Riverbank stabilization is coming to Sandy Cove Park, the city is assessing costs of snow removal, and the city council is planning several town hall meetings.

Riverbank

At the Feb. 25 meeting, the Snoqualmie City Council unanimously approved a task order from Northwest Hydraulic Consultants (NHC) to design and permit stabilization projects along the Snoqualmie River, including Sandy Cove Park, Meadowbrook Lift Station and outfalls, and King Street and River Street.

By bundling the design and permitting of the projects, the city can save about $40,000 in permit costs, senior planner Nicole Sanders said.

Due to the rapid acceleration of erosion along the bank of Sandy Cove Park, efforts are underway to stabilize and preserve the park as an amenity of the community. Soil reinforcement with spurs is a long lasting method of protecting the bank as it can deflect flood flows . The design and permitting project also includes risk assessment studies on potential changes to downstream channel movement as well as public safety.

The NHC task order comes in at more than $448,000, an amount already funded in the city budget. The stabilization project is in the city’s Utility Capital Improvement Plan and has a sufficient appropriation of funds for the year.

Snow

The council postponed the approval of the proclamation of emergency that was made by Mayor Matt Larson during the snow storms last month. The proclamation of emergency allowed the mayor to spend city money to quickly address emergency response needs and snow removal without the approval of the city council.

The council was asked to approve a resolution ratifying the emergency proclamation, but while supportive of the Mayor’s decisions, they ultimately chose to postpone the approval until the first city council meeting in March. A complete list of decisions made, and their associated costs, was not ready at the time of the meeting. City staff also are assessing the damage done to curbs and gutters as part of the snow plow work, and those costs will be on the final list as well.

Town halls

In a report to the council, Councilmember Bob Jeans began a discussion on future town hall meetings the city plans to start throughout the city. After the recent city council retreat, Jeans and councilmembers Peggy Shepard and Sean Sundwall formed an ad hoc committee to work on a plan for public outreach.

In his report to the rest of the council, Jeans said they had agreed that a series of town hall meetings around the city would be a way to engage with the citizens and listen to their thoughts and concerns. The committee is considering four town hall meetings during the year in different locations around the city to hopefully attract citizens who may not otherwise engage with the council.

“Every two weeks we urge the public to come to us, and I think the theme of this was we are going to go to the people,” Sundwall said.

The idea is for these town hall meetings to be listening sessions for the community . Sundwall also expressed the desire for a report on the topics discussed at each meeting as a follow-up.

“The only thing worse than not having a town hall meeting is having a town hall meeting where opinions are expressed, and questions are asked, and then nothing ever happens after that,” he said.

The council agreed to allow the committee to continue planning the first town hall meeting.