As Christmas approaches, the Redmond Firefighters’ Union is excited to kick off the 2009 "Santa on the Fire Truck - Food and Toy Drive". Santa and his helpers, who volunteer their time and truck, will drive through the streets of Redmond playing holiday music while distributing candy canes to all the good little boys
and girls.
Santa and friends will also be collecting donations of non-perishable food, toys and money on behalf of local food and toy drives. Redmond Firefighters' Union will match funds collected up to a maximum of $500 for the season.
December 11: Downtown Redmond, north to NE 90th St
December 12: Rose Hill, 132nd Ave NE to 148th Ave NE, NE 60th St to NE 100th St
December 13: South Central Redmond, 148th to West Lake Sammamish Pkwy, Redmond Way to NE 51st St
December 14: South Redmond, 148th to the Bellevue – Redmond Rd, south of NE 40th St
December 15: Southeast Redmond, east of the Bellevue – Redmond Rd
December 16: South Education Hill, NE 90th St to NE 116th St
December 19: North Education Hill, north of NE 116th St
December 20: Redmond Ridge and Union Hill
December 21: Rain makeup night
December 22: Rain makeup night
In January 2009, the City began an effort to rewrite its zoning code (Redmond Community Development Guide). The rewrite is occurring in two phases. The first phase, completed in June, sought input from the community and City officials as to strengths and weaknesses of Redmond’s code and resulted in guiding principles to inform the rewrite effort.
The second phase, underway now, consists of the rewrite itself. This work will be reviewed by the Code Rewrite Commission and then Council in spring 2011. For more information on the project, visit www.redmond.gov/rcdgrewrite.
On September 15 the City Council appointed seven members to the first ever City of Redmond Human Services Commission.
This commission was created as a first step toward implementing the recently adopted City of Redmond Human Services Strategic Plan. And the establishing Ordinance #2467, was asdopted on June 2, 2009.
The role of the Commission is to advise the Mayor and City Council on general issues relating to human services, as well as to make specific funding recommendations as part of the City's budget process every two years. The Commission will meet on the second Monday of each month at 6:30pm in the Council Conference Room of Redmond City Hall. For more details, please visit the City of Redmond Human Services Commission website.
According to the City's Human Services Manager, Colleen Kelly, "The Human Services staff are excited about this valuable new resource. Having the opportunity to work closely with a committed group of citizens as we implement our new strategic plan is sure to strengthen both the process and the outcome of our efforts."
Members (left to right): John Enslein, Kerry Smith, Lynn Fleshman, Diana Farrow, Connie Sansberry, Raul Munoz, and Steve Daschle
Comments from some of the new commissioners about the importance of human services include the following:
We all share the need for basic human services such as shelter, food, and security – and most of us have benefited at some point in our lives from outside support. It will be very rewarding to be in a position to help offer that type of support to others as they go through challenging times.
There are ever increasing needs in our community but there are also a lot of resources. I feel it is my responsibility and privilege as a neighbor and as a Christian to be a part of helping discover and connect the resources to the needs.
Human services are important to me because life is unpredictable, and none of us can know when we will need help of some kind. Human services provide a way for a community to respond when its members are in need. By supporting human services, we strengthen the community for all of us.
As a single mom I wouldn't have survived without help from human services a time or two. I have great empathy and I want to give back. I believe good human services are the cornerstone of what makes a community cohesive.
Human services are as much a part of the basic infrastructure of a healthy community as anything else. A vibrant human services network is critical to sustaining a strong, caring community where everyone has an opportunity to thrive.