HomeMy WebLinkAbout63_Mayors Newsletter_122917DECEMBER 29, 2017
This Week
from the Mayor
Denis Law, Mayor
VOL. II, NO. 41
Wishing you a healthy and prosperous new year!
TIME PASSES BY QUICKLY, and this must be more than a cliché since even young people are
questioning how a year can pass by so fast. With only a couple of days remaining in 2017, I
can’t resist reflecting on just a few of the highlights from this past year.
It was a tragic year with the passing of a number of community leaders. One consequence of
getting older is we begin to lose family members, close friends and colleagues at what seems
like an alarming rate. We lost many great leaders this past year.
Still, there were a lot of positive highlights that occurred in 2017 for the record books.
The Hyatt Hotel on Lake Washington opened and has
already been the site for a number of large conferences
and many weddings. Overnight, the hotel began to receive
positive reviews from around the region for the quality
construction and unique setting on the lake. The Hampton
Inn also opened on Lake Washington Boulevard and
construction has begun on the Residence Inn by Marriott.
As predicted, the healthcare industry continued its
expansion in Renton with the groundbreaking of phase two
of the Kaiser Permanente office campus and a $150 million
expansion of Valley Medical Center. And Providence Health
and Services, headquartered in Renton, is close to becoming
the largest healthcare provider in the nation through
additional mergers. There are thousands of new jobs now
associated with healthcare in Renton, with more growth on
the horizon.
Boeing in Renton continues to break new records in production with 47 airplanes per month
and that number is expected to grow to 52 airplanes a month in 2018. IKEA opened its new
state-of-the-art store, and additional redevelopment continued in the downtown and Sunset
communities. There will be more exciting activity coming
next year.
One of the most exciting projects that shifted into high gear
is a new community center to serve the youth and families
in the Cascade/Benson community. To fill a major void in
services that we inherited when we annexed this area into
the city, the Renton City Council pledged $4 million for
this project and the Renton School District donated the
land. King County Council members Dave Upthegrove and
Reagan Dunn pledged $75,000, and private contributions
from First Financial Northwest Foundation (a major donation
of $3 million!), Doug Baldwin Foundation, Tom and Karen Easton and ATS Automation, and Car
Pros of Renton have boosted the amount raised so far to $8.5 million. More donations will be
announced in a couple weeks. This project, once completed, will changes the lives of many
young people and is only possible because of the partnership that includes the City, school
district, Doug Baldwin and the many corporate partners from our community.
At City Hall, we continued to see an exodus of longtime employees who are retiring. From
department administrators (City Attorney Larry Warren retired after 43 years with the city) to
many valued staff members, we continue to experience as much change in valued employees
as the private sector has been seeing the past several years. We anticipate this to continue for
a couple more years. Fortunately, we are finding highly qualified individuals interested in a
career with the city.
We still face many challenges in the next few years, from local
transportation issues to affordable housing options. But Renton
is positioned well to continue to see positive growth and
development, while continuing to find ways to improve the
quality of life for residents and local businesses.
Best wishes for a healthy and prosperous new year!
Feedback
Comments, questions or suggestions, or just want to share all
the great things that are happening in the city, please email me.
Thanks for reading.
Family First Community CenterBoeing Plant
Hyatt Regency Southport
737 MAX
Kaiser Permanente
Valley Medical Center
Working with Doug Baldwin First Financial donates $3 million to Family First Community Center