The Area Council held its regular monthly meeting virtually on Monday, October 4. Our guest speakers, from the State Department of Ecology DOE, provided an update on the Cleanup of the Reserve Silica Mine Site in Ravensdale.
Tahoma School District (TSD) Update
TSD Board member, Val Paganelli, provided a summary of recent TSD activities: Federal aid monies to TSD are limited. The COVID testing site for staff/students has reopened. COVID quarantines have impacted ~15% of students. State student assessment testing is coming up soon. The first in-person School Board meeting was held last week (Board meets next on Tuesday, October 12, at 6:30 PM at Central Services). Development and refinement of Goals, Targets, and Metrics are continuing. Transitional Kindergarten was recently approved and will begin in 2022.
Reserve Silica Mine Site Cleanup
Alan Noell (alan.noell@ecy.wa.gov) and Tim O’Connor (tim.oconnor@ecy.wa.gov), State DOE Site Managers for the Reserve Silica Mine Site in Ravensdale provided an update on Cleanup activities.
Reserve Silica, and previous owners and operators, used the site (generally located at 28130 Black Diamond–Ravensdale Rd near Ravensdale) for coal through 1956 and sandstone mining until 2007. The site is now being cleaned up under the WA State Model Toxics Control Act (MTCA).
There are two MTCA areas: Reclamation Site and Plant Site (NW corner). Agreed Order negotiations were completed in December 2019, with Potentially Liable Parties (PLPs) for the Reclamation Site. It requires the PLPs to complete a Remedial Investigation (RI) Report, Feasibility Study (FS) Report, and Draft Cleanup Action Plan. The site also was used to dump Cement Kiln Dust (CKD), which is now part of the reclamation process. A treatment system was installed to collect and handle released CKD leachate.
The following RI activities are complete: Geophysical surveys; Monitoring well installation; and Evaluation of source area contaminants. Future RI activities are: Groundwater monitoring; Surface water monitoring; Pond sediment sampling; and Seepage area soil sampling
To view the DOE presentation please see the Area Council’s Reserve Silica webpage: http://gmvuac.org/reserve-silica/. For detailed information on the entire project please see the DOE Reserve Silica webpage: https://apps.ecology.wa.gov/gsp/Sitepage.aspx?csid=4728.
Annual Train Show
The Area Council’s Annual Model Train Show is scheduled for October 16-17 at Gracie Hansen Community Center in Ravensdale. Potential exhibitors are being contacted to see if there is enough interest to make show a possibility due to COVID protocols. Circumstances relating to COVID could change, affecting whether the show could be held. Please see the Train Show page: http://gmvuac.org/annual-operating-model-train-show/ on the GMVUAC website for updates.
Regional Traffic
In 2010/2011 the City of Black Diamond approved two very large Master-Planned Developments (MPDs) comprising of a total of 6,050 homes and 1.15M sq ft of commercial space. The Area Council provided both Oral and Written Testimonies at multiple city Public Hearings. The area Council has continued to follow these developments for many years primarily due to the major impacts to SR-169 and several King County unincorporated area roads throughout the greater Maple Valley area.
The MPDs, finally, are reaching a 850-permits-issued threshold set by the City in the Conditions of Approval imposed on the Master Developer (OakPointe) in its 2011 Permit Approval. This threshold triggers full and correct traffic modeling and analyses for the first time (all initial traffic work was rejected by the city’s Hearing Examiner in 2010, but the City Council allowed it to slip to this 850 threshold, but nobody expected that to take 11 or 12 years to reach). The City has set a Statement of work to Traffic Consultant, Parametrix, to build the model and conduct analyses. The Area Council’s regional Joint Transportation Initiative (comprised of five Rural Area Unincorporated Area Councils/Associations in southeast King County) will track these efforts.
Countywide Planning Policies (CPPs) 2021 Update
The CPPs serve as the guiding principles and policies for all Comprehensive Planning for King County and its Cities. The CPPs, which cover Environment, Development Patterns, Housing, Economy, Transportation, and Public Facilities & Services, currently are undergoing an update.
The Area Council has lead a Joint Team of seven Rural Area Unincorporated Area Councils/Associations to review draft policies developed by the King County Executive’s Office and an Interjurisdictional Team and to prepare and submit Comments throughout an 18-mo process.
The Joint Team submitted Written testimony to the King County (KC) Council’s Mobility & Environment (M&E) Committee on August 25. The Joint Team plans to give Oral Testimony to the King County Council’s M&E Committee at its October 27 and November 30 meetings and to the full KC Council at its December 14 meeting. The final-approved (by KC and all its cities) 2021 CPP Update is due to be submitted to the Puget Sound Regional Council (PSRC) by the end of the year.
Upcoming Area Council Meetings
The next Area Council monthly meeting will be held Monday, November 1 — another “virtual” meeting via Zoom. Access information will be posted on the Area Council’s website www.gmvuac.org.
The Area Council might not hold in-person meetings until the beginning of 2022 and it will be based on State and County COVIDguidelines. Once decided, meetings again will be held at the Maple Valley Fire Station—SE corner of SE 231st St & SR-169 intersection across from the Police Precinct.
All regular monthly meetings are held on the first Monday of the month (except for Holidays, when they are held on the second Monday), from 7 – 9:30 PM. Meeting announcements are published in the Voice of the Valley, the Area Council’s website (www.gmvuac.org) and local NextDoorplatforms. You can also find us on Facebook. Each meeting begins with an open Public Comment period.
Area Council Membership
Your Area Council serves as an all-volunteer, locally recognized advisory body to King County on behalf of all rural unincorporated area residents living in the Tahoma School District (i.e., minus the City of Maple Valley). The Area Council’s Vision Statement is:
“Our community’s Rural Character will be supported by facilitating strong local ties and communication between the public, organizations, and government; promoting locally owned businesses and supporting quality education; protecting the environment, and maintaining landowners’ rights and responsibilities; promoting controlled and well-planned growth with appropriate infrastructure; ensuring proper representation for rural interests and needs; and supporting the health and safety and the privacy of our vibrant community.”
The twelve-seat Area Council currently has two open seats. If you have an interest in joining please send an e-mail to: info@gmvuac.org or attend a monthly meeting and express your interest.
Citizens who are not members of the Area Council or do not live within the Tahoma School District still are eligible to join and serve on any of the Area Council’s three major subject-matter Committees: Environment, Growth Management, or Transportation, as well as the Ad Hoc Economic, Public Relations, and Train Show Committees. The Area Council welcomes your participation. For information on each of these committees please see the Area Council’s web site: www.gmvuac.org and use the drop-down menu under Committees. Again, if you have an interest in joining any Area Council committees, please send an e-mail to: info@gmvuac.org. Thank you.
