I was saddened to read the Jan. 11 article in The Herald about the hardships the Everett School Disrtrict has imposed on the families it is displacing by its recent eminent domain decision in the area of 174th Street SE in Bothell. I only know about this situation what I have been reading in the paper, but I have been following this issue with great interest.
I want you to urge you to please do all you can to pay these folks as much as possible for their land, and at the very least do all you can to make sure their reasonable costs and moving expenses are fully paid.
I understand there are laws about this sort of thing and that you have responsibility to be good stewards of public funds, but as a voter and taxpayer I would urge you to please also consider that many of us out here who actually pay the freight also want our government agencies and representatives to be models of decency and compassion.
I do not want anyone walking away from this deal with my school district feeling like they got screwed over. I do not want my tax dollars being used to build a school on tainted land acquired under such bitter circumstances. I would not want my kids to attend a school built on that kind of shameful legacy.
You are already asking for over $330 million and I will not be able to believe that somewhere in there is not at least a little extra to help these people with moving expenses. Some of that money would be my family’s contribution, and I would support using it to help these displaced people move. As you are acting in my name as a voter and taxpayer I urge you to please be generous and do everything possible to mitigate the hassle and pain we are already otherwise inflicting on these former property owners and fellow citizens.
Please do the right thing for our children and communities by helping these people out.
Adam Yanasak
Everett
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