Mayor discusses city budget, transportation, construction and more at senior center

Published 4:49 pm Monday, May 7, 2012

The city’s budget, transportation and upcoming capital construction projects were among the topics of discussion last Friday when Redmond Mayor John Marchione visited the Redmond Senior Center (RSC) to speak at the monthly First Friday Coffee Chat.

The chats bring in city officials ranging from the police chief to the poet laureate, who discuss their role in Redmond and the mayor jumped right into things during his appearance, as he began with the city’s Budgeting by Priorities (BP) process.

“This is a budget year for us,” he told the audience.

Marchione explained that BP emphasizes the city’s transparency with citizens as their input is a vital part of the process. He said every suggestion made is listed and considered at one point.

He also discussed the City of Redmond’s financial status and how it has remained in good shape. Marchione said the city has maintained its AAA credit rating, despite the down economy, adding that only two other cities in the state have this rating. He said Redmond also has a AAA rating in utilities as well.

“Unfortunately, we have a better credit rating than the United States government,” Marchione said. “It shouldn’t be that way. They print their own money and I can’t.”

The mayor also said they don’t expect to see a lot of growth in revenue in the next year, but they will continue to look at ways to be more efficient.

Marchione also touched on the city’s transportation system in response to an audience member’s question.

Paul Lester, a member of the RSC’s advisory committee, inquired about the possibility of a circulator bus  in downtown Redmond for seniors and other citizens.

Lester is part of a group of individuals who had turned in a proposal to the city’s transportation division about a shuttle bus system that would run throughout downtown, including to and from the major hospitals in the area. He said this type of program would be beneficial for not just seniors who no longer drive, but also teens who don’t drive yet and everyone in between.

Lester acknowledged Sound Transit’s East Link Light Rail scheduled to come to the Eastside in the next few years, but admitted that he wasn’t sure it would be coming soon enough.

“I’m all for (Light Rail) but I don’t think I’ll be around to use it,” he said.

Marchione said in addition to the city’s senior population, the idea of a circulator bus system has also piqued the interest of local businesses. He said city staff will probably look at Lester’s proposal this summer or fall as they update Redmond’s Transportation Master Plan.

Another hot topic during the chat was the city’s capital construction projects.

“This is a big road maintenance year for us,” Marchione said, mentioning the Redmond Way overlay, one of the biggest projects scheduled in the next few months.

Marchione admitted that while city staff has done well in maintaining its road, there is room for improvement when it comes to the city’s buildings. He said one of the reasons for this is that there is no formal building maintenance plan.

To address this, the mayor said city staff has created 20-year plan for long-term maintenance that will help coordinate capital projects.

“No city in the state has done this before,” he said, adding that the city has already won awards for the plan.