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HomeMy WebLinkAbout16_Mayors Newsletter_102716OCTOBER 27, 2016 This Week from the Mayor Denis Law, Mayor Addressing the displaced Section 8 tenants is a city-wide priority We are very concerned about the challenges being faced by a group of tenants in Renton who face being displaced, since their landlords no longer want to participate in the Section 8 housing program. This has a huge impact on these families. The housing market throughout the region has shifted and caused hardships for families of all income levels. Rental rates are increasing and no group is more affected than those who rely on funding from Section 8 housing vouchers. We understand the uncertain future they face and are working with neighboring jurisdictions to try and identify solutions. We are bringing various parties together to look at options–to see what can be done immediately to help these families as well as what can be accomplished in the long term. We are coordinating efforts with the Renton Housing Authority, the Tenants Union and various human services organizations. We have scheduled a resource fair on Thursday, November 10, from 3 to 5 p.m. at the Renton Community Center to bring together all agencies that have resources for the impacted families as well as other families who use housing vouchers. We are also looking at what other cities and jurisdictions have in place in terms of ordinances and other options to protect families that the City Council can consider for Renton. This is a priority for us. We plan to give the City Council an update on November 7, at their next regular meeting. VOL. 1, NO. 16 DID YOU KNOW? FEEDBACK Comments, questions or suggestions, or just want to share all the great things that are happening in the city, please e-mail me. Thanks for reading. RENCOM THIS WEEKEND Renton is proud to host another “first” this weekend: the initial Renton comic convention. It’ll be a gathering of comic book fans, gamers and film enthusiasts and features guest speakers and activites for all ages. It’s sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce and runs October 28-30 at the Red Lion Hotel. More information is on the Chamber website. Homeowners association expresses gratitude to city employees We recently had a very pleasant surprise with a visit from the leadership and members of the Honey Creek Ridge Homeowners Association. They came to express their appreciation for the collaboration they received from members of our Public Works and Community Services departments on repairing sidewalks and addressing trees and other landscaping issues. The group presented the city with a framed collage of photographs of the project, with expressions of thanks from many of the residents in the neighborhood written on the surrounding matting. They also presented us with a nice plaque expressing their appreciation. This was a very thoughtful gesture from the Honey Creek Ridge HOA, which means a lot to the employees who worked on this project. City staff meets with residents to discuss issues A national epidemic with heroin and a growing crisis over homelessness is taking a huge toll on all cities in metropolitan areas throughout the country. We have our own issues in Renton and thankfully have been able to keep things from spinning out of control like it has in Seattle and other areas. Many of the impacts we see in our community, involving homelessness, occur in the downtown and North Renton area near the Cedar River. This topic, along with traffic issues and discussions on ways to reduce crime and illegal behavior was addressed Tuesday night at a town hall meeting with North Renton residents at the Renton Senior Center. The meeting, organized by the North Renton Neighborhood Association, brought residents from throughout the downtown area together to discuss concerns and explore solutions. I felt it was a very productive meeting, and want to particularly thank Kathleen Booher, who helped organize the event and worked closely with city staff to make sure we were prepared to address important issues raised by the community. It was great to see the number of residents who took the time to attend the meeting and meet with city staff. We had a strong showing of city employees at the meeting including our police chief and his command staff and other department heads. We covered a lot of issues during the two-hour meeting and, based on the feedback I have received, most of the residents were pleased with the opportunity to discuss important issues with city leaders. We expressed our commitment to have staff at future upcoming meetings of the association, and to address specific topics that are important to the community. There are a lot of great things taking place in our community, and there are also critical issues that need to be addressed. The quality of life in our community will improve when the city works in partnership with our residents to resolve these issues. Residents of North Renton ask questions of city staff at Tuesday’s Town Hall meeting at the Renton Senior Center.