West Seattle Blog…

Southwest District Council: Crime trends; waterfront/seawall; more

From a crime-trends update to a thorough Downtown Waterfront/Seawall briefing to updates on two city-led environmental projects (and how you can get involved with them), it was another info-packed Southwest District Council meeting last night: Click to read the rest of Southwest District Council: Crime trends; waterfront/seawall; more…

Southwest District Council: Crime prevention; RapidRide road-work updates; ‘car-free day’ update – and that’s just the start

Lots of news to share from tonight’s Southwest District Council meeting in the board room at South Seattle Community College:

FIGHTING/PREVENTING CRIME: Southwest Precinct Operations Lt. Pierre Davis announced a public-safety forum for 7 pm March 29th at the precinct (Delridge/Webster), focused on a very specific section of northeastern West Seattle, from the bridge to Boren, centered on Delridge Way SW and the adjacent streets. Lt. Davis explained, “We want to try to strengthen the Block Watch capabilities (there) … (since) we really got hammered with petty crimes and burglaries” in recent months, though as he recapped, multiple arrests have made a big dent in that previous trend. He said the “if you see something, say something” philosophy is helping bring in more tips from citizens in other areas of West Seattle, but they would like to see more tips come in from the Delridge neighborhood, and are hoping that the forum might educate more people on best practices for preventing and reporting crime/suspicious activity.

Next, two reports from SDOT, on current work and a future event:

(Photo from Ventana Construction [WSB sponsor] Facebook page – work on SE corner of California/Findlay)
RAPIDRIDE-RELATED STREET/SIDEWALK WORK UPDATE: SDOT’s Jonathan Dong, who had spoken to the SWDC before about the construction, was there with James Sido, a rep from the construction company that’s working on the right-of-way changes (Tri-State) to facilitate RapidRide Line C, which Metro is launching to replace West Seattle’s Route 54 this fall. (We reported last month on the start of work in south West Seattle.) The Rose, Webster, and Myrtle stops on Fauntleroy have now received their new concrete, though Sido said that the Myrtle concrete “had an issue” and needs to be redone, which is “high on their priority list to get that area up to speed as quickly as they can.”

The work that’s happening in north Morgan Junction right now is drainage work, he said, with a new stop to be located there; he also mentioned the major work on the northbound side of California at Findlay. Sido explained that the landowner was going to have some side-sewer work done, and asked that this be folded into the RapidRide-related construction project. He says the next areas where you’ll see work crews are Fauntleroy/California near Zeeks Pizza and the southbound side of California at Findlay. They hope to have this segment of work “substantially completed” by May.

Dong reiterated, in response to a question, that stops further south, such as the Fauntleroy ferry dock vicinity and Westwood Village, are being handled by county crews. Morgan Community Association rep Chas Redmond asked SDOT’s Dong to make sure someone takes a look at the areas along California where Puget Sound Energy has done gas line work and left behind a “temporary patch.”

Dong says the rechannelization of SW Alaska – changing a car lane to a transit lane and removing some parking, among other changes that he acknowledged are “going to be the most visible change in the community” – will likely happen in early April. They want to “blanket the area for one or two blocks in both directions” with reminders, and Dong says that’ll happen about two weeks before the work is done. What’s holding up the scheduling right now is that they’re waiting on the traffic-signal work. The work will take a few days and will likely start around 7 am, said Sedo, though Erica Karlovits of the Junction Neighborhood Organization suggested they might consider starting later to avoid rush-hour complications. Dong thinks the work will take two to four days, weather-dependent, of course. Karlovits and West Seattle Junction Association‘s Susan Melrose both stressed that the more warning, the better, since the lane and parking changes will be a surprise (if not shock) to some people, both shoppers, businesspeople/employees, and Junction-area residents.

Admiral Neighborhood Association vice president Karl de Jong asked the two if the projects were creating jobs in West Seattle, and also about what kind of labor and apprenticeship agreements were involved; they didn’t have answers but promised to get back to him. Next SDOT topic:

(WSB photo from 2011 Seattle Summer Streets on Alki)
SUMMER STREETS/CAR-FREE DAY: SDOT’s Sonia Palma talked about the 5th annual car-free day on Alki as part of Seattle Summer Streets. As reported here last month, the date this year is May 20th, starting with the West Seattle 5K (co-sponsored again this year by WSB). Palma says the street-closure plan is the same as last year, with a full closure from 63rd to Don Armeni for the race, and then, after 11 am or so, the closure only extending eastward to 58th SW for the Summer Streets remainder of the day. SDOT is currently looking for sponsors and organizations interested in participating, while also asking community reps to get the word out about the big day.

Even more from tonight’s meeting, including quick updates on key projects that individual groups are focusing on, ahead: Click to read the rest of Southwest District Council: Crime prevention; RapidRide road-work updates; ‘car-free day’ update – and that’s just the start…

Southwest District Council: Metro’s plan; Bagshaw’s focus; Gathering of Neighbors

Three major topics at this week’s monthly meeting of the Southwest District Council, comprised of reps from neighborhood groups and organizations, mostly around western West Seattle – Metro‘s first community discussion of its newly revised route-restructuring plan; Councilmember Sally Bagshaw talking about her priorities now that the committee she chairs is about neighborhoods as well as parks; and the first Gathering of Neighbors since 2010, with new coordinators this year. Details on all three topics, ahead: Click to read the rest of Southwest District Council: Metro’s plan; Bagshaw’s focus; Gathering of Neighbors…

Street trees, bridge project, more @ Southwest District Council

Toplines from last night’s Southwest District Council meeting – with a wide-ranging agenda from street trees to bridge work to development, and beyond:

STREET-TREE ORDINANCE: Lots of discussion after we covered last month’s West Seattle community meeting about proposed changes to the city rules, which haven’t changed in half a century. City arborist Nolan Rundquist stressed that they are looking for as much comment and opinion as possible – here’s how – before this gets to the City Council. His summary: The proposed rule will better define who’s responsible for which trees, public or private, and a “no-fee permit process” will be put into place to deal with removal, pruning, replacement, etc., as well as who is allowed to handle such tasks. But he says “small work” – such as pruning branches that aren’t bigger than two inches in diameter – won’t require a permit.

FAUNTLEROY EXPRESSWAY: The council had invited project communications consultant Josh Stepherson back to provide an update once the intensive phase of the earthquake-safety work, with some overnight closures (next ones Jan. 9-12), got under way on the west end of the West Seattle Bridge. Morgan Community Association rep Chas Redmond asked about an anomaly he’d spotted (which we have noticed too, in late-night drives): Click to read the rest of Street trees, bridge project, more @ Southwest District Council…

Libraries, trees, bridge on next week’s Southwest District Council agenda

A new year of community meetings gets started one week from tonight with the 7 pm January 4th meeting of the Southwest District Council (which includes reps from organizations around western West Seattle). On the agenda circulated today: A presentation on the Seattle Public Library‘s future, an appearance by City Council President Richard Conlin (days before the council chooses its next president), an update on the Fauntleroy Expressway project that’s been closing part of the West Seattle Bridge on recent nights, and an update on plans for a “street tree ordinance” (a hot topic here recently). The meeting’s open to anyone interested in attending; just find the board room at South Seattle Community College (6000 16th SW), in the Robert Smith Building that’s literally front and center on campus.

Metro changes in West Seattle: Presentation this Wednesday

(Click to see full-size PDF)
When we first reported on Metro‘s proposed 2012 changes last week, it looked like your first chance to see an official presentation in West Seattle would be Metro’s November 9th and 17th meetings. Now there’s late word of an earlier chance: Metro’s now on the agenda for this Wednesday night’s meeting of the Southwest District Council, 7 pm at South Seattle Community College‘s board room, and yes, as always, it’s a public meeting. Also on the agenda: A presentation about the changes SDOT is making on West Seattle streets to accommodate next year’s Metro West Seattle RapidRide debut (including SW Alaska rechannelization). SSCC’s at 6000 16th SW; the board room is in the Robert Smith Building – campus map here, building map here.

P.S. An online survey about the Metro proposal is now available, with questions about how it would affect you – you can take the survey here.

Another chance for from-the-source Viaduct closure information

The October 10th evening meeting we mentioned the other day is still in the process of being finalized, the city tells us – your chance to find out more about the Alaskan Way Viaduct closure and the post-closure, long-term Highway 99 picture – for those worried it’s too early, we’re also told that it will be open-house-style, and the short presentation won’t be before 6:30 or so. And it will definitely be in the commons at West Seattle High School. But if you can’t wait till then or can’t make it that night, next week’s Southwest District Council agenda is out, and AWV deputy project director Matt Preedy will be talking about it, and taking questions, shortly after the meeting’s start at 7 pm Wednesday, October 5th, board room at South Seattle Community College, everybody welcome. (Immediately after that, the SWDC will talk about the SW Alaska rechannelization plan – reported here two weeks ago.)

Also @ SW District Council: ‘Change By Us’; recycling contest

Two more notes from last night’s Southwest District Council meeting (the Fauntleroy Expressway Seismic Retrofit update, reported here earlier, was the first).

That’s a screenshot from seattle.changeby.us, which has just gone “live,” as Code for America‘s Anna Bloom told SWDC reps. She and other Code for America fellows have been working on projects for Seattle (among other cities) off and on for months, as local community groups (with whom they’ve met, while listening to needs and vetting ideas) are well aware. The site is meant to be collaborative – if you have an idea, you can type it in the Post-It Note-like space on the Change By Us home page, and then it’ll take you into the site, where you have the option to hook up with any similar proposals already in the system, or to just go ahead and launch yours. Bloom explained that it offers options for sharing your idea, in order to get others involved, and other ways to get traction. Now that it’s live, in “beta” mode, you’re invited to give it a try.

Second note: Waste Management Northwest, which handles much of the trash/recycling pickup around here, came to SWDC because it’s in the final stages of planning “Neighborhood Recycling Rewards.” It’s a contest aimed at helping Seattle boost its recycling rate (relatively high as it is, there’s room for it to rise), and it’s going to be in the “neighborhood vs. neighborhood” mode. Whichever WM-served neighborhood “reduces the most waste through increased recycling and composting” during the six-month contest will get $50,000 to use for some kind of community improvement project.

WMNW came to the council with a couple of questions – whether SWDC could be the official WS community partner, including helping decide what the “prize” might be if this area wins. Also to be decided: How to define a neighborhood for this competition, since West Seattle includes three different pickup-day zones. Will the entire peninsula be counted as one neighborhood? Just so happened that Delridge Neighborhoods District Council chair Mat McBride was at the meeting, and invited WM to to DNDC’s next gathering (7 pm September 21st, Youngstown Cultural Arts Center) to pitch there too. Once the contest is under way on September 30th, WM promises weekly online updates on neighborhood performance, and then an award ceremony next March.

Fauntleroy Expressway retrofit: Closures, detours ahead, Southwest District Council told

Though the $2.4 million Fauntleroy Expressway Seismic Retrofit Project is already under way – that’s what you seein our photo, taken this morning along eastbound Spokane Street under The Bridge – the biggest effects on West Seattle’s already-beleaguered drivers/bus riders/bikers are yet to come. SDOT consultant Josh Stepherson was at last night’s Southwest District Council meeting at South Seattle Community College to deliver the latest words of warning.

We’ve reported on this project before. But in case you’ve missed it, a quick definition: The Fauntleroy Expressway is the half-mile-long section of the high-rise bridge between Delridge and Avalon/Harbor. It was built in 1963, and it needs to be reinforced in case of earthquake. Stepherson called it the “weakest link in the corridor for (potential) structural failure during an earthquake.” (Some work was done in 1994, as explained here, so it’s not completely unreinforced.)

The work under way right now is around three of its support columns. But the really big part of the project will involve lifting sections of the “expressway” to replace its weight-bearing pads – and when that happens, there will be closures and detours.

Click to read the rest of Fauntleroy Expressway retrofit: Closures, detours ahead, Southwest District Council told…

Southwest District Council: Summer map; Admiral speed; Triangle

From last night’s Southwest District Council: Above, that’s SWDC co-chair Tony Fragada, also president of the Alki Community Council, peeking out from behind a map, as the council discussed plans to showcase neighborhood groups during the upcoming West Seattle Summer Fest (July 8-9-10 in The Junction). That’ll include ways, like the map, to show festivalgoers how to find the nearest neighborhood group (and how to know which neighborhood they’re in!) That was part of another busy agenda for SWDC, whose members represent community councils and other key organizations around the area. But one big topic took a fair amount of time – read on: Click to read the rest of Southwest District Council: Summer map; Admiral speed; Triangle…

What’s really next for The Triangle? SW Dist. Council wants to know

(One of the graphics shown at last month’s Triangle open house)
From this week’s Southwest District Council meeting: SWDC members say they’re not clear about where city planning for the West Seattle Triangle‘s future really stands, despite last month’s community open house, and their own city briefing days before it. So they want the project’s lead city planners Susan McLain and Robert Scully to return before the council and outline exactly what they’re doing next with feedback from those meetings, as well as with the plan itself, and what they’ll be telling city leaders. SWDC members also would like to talk with Councilmember Sally Clark, whose Committee on the Built Environment would theoretically eventually consider the results of the Triangle process. SWDC co-chair Susan Melrose of the West Seattle Junction Association and past co-chair Erica Karlovits of the Junction Neighborhood Organization also questioned whether the Triangle planning process had adequate community representation/participation and had truly resulted in consensus.

Another topic of concern for the council – the ongoing changes in the Department of Neighborhoods, which (among other things) provides staff assistance for district councils (whose members are all volunteers) – more after the jump: Click to read the rest of What’s really next for The Triangle? SW Dist. Council wants to know…

SW District Council hears about Triangle, crime prevention, seawall

From tonight’s Southwest District Council meeting – the monthly gathering (usually at South Seattle Community College) of reps from major community groups and organizations around what the city calls the Southwest District (basically western West Seattle) – first three presentations summarized at 8:23 pm, the rest added at 9:13 pm: Click to read the rest of SW District Council hears about Triangle, crime prevention, seawall…

West Seattle Wednesday: SW District Council, and a Blue Angel

(Taken from Alki by SapphiraFey, shared via the WSB Flickr group pool)
West Seattle’s first major community-group meeting of the year is tonight – Southwest District Council, 7 pm, South Seattle Community College board room. Two major topics: First, an update on the Alaskan Way Viaduct project (just as the tunnel contract is about to be signed); second, the Department of Neighborhoods changes that will directly affect the council’s operations – as first reported here Monday, DON director Stella Chao will be at the meeting to explain. … If you hear a hint of a familiar summertime sound in the sky this afternoon, no, you’re not hearing things – as noted on Tuesday, Blue Angels jet #7 is coming to Seattle for Seafair winter meetings today and tomorrow, and expected to fly into Boeing Field (which might mean a West Seattle sighting) early this afternoon … Check the WSB West Seattle Events page for tonight’s entertainment highlights; have a great day!

Neighborhoods’ Chao returning to SW District Council to explain

Three months after she faced the Southwest District Council (October photo at left) to explain a proposed budget cut that would have had a major effect on West Seattle, city Department of Neighborhoods director Stella Chao will be back before SWDC members this Wednesday.

This time, they’ll be waiting to hear why, even though that budget cut was canceled, a significant change has been made anyway (as first reported here last week). The original proposal was to close the Neighborhood Service Center in The Junction that serves the district – in essence, western West Seattle — and to eliminate the position held by its Neighborhood District Coordinator, Stan Lock. The council protested mightily – not just against losing the person who is a city liaison for them and for the neighborhood organizations and institutions they represent, but also against having the center shut down, since potential development does not seem imminent for the site it’s on. The City Council canceled the cut.

But three other district coordinator jobs were cut, meaning there are now 10 coordinators to serve 13 districts around the city, and Chao’s “interim” plan is to organize them into three teams serving regions of districts. Lock is being moved to a team that does not serve West Seattle; the Southwest District will be part of the region served by a team including Delridge District Coordinator Ron Angeles, and that entire team will be based out of the Delridge Neighborhood Service Center. How is that supposed to work? That’s what the council will be asking Chao on Wednesday; their meeting starts at 7 and she’s expected around 7:45, board room at South Seattle Community College (6000 16th SW), all welcome.

Changes for city Neighborhood Service Center in The Junction

New information tonight about another change resulting from city budget cuts – how the city’s Neighborhood Service Centers and District Councils will be staffed. You might recall the mayor originally proposed closing the Southwest Neighborhood Service Center in The Junction. Outcry, led by the Southwest District Council, helped cancel that plan – but we now know that the district coordinator who’s been based there, Stan Lock, is moving elsewhere in the city, as the Department of Neighborhoods reorganizes the coordinators who remain after it cut three jobs elsewhere. Details ahead: Click to read the rest of Changes for city Neighborhood Service Center in The Junction…

South Seattle Community College president @ SW District Council

(SSCC President Gary Oertli speaks to SW District Council, with SW Precinct Capt. Steve Paulsen and the city Department of Neighborhoods’ Southwest District Coordinator Stan Lock at right)

More from last night’s Southwest District Council meeting: The SWDC, which has long met at South Seattle Community College, got to officially meet its new president, Gary Oertli, a born-and-raised West Seattle native. “West Seattle is a state of mind – diverse, entrepreneurial, innovative – we hope South Seattle Community College reflects that in the same way.” He shared some data points with council members, and you might not know them either:

*More than 15,000 students
*West Seattle and Georgetown campuses, New Holly Park and “Airport University” locations
*Average age: 33
*70 percent of students work part-time or full-time
*Largest program: Its transfer program
*300 students in wine-technology program
*Hundreds in Running Start
*340 international students
*Annual operating budget of $53 million, with 500 employees

The numbers weren’t all rosy; Oertli also talked about the 25 percent budget cuts that community colleges have endured in the past two years, with more to come because of the state’s financial situation, but SSCC is working hard to keep serving people including the “thousands of laid-off workers (who) have turned to community colleges to upgrade their skills,” in addition to other students. And they’re working to expand the 13th Year Promise Scholarship program, with one free year of community college for students at Cleveland High School: “Our goal is to do that for EVERY student at the high schools in our service area.” Finally – they’re reaching out to the West Seattle community for increased partnership, and inviting everyone to find out more about SSCC. One place to start: The next wine-release event for its popular program is coming up November 15th (find out more here).

West Seattle budget cuts to be reversed? Council meeting tomorrow

From tonight’s Southwest District Council meeting: There’s new hope the City Council will consider canceling a budget cut directly affecting West Seattle — the proposed closure of the Neighborhood Service Center in The Junction and elimination of its Neighborhood District Coordinator‘s job. The coordinator’s responsibilities include liaison and communication work on behalf of the council and the neighborhoods it represents, and the SWDC, as well as many of its member groups, had formally asked the council to consider canceling the cuts. Tonight, SWDC co-chair Erica Karlovits noted that the council is looking at the Department of Neighborhoods‘ budget tomorrow, with two specific line items of interest, one titled “(r)estore Southwest Neighborhood Service Center,” the other titled “(r)estore Neighborhood District Coordinators.” (In the mayor’s budget plan, which DON director Stella Chao outlined to SWDC last month, Southwest coordinator Stan Lock is one of seven whose jobs are on the line.) The agenda calls for the council to get to this item around 2 pm; you can see the full agenda here. (More news to come from tonight’s SWDC meeting.)

Dept. of Neighborhoods budget: Like ‘cutting an arm off’ vs. a leg

By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

One day after facing the City Council Budget Committee to explain the cuts proposed for her section of city government, Department of Neighborhoods director Stella Chao faced what arguably could be considered a tougher, and even more personally involved, group: The West Seattle neighborhood-group/organization reps who comprise the Southwest District Council.

“We took a big hit,” Chao acknowledged – including a 22 percent cut in the Neighborhood Matching Fund program, which has helped pay for community-generated projects such as parks and traffic projects.

But the part of that “big hit” which concerned the SWDC members even more was the proposed closure of the Neighborhood Service Center in The Junction and the elimination of the Neighborhood District Coordinator job headquartered there – a job held by Stan Lock, who sat just two seats away, and has declined comment on the proposed job cut since it was announced.

As Chao listened to member after member declare that even if the center itself had to be lost, Lock’s role is too vital to cut, for the health of the neighborhood and the issues it’s dealing with, she reiterated: While it’s important for her to hear, the people who most need to have the case made to them, are the City Council members who will be here in West Seattle for a public hearing next week.

Read on for more on her appearance and other major discussions at SWDC last night, including a shorter discussion of the Seattle Public Library‘s proposed cuts, and an update on Alaska Airlines’ “Greener Skies” program, which could change Sea-Tac approach paths in this area: Click to read the rest of Dept. of Neighborhoods budget: Like ‘cutting an arm off’ vs. a leg…

SW District Council: Crime stats, CM Sally Clark, Junction plan…

Highlights from Wednesday night’s Southwest District Council meeting, covered for WSB by Christopher Boffoli:

First up was the Southwest Precinct‘s Lt. Norm James, who gave a quick briefing on some crime stats. Compared to the same time a year ago, major crime overall is down about 2 percent, while residential burglaries are down 10 percent. This decline in burglaries has helped the overall decline for crime rates across the SW Precinct.

According to Lt. James, there has been a modest decrease in violent crime compared to other precincts, but the violent crime rate is so low anyway in our precinct that even one incident can cause a statistical spike. Property crimes are down 2 percent overall, but what is troubling across all precincts is a rise in auto thefts. This is linked to a wave of auto theft arrests/aggressive sentencing that occurred several years ago. The theory is that those thieves are being released from prison about now and many are returning to what they used to do. Car prowls remain relatively low and stable.

Lt. James touched briefly on the smash-and-grab burglary suspect who is believed to have been responsible for 11 burglaries in the SW Precinct, 8 in the South Precinct, and 19 in King County overall, for a total of 38 smash-and-grab burglaries. He said the man arrested had been out of prison for several months (he had previous theft convictions) at the time the burglaries began. The case was a tough one, owing to the hit-and-run nature of the crimes and the fact that they had very little video footage. But he commended the SPD detectives for doing a great job coordinating with King County detectives and ultimately apprehending the alleged burglar (who pleaded not guilty this week to the three Burien cases in which he is charged so far).

Lastly, Lt. James spoke of the citywide pilot program in which SPD officers have been going door to door in neighborhoods, surveying residents for their opinions on safety and crime issues (first reported here during a trial phase). This survey is a supplement to statistical information collected when citizens call 911. The program started in the North Precinct and will soon be officially heading this way. Pigeon Point will be the first neighborhood where officers will be knocking on doors in the evening (beginning next month). Their goal is to contact every household. So he said not to be surprised to see an officer knocking on your door soon. Read on for more from the SW District Council meeting: Click to read the rest of SW District Council: Crime stats, CM Sally Clark, Junction plan……

West Seattle Crime Watch: Car prowls way down, say police

First of three short reports from last night’s Southwest District Council meeting at South Seattle Community College: Southwest Precinct Lt. Norm James gave members a quick briefing on crime trends – helpful since the West Seattle Crime Prevention Council, which usually gets those briefings, isn’t meeting this month. Lt. James says that fighting car prowls has been an area of emphasis for the precinct for the past few months, and in June it appears to have paid off – 80 car prowls in West Seattle in June, down from 130 in May. Auto theft, he said, also is on the decline. And he mentioned that there currently are “more officers assigned to this precinct than we have ever had.” That’s enabled them to have an “09 car” – outside the regular patrol mix – daytime and nighttime, assigned to California SW businesses, particularly from Admiral to The Junction. Those officers “walk, talk, meet with business owners,” according to Lt. James. And without citing specifics, he also said they’re geared up for a “lot of activity on Alki” this first really warm summer weekend (which includes, on Alki, the Seafair Pirates Landing on Saturday).

Tonight: Road work, police briefings @ Southwest District Council

In case you hadn’t checked the WSB West Seattle Events calendar yet – where things are getting lively again now that the long holiday weekend is over for most – the night’s marquee event is the Southwest District Council meeting, where they’ll get the latest road/highway construction updates directly from WSDOT and SDOT reps. Also scheduled as guests, Southwest Precinct commander Capt. Joe Kessler and King County Councilmember Jan Drago. The public’s always welcome; the meeting’s at 7 pm in the board room in the central building at South Seattle Community College (6000 16th SW).

Southwest District Council, #2: Deputy mayor on Viaduct, more

Southwest District Council members had been looking forward to talking with Mayor McGinn on Wednesday night … till the matter of hiring a police chief got in the way. So instead, Deputy Mayor Darryl Smith filled in, while his boss presided at a chief-candidates public forum downtown. When it was all over, in a discussion ranging from The Viaduct to park-n-rides to stalled developments to the city budget, SWDC co-chair Chas Redmond told Smith, “You took our heated questions very gracefully.” See why he said that – ahead: Click to read the rest of Southwest District Council, #2: Deputy mayor on Viaduct, more…

Southwest District Council receives reply to “The Hole” letter

(May 17th photo by Christopher Boffoli)
Two weeks ago, Southwest District Council co-chairs Chas Redmond and Erica Karlovits, along with West Seattle Junction Association executive director Susan Melrose (photo second from right), hosted a visitor at “The Hole” – Natalie Quick (photo left), a spokesperson for Madison Development, whose owner owns the entity that holds the note for the stalled Fauntleroy/Alaska/39th project. The tour (WSB coverage here) was in response to the letter that Melrose drafted and the SWDC sent in April, pointing out safety and aesthetic concerns at the long-idle site. But a written response didn’t come till now: Melrose announced at tonight’s SWDC meeting that it had just been received, signed by Quick. Shortly after the May 17th tour, a few steps were taken – tagged tarp was replaced along the fencing, and “they did get out there with a weed-whacker,” as Melrose put it tonight. But now, she told the council, they’ve addressed other issues. For one, she said, they don’t have a solution for the issue of “The Hole” being right up against the sidewalk with nothing to stop, oh, say, a car from going in, but “they’re working with SDOT.” She says they have “agreed to remove the chain-link fence surrounding the park,” the small triangle adjacent to the site’s southeastern corner, and to maintain “the park.” And she says they will create a more aesthetically pleasing backdrop on that corner, including “a reinforced wood fence,” as well as making public the reports about the condition of the shoring on the north side of the site. Last but not least, they’re “committing to actually checking up on the site,” Melrose reported. We’ll add the letter itself when we get a copy. (More from the SWDC meeting coming up next – including the hour of discussion with Deputy Mayor Darryl Smith.) ADDED 8:55 AM THURSDAY: Here’s the letter – actually more like a memo – in its entirety, just forwarded by SWDC co-chair Karlovits.