Seattle streets are expected to remain dangerously covered in snow and ice for several more days. Mayor Greg Nickels offers little more than his regrets:
Most side streets will not be covered by city plows.Meanwhile, Nickels is lobbying the incoming administration for $7 million to spend on an uneconomic scheme to put solar panels on top of Qwest Field Hall"We just do not have the capacity to do that," Nickels said.
"Conservation in and of itself is a public good, and we're going to be investing heavily in that," Nickels said.Passable city streets are also a public good, and unlike these particular solar panels, is an investment that actually makes economic sense.
Nickels is up for re-election in 2009. Hopefully he'll attract an opponent whose priorities are more grounded in reality.
Posted by Stefan Sharkansky at December 21, 2008 12:08 PM | Email ThisThat said, I've been in the Seattle area for several years. I missed the 2006 winter to be in Iraq, but I was here last year, and there was nothing like the amount of snow experienced that year or even this year. Seattle just doesn't get enough snow to justify a gigantic fleet of snow trucks that would only get used occasionally.
As for the solar panels, they are a solid investment. While it's true that panels have a fairly large up front cost, they present a great deal of long term cost savings. The article cites a 12-14 percent cost savings, and while the Seattle Times may not think that's much, I do. Furthermore, the proposal on the table is for the cost not to come out of the state or city budget at all, but to come from the federal stimulus package that Obama has been pushing.
Posted by: Robby on December 21, 2008 12:23 PMI've often thought that with our rare ice and snow that homeowners should just make a loose pact amongst themselves to salt the roads the length of their properties.... especially out here in the eastern foothill hinterlands where we're lucky if the main roads are attended to.
But no. He wants the taxpayers of Albuquerque and South Bend and Atascadero and Tustin to pungle up for his holier-than-thou posturing in sacred Seattle, where solar energy is much vetoed by precipitation. Hoping that his own voters will applaud his parasitism against those other poor fish, whose suns actually shine.
Time for a Mayor who represents the locals, and works to make their lives less subject to natural hazards. And actually believes enough in his oh-so-important 'public transportation' that his streets can carry his buses without making public spectacles of them, dangling off precipices in snowstorms.
Posted by: Insufficiently Sensitive on December 21, 2008 12:56 PMThat's an interesting idea.
Posted by: Robby on December 21, 2008 01:15 PMhowever, it's the relative priorities i rant about--the public potty fiasco, money for free drunk apartments, yet no state of art fire or police equipment; money for illegal alien assist & bene's; awash in "art park" money while we all wonder & hope that our port and response teams are ready for a terror attack & fully supplied; nuke free zone, hate free zone, city diversity dept bureaucracy; WTO & criminal coddling legal settlements--all the usual liberal feel-good tripe but no room for practical items;
i guess priorities of govt are relative--i'd prefer simple things like plowed streets, police patrols & good garbage service more than "inclusive" diversity & sister-city fluff programs;
Posted by: jimmie-howya-doin on December 21, 2008 01:41 PMThe current City bureaucracy prefers not to remember this, but for a place where's there's a sporadic but real need for snowplows, that makes sense. Far more sense than mounting, on top of a private sports palace paid for by Seattle taxpayers, some feeble solar panels paid for by everywhere-but-Seattle taxpayers.
Posted by: Insufficiently Sensitive on December 21, 2008 01:58 PMSorry not going for the Solar panel idea.
Just another waste of taxpayer funds that will take years to recover. And that's if they even maintan them, which by the way the city has been run by Nickels and his gang. Not likely.
Posted by: Medic/Vet on December 21, 2008 02:00 PMIt's snowing there too.
Posted by: Medic/Vet on December 21, 2008 02:02 PMThey can't see that inner cities (not just Seattle) are badly broken thanks to dominance of liberalism because they are ideologically blinded. Not every one is - there are at least 14% of the voters who voted for McCain/Palin in the last election who may well see the unbiased big picture for what it really is.
These are substantive arguments that can be verified by simply checking out how Seattle has deteriorated from the early 1960's to now. To those who say it doesn't matter, I challenge you to project with the current rate of progression how dilapidated Seattle will be 20 years from now. This can be diverted if smaller more efficient government from someone unlike the elitist libs like Nichols, et.al. are able to govern Seattle. Now, I'd say that there are two chances of this happening - slim and none. Complacency knows no bounds !
Who here wants to start that business? Guaranteed contracts every two or three years, often for up to a week. Good use of capital.
Sheesh, take care of yourselves and quit whining.
Posted by: BA on December 21, 2008 02:26 PMSorry guys, guess I'm missing one heck of a blow! I'll be back on Tuesday though, so maybe there will still be some snow left...
Posted by: Shanghai Dan on December 21, 2008 03:52 PMWho say's we want everything. You pay taxes and expect some gov services. If the gov isn't going to do that then don't keep increasing taxes.
Just like the Fire dept. You pay for it and expect that service. But no.. what does the city do. They have a levie to pay for medcial care that should be part of the fire service.
So where did your taxes go that paid for the fire dept in the first place?
Get the point!
Posted by: Medic/Vet on December 21, 2008 04:06 PMThis way the county does not have to pay for an unnecessary fleet of trucks that might be used once very 5-10 years and we can keep people employed in the private sector and help out businesses that may be otherwise facing cutbacks.
A little creativity goes a long way....which is why we need to stop electing people who have never spent a day of there life outside of government.
Posted by: jk on December 21, 2008 04:37 PMAre you making this up?
Posted by: BA on December 21, 2008 05:22 PMSaltwash is thought to impair salmon habitat.
Nevermind that there are NO salmon in Seattle's salmon habitats.
Sometimes I forget that Seattle is not a city, but rather a intrusive infection of invasive species composed of human aliens, constantly interfering with the recovery of its former Lewis and Clark ecosystem.
When will the Mayor's office return to a glorius stand of old growth?
Solar Cells require the mining and processing of toxic materials. Their manufacture requires huge amounts of energy. The balance sheet on cost recovery doesn't include these overheads.
Posted by: Bart Cannon on December 21, 2008 05:27 PMWith all the dead and petrified wood in that office, there's no room for anything that resembles life.
Posted by: Saltherring on December 21, 2008 05:42 PMAwesome. This is the result of a 99 day union strike by potash mine workers in canada. I am infuriated right now. They were supposed to be back last sunday but scheduling problem after cancellation problem has pushed them out to today, and now they get cancelled while they are on a layover.
Posted by: Andrew Brown on December 21, 2008 06:10 PMChicago voters expected and tolerated a high level of corruption but they also expected plowing. Obama's political guru David Axelrod once said "Any mayor in any administration who doesn't feel an absolute sense of urgency when there's a major winter storm is someone planning for his next career."
That is true in Chicago but not in Seattle, where voters seem to tolerate anything as long as you've got that magic 'D' by your name.
Posted by: russell garrard on December 21, 2008 06:42 PMGo back to your one track union job. idiot.
Posted by: jk on December 21, 2008 07:01 PMA tractor, or a backhoe, isn't suited to plow lane miles of roads in any level of efficiency.
Does a property management have the equipment? No. Can they hire snow plows in Seattle. No.
I understand your political views cloud any judgment or education you've clearly wasted. That said - get a clue.
I hope you're employed in a safe job - lose it in this economy and you're toast.
Posted by: BA on December 21, 2008 07:11 PMFour times you stated "Dems stand for issues" and four times I laughed my ass off, as the only issues I recall your president elect addressing during the campaign were "hope" and "change". I guess we'll have to wait for Jan 20 to learn about issues and policy.
Posted by: Saltherring on December 21, 2008 07:20 PMPosters like this have an attitude problem and show the mindset of infected Seattleites - holier than thou, but a partisan hack through and through. Always the victim, but where's the accountability ? (The Elitist Democrat in charge in Seattle don't need any stinkin' accountability). So you attack the one item that may be overstated under spending on snow removal, but you have lost all credibility when you refuse to admit the waste by the current Seattle government. I live outside of Seattle and to its residents; you get what you deserve. Complacency knows no bounds !!
This is what I love about liberals. If the government cannot do something than it either cannot be done or the government needs a bunch more money to get it done.
I have a large client who offered the services I mentioned above to the county. He has 4 large trucks with plows, 8 tractors that can be fitted with plows and would have done a small but significant job of helping to clear "back roads" next to his properties. The county said "only government trucks are certified to do this". Now think about this for a minute.....if he was willing to do this (greatly reduced rate over what he charges clients) there had to be more. And you know what, if there weren't any more takers, hell you can say you tried...........
You can sit around and say "well we are maxed out sorry, we need more money" or you can think outside of the box and try and fix the problem.
SO, you tell me who is more educated....the person who thinks outside the box or the moron who rules out an option before he even tries to make it work.
Read back toward the beginning of this thread when I said that the government should contract out snow plowing services...
Great to know that someone would offer to plow out roads near their own properties using the taxpayer's nickel.
You're slow and late.
Posted by: BA on December 21, 2008 08:55 PMI don't know your idea of a priority, but this sure isn't what I want my tax dollars spent on. Of course, most of the nonsense that will end up in this albatross of a bill will be a complete waste. But I bet it will end up in the pockets of some well connected contractors who some how will be the winning bids on these "essential projects" that will lift us out of the disaster that Obama and Biden say we are facing.
If they just stayed out of it, it wouldn't be such a disaster.
Posted by: janet s on December 21, 2008 11:03 PM"any level of efficiency" ...besides the great humor of that line as an oxymoron in the context of Seattle/King County/WA government... I'd give up efficiency for some clean side streets to get to the damned "government plowed" roads...wherever the heck they may be.
You gotta START somewhere... not starting at all because you can't be "efficient' is the exact problem with government... and liberalism.
Posted by: Ragnar Danneskjold on December 21, 2008 11:47 PMWhat issues did DEMOCRAT WIlliam Jefferson stand for when he kept $90K of bribe money in his freezer?
What issues did Blagojevich stand for when selling the Illinois senate seat?
Unione hack.
Posted by: pbj on December 22, 2008 01:41 AMJust how efficient was the $10 million spent on the fancy automated toilets that got sold off on ebay for $25K each?
Posted by: PBJ on December 22, 2008 01:42 AMMy friend who is a bit left leaning made this comment: "Politicians don't get re-elected if the roads don't get cleared and the potholes don't get fixed". And he is right. City government needs to get back to basics and stay out of the foo foo fluffy stuff.
The way these guys got the road clear was simple. Every city vehicle from a 4wd pickup on had a blade on the front. Some of the drivers were obviously office staff. Nobody was too good to clear snow.
MAIL TRUCKS! "Neither rain, nor snow, nor death of the night, can keep us from our duty"
:)
Posted by: Ragnar Danneskjold on December 22, 2008 10:10 AMThat should be done as a minimum. It doesn't take much to retrofit a public works pickup or dump truck. The more the merrier. In the foothills of Eastern Washington, every pickup truck, it seems, has a snowplow on the front.
I was also shociked to find my little 500 ATV with front snowplow was able to do a bang up job. Not as good as a real snow remover but impressive nonetheless.
Cities and counties should be all over this cost-saving measure.
But, I can understand trying to minimize the cost of snow removal in a city/county budget. Some cities do the most minimum (on purpose, I think) in the hopes the natives don't complain and then provide a slow response. Let's face it. The once or twice a year it snows here in Western Washington, it melts within a couple of days.
Speaking of melting- let's hope and pray that we don't get a good rainstorm at the same time we get the melt. All this snow has the potential of causing some real floods.
Posted by: swatter on December 22, 2008 01:03 PMExpect an Emergency "Temporary" gas tax by spring. This freeze has done some damage to the roads and all the other emergency temporary gas taxes that were never repealed wont cover it.
Posted by: Vince on December 22, 2008 04:34 PM