Hi Friends! It's here, tonight is the BIG night and all the Seattle news outlets are covering it all day long today!
We need to turn the council chamber and the outside into homefield advantage for council members friendly to saving the beach. Remember, 3 of them are already voting to save the beach because it makes sense based on facts and it honors deeply held Edmonds values to protect the environment - we just need one more (Kristiana Johnson or other) to vote with us! We need to debate courageously, fiercely, and with truth! We have major momentum on our side. We need everyone to show up and bring a friend! It needs to feel like it’s the 4th quarter of a Seahawks playoff game against! Level 12’s! We’ll be at 8,000 signatures by tonight’s meeting! EPIC!
Schedule for tonight:
Rally time 6:15pm
Meeting time 7:00pm
STAY at meeting to make public comment and support our friends who are. Then STAY as long as it takes till they get through other stuff and the funding contract for Parametrix design comes up for a vote – that is when we need a homecourt advantage like know other. Let’s be respectful, but fierce.
Review the website one more time for info – don’t let the officials bury you in details – stick to the main points that there are other valid options that provide for adequate safety, save $20 million, and save the beach (the #1 rated option of a pedestrian overpass by the train station "mid-block" provides this – connector was not #1). Remember THIS IS OUR TOWN and WE have a SAY! Don’t let them bully you by dismissing your visceral reaction to the plan. www.SaveEdmondsBeach.com
BREAKING NEWS – Mayor’s Safety Logic EXPOSED!
From Edmonds Beacon Article
AND THERE...IT...IS! This is why the mayor is so adamant about making the case for the connector by framing it as “safety" issue. This comes from the new Edmonds Beacon Article in which it says:
“The Brackett's Landing Shoreline Sanctuary is reserved solely to provide the public, scientists and students the opportunity to examine over a period of time the ecological relationships within such area.”
Because of that wording, would the City's code have to be rewritten to accommodate the connector?
"It would not need to be rewritten," Public Works Director Phil Williams said. "A permit can be issued by the Parks director if there are public safety concerns being addressed by the project."
LOOK AT THAT LAST PARAGRAPH AGAIN! To get around the marine sanctuary issue - they can declare a "safety issue" then the Parks Director (who I assume reports to the Mayor) can then issue a permit to use the marine sanctuary for building the concrete overpass. THANK YOU Phil Williams for helping us understand behind the scenes the secret to why the mayor keeps making the same losing argument about "safety" when there are other options that address the safety issue adequately, cost $20 million less, AND saves the beach. “Safety” issue never passes the small test when the Mid-Block option is brought up.
MEDIA
King5, KiroTV, KomoTv, Everett Herald, Edmonds Beacon, My Edmonds News, and KNKX are all covering this! Look for stories breaking and teasers throughout the day. I can't even keep up! Thank you to each news outlet covering this important story! WE'LL SEE YOU TONIGHT!
Rally Guidelines
The city reached out to provide guidance for the rally so everyone is safe.
*Outside. It’s an excellent idea to not block the entrance to the Public Safety Building. Have your colleagues stand to one side or the other, where their signs can still be viewed and they can interact with passers-by, while still allowing folks to enter and leave the building unimpeded.
*Inside. For your partners who are wielding signs, please have them place their signs in an open, visible spot to one side or another. The reason for this is that this may well be a standing-room-only meeting, and the risk of someone getting bonked by an errant sign wave will rise significantly. Staff in attendance can help you out with this.
See you there tonight! Let’s save the beach together!