Over the past decade, our neighbors’ homes were unnecessarily flooded many times simply because the city of Bothell was restricted from protecting its citizens because several outside agencies would not permit the city to do what was necessary. That all changed in the past couple years. The current City Council worked hard to make sure that Bothell’s citizens and their homes and families would be protected from known hazards, and I am happy to report that during the past year, there has been no flooding on East Riverside Drive.

If not for the actions of Del Spivey, Joshua Freed and Sandy Guinn, my neighbors’ homes would be in jeopardy — not from a large river, but from runoff from Interstate 405 that was beyond capacity of the drainage. No fish in this run-off, just lots of murky water. These three councilmembers stood up and pushed back, along with many city employees who worked hard to protect my neighbors. They were able to craft a plan that protects the environment and property when others had done nothing and pointed fingers at everyone else for the catastrophe. Josh, Del and Sandy, thank you, I know that when it rains, I won’t have to get my boots on and scoop mud out of my neighbors’ living rooms!

R. Apollo Fuhriman, Bothell