Toplines from the first Southwest District Council meeting of the new post-city-support era, last night @ the Senior Center/Sisson Building:

DISTRICT COUNCILS CARRY ON: Co-chair David Whiting (from the Admiral Neighborhood Association) opened by noting that this was the first SWDC meeting without city funding for a meeting space (the $500/year was cut as part of the mayoral decree that neighborhood district councils would no longer have official city ties). He wanted to be sure it was clear that the mayoral decree did NOT dissolve the council, which, like its counterparts around the city, is going forward independently. And, he said, after talking with reps from some of the other district councils, SWDC is doing so with what seems like even more energy and determination than some others. As part of the mayor’s decision to sever ties, a Department of Neighborhoods coordinator is no longer assigned to assist the group; SWDC member Cindi Barker (who represents the West Seattle Emergency Communication Hubs) asked that the coordinator who used to have that role, Kerry Wade, receive a formal invitation to attend anyway, along with her boss, DoN director Kathy Nyland.

POLICE UPDATE: Southwest Precinct Operations Lt. Ron Smith provided a crime-stats briefing. The precinct made more arrests in December than the previous two months – package-theft suspects among them, since that’s such a prevalent crime during the holiday season, and some car-prowl suspects too. Morgan Junction remains the current West Seattle hotspot for car prowls, Lt. Smith said, likely because emphasis patrols in The Junction and Westwood areas resulted in thieves moving elsewhere. He added that the precinct is working with the City Attorney’s Office to step up the focus on frequent offenders with regard to car prowls (which by themselves are misdemeanors, which is why the City Attorney handles them). He also said SPD and Parks had been involved in a campsite cleanup in the Longfellow Creek area where some residents had been linked to car and package thefts.

The Southwest District Council continues to meet on first Wednesdays, 6:30 pm, Senior Center/Sisson Building (4217 SW Oregon). All welcome.