Mukilteo Beacon - Your Hometown News Source

Many thanks

The Kiwanis Club of Mukilteo would like to thank all the people who helped make our 14th Annual Pancake Breakfast a success.

We could not have orchestrated such an elaborate event without the help of our Kiwanis volunteers and the generosity of so many individuals and businesses in our community. Our sponsors include Arnie’s of Mukilteo, Travis Industries House of Fire, Barbara’s Floral, Whidbey Island Coffee, The Bank of Washington, Stellar Kids Dentistry, Soundview Tax Services, N2 Publishing, and The Cutting Lounge.

Special thanks to our incredibly talented student performers of Olympic View Jazz Band’s Director Jeff Ray, Explorer Middle School Orchestra’s Director Robin Enders, Mariner High School Avant Blues’ Director Patricia Schmidt Kamiak Barbershop’s Director Nancy Duck-Jefferson, Mariner Step Team’s Director Michael Pena and Colibri Folklore Dancers.

Additionally, a huge thanks to our Kamiak and Mariner High School’s Key Clubs for their volunteer service and assistance in bringing the community together to raise money for our Scholarship Fund.

We appreciate everyone who attended this amazing event, and look forward to seeing you all again next year!

Thank you for your continued support and donations!

Paul J. Salas

President

Mukilteo Kiwanis Foundation

The real Peace Park cost

The mayor’s 2017 proposed budget surprised the council, announcing she wanted a new park to remember three murdered students.

The council had no advanced information that she wanted to do this, spending $40,000 to start. Council wanted to put it aside until they had time to consider it. They reluctantly approved that much to investigate it.

Later, council learned this was a small amount of the estimated $250,000 it could cost. Council said stop spending until you provide more information.

The mayor’s 2018 budget asked for $50,000 more.

Council didn’t want to spend more but the mayor’s budget request inadvertently remained when council approved the 2018 budget, bringing the total to $90,000.

Of that, $78,000 remained unspent.

Recently, council learned through other sources that the mayor had asked Senator Marko Liias if he could get $400,000 for this park into the state’s capital spending budget.

Another surprise.

The mayor didn’t have any communication with council or their approval to make that request. The state’s capital budget had been approved.

It contained $721,000 for a long sought-after grant to daylight the creek from Japanese Gulch to the Puget Sound. Part of Mukilteo’s waterfront plan.

Sen. Liias, a long-time friend of the mayor and former part-time Mukilteo employee was recently terminated by council action.

He took $400,000 for the Peace Park from the $721,000 waterfront grant and contributed the remaining $321,000 to a non-Mukilteo project.

Council does not want to exceed the $90,000 budgeted for the Peace Park. Staff assured council the Peace Park could be fully completed using the remaining $78,000 budget. Council gave its final approval last week.

Now the city has a $400,000 grant the council does not need or want.

The grant cost the city $721,000.

Staff said the city will not receive the $400,000 unless they apply for it with detailed plans for Peace Park use.

Council asked if the city’s $90,000 could be recovered from the grant. Staff did not know. They have not seen grant requirements.

The Peace Park is costing the $721,000 cancelled grant and also perhaps the council’s $90,000 budget that is already being spent. It adds another tiny park to our six existing parks north of 6th Street.

Now the city has no funds for the creek daylighting project.

This bait and switch of grant purposes may cause future problems with state grant requests, especially if the $721,000 grant is asked for again.

Charlie Pancerzewski

Mukilteo

Importance of school safety

Thanks to the students reminding us that safety in schools is paramount (Letter to the Editor: “Teens walk out, speak out” by Eliza Kirk, Mukilteo Beacon, March 14).

Eliza Kirk is exactly right about writing letters to those who represent you in Congress, whether you can vote or not.

In fact, you could send a copy of her Letter to the Editor along with your story and safety concerns. Constituents speaking up is why the number of preventable deaths of mothers and children in our world has been cut in half since 1990.

It is also the reason the bipartisan Reach Every Mother and Child Act has been currently cosponsored by over 20 percent of the members of Congress to help put an end to these deaths by 2030.

Your voices matter, your votes matter as soon as you are eligible, millions of us are listening, and our voices and votes matter as well.

So speak up, call and write those who represent you, and persist until change comes.

Willie Dickerson

Snohomish