May 3, 2019
IMPORTANT DATES
Fiscal Sustainability Plan
Mark your calendars for two key dates as Newcastle develops a plan to address forecasted financial challenges.

The City Council is acting to ensure Newcastle’s long-term financial stability through the preparation of a Fiscal Sustainability Plan. Bookmark newcastlewa.gov/fiscalplan to stay up to date on the latest information, meetings and documents.

May 14 — Special Meeting
The Newcastle City Council will get its first look at a draft of budget strategies to address Newcastle’s financial challenges during a May 14 special meeting at Newcastle City Hall. The meeting starts at 4 p.m. on Tuesday, May 14 in the City Hall Council Chambers.

June 18 — Newcastle Town Hall Meeting
The Newcastle City Council will share the Fiscal Sustainability Plan’s findings and solicit public feedback on the plan and strategies during the annual Town Hall meeting at The Golf Club at Newcastle from 6-9 p.m. on Tuesday, June 18. Save the date!
Community News
Armed Prowler in Newcastle
This week, Newcastle Police Chief Jason Houck addressed news reports about a man seen on video carrying what appears to be a rifle and trying doors at a Newcastle condo. 

Through this investigation, we confirmed at least one other similar incident that same night/morning just south of Newcastle in Renton and also learned of a possible incident just north in Bellevue. We are working with multiple agencies to try and identify this suspect. At this point we are not aware of any reported, successful break-ins by this suspect, or any actual encounters with him.

There have been no new incidents since the first report on April 29. This continues to be an active investigation. Police Chief Houck will share updates as they're available on the Police Department's Facebook and Twitter pages.
Road Alert: 136th Avenue Southeast
Drivers should prepare for impacts on and around 136th Avenue Southeast as the road is closed from May 5-13 for a townhome project.

The 136th Avenue Southeast corridor will be closed from north of the Newcastle Elementary School driveway to 144th Place Southeast. Residents in the area will have local access to their homes. Additionally, the gate at Southeast 87th Place and 144th Place Southeast will be open to ensure access for local homeowners. 

The closure is expected to occur only during daytime hours (7 a.m. to 6 p.m.), and the roadway will reopen during the evening. Signs will be up directing drivers to detours, when the detour route is in effect. We apologize for the inconvenience!
Newcastle Elementary School Lane Striping
In April, the City implemented a traffic paint striping plan in an effort to make school drop-offs and pick-ups safer for children and to reduce traffic conflicts near Newcastle Elementary School. This project creates a designated lane for vehicles lining up to pick up and drop off kids for school on 136th Avenue Southeast. 

Here are a few tips from Assistant City Engineer Kerry Sullivan as you navigate through the new traffic changes:

— Drivers are to enter the right turn-in through the dashed white lines. 

— Drivers are to wait at the stop bar before the speed table (crosswalk) on 136th Avenue Southeast.

— Drivers shall not sit on the white hatched area (This ensures through traffic and drivers exiting the school sight distance of traffic on 136th Avenue Southeast). Once a space is available beyond the white hatched area, drivers may proceed to the queue in the school premises.

— DO NOT skip the new queue lane and enter the school via the through lane.
Community Meetings: Coal Creek Sewer Upgrades
King County’s project team invites you to meet the team and learn about the Coal Creek Sewer Upgrade Project at two community meetings in May. King County Wastewater Treatment Division will build a new sewer pipe to serve parts of Bellevue and Newcastle. The project will affect part of the Coal Creek Natural Area during construction and have some traffic impacts on Coal Creek Parkway. Currently, the project is in early design phase. Design is expected to be complete in 2021, with construction beginning in early 2022.

Attend one of the community meetings: May 15 (6:30-8:30 p.m.) at the Lewis Creek Visitor Center in Bellevue or May 29 (6:30-8:30 p.m.) at the Newcastle Library.
You're Invited: ADOGtion | A Dog Resource Fair
Bring the family to a fun and educational fair all about local dog services and how to adopt a dog! Join us from 10 a.m. to noon at Lake Boren Bark on Saturday, May 11. Enjoy face painting and a photo booth. Bring your dog to make a paw print keepsake and participate in a dog parade! Dog outfits welcome.

Presented by Newcastle Youth Community Engagement (NYCE), the City of Newcastle and the Newcastle Library.
Overlake Opens Newcastle Urgent and Primary Care Clinics
We officially welcomed the new Overlake Primary and Urgent Care clinics with a celebration on April 27. Mayor Allen Dauterman and Deputy Mayor Linda Newing had the honor of helping cut the ribbon on the new facility. Visit overlakehospital.org/newcastle to learn about the clinics' service offerings.
Read about the latest police happenings in our Newcastle Police Blotter, written by Police Chief Jason Houck. The blotter includes traffic violation stats and a message from the Chief!

The Newcastle City Council will discuss trees, parking and review preliminary design for non-motorized improvements on Southeast May Creek Park Drive during the May 7 regular meeting.

Bellevue Fire Department Chief Jay Hagen, a Newcastle resident, will be the featured speaker at the May 8 Newcastle Chamber of Commerce luncheon. The lunch goes from 11 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. at Tapatio Mexican Grill.

Newcastle Days is going to be bigger and better than ever as we celebrate the City's 25th anniversary! We'll need lots of volunteers to make this community celebration spectacular. Learn how you can get involved this summer!

Newcastle has partnered with Sound Publishing to produce another resident's guide in 2019! Our 25th anniversary will be the focus this year. It's currently under production and will be shipped to all homes in about a month.
Tree policies, a date for the annual Town Hall meeting and affordable housing. Here's what happened at the April 16 Newcastle City Council meeting.

Go fish! The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife stocked Lake Boren with 1,200 rainbow trout this week. Happy fishing!
Thank you to the residents who joined us for our first Pizza with Police at Mod Pizza on April 28! Our officers had a blast meeting and interacting with the community!
Candidate filing is just around the corner. Are you or someone you know thinking about running for office? Mark your calendar for the week of May 13-17 and check out King County Elections’ website for resources and information. In Newcastle, four City Council positions will appear on the November ballot.

The Newcastle Arts Council's popular film series showcasing the immigrant experience has been extended! The next film is El Norte , an Oscar-nominated film that follows a brother and sister of indigenous Mayan heritage who flee violence in their mountain homeland. See it on May 11 at 7 p.m. at Aegis Gardens.

Did you know that Aegis Gardens offers FREE community tai chi classes, ping pong matches, yoga classes and much more? Get involved!

The BIG Book Sale, an author event, dog training seminar and much, much more! Here's what's happening at the Newcastle Library this month!

Photo of the Week
 A big thank you to our fabulous volunteers who braved some pretty good rain to help us clear invasive weeds at Hazelwood Park on Earth Day!

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The Newcastle email newsletter is published before every City Council meeting. Learn more about the newsletter, see an archive of past newsletters and sign up to receive it at newcastlewa.gov/newsletters .

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