J U N E 2 0 0 4 INSIDE THIS IS SUE City’s new garbage services roll out June 28 The City Council approved recycled, such as all plastic bottles a new comprehensive solid waste and containers, as well as plastic contract with Rabanco that will grocery bags and bubble wrap. bring expanded garbage and Food scraps and food- recycling services at less cost to contaminated paper, such as paper customers beginning June 28. plates and napkins, can be recycled The total service package, with yard debris. Food scraps, which includes single-family, which make up the largest part of multifamily, and commercial the garbage stream, now can be customers, is estimated to save put in with yard trimmings and Food waste can now be recycled with Bellevue customers $23.5 million recycled into natural Cedar Grove yard debris and eventually becomes dollars over the next ten years. compost. compost. Small buckets make it easy “The contract gives Single-family customers to carry food waste from the kitchen to customers more choices in service can save trips to the dump by the yard debris cart. and greater opportunities to save putting small electronics and time and money,” said Damon small appliances at the curb for Diessner, Assistant Director of recycling. Single-family and Special Insert–Water Quality Utilities. “With all the new items multifamily customers can include Report. that can be recycled, customers usable clothing and linens for charge. Commercial customers can cut down on their garbage, pickup. will be able to recycle many new help protect the environment, and Along with the new services, items. For assistance with setting save money, since garbage bills are collection routes and days will up or improving recycling at based on the size and number of change for many customers. businesses, contact Rabanco. garbage containers.” Commercial customers All customers were sent Single-family customers will also will see many new options information about the new services see the most changes. Yard debris beginning June 28. For the fi rst in June. See page three of this is now being collected every week time, businesses that have garbage publication for more details. instead of every other week. And service with Rabanco can get Customers can contact Rabanco beginning June 28 a number of recycling service at no extra at 425-452-4762 (residential new services take effect. There charge (certain limitations apply). customers) or 425-646-2492 will be less sorting of recyclables, If businesses have recycling with (commercial customers) or visit since the three bins are being a company other than Rabanco, the website at www.Rabanco.com/ replaced with one large recycling they can still have additional items collection/Bellevue for further Plan ahead for summer cart. Many new items can be recycled by Rabanco at no extra information or assistance. construction. Page 5 Permit survey indicates signifi cant progress, work yet to do Overall, Bellevue does a most applicants. Consistency and Services Improvement or good job inspecting projects and timelines, although they have DSI, has already netted many reviewing permit applications, improved considerably, need to notable accomplishments, such say 85 percent of the respondents continue to be priorities. as a reduction in timelines for to the city’s recent permit survey. But the most striking many permit types; more public Customers identifi ed many feature of the survey was that information; and more assistance positive features of the current almost all numbers had improved with the process, especially for Sizzling summer events include system. Customer service and signifi cantly since the 2002 survey. homeowners. sculpture exhibition, fi reworks. professionalism, from the Permit All but two of the 25 questions The survey results will Pages 6 & 7 Center through the inspection showed a higher “positive” rating. be used to ensure that all of the process, received high marks from Development review and identifi ed issues and concerns are inspection are major functions addressed as part of our continuing of the city. The city issues about improvement process. We are 10,000 permits and conducts over committed to providing ever- 55,000 inspections each year to better service to the customer and City of Bellevue PRSTD STD make sure that buildings are safe, making changes that translate P.O. Box 90012 U.S. Postage land uses are appropriate, traffi c into a better customer experience. Bellevue, WA 98009-9012 PAID impacts are managed, and utility The city will repeat the survey Bellevue, WA and other infrastructure built as on a regular basis to gauge our Permit NO. 61 part of a development meet the progress. city’s quality standards. For more information contact Making improvements to the Mike Brennan: 425-452-4113, city’s permitting activities has been [email protected] or ECRWSS-C an on-going effort for staff since check the Web at the fall of 2001. The city-wide www.cityofbellevue.org/ POSTAL PATRON LOCAL initiative, called Development permitcenter. expansion of public safety training and police evidence facilities. The list Council Corner went to voters as a property tax levy in 1991. After the levy failed, the city took interim measures to address the most critical needs. The remaining New City Hall fulfi lls vision, needs were the police center and expansion of public safety training facilities. For years, police offi cers, detectives and 911 dispatchers have builds a legacy been working in cramped, ineffi cient spaces that are diffi cult for the public By Don Davidson to fi nd. In addition, the existing Emergency Operations Center, while upgraded slightly, remains too cramped for a city of our size to function The Bellevue City Council has taken some bold properly in a major disaster. steps to create a legacy for our community for the next Another need that remained was to fulfi ll the goal set out in the city’s 50-plus years. This summer, construction will begin Comprehensive Plan for a downtown City Hall. The vision was for a to upgrade the former Qwest building into Bellevue’s Bellevue City Hall that would be easy to fi nd and provide one-stop access new City Hall, in an easy-to-fi nd location in downtown to services. Bellevue. With the purchase of the former Qwest building in late 2002, we took The most commonly sought city services will be readily available on a big step toward realizing our vision. To top it off, we were fortunate to the main fl oors of City Hall. We’re building a new parking garage, adding get an extremely favorable price and historically low interest rates. After a public plaza, and sculpting an attractive landscape around the building. selling our existing campus, we essentially paid only $9 million for the land The building also will be retrofi tted so we can continue to serve the public and the existing 337,000 square foot building. Building a new City Hall of after a major earthquake. similar size from the ground up could have cost $170 million, not counting Over the past couple of years, the City Council, staff, a technical the land. Instead, for a total project budget of around $100 million we’re advisory committee, and architects have been working hard to plan how getting a complete City Hall on an ideal site. the new City Hall will look and operate, and to make sure we’re investing I’m excited to be on the Council now to see our vision fulfi lled. When the right amount to maximize the public benefi ts. You’ve probably been construction is complete in late 2005, we’ll have a downtown City Hall we following the latest developments in the media, but what you might not can be proud of, where our staff can function effi ciently. It will be a fi tting know is that we’re fi nally fulfi lling a need that was outlined in the 1980s. hub for Bellevue, the “City in a Park,” with landscaping, a public plaza and Back then, I chaired the committee that developed a list of critical more, all without raising taxes. facility needs, including a number of public safety improvements. In Editor’s note: Please see page six for information about a public 1987 the city completed a long-range municipal facilities plan identifying groundbreaking ceremony for the new City Hall. the needs. The plan included a new Police and Fire Headquarters on the existing city hall campus, a new south Bellevue fi re station and the You’re invited to the Comprehensive Plan public hearing Are you curious about the direction the city is going? Would you creating regulations for development along the shoreline. The Planning like to give input on the type and location of growth in Bellevue over the Commission also approved changes to earlier versions of the policies next 20 years? Interested in giving your thoughts about Critical Areas, which eliminated a two-zone approach to Critical Area buffers in favor of economic development, housing, transportation, or urban design? the one-zone approach currently used. On July 7, 2004, the Planning Commission will hold the city’s public • For more information on Critical Areas, contact Kate Berens, hearing on updating the Comprehensive Plan. This is your main formal 425-452-4616 or [email protected]. opportunity to be heard on the Plan update. The Planning Commission • For more information on the Comprehensive Plan Update, contact will recommend a proposed plan to the City Council, who will adopt Kathleen Burgess, 425-452-6866 or [email protected]. the Comprehensive Plan this fall. You can read the summary and draft • Get on-line information, including highlights of the draft Comprehensive Plan on-line at www.cityofbellevue.org/planning.