what amounts to form letters back, if even that.) And similarly, the transparency you mention from the PSRC site, I simply never got from our local transit meetings. Bluntly, they've never even mentioned that acronym to us, insofar as what little notes I have say. May simply be that I'm asking the wrong questions or the wrong people.
- debatem1 8y ago
  I've never gotten anything but a form letter from my rep either. I usually just call their office and say I have a general question about X, could you please help me find who to ask. The staff seem helpful and knowledgeable as long as you're sensitive to their limits and position-- they can't actually do anything themselves generally. It can take time, although in this case it didn't for whatever reason.