We plan to reduce water in varying amounts. The parks that we plan to reduce water use in West Seattle are:

Alki Beach Park
Alki Playground
Seacrest Park
Walt Hundley Playfield
Westcrest Park (incl. W. Sea. Reservoir)
Don Armeni Park
Roxhill Park
Hamilton Viewpoint
Emma Schmitz Overlook
Hiawatha Playfield
Cottage Grove Park
Southwest CC/Pool
Camp Long

The ones we will try to turn off completely are:

Belvedere Park
Fauntleroy Place
Greg Davis Park
Lowman Beach Park
Solstice Park

(WSB file photo of Hiawatha’s wading pool)
Thanks to Sarah for the tip: The city has just published this summer’s wading-pool schedule, and there are some changes for West Seattle. You might recall that the city had looked for sponsors to help pick up the cost, and according to the new schedule, two wading pools get an extra day of operation each, thanks to sponsorships – Admiral Safeway, according to Parks, is making it possible for the Hiawatha pool to be open on Saturdays, while the Hiawatha Advisory Council is making it possible for the Delridge pool to be open on Sundays – both of those pools will be open 4 days a week, while Lincoln Park remains the only West Seattle wading pool open 7 days a week, and it will be the earliest to open, scheduled for June 23rd. See the full schedule here (PDF). We’re checking on one thing – Highland Park – which is being converted to a spray park – is listed on the schedule as “opening in 2013,” but at the most recent project meeting, Seattle Parks had said they hoped to get it open before this season ends. We’ll add whatever we find out.

If this warm weather puts you in the mood for outdoor swimming, wondering when Colman Pool on the Lincoln Park shoreline will be open – here’s another reminder that it’ll be late this year, June 30th. The renovation work has been under way for 4 months now, and we just got two new photos today from Jim Edwards (thank you!), so we checked in with Seattle Parks project manager Garrett Farrell, to see where the project is at. He tells WSB that the last of the pool-wall sections were to be put in place today, and “we have already started pour-back of the pool decks, which will go much faster than the walls.” Now, it gets tricky, according to Farrell, as they work on “installing the pool-water piping in the tunnel that runs around the pool deck and connects to the walls as we work to pour the lid over the top of it, a few pieces at a time.”

Crews are also working to remove the existing plaster, he said, while prepping “every square
inch of the interior shell for a much needed new plaster liner.” That’s still a lot of work, he said, but they are on track for the expected opening date of June 30th. (To plan ahead, you can check out the schedule here.)

(WSB photo from 2011 Alki Art Fair)
*Alki Art Fair – Volunteer-run since city cutbacks made city-staff resources unavailable. $20,000 grant. (This year’s fair is July 28-29.)

*Castle Park at Roxhill Park – To enhance the city Parks and Green Spaces Levy-funded playground project, $20,000 extra for “a climbing and physical challenge course.” (After getting the city announcement, we checked with project manager Kelly Davidson, who says that the playground/skatepark plans just went to the general contractor yesterday and are in a review period. The playground itself is still on target for a public build, probably in September.)

*West Seattle Community Fruit Harvest – City Fruit gets $6,295 to “organize the harvest of fruit from residential fruit trees to distribute to partner organizations like food banks, women’s shelters, and senior centers within Delridge and West Seattle.”

Alki photographer David Hutchinson was out at the beach early this morning and dismayed to see this scene repeated (remember April?) – in multiple spots. Not long after he took the photos, David says, a Parks Department crew came by for trash pickup. But the point of this isn’t to criticize Parks, which put out some extra cans after last month’s litterfest – some of which still overflowed or were ignored:

The point is for people to consider picking up after themselves. David notes there’s available space in “dumpsters (usually half empty) when cans are full. There are 5 dumpsters from 59th Ave to 56th Ave – a distance of 4 blocks. They are spaced about every block. There are 3 dumpsters around the Alki Bathhouse plus 1 dumpster for recycling. An additional dumpster is located by the picnic shelter down at 62nd.” After all, it’s not like somebody’s on hand to bus your table:

We know many people who use Alki won’t see this story because the beach draws from far beyond West Seattle. But if you do go to the beach on a sunny day, or know someone planning an event, be sure to make sure an extra bag or two is in the plan, and even consider packing out your trash – or at least hauling it to the nearest dumpster, which probably, as David points out, will have room.

Thanks to Alice Kuder for that photo and word that the fence is finally coming down from around the big open field at what some dubbed “Denny Park” – the former Denny International Middle School site that now holds playfields and tennis courts (and is technically just an extension of nearby Southwest Athletic Complex, all Seattle Public Schools-owned). It’s been four months since the site officially opened for public use.

(WSB photo from 2010 fishing event)
The West Seattle Sportsmen’s Club will be back at Seacrest again this spring with an annual tradition – the Kids’ Fishing Pond. We just confirmed with club president Greg Boyd today that the event is set for 8 am-11 am on Saturday, May 12th. (Go early BEFORE West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day 9 am-3 pm!) As they do every year, the club will stock a portable pond at Seacrest, providing poles and bait, “first 100 kids or till the fish run out.” Here’s the listing on the Sportsmen’s Club website calendar.

Though the sun is gone for now, it’ll be back, and so will Alki crowds the size of the ones that left behind the weekend litter/overflowing can problem shown/discussed here yesterday. As a result, Seattle Parks spokesperson Dewey Potter told WSB this morning, more cans would be set out – and as the photo we took around 10 am shows, they’re already there. (Compare to the photo in Monday’s story – today, two cans are side by side in each of the two spots east of the Bathhouse that previously had one apiece. Don’t have any comparisons for the rest of the beach, though.) Potter also says that contrary to her first reply, some Parks employees WERE on duty over the weekend, but they had some pickup challenges with the larger “in-ground” cans – a special cable-equipped truck used for emptying them broke down (they have a loaner replacement now).

A “brush fire” call this past hour at 29th and Cambridge wasn’t major – but it did bring police to Roxhill Park along with two fire engines; officers were looking for witnesses. Here’s the damaged patch:

Nobody was hurt; the fire was called in quickly enough that the fire crews made fast work of it.

Mayor Mike McGinn and City Councilmember Sally Bagshaw today announced the formation of the Parks Preservation Work Group, charged with advising the Mayor, City Council and Parks and Recreation on a range of options for generating more revenue and finding efficiencies that could reduce costs in the 2013 operating budget and beyond.

“Seattle’s love for parks is part of what makes our city special,” said Mayor Mike McGinn. “And with our challenging city budget, we need to think outside of the box if we are going to protect our parks system. I look forward to the recommendations of the Parks Preservation Work Group.”

The impetus for creation of the group is Parks’ challenges sustaining its operating budget in the wake of new parks and facilities built with funding from voter-approved levies, and in the face of continuing budget reductions. Parks’ budget has been reduced by some $12 million over the past two years. There is a clear need to put the agency’s budget on a more sustainable track.

“Our parks system is world renowned; it helps define who we are. I want to ensure that we have the best operated and maintained parks system of any in our country. This committee will help us achieve that,” said Councilmember Sally Bagshaw.

The Parks and Recreation values the City wishes to preserve are access, opportunity and sustainability. The working group will:

Review Parks and Recreation’s existing array of revenue sources;
Review revenue enhancing examples from other jurisdictions;
Assess the pros and cons of revenue and restructuring opportunities; and
Develop recommendations to be considered in the 2013 City budget process.

The group’s process will result in the development of specific recommendations for expanding Parks’ funding sources and/or restructuring the agency’s work, and an increased public awareness of the need for new funding sources and understanding of the group’s recommendations.

The group will meet four times, on April 20 and 27 and May 4 and 11 at 7:30 a.m. in the Park Board Room at the Parks Administration Building at 100 Dexter Ave. N. At the conclusion of the meetings, Parks staff will prepare a summary document that identifies options, highlights potential revenue increases and/or cost savings, and describes a process for public review and possible implementation for each option.

The group members are:

Thatcher Bailey, Seattle Parks Foundation
Jerry Everard, Attorney, Groff Murphy
Ian Gordon, Union Local 1239
Bill Keller, Associated Recreation Council
Diana Kincaid, Board of Park Commissioners
Brice Maryman¸ Board of Park Commissioners
Beth Purcell, Seattle Parks Foundation Board member
Barbara Wright, Board of Park Commissioners
Jerry Tone, Seattle Parks Foundation Board President

(Parks boss Christopher Williams, left, and WS Crime Prevention Council president Richard Miller)
How safe are West Seattle’s parks, and can they be made safer?

Those questions – stirred by last month’s unsolved murder of Greggette Guy, who police have said they believe was killed at Emma Schmitz Viewpoint – led the West Seattle Crime Prevention Council to invite acting Parks Superintendent Christopher Williams to its April meeting. (Here’s our separate update on the murder case itself.)

Williams, who grew up in West Seattle and is a Chief Sealth graduate, spoke and answered questions – as did two Parks managers who accompanied him – for more than 45 minutes in the Southwest Precinct meeting room on Tuesday night.

No big announcements, no “aha” moments, not even any extensive discussion of (nor questions about) Schmitz Viewpoint – but here’s how it unfolded (including video, if you would like to see and hear for yourself):

That’s our unedited video of Williams’ guest appearance. Now, the highlights:

Parks and Police work closely together, Williams said. But separate from SPD involvement, here are some of the factors that play into park safety:

*Maintenance
-How densely park is vegetated
-Inherent design factors that make it a safe place for people to hide out

*Park activation
-How well used is the park? Are there legitimate reasons for people to go there … activities, games, lights … one indicator is the number of women and small children you see there. (And if a park is not being used, why not?)

*You, the citizen: “We can’t have safe parks if people don’t pick up the phone and call 911 if people are not willing to report suspicious activities and behavior.”

He acknowledged concerns voiced by citizens about the safety of some West Seattle parks, but inferred they are often isolated concerns: For example, he says illegal activities in Lincoln Park are very low in proportion to how big it is.

Then he opened the floor to Q/A. First question came from a woman who said she lives near Longfellow Creek and had noticed lots of illegal activity, but recently, a lot of brush has come down – “is that going to help it a lot?” Especially along 26th, she said, “You see people who don’t LOOK like nature lovers,” and she also wondered about prostitution.

“We’re doing this all over the system,” said a Parks manager who accompanied Williams. The acting superintendent followed up by mentioning Parks restoration/invasives-removal work.

When the Longfellow Creek resident asked about how broken glass and other detritus is cleaned up, Williams talked about budget cuts that have hit Parks in recent years, and decisions his staff has to make about how to get “the greatest bang for the buck” with their limited resources. They maintain parks to a “clean, safe standard,” Williams said, but that may not mean they can get out to pick up every patch of broken glass. There’s a lot of reliance on park stewards and other volunteers, said Carol Baker, who leads Parks maintenance in this area. If you see something you think Parks needs to address, “give us a call.”

Williams then reminded everyone there is a consolidated “code of conduct” for Seattle Parks (see it here), with a list of what behaviors are illegal, or require a permit. “The rules are pretty straightforward and not as obscure as people try to allege that they are,” said Williams.

Could inmates do maintenance work, as they do sometimes at sites? Williams said that veers into “labor agreement” territory. “We are doing some creative things and we ARE pushing the envelope on volunteer activity,” he did say.

Asked about Lincoln Park, he said they don’t get a lot of reports of illegal activity there. Precinct commander Capt. Steve Paulsen jumped in at that point and said that most of the reports they get involves juvenile drinking – so officers will go in but it’s like “herding cats … as far as crime, dangerous crime, it’s mostly kids.”

What about hiking there alone at night? a woman followed up. You might want to walk with somebody, wherever you are, not just in that park or any park, the captain suggested.

Another issue brought up: Coyotes in Camp Long. “Does that present a problem (for humans)?”

William replied, “Urban wildlife is a serious issue” and recalled the “coexistence” workshops that have been held in the past. “We’re trying to make sure we are educating our neighbors.” He suggested maybe there should be workshops at Camp Long. And no, the Parks team replied on followup, coyotes have NOT attacked humans. The attendee found that hard to believe since she had seen a half-dozen or so together; Baker said they engage in “pack behavior” during the season when they are raising young, in particular.

Other topics:

*Williams acknowledged that it’s a problem that many parks don’t have bathrooms – which gets in the way of the “activation” he had spoken about earlier.

*Asked about 4th of July illegal-fireworks damage, “There are no good answers. On the one hand, closing a park just punishes the people who want to go to the park and use it legitimately, so we’ve tried to steer away from that.” They do staff parks on the 4th – racking up lots of overtime – and also rely on watchful neighbors. There remained a good deal of frustration on this point, and no real resolution.

*One attendee said more people should volunteer in ways big and small; he talked about picking up trash while out and about.

What about lights or security improvements? Such projects might be suitable for the Parks and Green Spaces Levy Opportunity Fund, offered Pete Spalding, a meeting attendee who chairs the levy Oversight Committee (and also serves on the precinct’s Advisory Council). He mentioned the upcoming workshops for prospective applicants (as reported here; overall info about the Opportunity Fund can be found here).

OTHER CRIME PREVENTION COUNCIL NOTES: Operations Lt. Pierre Davis announced Drug Takeback Day at the precinct 10 am-2 pm on April 28th, one week from this Saturday (here’s the listing on the WSB West Seattle Events calendar); Karen Berge from the West Seattle Blockwatch Captains Network mentioned that their next meeting is on April 24th and will feature Community Police Team Officer Jonathan Kiehn discussing Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design. She also announced that June 22nd will be the date for the group’s planned Blockwatch Captains appreciation event.

Story by Tracy Record
Photos/video by Patrick Sand
West Seattle Blog co-publishers

Seven months after they came to West Seattle for an announcement including big changes for what was then the Southwest Community Center, City Councilmember Sally Bagshaw and Parks Superintendent Christopher Williams were back today to dedicate the result.

The reconfigured building at 2801 SW Thistle now is home to Southwest Teen Life Center as well as West Seattle’s only Neighborhood Service Center, newly relocated from Delridge, a move that was such a side note in last fall’s announcement, the Department of Neighborhoods didn’t even have a representative there. But today, DON director Bernie Matsuno was on hand too, and Bagshaw pronounced the end result “fantastic” – she’s one of the speakers in a short (11 minutes) round of speeches:

Those also on hand for the dedication were two of the three Neighborhood District Coordinators who are now based out of the SW offices, after moving from the shuttered Delridge site:

That’s Steve Louie on the left and Yun Pitre on the right (fellow coordinator Ed Pottharst wasn’t in), with, at center, Laurie Ames.

And in the top photo, Southwest Advisory Council president Tom Foley – who had fought for months to save the community center – helped cut the ribbon. The building continues to rent space to some private programs, such as EuropaKids International Preschool (WSB sponsors), whose young students sang for the visitors:

All of the changes are among the latest results of city budget cuts. The city is saving money by co-locating the NSC – where you can pay bills, renew passports, and find out about city services – and district coordinators in a building it owns.

Less than a year ago, it not only operated an NSC on Delridge, in privately owned space, it also paid rent for an NSC in The Junction (vacated last summer and not replaced). And in addition to repurposing SW Community Center as SW Teen Life Center, other centers around the city were organized into geographic zones with centralized staff – the High Point Community Center, where all this reorganizing was announced last September, is the hub of the West Seattle/South Park “geo.”

One facility in the SW building that hasn’t really changed is Southwest Pool, which reopened yesterday after a three-week maintenance closure. It’s part of today’s celebration too; we photographed assistant aquatic coordinator Matt Richardson before the day’s special free swims got started:

The next free swim is for teens, 3-4 pm, part of an afternoon of celebration detailed on the Parks Department’s Parkways website. And superintendent Williams will be back in West Seattle tonight; he is the scheduled guest at the West Seattle Crime Prevention Council meeting tonight (7 pm, Southwest Precinct at Delridge/Webster)

During the closure there are several major projects. The first week, March 26-April 1, will be comprised of the gymnasium floor refinishing project. This requires the use of materials that put out a fair amount of volatile organic compounds. The Pool, Teen Life Center and EuropaKids will not be in operation during this week.

The last two weeks are the Pool’s regular preventive maintenance closure. The work includes draining and acid washing the plaster shell, replacement of some valve seals, filter repairs and other items that require the pool to be empty. It takes nearly two days to drain the pool , two to fill, and another two to heat the pool back up to its normal 85-degree operating temperature. The Pool reopens April 16th. To register for lessons during our closure, participants can contact any other Seattle Parks Pool or Community Center.

After the pool reopens, there are a couple big events -

-Our Grand Re-Opening (celebration is) on April 17th. The schedule of events is

11:30-12:30 Dedication and refreshments
12:00-1:30 Free Adult Swim
3:00-4:00 Free Public/Teen Swim

-April Pools Day on Saturday April 21st, 10:30 am to Noon. There will be water safety demonstrations and practice stations, free swimming, and prizes. Children under 18 must be accompanied into the water by an adult.

No doubt, the majority of dog owners are responsible and respectful of others. And then, there are the few who make things unpleasant for everybody else by not picking up after their pets. More than a few, in the case of Junction Plaza Park, the tiny oasis of public greenspace at Alaska/42nd, just steps from the heart of The Junction, which now has “designated pet areas” in graveled spots along the sidewalk, after its grassy central circle was so badly befouled, it was in danger of dying. It’s now marked with signs asking pet owners to NOT let their animals relieve themselves there:

We spotted the signs this past week, but had heard about the plan from Susan Melrose of the West Seattle Junction Association and Erica Karlovits of the Junction Neighborhood Association, both of whom worked hard to help make the park happen in the first place; Melrose brought the problem up at the Southwest District Council meeting back in February.