It was a night for farewells when the Alki Community Council met this past Thursday night.

Three longtime officers said goodbye. So did our area’s city councilmember.

But with endings came beginnings – a new president and vice president. We’ll start there.

OFFICER TRANSITION: Months ago, longtime ACC leaders announced their intention to step down before this year was out, and the resulting need for new leadership – or else, they warned, like so many other West Seattle neighborhood groups in recent years, this one too would go dormant.

Departing:
President Tony Fragada
Vice President Randie Stone
Secretary/Treasurer Kathy Olson

Succeeding them:
President Charlotte Starck
Vice President Lindsey Pearsall
Secretary – vacant
Treasurer – vacant

Staying on are trustees Greg Showalter, Peter Stekel, and Will Winter; now-past president Fragada – who’s been involved with the group since the ’90s – becomes a trustee too. If you are interested in either of the vacant positions, contact info is at alkicommunitycouncil.org. Starck said she’s “excited” about the ACC’s potential and hopes to launch a membership drive. Pearsall added that she’s “super-passionate about building community.”

COUNCILMEMBER LISA HERBOLD: Our area’s city councilmember, about to leave office after eight years, made a brief visit in the meeting’s early going. She promised to help, in her waning weeks, with the issue Starck nand neighbors brought to the ACC last month – the need for traffic calming on 56th Avenue SW, a gateway from Admiral Way down to the beach. Herbold also suggested that the neighbors get it on her successor’s radar; she and Councilmember-elect Rob Saka were scheduled to meet the next day, and Herbold said she’d bring it up. Meantime, the neighbors are continuing to circulate an online petition, which asks for speed bumps, for starters. The group recalled a walking tour with SDOT director Greg Spotts suggesting there’d be a wider planning effort for the Alki area, but nothing had happened yet. Meantime, the ACC thanked Herbold for her assistance with various issues over the years and wished her well.

POLICE: Community-emphasis Officer German Bareto participated in the meeting online (this was a hybrid meeting, both online and at Alki UCC). He gave a quick update on crime trends – mentioning that aggravated assaults and robberies are up. The talk turned to the pervasive problem of dogs on the beach; he was asked how to reach Animal Control officers, and suggested surfacing the issue to Parks employees if they’re on hand.

FOLLOWUP ON DEFACED ART: Stekel reported that since his push to get utilities to clean up the paint markings with which they defaced the Constellation Park artwork – including artist Lezlie Jane‘s sidewalk octopus – they’ve done just that.

DONATIONS: The ACC will be sending $200 each to the West Seattle and White Center food banks.

NEXT MEETING: The ACC meets third Thursdays most months, in person at Alki UCC and online – watch alkicommunitycouncil.org for updates.

By Jason Grotelueschen
Reporting for West Seattle Blog

It was a celebration of volunteer service and preview of a busy slate of holiday events at the monthly meeting of the Admiral Neighborhood Association on Tuesday night.

The meeting was held at Admiral Church and was facilitated by ANA president Joanie Jacobs and the rest of the ANA executive board.

One of the primary items of business for the evening was the annual election of ANA officers, as well as honoring officers who are stepping down. There were flowers, cake, and treats on hand in celebration of many years of service for outgoing officers Stephanie Jordan (Vice President and Hiawatha Concerts coordinator) and Carrie McCann (Secretary):

After taking nominations from the floor for the new slate of 2023-2024 executive officers, the following individuals were unanimously elected: new Secretary Meagan Loftin (who has also served as Admiral Art Walk coordinator), returning President Joanie Jacobs, returning Treasurer Bridgett Markillie, and new Vice President Cheryl Lea (owner of Seattle Yarn):

Other continuing/returning ANA leaders are: Read More

By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

Issues from traffic safety to crime to two park concerns were discussed at this month’s meeting of the Alki Community Council.

The meeting facilitated by ACC president Tony Fragada was held Thursday night in hybrid format, although the in-person gathering dropped off the Zoom call prematurely, so the meeting’s end was a bit muddied.

TRAFFIC SAFETY: Residents on 56th SW say it’s the only gateway-to-Alki street without traffic calming. They would like to change that, so they’ve launched an online petition. Problems related to the road’s use include two homes hit by three drivers in recent years, and two drive-by-shootings with bullets going into houses (here’s one we covered, in which bullets broke dishes). Neighbors are asking SDOT for speed humps to at least discourage the speeding and perhaps reduce the street’s popularity. If you’re interested in signing the petition, it’s here.

POLICE UPDATES: The same SPD delegation who attended Wednesday’s Morgan Community Association meeting came to the Alki CC meeting –

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By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

As always, the Morgan Community Association‘s quarterly meeting was update-laden. Here’s what we heard at Wednesday’s online meeting, facilitated by MoCA president Deb Barker. Here’s how it unfolded, starting with the quick notes dubbed Morgan Minutes:

‘WE NEED HELP’: MoCA needs a recording secretary – “very easy position” since the organization meets only once every three months. This person takes minutes and posts them online – email mocacnc@gmail.com if you might be interested in helping.

EX-BANK BUILDING: The former Washington Federal building on the northeast corner of California/Fauntleroy remains for sale, two and a half years after closing; Barker talked to the broker recently and was told the bank “only wants to sell the building and is not interested in leasing it” – but with the stipulation that future owners can’t use or lease it as a bank. Price has been cut to $2 million.

MORGAN JUNCTION FESTIVAL PLANNING: MoCA will start talking in January about next June’s festival. First thing: Pick a festival date, then consider the scope of the event. All are welcome to help plan – if interested, mocacnc@gmail.com.

HYBRID MEETING? MoCA hopes to move from online-only to hybrid meetings next year.

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By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

As community organizations resume regular meeting schedules for fall, the Admiral Neighborhood Association had public safety high on the agenda last night.

The meeting at Admiral Church, facilitated by ANA president Joanie Jacobs, had two major guests – the Southwest Precinct‘s new third-watch commander, and City Attorney Ann Davison.

POLICE: Lt. Joe Hadley now oversees the 7 pm to 5 am shift (“third watch”) and said he most recently worked with the Office of Police Accountability. He said they’re bringing back the Community Police Team (an officer with that assignment accompanied him). Lt. Hadley opened the floor quickly to Q&A.

First question: How’s the staffing? “It’s rough,” he replied. The goal remains to hire about 100 officers a year “but I don’t thin we’re going to make that this year.” The 4/10 schedule change has made SPD more attractive for “laterals” – trained officers coming from other police departments. “Our previous schedule was horrible” (four days on, two days off). “The chief has made it a priority to improve morale, improve retention, entic(e) folks to come work here.” The recent consent-decree announcement isn’t going to change anything short-term, he said.

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Community groups are resuming their regular meeting schedules this month, and one of the first to reconvene will be the Admiral Neighborhood Association. Tuesday (September 12th) at 7 pm, ANA invites you to its next “general gathering,” with guests including Seattle City Attorney Ann Davison. She’ll talk about what her office is focused on right now, and listen to attendees’ concerns. ANA usually has a Southwest Precinct rep in attendance, too, so if you have concerns or questions, bring them. And they’ll recap a summer of fun events including the return of Summer Concerts at Hiawatha and the second Admiral Funktion festival. You’re welcome to come talk about those, too. The ANA gathering is at 7 pm Tuesday, in person, at Admiral Church (4320 SW Hill).

(WSB photos unless otherwise credited)

A block party in Gatewood tonight made history. We told you last month about Michael Mattinger‘s plan to launch Seattle Pride Night Out, a new way to celebrate Pride – neighborhood gatherings. Tonight Michael and husband Bradley and their kids hosted theirs:

As Michael told us last month, ““My husband and I had this idea as it’s personally important for us to show our kids that our streets, neighborhood and NEIGHBORS are a safe place amidst the LGBTQ+ challenges facing our nation these days.” The party had kids’ activities, food and drink, and drag performances – while we were there, West Seattle’s Dolly Madison held court:

They inspired other Pride Night Out parties, including this one at Dragonfly Pavilion in North Delridge:

Thanks to the texter who sent that photo!

By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

Fewer RVs and greenbelt campers. More traffic calming. “Partnership” with police.

That’s part of what Alki/Harbor Avenue-area residents listed as “accomplishments” when they met with city reps Wednesday night for the fourth time in their ongoing push against crime and street disorder in the West Seattle waterfront area. (Here’s our coverage of their meeting back in December)

But they say there’s work yet to be done. For one, they’re particularly concerned about the increase in gun violence, with the recent shooting deaths of Peyman Shojaei at Don Armeni Boat Ramp and Davonté Sanchez near Whale Tail Park. And they want the city to install signage reinforcing the no-parking hours of 11 pm-5 am. They also want to see traffic calming extended further north/westward toward the beach.

The meeting at Admiral Church was facilitated by Mike Gain (above), one of the leaders of the ad-hoc community group.

City reps in attendance included, above from left, Southwest Precinct Operations Lt. Dorothy Kim (currently acting precinct captain), SDOT’s Bill LaBorde, Unified Care Team rep Tom Van Bronkhorst, Seattle Parks’ Andy Shaffer, and Deputy Mayor Greg Wong (who had to leave an hour into the meeting). The city delegation included other reps from the mayor’s office, SPD, Office of Economic Development, and Seattle Public Utilities.

Another of the community group’s leaders, Steve Pumphrey, showed photo and video examples of what he and his neighbors have been trying to get stopped, including waterfront parties with blasting music in the 3 am vicinity and drivers doing donuts and other stunts. (See his slide deck here.)

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