Some years ago, I sat quietly in the back of the West Seattle High auditorium when two prominent and highly respected city council members held a town meeting prior to an expected announcement of their reelection campaigns. Not too long after this session, both announced their retirement from the city council.

I was not surprised. Both wanted to talk about the nice things they had done on the council. Instead, questioners from the audience kept asking about their roles in the city's $74.5 million payment for the Nordstrom garage.

As you remember (or can see at the "Nordstrom parking garage" via Google), the city paid $73 million for what a Seattle Times article by Barbara Serrano said should only have cost $50 million - a "bonus" of $23 million to the developers. The actual amount paid was later increased to $74.5 million. And the truth is that the actual "bonus" was something over $50 million: 1,200 parking slots at $74.5 million comes to over $60,000 per slot. Instead of costing $20,000 per slot as Greg Hill pointed out or $17,000 as I remember as the average cost per slot stated by the director of the national parking garage association.]

Worse - the City Council acted without a required public hearing and without key documents available to the council or to the public. What happened? Some of us believe they got pushed into this by the mayor's campaign to "revitalize downtown."

So now we have another mayor's campaign for a tunnel to replace the viaduct. And I see you pressed to support something which surely can be your Nordstrom parking garage. My advice would be to be very, very careful.

Here are some of the questions you should anticipate being asked later - when the proposed tunnel gridlocks the city for 11-12 years at a cost of $11-$12 billion: (Mayor Schell had appointed me to a viaduct committee and the initial cost and time estimates were in this range - magically reduced later with more study or better marketing?)

Why did you accept their word that the tunnel would cost only $3.6 billion and 3-4 years time when big construction projects notoriously cost three times the money and time? Why didn't you get independent assurances (not by people appointed by the mayor or the state Department of Transportation)?

Why did you support the tunnel project when you should have known that there was not enough money to pay for it? Did you question whether the engineering firm that managed the Big Dig in Boston was also pushing for the Seattle tunnel project?

Why didn't you demand and study actual plans for the handling of viaduct traffic in downtown streets? How did you expect people to get to work, especially when buses are stuck in gridlock traffic? Where will the ferry traffic go? Did you make these plans public before deciding?

Did you yourself study the experience of fires in the Swiss tunnels or did you simply accept Department of Transportation assurances that the tunnels would be safe? Did you ignore what happened in Boston when the ceiling fell and killed a woman? Would that happen here in earthquake-prone Seattle? How can you be sure?

Did you question the city and state Department of Transportation statements that a retrofit was inadequate or too costly or did you just accept their word? For example, the state Department of Transportation says the proposed Gray plan for retrofit does not work for the viaduct foundation in case of an earthquake.

Years ago, I asked outside engineers about the pilings possibly snapping in an earthquake and was told that simple X-bracing - like the legs of tables are braced - would be enough. How deep, I asked. Just under the surface, I was assured. (The people advising me were: a retired employee of state Department of Transportation, an engineer from a famous national engineering firm, a partner in a consulting engineering firm, also with a national reputation. I also talked to people - most now deceased - who helped in the design and building of the viaduct.)

Am I skeptical about city and state Department of Transportation statements? You betcha. Be careful. Don't let them make you the fall guys later on.

Charlie Chong

Former City Councilman

Admiral District