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In last night’s meeting, The Landing Gear Works president Tom Anderson said he welcomed the forthcoming discussion with the Transportation Committee, as recommended in the agenda bill 3532 attached to the consent agenda. Today Mr. Anderson learned that Council had approved the eviction without making the recommended referral.
The council voted unanimously last night, but due to an error in the printed agenda, the vote left observers uncertain whether Council had voted to evict Landing Gear Works or send the matter to Council Transportation Committee.
The confusion arose because the consent agenda action said “Council Concur” paired with the attorney request regarding Landing Gear Works, but the formal Agenda Bill 3532 that was attached to the item (and recycled from two-weeks ago) explicitly recommended Council refer the item to Transportation Committee.
I emailed the City Clerk to clarify whether Council had concurred with the Agenda Bill or the attorney’s recommendation, and was informed that it was the attorney’s recommendation. In other words, the Renton Council has voted to evict Landing Gear Works. Unlike the approach in past decades, the Council never discussed the issues with the tenant.
Since the Council acted unanimously without any public discussion, it is a reasonable assumption that the Executive Session last Monday concerned this topic. If so, it means that “public knowledge regarding the discussion is likely to result in an adverse legal or financial consequence to the agency,” which is a requirement for holding such an executive session regarding an enforcement action per RCW 42.30.110 1(i) .
It’s never a good look for the city to admit they would probably lose if they were forced to discuss an issue in public. Such a move should only be taken in extraordinary situations, not to get out of discussions with a tenant about how to deal with a leaky roof. I think the Council should study all sides of how they arrived in this circumstance, and make any necessary changes, so that they aren’t afraid to discuss their lease-related decisions in public next time.
Mr. Anderson spoke last night about his repeated requests to lease a different space, and said the requests had been lost by the city. If the eviction goes through, eight living-wage jobs, a world-renowned high-tech Renton-made product, and tax revenues will also be lost by our city.
City Council item 6(c) references agenda bill 3532, and recommends council concurrence
Agenda Bill 3532 recommends the item be referred by council to Transportation Committee for discussion. But this is not what will happen.
Full background on The Landing Gear Works conflict with Renton Airport Management can be found here
Boo! If the city has a side to the story, let the public hear it so we can understand. While we may not like it, it’s also our right to have the information as the city belongs to the people.
I agree. If they discussed this, and some council members felt the roof was Mr. Anderson’s responsibility under the lease agreement, they should go ahead and say it. What’s the big deal? Other council members might have been willing to compromise with Mr. Anderson… they should go ahead and speak up.
This is why we have seven elected council members– to share their opinions, present various points of view, listen to their constituents, and arrive at a decision.
Yes, they may be quoted in the media, or on TikTok, or on Facebook, or even in this blog. But if anyone is not ready for that, please don’t run for office.
At least a couple of our Council Members said they were going to “Speak truth to power” when they got in office. Speaking in a back room to one another, so they can not be held accountable for anything they say, does not count.
Candor was expected when I was on council. We got in public arguments all the time. I’m proud of it. That’s how they public knew all sides were being represented. Toni, Don, King, Marcie, Kathy, Greg, Denis, so many others….nobody was going to keep any of them from expressing their point of view on anything.
We have smart, respectable, people on our city council, individuals who I like and I’ve been proud to call my friends. I would like to see them freely speak their minds, and not feel constrained by some artificial obstacles that others are throwing in their way. I’m hoping to set an example with my own perspectives on these issues. Some people are going to disagree with me, and that is fine with me. Who cares? That’s the nature of democracy. The only real mistake is to not talk about our problems.
There are some serious issues at Renton Airport that are going to need to be creatively addressed. Boeing’s current struggles can only make these issues more urgent. And the solutions are not going to come out of executive sessions behind closed doors.
Predicates:
Three Democrats just turned our airport into a 24/7 business jet hub.
Democrat-run city council just squashed eight working-wage jobs in Renton. Without comment.
Conclusion:
Republicans are at fault.
The knee-jerk reaction from Anonymous, blaming perceived problems on political lines, misses a deeper opportunity for our community. Evicting tenants perceived as detrimental allows us to reimagine the space, and it’s high time we consider how such spaces can serve the broader community’s needs, including those of BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ folks.
Renton needs to think bigger and more inclusively. Creating a 24/7 business jet hub will save time for those who would otherwise use SEA-TAC, serving the broader King County community. Carmen Rivera, Ryan McIrvin, and Kim Kahn Van understand this; they have consistently stood up for the entire community, not just the parochial interests of Renton residents who wish to maintain their single-family home lifestyle without inconvenience.
Actually, just the opposite is true.
The jet center will serve only the rich. Renton is the perfect place for the eastside tech executives to fly to/from.
No benefit to the Renton residents.
And small businesses on the airport property now that provide flight training are the incubators for future pilots (BIPOC and otherwise).
MAGA Republicans seem intent on undermining the contributions we, as BIPOC, make to our communities. Yet, we remain undeterred, shining brighter despite the opposition. It’s time for white individuals and those closely aligned to step back and trust BIPOC leaders to steer. Your interference only hinders our progress.
Lucky. While I live in Mom’s basement, your mom gave you the entire house including the basement.
What are you going on about?
Probably a reference to Carmen Rivera being a trust fund kid.. Daddy quit claimed her a half million dollar house and they have an ocean vacation home in a trust for her.
Weird given how much Carmen likes to pretend she’s a marginalized victim of white cis males. Or something.
DO WHAT WE SAY, NOT WHAT WE DO
A year ago some Renton Council Members expressed concerns that Renton may have some abusive landlords, who use their power imbalance to push unfair conditions on tenants, don’t communicate in good faith, and are quick to evict.
Then, when presented with a high-visibility opportunity to set a positive example, they fail.
From the Renton Reporter:
“Glaser [a landlord-tenant attorney] said rental tenants are usually put in an unfair power dynamic — with most tenants in a “take it or leave it” situation with their landlord, as he says even if there were enough affordable, available units, the cost of moving is a few thousand dollars so when landlords assess unfair fees or institute unreasonable policies, tenants are not in a good position to bargain.
“I’ve seen some really unreasonable terms included in leases or added with 30 days notice that are obscene and shock the conscience, but it’s not like the tenants can respond to a rule change by moving down the block,” Glaser said. “I’ve seen landlords charge tenants fees to ‘re-apply’ for the units they are already in, fees for delivering basic communications to tenants, and huge monthly charges to tenants whose leases become month-to-month, which happens automatically for any tenant who doesn’t sign a new lease at the end of the initial term.”
During the Feb. 27 Renton City Council meeting, Councilmember Carmen Rivera motioned to “refer to the administration to study, by way of a gap analysis,” if Renton needs to adopt rental protection, some of which have been recommended to the community by the Regional Coalition For Housing. The motion was seconded by Councilmember Ed Prince where the council voted four in favor and three opposed.
Landing Gear Works are exciting and make for a good sob story. However, they’ve been getting a good deal with a reduced rental rate.
I will assume that the repair amount is incorrect until I see the actual receipts and invoices for the claimed repairs. Nobody spends buckets of money fixing a few leaks in a building they’ll lose the lease to in a year.
If they did, and they can show receipts and invoices, I’ll stand corrected. But then again, such financial mismanagement would show why they can’t make their lease payments.
Tom Anderson has been a generous business owner giving opportunities and knowledge freely. He’s been a progressive employer, hiring a diverse workforce who appreciated and admire him. He’s employed more than fifty people since he moved to Renton, providing living wage jobs and aviation skills training.
By my estimate he’s given the City of Renton about $700,000 during his ten year tenancy. He’s also distributed a payroll to his employees and nearby subcontractors in the millions– money that he brought to Renton from around the world. He’s likely paid hundreds of thousands of dollars in taxes.
The rent payments he gave the city were on a formerly empty building, that will be empty again if he leaves. He’s had to keep the building operational with repairs throughout that he has not asked for help with.
He’s not the kind of guy you should kick out because he’s asking for help fixing a leaky roof on a city building.
He repeatedly said he was willing to share the cost of the roof, or even cover the whole thing, if the Council would talk with him. They chose not to. A brief conversation with him reveals he’s really feeling taken advantage of. He feels like he trusted the city and the airport management more than he should have.
While I agree different people can have different takes on how this should be handled, our individual reactions show what kind of landlord each of us would be in our private lives.
The fact that we would evict a manufacturer so quickly on Renton Airport bodes very poorly for our future. Boeing is going through a difficult time, and if they move out while jet centers are moving in, our downtown and many of our residential areas will never be the same.
Our Mayor, Council, and residents need to protect against a future where Boeing chooses to move out. If they do, the highest bidder for their property might be Amazon.com, who would be delighted to bring Boeing Field cargo jets over to Renton. They would replace thousands of living-wage aerospace jobs with minimum wage warehouse jobs, and rattle our windows day and night.
We should all work hard together to keep manufacturing on our air field– hopefully Boeing jets, but other planes would be okay too.
You don’t know what you have till its gone.