City Council Meeting 10/27/09

This week's council meeting was a busy one! There was lots to report and many actions taken.

Sheriff's Report

The meeting started off with a report from our Sheriff's Department. Lieutenant Sissen reported on the three weekends of Oktoberfest. Many, including those promoting it, felt it was a huge success, but the Sheriff's Department is concerned that due to its size and the number of participants, it's not possible to adequately cover the fest and downtown. He feels that they do not have enough resources.

The Sheriff's deputies who worked the fest would like to debrief with Projekt Bayern so that they can offer suggestions for improvements. Mayor Eaton felt this would be a good idea and suggested that he and a council member attend this meeting. Sissen expressed that he believes that Oktoberfest caused a lot of bad behavior and incidents in town. Mayor Eaton clarified that people will make bad personal choices regardless of the event. Incidents are just more noticeable when the numbers of visitors increases.

Budget Update

It was announced that revenue expenditures are to remain flat for 2010. Property tax will be increased by 1%, and this revenue will be used exclusively toward road improvements in the city. Capitol improvements are to be paid for with grants. The budget will be available on the City's website on November 10th. The water/sewer bill will be increased by $2 for 2010.

Comprehensive Plan Amendments

The council meeting was also a public hearing, as it addressed amendments to the city's comprehensive plan. There were three items up for approval by the council: the Upper Valley Regional Trail Plan, the Downtown Master Plan, and a zone change requested by the Chelan-Douglas Land Trust. This zone change would change a parcel from residential to public. It is currently owned by the Land Trust and it is managed by Barn Beach Reserve, and will incorporate a community garden on the property. All three items were voted on and approved by the city council.

Larsen's Report

Elmer Larsen reported the the Residential Advisory Committee met last week and had a very successful meeting. They obtained a lot of great information from those in attendance in regards to residential street needs.

DeVries's Report

Peter DeVries gave the financial committee report. Sales tax revenue is down 13% this year. Lodging tax revenue is down 6.5%. The real estate excise tax obtained this time last year was $129,000, and so far this year we have obtained only $43,000. Peter said that the 2010 budget is tight, but is accurate.

Chantell's Report

The city has obtained a $10,000 grant for archiving. The tri-yearly audit is now complete after 3 1/2 weeks.

Mayor's Report

Rob disclosed that the NEPA process for re-establishing the Upper Icicle Road has started. The upper portion of Icicle Road has been closed for the past 2 years do to a large water blow out.

The Department of Interior is going to be doing some work at the Fish Hatchery. The Hatchery is proposing a large water project. There will be a public meeting to discuss the project on December 12th.

RECYCLING!!!

The draft agreement between the City of Leavenworth and Waste Management is complete. The draft is now with lawyers for a few minor changes. During this council meeting the council approved the agreement, pending the few legal, non-substantive changes needed. The motion passed unanimously! This is a huge success! A representative from Waste Management was at the meeting and announced that the goals is to allow Leavenworth residents to start calling for account setup and tote drop off on December 1st. December 7th would be the first day new totes would be dropped off, and the following week would be the first scheduled pickup in town. If your pickup day falls on a holiday, pickup would be the following day. Recycling is coming soon!

Additional news and actions

A public hearing will be held on November 24th for final budget approval. Any city residents interested are encouraged to attend.

The council discussed the 2010 Prosecution Services Agreement with Chelan County. Elmer said that he would like a quarterly report from the Prosecution Office for the services they are providing, to make sure that were are getting what we are paying for. David Torgler, our City Administrator, said that he would contact Gary Riesen, in the Prosecutor's Office to discuss this with him. The council added that they would like this type of reporting added to the agreement prior to their approval. The council tabled this item and will re-address it at the next council meeting.

The council approved all three Comprehensive Plan Amendments. There were no comments from the public on any of these items.

The Village Voices requested approval of a city purchase of risers at the Festhall. The risers would be paid for with lodging tax money. The City would own the risers and store them at the Festhall. A total of 5 risers with rolling racks would cost $7,270. The Village Voices already own and store three risers. The council approved this purchase for the city.

The Mayor reported a change order to KRCI for the Icicle Station project. This order is needed do to changes made during construction that were necessary, but different from the initial project plan. These changes include fencing, paving of the entrance and parking lot, pedestrian fencing for safety, and a shelter heater switch. The council approved this change order.

The Mayor announced that his salary change will expire at the end of the year and asked the council to review his job description, job duties, and salary, and render a decision by the end of November.

That's all there is to report for the close of October here in Leavenworth!

Residential Advisory Committee

Wednesday evening I attended the 2nd Residential Advisory Committee (RAC) meeting. It was held in the Leavenworth Fire Hall at 7pm. The RAC consists of an 11 member Board, three of which are City Councilmen (Elmer Larson, Tibor Lak, and Bob Francis) and out City Administrator, David Torgler, and the others are Leavenworth citizens. Elmer lead the meeting, starting out with some city updates.

Completed street paving

There were three street paving projects completed this Fall. Each of these projects were contracted out by the City. All of Cascade St was repaved, as well as the Pine St/Fir St intersection and the intersection in front of the liquor store and Highway 2. Before the Pine St/Fir St intersection was repaved, the project included fixing a broken pipe under the road that had been causing a large pot hole.

Recycling update

The City is finalizing an agreement with Waste Management for residential curbside recycling. They are hopeful that the agreement will be complete and approved shortly, and that the recycling program will be up and running by December 1st! The agreement draft is complete and it is now with Waste Management's and the City's lawyers for approval. Once the lawyers are done, the agreement will go to the City Council for approval. The curbside program will require residents to contract individually with Waste Management. It will cost $7.90 and pick up will be bi-monthly.

The City is also looking at possibilities to maintain the drop off site that Leavenworth Recycles has been running for the past few years. If the city runs the drop off site, they want to fence the site and would most likely only man the site a few days a week. They are going to wait to see what sort of need there is for a drop off site once the curbside program is up and running, but the City does realize the need to keep the drop off site open. The City has acquired $125,000 to use toward a recycling program for the city. This money may be used to set up the city's drop off site. The City is thinking of restricting the hours at the drop off site to encourage the curbside program. They may look at charging to drop off as well, to cover the costs.

Affordable Housing

When Chris Rader was sitting on the City Council, she was highly involved in seeking affordable housing for the city, sitting on the Council's committee . Since she stepped down off the council this Summer, affordable housing has been on the back burner with the City. The RAC has recently recommended that the council get the committee up and running, very soon. It is the council's hope that the newly elected council member sit on this affordable housing committee.

Streets needing paving

The next portion of our meeting consisted of coming up with a list of streets that are in critical need of upgrading and repaving. The list is as follows:

• Summit St.
• Ash St.
• West St.
• Orchard St between Pine St and Birch St
• Commercial St, west of 8th St
• Whitman St.

Streets needing sidewalks

We then discussed streets within the community that were in need of sidewalks for residential safety, particularly child safety as they walk to and from school. The list is as follows:

• Pine St from Ski Hill to Chumstick
• Birch St from Ski Hill to the school
• West St, tie it into Benton
• Orchard St between Pine St and Birch St
• Prospect St
• Price St
• Central St
• Commercial St and 8th St by the river, behind the mini golf course

We also talked about different types of sidewalks and walking area options. For example, creating a buffer vegetated area and then an asphalted walking area rather than an elevated sidewalk. This may make it easier to plow in the winter, rather than be the collector of the winter snow, making it unusable. I particularly like the idea of elevated sidewalks. I believe children are more likely to use them, and residents are less likely to park on them, as they do on walking areas that are level with the streets right now (ie. Cascade St).

Traffic calming/Speed control

Speeding is of concern in certain areas of our community, so we discussed options for calming and slowing traffic. Here are the ideas we came up with:

• additional stop signs or yield signs
• cross walks with overhead blinking lights
• traffic circles or bulb outs
• speed trailer from the Sheriff's Dept to collect speed data
• lower speed limits

Intersections needing improvement

• Front St/Division St/Commercial St
• Evans St/Benton St

We had a long discussion about the Evans/Benton intersection due to its irregular shape and the need to slow drivers as they are driving on Benton toward Evans to the yield sign. It is of concern that many do not yield at this intersection and simply drive through. This can be very dangerous for those driving east on Evans and the children at the school yard across the street. We discussed the option of reconfiguring the intersection so that drivers are more likely to slow as they approach Evans.

The City is requesting funding for reconstructing and repaving Pine St. This project would include adding a sidewalk on the south side of the street, the side that the City owns. The County owns the north side of the street. The City is hoping that this project is shovel ready by the Spring of 2011.

Road funding options

We discussed the need for funding in order to be able to take on the projects we have identified. Here are those options we discussed:

• Real estate excise tax, a small portion of our sales tax, and gasoline tax (per capita basis) are dedicated to road repairs right now. This is not enough to cover our city's needs.
• Property tax can't be used for roads. This tax doesn't even cover the cost of the Sheriff and fire contract the City has. The city is $100,000 to $150,000 short with the property taxes we have.
• Local Improvement District (LID) has been used in the past, but can be quite complicated. They require assessment of properties.
• Sales tax is the money the money that is left to use for every other city expense. We discussed raising the sales tax in town by .02%, through a referendum. Most of the tax burden would be on our visitors, and the additional money acquired would be specifically dedicated to city road improvements. This options would be the easiest and least intrusive on the community.
• Create a Transportation Improvement District (TID). This would be much like a LID.

Dave Torgler let us all know that the improvements and repavements done this Fall are temporary patches, meant to last for 3 to 5 years while the city can look for major construction money. Most of the residential streets have never been properly designed and engineered for the long term. Most are asphalt right over dirt, rather than the needed gravel, engineered base. The City has identified $31 Million in road infrastructural needs.

Elmer announced that the Trails Plan, the Downtown Master Plan, and the Transportation Plan are going to be up for adoption at the next City Council meeting on Tuesday, October 27th at 6pm. These three plans are available for view on the city's website.

The city's Park Plan update will start Spring 2010. The city is encouraging a lot of public input. This plan has not been updated since 1999.

The neighborhood/community citizen patrol (volunteers), sponsored by the Sheriff's Dept, is starting up. The don't have a facility to operate out of yet. The Sheriff's Dept has donated a vehicle to the patrol. The patrol may offer 2nd home owners and night/weekly rental owner the option to sign up for the patrol to monitor their homes when they are empty.

The RAC is going to try to meet quarterly. There is not a set date for the next meeting yet.

Time to vote!

It was awfully fun to get my ballot in the mail this past weekend and to see my name on it!

My signs are out and I've been knocking on doors, meeting more of our great community by the day. Yesterday afternoon I met a wonderful woman named Ann. We met as strangers and I left her home a friend, with a parting hug. We truly are blessed here in Leavenworth with so many amazing, engaged and friendly people.

Now it's time to vote! Since we are an absentee ballot only city, don't forget to make your choices and get your ballot postmarked by November 3rd. Or to save on postage, drop your ballot off at the drop box at City Hall, on Highway 2, in the back parking lot.

Whether you are voting for me, which I hope you are, or for Cheri, thank you for voting and taking part in our civic government and the democratic process.

I hope you have a wonderful week! If you have any comments, questions, concerns or would just like to talk about something, please don't hesitate to contact me.

Anne Hessburg for Leavenworth City Council!

ahessburg@gmail.com

206-465-1754

Last Night's Candidate Forum

For those of you who were not able to make it to the Candidate Forum last evening, I wanted to share my speech with you.

Hello fellow residents of Leavenworth. Thank you all for coming out tonight and participating in your civic government. It is wonderful to see so many that share a passion for Leavenworth and its continued success in the future. I am Anne Hessburg and I am asking for your vote.

We, in this room and beyond, make up a community of diverse needs and as such, need a city council that represents the many perspectives native to our town. In addition to a substantial population of long time residents, Leavenworth has a growing demographic of young working professionals, business owners, and families. More people recognize that this hidden treasure at the foot of the Cascade Mountains offers many benefits and opportunities of prosperity for decades to come. The role of city council is to represent all aspects of our community. Each councilmember has a duty to bring their voice and perspective, on behalf of the city residents, to the arena of city government. As a young professional and involved member of our community, I am uniquely qualified to represent and balance the many needs and perspectives that make our community great. My youthfulness is a strength and my passion for the future of Leavenworth is an asset; for it is not the years that are important, it is the involvement and experience that you have put into them that makes the difference.

I grew up in the Wenatchee valley, spending much of my free time in Leavenworth. I put myself through college by working four consecutive years for the local Forest Service fire crew. And now as an Environmental Planner for our County and five year resident of our amazing city, I have been highly involved and devoted to our community.

Civically, I have been attending our city council meetings for the past year, learning our local government and staying abreast of the happenings and issues that face our community. I have enjoyed watching and learning how our city functions; balancing the many diverse needs of residents, business owners, tourism operators, agriculturalists, and outdoor enthusiasts, all within the backdrop of our beautiful mountain setting and Bavarian theme.

I have a profound respect for the work of those who have built this town into the success that it is today. Leavenworth owes much of its present success and economic health to the vision of the original Leavenworth Improvement For Everyone organization, known as LIFE. Today, as at the founding of the original LIFE organization, this community strives to balance the needs of its residents with the development of its tourism, recreation and agriculture based economy.

My vision to contribute to Leavenworth’s continued and future success is based in community wide cooperation involving the many generations of individuals who call this area home. We must not abandon the proven successes of the past, nor should we turn a blind eye to positive changes that pave the road to our continued progress.

We live in the Pacific Northwest Mecca of recreation, and I am a proud member of this facet of our community. I am a member of Trail Washington, who promotes community mountain bike trail riding, and I volunteer my winter free time on the events team at Stevens Pass Ski Resort.

As a steward of our land and community, I am a highly active member of our Chelan-Douglas Land Trust, and am on the Valley Trail committee within this organization. I am also a member of Life2 and recently volunteered with Leavenworth Recycles surveying all the Leavenworth business owners about their recycling practices and needs.

I am also an active proponent of our local festivals as I volunteer my time for at the Bavarian Bike and Brew Fest and our Autumn Leaf Festival.

DEVELOPMENT:
I represent purposeful development that meets the needs of our community. As more families and individuals recognize the many qualities of our beautiful Cascade mountain town, the demand for housing, commercial space, and community services continue to increase. With our new residents, our community on the whole benefits from increased diversity in our schools, to new volunteers and contributors at our festivals. At the same time, population growth and community expansion exert pressures on our current residents, our surrounding natural environment, and our community services as a whole. I work as an Environmental Planner for Chelan County in the Department of Community Development. I do land use permitting on shorelines and critical areas, within the County. My employment puts me in contact with the public on a daily basis, as I take care of complaints, resolve land use and development conflicts, as well as provide necessary information and guidance to help make their projects successful. As a Planner I believe I can make a difference in someone’s life everyday, and that is very satisfying. Working for Chelan County, I regularly build and coordinate inter governmental relationships, and believe this would be an asset to the council. In my job I see many different people with different backgrounds and situations. I feel this gives me context for different types of people and situations within our local government and community.

AFFORDABLE HOUSING:
Hand in hand with development and the desirability of our setting, the relative price of housing costs have increased dramatically in Leavenworth over the past 20 years. We need to continue to work with local organizations like SHARE to make housing affordable to the residents and employees of our community. Having worked for seasonal employers such as the Forest Service and Stevens Pass, I understand the strain of finding affordable housing, and what the potential long term consequences can mean in this community. We need to find a balance between the growing market values of homes in this amazing mountain town and the growing need to keep our valuable employment base living and working in our community.

ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY:
We live in one of the most beautiful places in our state and country, so it is our duty to make sure that it is here for our children and future generations to enjoy, as we do today. Environmental sustainability is our responsibility. We must be forward thinking and embrace programs like recycling so that we may preserve this valley we love; providing the opportunity to share it with the future. Let’s work together to leave Leavenworth better than we found it.

RECREATION:
Recreation is one of the greatest assets we have to offer our residents and tourists alike. Having lived with a family in Bavaria for a time, I have witnessed first hand the intrinsic connection between authentic Bavarian culture and outdoor recreation. Similar to the towns of our thematic inspiration, residents stay home in our town rather than opting to travel elsewhere, while tourists travel for hours to set foot in our town to enjoy the four seasons of recreational fun. From Alpine backpacking, hiking and camping, to rafting and tubing on your choice of two beautiful rivers, to biking amongst the rural County roads or downhill in the mountains, there are endless recreational possibilities beckoning to you. It is important for the sustainability of our rural, recreational community that we continue to build upon the amazing recreational opportunities that our town has to offer, and that make it possible for us to maintain the livelihood we have grown so accustom to.

TOURISM:
The development of tourism surrounding our unique Bavarian theme and outdoor recreation has served to truly differentiate Leavenworth over the last four decades, and will continue to pave a successful road for both our residential and commercial needs. It is our loyal and dependable tourists that generate millions in sales tax revenue each year; funds, that when allocated practically and appropriately, serve to better the lives of our residents and community, while at the same time ensuring the financial health of our town in the future. Balancing public investment to serve the needs of our residents, businesses, and tourists, is an ever-moving target that merits close attention and public discussion. I am a very financially detailed person, managing accurate budgets in both my personal and professional life. My strength in this area will prove to be an asset and will bring tangible value to the citizens of Leavenworth.

My hopes for the future include:
~ a clearly defined expansion of the Bavarian theme, hand in hand with the expansion of recreation.
~ implementation of a successful, cost-effective recycling program for all residences and businesses within the city limits.
~ continued growth in affordable housing.
~ continued improvement of the city’s infrastructure for our residents, businesses and visitors alike.
~ And safer, more connected trail systems between residential destinations like schools, Enchantment Park, Barn Beach, Black Bird Island, Lions Club Park, and our local playing fields, as well as a trail system connecting tourist destinations like the new Icicle train station, our downtown business corridor and the waterfront.

Coordinating the proven successes of our city’s past with new ideas and positive progress will ensure our successful advancement into a bigger and brighter future. It is my passion to become a stronger, more involved member of this community as it continues to grow and flourish, and feel that my presence on the Leavenworth City Council will accurately and diligently represent all those who call our valley home.

Thank you so much for coming out tonight. I am Anne Hessburg and I am asking for your vote!

City Council Meeting 10/13/09

Last night's meeting started off with a few council committee reports.

Councilman Bob Francis reported that the Parks committee is dealing with citywide signage issues for residents and visitors. They will be making signs more uniform looking and will make sure that directions posted on the signs are accurate and easily understood.

Councilman Elmer Larson reported that the Residential Advisory Committee will be meeting next Wednesday, October 21st at the Fire Hall at 7pm.

Mayor Rob Eaton reported that, weather conditions permitting, he will be heading to Seattle after the City Council meeting for the Fall Mayor's Summit. Mayor Eaton also gave an Amtrak update. The Leavenworth Icicle Station will be featured in an Amtrak publication, nationwide. In September, the Icicle Station saw 95 riders between its opening on September 25th and September 30th. The train has been averaging 6-7 riders per night from Seattle. With these great numbers, Icicle Station should hit its projected ridership of 4,000 riders per year, in its first year.

Chris Rudolph, the Marketing and Public Relations Director for Stevens Pass, spoke to the council providing a resort update. Stevens Pass is moving its business mailing address to a Leavenworth PO Box, from its current Skykomish mailing address. This is another way that Stevens is showing it is invested in building its Leavenworth business. Rudolph reported that the Teton Gravity Research (TGR) movie, with Leavenworth and Stevens Pass specific segments, has been very successful over the past few months. It opened with a world premiere in Jackson Hole, Wyoming in September, and has since been traveling nationally and internationally, receiving rave reviews. The TGR movie will be shown locally in the Festhall for our community in November. Rudolph also reported on Stevens Pass's cooperative work with the City and Icicle Station. Stevens Pass will be contracting with local lodging businesses for transportation from the train station to local Hotels as well as up to the ski resort. The Washington State Department of Transportation pedestrian overpass project has broken ground at the summit of Stevens Pass. The utilities are currently being worked on and the overpass completion should coincide with the opening of the Stevens Pass Bike Park in the Summer of 2010. The projected opening of the Bike Park is early July 2010. The park will open with one chair to serve 2 trails, with the hope of a total of 5 trails open by the end of the summer.

Anthony Antone, of the Washington Restaurant Association, awarded the Restaurant Neighborhood Award to Munchen Haus owners Pam and Oliver Brulotte for their amazing contributions to our local community. They recently raised over $5,000 for the local assisted living facility, Mountain Meadows. Included with their award was a check for $500 to be donated to a charity of their choice. Pam and Oliver will be donating it to Mountain Meadows. In addition to raising money for Mountain Meadows, the Munchen Haus is regularly involved in contributing their time and business, through sponsored events, to the community. With the reception of this award, Munchen Haus will be the Washington nominee for the National Restaurant Neighborhood Award. Mayor Eaton personally thanked Pam and Oliver for opening up their business to the community. Congratulations Brulottes and the Munchen Haus!

Dave Torgler, our City Administrator, announced that there will be a public hearing on October 27th to discuss the city budget. Torgler is still working with Waste Management on a city agreement that would allow residential recycling, and an individual basis. The agreement is not yet ready for the City Council's review and approval.

Dave Schettler, our Public Works Director, announced that Phase 1 of the Icicle train station is nearing completion. Work should be complete mid-November. They are finishing up with the two shelters, fencing, and signage. The ice melt system within the concrete platform was on last night during our first snow!

Connie Krueger, our Community Development Director, announced that the Chumstick multi-use trail project is moving forward and that the City of Leavenworth's Downtown Master Plan came in 1st place in the state with the American Planning Association. Krueger also let the public know that city has recently integrated the City Council and the City's Planning Commission. For those unfamiliar with the duties of the Planning Commission, the Planning Commission is responsible for long range planning and legislative policy recommendations to the City Council. Members are appointed by the Mayor, and volunteer their time. In 2009, the Planning Commission has been working to complete the Transportation and Upper Valley Regional Trails Plans. They have also been working on a variety of updates to the Comprehensive Plan, as well as the Critical Areas, Parks, Shoreline, and Utility Standards Plans.

The City Council passed Resolution 10-2009 to purchase the Bavarian Beer Wagon. The money to do so will be LAP (lodging tax) funds.

Dave Torgler announced an inter-local agreement he is working on between the City of Leavenworth and the City of Tacoma. This agreement would allow Leavenworth to piggy back on Tacoma purchases, like the needed new garbage truck. Leavenworth, on its own, would most likely have to spend about $300,000 on a new garbage truck, but with the help of this agreement and the ability to purchase with Tacoma, Leavenworth will most likely save about $70,000 on the purchase. This is due to the fact that Tacoma purchases items in such large quantities.

Leavenworth local, Bob Kelly, came before the City Council and personally thanked them for the purchase of the Beer Wagon. He helped build it many years ago and is happy to know that it will remain in Leavenworth.

Candidates Forum - Wednesday, October 14 @ 7pm

Barn Beach Reserve and Life2 presents a Candidates Forum, Wednesday, October 14, at 7 pm in the Barn at Barn Beach Reserve, 347 Division Street, Leavenworth. Candidates for local offices (Leavenworth City Council and the Cascade School District) have been invited to attend. The evening will start with an overview of the responsibilities for each position, followed by introductory presentations by each candidate, and then conclude with questions and answers from the audience.

This date was chosen so voters who attend the forum on the 14th will be able to learn about the candidates before they receive their ballots from the county auditor. Ballots are expected to go out in the mail on Friday, October 16th. The Candidates Forum will follow a shortened version of the regular monthly LIFE2 meeting. If you would like to learn more about LIFE2, or attend this short meeting, it will start at 6 PM, and run until 7 PM when the Candidates Forum begins.http://barnbeachreserve.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=b15abd40a8e60419a7e0e673c&id=018121f556&e=73a52f26ee

About Me

For those of you who aren't aware, I work as an Environmental Planner for the Chelan County Community Development Department. This means that I do land use permitting on shorelines, like rivers and lakes, and critical areas, like wetlands, streams, and ponds, within the County. My employment puts me in contact with the public on a daily basis, as I take care of complaints, resolve conflicts, as well as provide necessary information and guidance to make their projects successful. As a Planner with Chelan County I believe I can make a difference in someone life everyday, and that is very satisfying. In addition to shoreline and critical area permitting, I also help the public with placing their properties into the Open Space program, for a residential tax break benefit. Working for Chelan County, I build and coordinate inter government relationships regularly. I believe this would be an asset to the council. In my job I see many different people with different backgrounds and situations. I feel this gives me context for different types of people and situations within our community.

In my free time I am heavily involved in the community. I have attended the bi-monthly city council meetings for over a year now. I am a member of Life2 - for a more sustainable Leavenworth, a member of the Chelan-Douglas Land Trust and a Valley Trail committee member, a Trail Washington member, an Autumn Leaf Festival volunteer, and a Stevens Pass Ski Resort events volunteer. It has been important to me to stay involved and stay abreast of the happenings in our town, so that I am be a more effective member of our community.

Media interviews

I just completed an interview with Jefferson Robbins of the Wenatchee World. He is currently writing an article on the candidates involved in this Fall's election. We met during my lunch break at Cafe Mela, a wonderful coffee shop on Wenatchee Avenue. The interview was wonderful. It was great to sit down and discuss my candidacy and the issues that are important to our town. The candidate article should be out in print on October 15th or 16th of next week.

This Friday morning Cheri and I will be discussing our candidacy on KOHO radio at 7:20 am during the Morning Show. Be sure to tune in!

Oktoberfest!

Guten Tag! Ich hoffe, dass Sie einen wundervollen Tag haben!

The Leavenworth Oktoberfest is underway; having just completed the first of its three weekends! Being of German descent, I feel it's appropriate to offer you some true Oktoberfest history.
German Oktoberfest
Oktoberfest is a 16-day festival held each year in Munich, Germany, running from late September to early October. It is one of the most famous events in Germany and the world's largest fair, with some six million people attending every year, and is an important part of Bavarian culture. This year will be the 176th annual Oktoberfest commemorating the tapping of the first barrel of Oktoberfest-beer! How's that for tradition!!!

The Munich Oktoberfest, traditionally, takes place during the sixteen days up to and including the first Sunday in October. In 1994, the schedule was modified in response to German reunification so that if the first Sunday in October falls on the 1st or 2nd, then the festival will go on until October 3 (German Unity Day). Thus, the festival is now 17 days when the 1st Sunday is October 2 and 18 days when it is October 1. The festival is held on an area named the Theresienwiese (field, or meadow, of Therese), often called d’ Wiesn for short.
Visitors also eat huge amounts of traditional hearty fare such as Hendl (chicken), Schweinsbraten (roast pork), Haxn (knuckle of pork), Steckerlfisch (grilled fish on a stick), Würstel (sausages) along with Brezeln (Pretzel), Knödeln (potato or bread dumplings), Käsespätzle (cheese noodles), Reiberdatschi (potato pancakes), Sauerkraut or Rotkraut (red cabbage) along with such Bavarian delicacies as Obatzda (a fatty, spiced cheese-butter concoction) and Weisswurst (a white sausage).

The original "Oktoberfest" occurred in Munich, on October 18, 1810: For the commemoration of their marriage, Crown Prince Ludwig (later King Ludwig I) and Princess Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen (namesake of the Theresienwiese festival grounds) organized a great horse race (the marriage took place on October 12; the horse race on October 17 — therefore, there are different dates named as being the first Oktoberfest).

The Oktoberfest is known as the Largest Volksfest (People's Fair) in the World!

Leavenworth Oktoberfest
This year is the 11th annual Oktoberfest in Leavenworth!

Projekt Bayern, a nonprofit organization created to promote and enhance the Old World Bavarian theme throughout the city of Leavenworth and its surrounding region, came up with the concept of an authentic Oktoberfest celebration in 1998. The first Leavenworth Oktoberfest was held in October 1998 which was attended by about 400 people. The next year the attendance grew, and entertainment was brought in directly from Germany. The festival continued to grow each year and in 2003, a second weekend was added and two bands were brought in from Germany in addition to may performers from the US and Canada. By 2005 attendance had grown to 10,000 and the Leavenworth festival was ranked as one of the top Oktoberfest celebrations in the Country.
Over the last 11 years the Leavenworth Oktoberfest has continued to grow. What started as a single weekend has now grown into 3 full weekends with 3 Venues of activities that the entire family will enjoy. It's time to come out and show your German side in your Dirndl or Lederhosen at the Leavenworth Oktoberfest. There's still two weekends of fun and entertainment! Here's what to expect:

• Oktoberfest hours are Fridays 5pm -1am and Saturdays Noon-1am.
• Non-stop live entertainment including two bands direct from Germany (and the CHICKEN DANCE!)
• Saturdays Noon- Bavarian Parade followed by the Keg tapping ceremony at 1pm.
• Leavenworth Oktoberfest is great fun for the youngsters as well. Kinderplatz is an area dedicated for the kids to play until their hearts are content. You’ll find a rock climbing wall, bouncing toys, clowns and more.
• Minors are allowed inside the gates until 9pm.
• Arts and Crafts Vendors
• Authentic German Food and Beer

Here's a fun drinking song you can take with you to Oktoberfest:

Ein Prosit, ein Prosit (A toast, a toast)
Der Gemütlichkeit (To happiness)
Ein Prosit, ein Prosit (A toast, a toast)
Der Gemütlichkeit. (To happiness)

Hope to see you there this weekend!

Residential Street Paving

Thank you to Dave Schettler, our Public Works Director, and his department for the excellent residential paving projects they have been conducting this past week. Many of you may have already noticed, but the Public Works Department has been re-paving a few of the residential streets here in Leavenworth before the weather turns cold and wet. Cascade Street, and the corner of Pine Street and Fir Street are already complete. Dave and his staff have chosen a few streets that have been in dire need of re-surfacing and have been doing a wonderful, speedy job. Thank you so much!