November 2006 Meeting Summary

Area Council November Meeting Highlights

      By Peter Rimbos, Corresponding Secretary

The Greater Maple Valley Area Council serves as an all-volunteer, locally elected advisory body to the King County Council. It represents all unincorporated area residents living in the Tahoma School District. On Monday, November 6, the Area Council held its Regular monthly meeting.

Public Comment

Tim Cosgrove of Hobart voiced concern with the greatly increased traffic volumes on SR-18 and the Issaquah-Hobart Road that have been readily evident in the past year or so. The Area Council agreed traffic volumes on many area roads seemed to be ever increasing. There were concerns voiced over the lack of coordination between the Cities and the County on transportation infrastructure and growth planning. It was agreed to form a Transportation Subcommittee headed by long-time Area Council member Warren Iverson to investigate the problems and offer potential path towards mitigation.

Annual Model Train Show

The Annual Model Train Show, sponsored by the Area Council, took place over the weekend of October 20-22 at Gracie Hansen Mansion in Ravensdale. This year’s Train Show was a great success with many families and individuals viewing the 12 major train displays on hand. Over 700 people of all ages enjoyed the show this year with several winning a variety of door prizes. The modest profit made will be used to make the 2007 Train Show an even better event. The Area Council wishes to thank all those who participated, both the displayers and the attendees, for making this a memorable show.

Website Development

The Area Council has decided to create a website to provide citizens with pertinent information that may be of interest, as well as a means to keep up to date on all our activities. Items to be posted on the web site will be: Area Council member names and contact information, meeting announcements, meeting agendas, meeting minutes, Voice articles, official correspondence to government officials, event announcements (e.g., Train Show), By-Laws, Voter Survey results, Public Feedback, etc. There will be external links including important State and County government sites.

The site is still under construction. Dave Fields, a long-time Area Council member is developing the site and will serve as the Webmaster and Creative Manager. Content control will be the responsibility of Area Council member and Corresponding Secretary, Peter Rimbos. When complete, the Area Council will make an announcement that the site is ready for public interaction.

Next Meeting

The Area Council meets on the first Monday of each month (except on legal holidays) in the conference room of Sheriff’s Precinct # 3 Headquarters (at 231^st St & SR-169 across from Fire Station). The public is invited to attend. Each meeting begins with an Open Comment period to allow the public to voice issues of concern.

Our next regular monthly meeting will be held on Monday, December 4, at 7:00 PM. The featured speaker will be Bob Cowan, King County Budget Manager. He will discuss the County Budgeting Process. Comments on Area Council business may be submitted to GMVAC, P.O. Box 101, Maple Valley, WA 98038, or to Dick Bonewits, Chair, at gmvac_chair@hotmail.com.