News and notes for this week

Several items of news and note for this week:

• Board meeting this Thursday: The HOA board will meet on Thursday, July 14 at 6:00 p.m. in the Community Room. There will be committee reports, budget updates, and time for resident questions. To see an unofficial summary of the last meeting click HERE.

• Tacoma Maritime Fest and Critical Mass Paddle and Row: Saturday and Sunday, July 16-17 is the annual Tacoma Maritime Fest at the Foss Waterway Seaport. The festival features exhibits, boat rides, vendors, etc. For more information on the festival, click HERE. On Sunday, July 17, starting at 11:00 a.m., the Foss Waterway will host a parade of human-powered watercraft in celebration of the 10th anniversary of the waterway's cleanup. Hundreds of kayaks, stand-up paddleboards, dragon boats, etc. are expected. For more information, click HERE.

• Review of garbage procedures: With quite a few new residents moving in, Building Manager Karen DeGraw sent an email last week reminding all residents about proper disposal of garbage. Some of the highlights of her email included: 
• The only garbage that should go down the chute is REGULAR bagged household garbage. Whatever fits in your garbage can under your sink is all that should go down the chute. The bags need to be TIED SHUT. Do not use Safeway, Fred Meyer, Walmart, etc. type of bags. These break and your trash goes all over. We don’t want a rodent, roach or ant problem. 
• NO glass down the chute. If the bag breaks it goes all over. If I have to push on the bags there is a risk of getting cut. We have glass recycle, please use it.
• Dump out all liquids before throwing containers in your garbage, I am tired of wearing them. Today it was chocolate milk, last week the rest of someone’s shampoo.
• Here are a few items sent down the chute this week:  tennis rackets, poles, large picture frames, bag of used kitty litter that exploded, shoe boxes and pizza boxes.  All of these items should not come down the chute.  
• If the recycle bins are on the sidewalk please don’t just dump your recycling on the ground by the back door. Walk it to the street and put it in the proper bins.
• For more information about garbage and recycling procedures in the building, click HERE.

• Recap of garbage issue under I-705: A concerned resident recently left a notice on the bulletin board in the P1 elevator foyer, encouraging other residents to call BNSF about the homeless encampments and garbage under I-705. One of the (many) problems regarding this area is that three separate entities have some degree of jurisdiction over the area - not just BNSF, but also WSDOT and the City of Tacoma. At times, it seems as though each organization wants to let the others deal with the issue. For a time, right before the U.S. Open Golf tournament was held in Tacoma in 2015, the city did seem to take the matter seriously, but little has been done since then. For a small bit of history on efforts in the last few years, you can read information HERE, HERE, and HERE.

• Mark your calendar for August 12: August 12, 2016 Smith Fire will be performing their annual fire inspection between 8 am - 3 pm. They will need access to every unit. There will be bells and whistles being sounded off during this time. For residents who won't be in the building, Karen will need a key or access code. If they can't gain access there will be a re- inspection fee charged to you.