Genesee-Schmitz Neighborhood Council: Shuttered school’s future

(Art on closed ex-Genesee Hill Elementary building, photo shared by neighbors in July)
West Seattle’s newest community council/association, the Genesee-Schmitz Neighborhood Council, just had its latest general-membership meeting last night at West Side Presbyterian Church. The biggest news comes in one of GSNC’s biggest areas of emphasis, the fate of the former Genesee Hill Elementary School, now in its second year of vacancy. Mary Fleck heads the GSNC subcommittee regarding the school and says they’ve been talking with Seattle Public Schools and the city. SPS says the building is not for sale, and is not scheduled to reopen any time in at least the next few years. (As we’d reported earlier this year, it was offered for lease but there were no proposals.) The neighborhood’s cleanups and gardening projects have made the most progress toward keeping it out of disrepair; next step, GSNC plans a round of neighborhood meetings to gather opinions on what should/could be done with the buildings. The district was reported to be open to talks about more use of the GHE gym and auditorium.

Also at GSNC – Presentations from Cindi Barker on preparedness (West Seattle Be Prepared), Benjamin Kinlow on crime prevention (Block Watch), and Dot Beard on the West Seattle Crime Prevention Council. (Kerrie Schurr organized last night’s meeting and noted that crime prevention, safety, and preparedness were areas of particular interest for those who attended the last meeting.)

The Genesee-Schmitz Neighborhood Association doesn’t have a regular meeting schedule yet but you can keep an eye on its website at gsnc.wordpress.com.

3 Replies to "Genesee-Schmitz Neighborhood Council: Shuttered school's future"

  • Kate K October 22, 2010 (11:59 am)

    A stellar example of what can be done with a school that has closed is the Phinney Neighborhood Association right here in Seattle.

    http://www.phinneycenter.org/

    They have created a vibrant center for their community for events, classes, arts, childcare, youth programs, a well home program and the original Seattle tool lending library. There is plenty of inspiration on their website.

  • Paul October 22, 2010 (12:20 pm)

    Dog park!

  • ad October 22, 2010 (2:26 pm)

    Thanks for the update on my hood.

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