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FRIDAY November 13, 2015 Volume 10, No. 101
S E RV I N G F I F E , M I LT O N , E D G E WO O D & S U R R O U N D I N G C O M M U N I T I E S
54TH AVENUE UPDATE
Council seeks options for pedestrian bridge
Election comes down to wire in council race
Gethers
Yambe
BY STEVE DUNKELBERGER stevedunkel@fifefreepress.com
T
MAP COURTESY OF CITY OF FIFE
A proposed pedestrian bridge would cross the Union Pacific Railroad tracks at a cost of between $8 million and $12 million.
BY STEVE DUNKELBERGER stevedunkel@fifefreepress.com The Fife City Council has hired a design firm to ponder different routes for a pedestrian bridge that would cross the railroad tracks, but all the options will be expensive and still not solve the lack of vehicle routes between Fife’s business and recreation core and residents on the eastside. The council was set to adopt a $98,000 contract with Berger ABAM to prepare designs of a pedestrian bridge over the Union Pacific
Railroad that would run between 5-Acre Park and the southeast corner of the Columbia Junior High School. That contract jumped to $198,000 by the end of the lengthy Oct. 27 council meeting because council members wanted more detailed looks and cost projections of other possible routes. “The basic issue we have in Fife is that we are cut up by a number of things,” Public Works Director Russ Blount said, noting that Interstate 5 is one and the railroad is the other. The only ways to cross from the south side of Fife to the rest of the
PHOTO BY STEVE DUNKELBERGER
The railroad crossing at 54th Avenue was closed to make way for the construction of Columbia Junior High School, but students still routinely trespass over the tracks on their way to and from school.
city are at Frank Albert Road, 70th Avenue and Freeman Road, since the 54th Avenue railroad crossing remains blocked with an emergency-vehicle-only gate. The crossing was blocked by a fence as part of an agreement in the 1990s between the City of Fife and the Fife School District that led to the construction of Columbia Junior High School, which sits near the crossing. The growth of homes and businesses on the south side of the tracks, however, has brought many people in the neighborhood to call for it to be opened to car traffic. A crossing in the area – either for walkers or cars – is needed since students who live on the south side of the tracks are simply ignoring the fence that blocks the tracks, creating an unsafe environment. Students have dug under, climbed over or simply cut through the fence to cross the tracks. Rough estimates put the cost of a vehicle underpass at the 54th Avenue crossing at $24 million and couldn’t include a pedestrian walkway because of the lack of right of way and design restrictions. A pedestrian-only tunnel at 54th Avenue would cost about $10 million. That leaves the city looking at
See BRIDGE / Page 6
he race for the Fife Council Position 3 seat is coming down to the last voter tally between incumbent Barry Johnson and former councilmember Dierdre Gethers, who is leading the former mayor by 29 votes. The turnout of Fife voters was among the lowest in the county, with only 26 percent of the registered voters, about 1,000, turning in ballots. The county-wide average was 34 percent. The latest election returns that were released Tuesday afternoon show Gethers has 468 votes to Johnson’s 439 votes. Some 75 voters who turned in ballots opted the leave their choice empty in this race, which could have swayed the election either way with just a 3 percent difference. The next release of ballot counts from the Nov. 3 election will come on Nov. 13, with further releases through next week. The election will be certified on Nov. 24. Gethers credits her grassroots campaign and extensive doorbelling for her successful campaign. She also said her drive to open 54th Avenue and the residents of Radiance, Kelsey Creek, Valley Haven and Saddle Creek wanting to have more representation on the council also played into her vote count. Many residents, she said, also seemed to want another woman on the council. “I think there was a mix of all of that,” she said, noting however that the location of her house or her gender don’t define the way she plans to serve on
See ELECTION / Page 6
Correction
The Oct. 30 article “Neighbors petition Fife Council against warehouse plans” included an erroneous statement that the petitioners do not want the proposed Prologis industrial facility to be built near their homes. The petition is to request that 12th Street not be widened, as stated here: “We, constituents of the city of Fife, petition you to protect the SAFETY and QUALITY of our families’ lives and the INTEGRITY of our neighborhood (the major, of many concerns, why 12th Street should NOT be widened).” The reason for the roadway potentially being widened is to relieve potential traffic issues associated with the vehicle traffic generated by the Prologis facility. We apologize for the error.
Benefit promises to bring out the funk DoctorfunK to play fundraiser Nov. 28
BY MATT NAGLE matt@fifefreepress.com A great opportunity to hear a phenomenal band, eat some delicious food and help out the Fife High School Music Department is coming up on Nov. 28, when popular Seattle-based band DoctorfunK plays a benefit concert for the department at Louie G.’s Pizzeria. This family friendly, all ages show begins at 8 p.m. and tickets are just $10 at the door. All ticket sales will go toward assisting with the costs of travel for the year for Fife’s music students to attend festivals, concerts and other out-of-town opportunities. The FHS Music Department is made up of about 120 students and five performing ensembles. The ensembles go to five or six various retreats, tours and outof-state competitions or festivals each year. This fundraising concert will help ensure students’ participation in these
events. Fife music director Karl Sorensen has been a longtime friend of the band and the band’s lead trumpet player and musical director, Jack Halsey, teaches private lessons to some of the FHS band students. Established in 1995, DoctorfunK is a high-energy 10-piece soul/funk band with five horns, four rhythm players and one dynamic lead singer. Playing sophisticated arrangements with their tight and polished sound, DoctorfunK encompasses all that’s great about their genre of music. Their groove will have you up and out of your seat, feeling fine and humming their songs long after the playing is over. DoctorfunK has recorded two albums – “Prescription for Soul” and “Second Opinion” –and both have been very well received by music lovers who enjoy the classic sounds of Tower of Power, James Brown, Earth Wind and Fire, Stevie Wonder and the Average White Band, to name a few. In 2013, the band partnered with Tower
PHOTO COURTESY OF DOCTORFUNK
of Power alumni, guitarist and producer Jeff Tamalier to self-publish their follow-up CD “Second Opinion.” The album includes a cover of AC/DC’s “Back in Black” and 10 original compositions with a fresh, modern take on the classic sound
of 70’s horn bands. For more information, email fifelovesmusic@gmail.com, visit the Fife High School music Department on Facebook, or find them on Instagram and Twitter (@fifelovesmusic).