TagCity Of Des Moines(153)

This 2002 Washington State Public Disclosure Commission case involves Don Wasson, a Des Moines City Council member, who allegedly helped orchestrate and fund campaign activities — including advocacy phone calls and a political poll — to elect three candidates (Benjamin, Petersen, and Steenrod) to the Des Moines City Council in 2001. The elections were closely tied to a dispute over the WESCOT Company's proposed conveyor system to transport fill material for a planned third runway at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, which the existing Council had opposed. Wasson, who reportedly wanted to shift the Council's policies on airport expansion and become Mayor, faced charges of violating Washington's campaign finance reporting laws.

In this October 2020 letter, the City of Des Moines formally objected to the Puget Sound Regional Council's Regional Aviation Baseline Study, arguing that it wrongly assumes full implementation of SeaTac Airport's long-term expansion plan (the SAMP) before any required environmental review has been completed. The City warned that this flawed assumption skews all study scenarios, understates community noise and pollution impacts on neighborhoods near SeaTac, and creates a circular logic problem that undermines sound regional planning. Des Moines requested that the baseline be revised to reflect only already-approved and environmentally reviewed projects, and called for planning toward a second international airport to relieve pressure on SeaTac.

This document outlines the internal Rules of Procedure for the Des Moines City Council, governing how council meetings are conducted, including rules on meeting times, quorum, voting, public comment, and officer elections. It covers member duties, legislative processes, and procedures for ordinances and resolutions. The rules have been updated numerous times since their original adoption, with the most recent update in November 2019.

The Des Moines, Washington City Council held a Study Session on June 6, 2019, with aviation noise and policy among the key topics on the agenda. The city welcomed aviation consultants James Allerdice and Jason Schwartz from abcx2.com, along with Emily Tranter from federal relations firm Lockridge Grindal Nauen P.L.L.P., to brief the council on aviation matters relevant to the Sea-Tac Airport area. Public comments were accepted for up to 20 minutes, limited to agenda items per Council Rule 10.