Almost every week this is the "What's on the city council's plate this week" review. I don't cover everything, so if you want the full rundown, read the packet and agenda yourself.

This week, the city will discuss possibly paving over the artesian well downtown for a parking structure (ok, I'm not totally sure about that, but it looks like that from the map), building a sidewalk in my neighborhood (yeah!) and possibly buying the Safeway downtown. Seriously, they even wrote up a purchase/sale agreement.

1. The staff is approaching the city council with a request to narrow the locations for the mythical city-owned downtown parking structure to three sites:

• State Avenue, NE, between Adams and Franklin (Department of Transportation)
• 4th Avenue East, between Jefferson and Adams (Olympic Outfitters/Manium)
  
• Legion/Jefferson (Department of Personnel)
  

Here is a map of those locations:

Unless I'm mistaken, isn't the second location right on top of the artesian well downtown? I wonder how that's going to work out.

So, it seems now that we can assume the city council will ok the parking structure short list, the staff will go back to the drawing board and pick a favorite. Or, at least point to the pros and cons of each site.

2. Boulevard between 22nd and 31st Ct. should be getting a half-million-dollar sidewalk sometime soon, as long as the city council says its ok.

From the staff report:

The City applied for Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety Program grant funding for sidewalk installation on Boulevard Road. The project will fill in missing sections of sidewalk on the east side of Boulevard Road between 22nd Avenue and Washington Middle School and install a pedestrian crossing island on Boulevard Road at 31st Court.

The City was notified in June 2007 that we were awarded these grant funds. These are State grant funds. Staff needs to complete and submit to the Washington State Department of Transportation the State funding agreement, project prospectus and other supporting documentation in order to receive authorization to spend the funds.

Yeah! How exciting for me! And my neighbors!

3. I'm sure the city staff wrote up a purchase and sales agreement for the city council just to look at. You know, in case they're interested in buying the old Safeway, staff won't have to scramble and write something up. It will be there on the shelf when they need it. Really.

But, it does make interesting reading:

The properties are located within the downtown core, on a major thoroughfare, and comprise an entire city block. The size of the combined parcels and the location makes the site attractive for locating a large public facility such as a city hall, parking garage, or some other public amenity. The site has an elevation such that it would not be subject to flooding if there is a two feet rise in the known sea level elevation. There is a portion of an alley located on the site which will have to be vacated at a later date.

The key features of the purchase and sales agreement are as follows:

Purchase Price: If the properties are not subject to any leases at the time of closing, the purchase price will be $3,453,333 if closing occurs within 5 days subsequent to January 4, 2008. If the purchase occurs at least one month earlier the price will be adjusted by decreasing the amount by $23,330 per month. If the lease on the small parcel has not been removed at the time of closing, the purchase price will be reduced by $50,000. If the Seller decides to remove the buildings on the property prior to closing, the purchase price will be increased by $100,000 for the large parcel and $50,000 for the small parcel...

And, it does make it possible that the city council will buy the old building. This week. So, stay tuned.