Q&A With LFP Mayor Dave Hutchinson

Elected in 1996, Dave Hutchinson is in his fourth term as mayor of Lake Forest Park. He worked for the U.S. Public Health Service for most of his career in Washington D.C. and later in Seattle. He has lived in Lake Forest Park since 1970 and is widowed. He responded by e-mail to the following questions from Shoreline-Lake Forest Park Patch. 

What’s been the reaction from constituents to the budget that the City Council passed back in December that resulted in cuts to some services and positions, and as the majority wanted, limits on tax increases?

The response from citizens to our “no new taxes” decision has been positive. Generally I think that citizens I talk with are interested in the impacts to programming that these cuts will actually have. There appears to be support for programs that make sense. There is a need on the city’s part to do more in defining how the budget is formed and executed so that there is a clear understanding as to how tax dollars are spent.

 Do you support the creation of a Washington state income tax to help pay for government services?

Yes. An income tax is a fairer tax in that it is progressive; a person pays according to his or her income. This last round, the initiative did not give relief from the sales tax which I think any proposal should do so that in the aggregate, each individual is paying about the same tax they are paying now. The State needs tax reform because it is not able to provide enough revenues to meet the demands on our safety net services that provide health and social services to low and/or the moderate income population.

The city is trying to get federal grant money to help with flooding problems in LFP on McAleer and Lyon creeks. How is that going?

Currently the city has made great strides in addressing the 100 year floods that, in my term have come every ten years. Since the 2007 flood we have formed a Lake Ballinger/McAleer Creek Forum which includes the upstream cities. This Forum provides support to Lake Forest Park to eliminate flooding that caused $4 million damage in Sheridan Beach. We have invested about $600,000 to develop a design that will establish a bypass for Lyon Creek to the Lake that will take excess water in the flooded creek and pipe it directly into Lake Washington. We have cost this out and have made our Congressional delegation aware of the need to get a federal award for $3.4 million to implement this solution.     

There was a mixed-used development proposed for Towne Center a few years ago but the poor economy killed it. Do you see any other projects of the urban density coming here in the future that would handle growth in Lake Forest Park?

The Town Center project is still on because it does help provide alternatives for senior housing and would increase our sales tax income. We are lobbying the state legislature to allow plans for density to be determined at the county planning level but how that density is requirement is met be a locally determined. Housing as a topic to be addressed is not in the cards this biennium but it has been discussed at the Planning Commission level and “cottage housing” have been considered. We are going to address density in the proposed  Gateway plan that is a priority for this year. This is the southeast portion of our community that runs along Bothell Way between 153^rd and 145^th. Multi housing and some modest commercial development maybe in the offing.

 You’ve been in elected office in the city since the mid-1990s. What have been the major changes and challenges in running the city of LFP since then? 

Building a professional staff. This includes the first City Administrator, the first Finance Director, the first Human Resource Director and the first City Engineer. Professionalizing the Police Department.  Developing a budget and resources to meet the needs of the community. Adding three new parks that preserve the nature of our forested community and allows for open spaces. Establishing a day court. Giving business a voice by establishing the Economic Development Commission. Establishing a long range plan for the Community known as the Legacy Project. Developing a long range plan for the City Center which will include condo development to address senior housing for “empty nesters”. Establishing a Transportation Commission to deal with the traffic and transportation issues . Encouraging Council and staff members to become involved in regional government especially the Suburban Cities Association of which this year I have been elected President. Adding a Human Services Commission and a Public Safety Commission which, with the Parks Commission has been combined into one Commission to address these issues. Rewriting the Comprehensive Plan to include a Human Resources Chapter. Establishing funding support for a number of programs that serve our community such as: the Senior Center; “Hang Time”, the after school program for middle school students; Teen Court; the youth Council; the Arts Council; the Third Place Commons which acts as our community center and the Market.      

The City Council recently held a retreat. What was the result of that and what goals do you have moving forward?

The result of the Council Retreat was to re-establish the long term values of the community and discuss program priorities for the city. Probably the most important outcome and the number one priority of the city is to educate the city and the community about the services the city provides and look for the nexus between the services we currently provide and what the majority of the community want/need. The challenge is to strike a balance between income and expenses based on an agreed level of service among the Council and the community. Despite the $2 million cuts to the $7 million General Fund, future projections indicate expenses will exceed income because of the one per cent limit on our property tax. Through a communication process over the next year and a half, the community must have as its goal to reach this nexus.   

 The traffic safety cameras by Brookside and Lake Forest Park Elementary have been slowing down drivers and added net revenue of $370,000 to the city last year. The newest cameras live March 1.  Do you think such programs will hold up to initiative and legal challenges? Should the city plan to add more cameras?

Traffic cameras allow the city to enforce traffic speeding laws particularly in our two school- zones while keeping the policing costs down. The conventional method of a cop pulling over a speeder costs $250.00 and up and is a moving violation that goes on your speed record. The traffic camera is like a ticket and does not go on your driving record and is paid for by the speeder. More importantly, the effectiveness of the camera system far out distances the conventional method and has reduced traffic speeds of over 35mph to the 20mph speed limit proscribed by law. The cameras, in the short run, have provided significant revenues at a time when we are going through significant budget changes but I suspect that, as people get accustomed to this approach to law enforcement and drive lawfully that these revenues will decrease.

The only initiative that happened in Washington was in Mukilteo. It lost by a significant margin. The court case to be argued before the Ninth Circuit of Appeals on this topic is coming up in March at the Federal Courthouse in Seattle.

 Since you have announced your intention to not run for re-election, do you have anyone in mind who would be strong candidate for mayor of Lake Forest Park ?

Dwight Thompson is the only one who has expressed an interest so far. He has been on the Council for 16 years and is very knowledgeable about the city and how it works. There are others who are qualified but have not thrown their hats into the ring. It is a little early for candidates to declare. Unlike a Council position, the job requires a management background because he is the CEO of the City. I look forward to see who steps up to run.   

 This is the city's 50th anniversary. What should citizens be proud of and what are some of the highlights of the city’s 50^th anniversary celebration?

The city has come a long way since June of 1961. We have preserved a lot of our trees and paid particular attention to our environment. There is a strong ethic among our citizens to maintain or bring back the fish in our streams, the canopy over our heads and the pureness of our wells. We have a unique Community Center which is a public/private/non-profit cooperative arrangement makes our Center hum with activity. It draws attendance from the region and it attracts local, national and international authors and celebrities to talk on a range of topics. And it promotes healthy living with its Farmers Market on Sundays from May to October. We have our own police force which includes a Crime Watch program and a Neighborhood Watch Program. This has made Lake Forest Park a safe place to live. The streets are routinely paved on a schedule which has resulted in streets without pot holes. The School District is second to none and has attracted many new residents each year to choose Lake Forest Park as their place to live.