August 10, 2005

Design Detailings: Monorail forum: What's next?

A monorail forum, titled "What Do We Do Now?," will be held at 7:30 p.m. Thursday. The moderator is Seattle Channel's C.R. Douglas, and panelists include Kristina Hill, acting chair of the Seattle Monorail Project; Bob Klein, chair of the Municipal League's Monorail Committee; state Sen. Ken Jacobsen; and Tom Till, co-director of the Cascadia Project, an effort to establish a transportation system that connects Washington, Oregon and British Columbia.

Cost is $5, and the event will be held at Town Hall, at Eighth Avenue and Seneca Street.

Design Commission seeks new member

Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels is looking for a new member for the Seattle Design Commission. The member can serve in one of the following positions: urban or environmental landscape architect, site engineer or urban planner.

The position begins in the fall. Candidates with transportation planning expertise are strongly encouraged to apply.

Design Commission members serve renewable, two-year terms. The commission has 10 members. It was established in 1968 to advise city officials on design and environmental aspects of capital improvement projects. The commission reviews projects over several design phases.

Send a letter of interest and resume by Sept. 9 to Layne Cubell, coordinator, Seattle Design Commission, Department of Planning and Development, city of Seattle, P.O. Box 34019, Seattle 98124-4019. For information, call Layne Cubell at (206) 233-7911, or e-mail layne.cubell@seattle.gov.

Varney new owner at KPFF Consulting

Greg Varney has been named an owner at KPFF Consulting Engineers in Seattle. Varney is working on a high-rise mixed use project in Seattle, projects for Boeing and projects for public clients including the University of Washington, Coast Guard, Navy and Army Corps of Engineers.

Varney is responsible for design-build work including historic renovation of bachelor officers quarters at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, Calif., a new dining facility for enlisted personnel at Twentynine Palms, Calif., and a new bachelor enlisted quarters at Naval Base Kitsap-Bremerton.

KPFF is the largest structural and civil consulting engineering firm in the U.S., with 15 offices nationwide.