Morning Fizz
Proceeding With this Level of Discord
1. City Council Member Mike O'Brien's protest
to change the rules on phone books so that Dex and the Yellow Pages stop leaving them on your doorstep (he's asking constituents to drop off their unwanted phone books at his office so he can return them to the companies) has created a great wall in his office. He's now up to about 500 unwanted phone-books.
Lobbyists from Dex and the Yellow Pages and the paper industry are scheduled to come and lobby the council this week. Here's what they'll walk into if they stop by O'Brien's office:
2. On Saturday , Clint Didier's announced that former state GOP Attorney General and former GOP Party Chair Ken Eikenberry has endorsed his campaign.
3. The city council's viaduct oversight committee is meeting today to discuss the controversial contracts between the city and state on the $4.2 billion tunnel. The People's Waterfront Coalition—which opposes the tunnel—is urging its members to go the 2:30 meeting and support three changes to the contract.
First, they want the contracts to include language demanding that the state legislature remove the provision in state law that caps the state contribution at $2.8 billion and assigns responsibility for any cost overruns to Seattle property owners (something Mayor Mike McGinn supports).
(Thanks for that one Seattle Reps. Eileen Cody, Mary Lou Dickerson, Zach Hudgins, Sharon Nelson, Jamie Pedersen, Eric Pettigrew, and House Speaker Frank Chopp.)
Second, they support a proposed amendment by City Council member Nick Licata amendment to lock in the $290 million for viaduct removal and waterfront street replacement, regardless of overruns on the project as a whole.
Finally, the PWC supports council member O'Brien's amendment that would add an escape clause in the contracts that allows the city to break the contract in two situations: 1) If the draft environmental impact statements find unacceptable impact such as turning Pioneer Square streets into highway on-ramps or putting historic buildings at risk and 2) If too much risk is shifted to the public when the state negotiates a deal with contractors in the fall.
A PWC email blast states:
Lobbyists from Dex and the Yellow Pages and the paper industry are scheduled to come and lobby the council this week. Here's what they'll walk into if they stop by O'Brien's office:
2. On Saturday , Clint Didier's announced that former state GOP Attorney General and former GOP Party Chair Ken Eikenberry has endorsed his campaign.
3. The city council's viaduct oversight committee is meeting today to discuss the controversial contracts between the city and state on the $4.2 billion tunnel. The People's Waterfront Coalition—which opposes the tunnel—is urging its members to go the 2:30 meeting and support three changes to the contract.
First, they want the contracts to include language demanding that the state legislature remove the provision in state law that caps the state contribution at $2.8 billion and assigns responsibility for any cost overruns to Seattle property owners (something Mayor Mike McGinn supports).
(Thanks for that one Seattle Reps. Eileen Cody, Mary Lou Dickerson, Zach Hudgins, Sharon Nelson, Jamie Pedersen, Eric Pettigrew, and House Speaker Frank Chopp.)
Second, they support a proposed amendment by City Council member Nick Licata amendment to lock in the $290 million for viaduct removal and waterfront street replacement, regardless of overruns on the project as a whole.
Finally, the PWC supports council member O'Brien's amendment that would add an escape clause in the contracts that allows the city to break the contract in two situations: 1) If the draft environmental impact statements find unacceptable impact such as turning Pioneer Square streets into highway on-ramps or putting historic buildings at risk and 2) If too much risk is shifted to the public when the state negotiates a deal with contractors in the fall.
A PWC email blast states:
Proceeding with this level of discord is untenable, especially if you factor in the slimness of the contingency fund (13% on the state’s portion), the State’s temporary dismissal of their normal rules that require full bonding by project contractors, the uncertainty of the Port’s $300 million contribution, and the alarming fact that 9 out of 10 megaprojects exceed their budget, despite good intentions. Project partners should agree in advance (NOW) on cost responsibilities, not take their chances after conflicts erupt.
