Morgan Community Assoc.: CSO, SPD, SDOT …and a festival!

January 20, 2011 9:27 am
|    Comments Off on Morgan Community Assoc.: CSO, SPD, SDOT …and a festival!
 |   Environment | West Seattle news

Will King County have to use “eminent domain” – taking possession of property, whether the owner likes it or not – to build a storage tank across from Lowman Beach Park, reducing combined sewer overflows (CSO)? The newest developments in the CSO project were a hot topic during Wednesday night’s quarterly Morgan Community Association meeting, which also tackled traffic safety and a request related to this summer’s Morgan Community Festival, plus a guest appearance by local police leadership. Details ahead!

This was the group’s first meeting since King County Wastewater Treatment Division announced last month that the underground tank (on a site currently occupied by about half a dozen residential properties) is the option it will pursue, even though a Citizens’ Advisory Group that met for months came up with another recommendation, storage under a Lincoln Park parking lot. (The county is required to come up with something to reduce the combined-sewer-system (wastewater and stormwater) overflows into Puget Sound that happen when the Murray Pump Station at Lowman gets overloaded during storms.)

As the county reps recapped how that process unfolded, CAG member and Lowman Beach neighbor Dr. Ron Sterling spoke out at last night’s meeting to express disappointment and dismay at its results, saying he had the impression along the way that this option would only be a last resort, and that it was no way to treat a community.

King County rep William Wilbert, a real-estate specialist, talked about the process of procuring the properties needed for the project. Wilbert said it was rare for the county to have to go through eminent domain, although it would if it had to. What is unusual about this situation, he acknowledged, is that the property is strictly residential, unlike most property purchases they have had to make. So far, Wilbert said, the county has been able to make contact with all but one of the property owners, and with all but two of the renters on the block, to let them know the county is pursuing this option, but negotiations haven’t begun yet, and can’t start till environmental review of the project.

The new project manager, Erica Jacobs, was introduced. She unveiled a timeline showing completion of the project in 2014. MoCA’s Cindi Barker voiced concerns about community involvement; Jacobs said that was in the plan. MoCA’s Chas Redmond wondered about the reliability of the timeline, pointing out that the county’s 53rd Avenue Pump Station on Alki had taken longer than expected/announced. (KCWTD’s Linda Sullivan responded that the Alki project had problems relating to parts shipments and staging logistics.)

Next step: The mandatory environmental-review process, which ramps up in April, and will include a public-comment period; Sullivan expected that to start around early May.

Also from the MoCA meeting:

The Southwest Precinct’s new leadership was introduced – commander Capt. Steve Paulsen and operations Lt. Pierre Davis. (Our photo shows them with MoCA T-shirts and MoCA president Deb Barker.) Also with them, Crime Prevention Coordinator Ben Kinlow, making one of his last tours of community meetings before his scheduled March 15th retirement. As he had said to the West Seattle Crime Prevention Council the night before, he advised MoCA attendees to stay involved, stay in touch with neighbors, and get involved with the West Seattle Blockwatch Captains Network (whose next meeting is next Tuesday, January 25th). He lauded that group as ahead of the curve, with other parts of the city trying now to follow their example.

PEDESTRIAN SAFETY: The upcoming crosswalk-safety improvements along California SW in the Morgan Junction area were discussed by president Deb Barker; she said SDOT has told her the upgrades at SW Frontenac and SW Othello will be made during the school break in February. That dovetailed with the group hearing from Gatewood Elementary parent Doug Branch, who asked for ideas on making it safer for kids to walk to school, particularly given the school’s increased enrollment. Families are all for walking to school, he said, but not until they know it’s safe.

TRAFFIC CALMING ON 48TH SW: How to slow down the cars using this stretch of road as a straightaway shortcut? Per Deb Barker, a public meeting is expected in March; possibilities include a bike lane/sharrows.

MORGAN COMMUNITY FESTIVAL: Mark your calendar – this is set for June 25th. Chas Redmond is looking for band suggestions (you can reach MoCA through its website, morganjunction.org).

No Replies to "Morgan Community Assoc.: CSO, SPD, SDOT ...and a festival!"

    Sorry, comment time is over.