From Wednesday night’s meeting of the Southwest District Council (WSB sponsor): Busy agenda including not only updates on West Seattle projects, but also guest appearances by City Council President Richard Conlin, Alaskan Way Viaduct team reps, and a Seattle City Light spokesperson. But first: A followup on a story we brought you at this time tonight, the kickoff of the Friends of Junction Plaza Park‘s efforts to collect pledges of volunteer time and money to get the park finished this year. Susan Melrose of the West Seattle Junction Association told the SWDC that just since the Tuesday night meeting, 22 signed pledges have come in, representing 400 hours of volunteer time, and organizations are volunteering too – nearby West Seattle Christian Church has pledged 200 hours of volunteer time. Patti Mullen of the West Seattle Chamber of Commerce said she had spoken with Lafarge Cement, who, she told Melrose, “wants to know if they can offer any labor and product that can support you.” Volunteer pledges circulated through the room before the meeting ended; here’s a form you can print, sign, and send in – also, as mentioned before, look for park volunteers at this Sunday’s West Seattle Farmers’ Market. Listening to the park update, Councilmember Conlin said, “It’s great to see Junction Plaza Park moving forward,” and that segued right into his update – which, along with Viaduct and City Light points, is just ahead:

Conlin reminded the SWDC he had visited them almost exactly a year ago (WSB coverage here). He briefly recapped what had happened on the priorities he listed then – noting, most prominently and proudly, that the parks levy passed, despite Mayor Nickels’ opposition, with a margin “beyond our wildest dreams.” He says the city’s looking at how to “advance” some of the money in hopes of getting the projects going sooner. And he says the money is going farther, because bids are coming in 15 to 20 percent below expectations. Fairmount Community Association‘s Sharonn Meeks asked about a parks-levy oversight committee; Conlin said, “We haven’t appointed that one yet.” Meeks stressed it’s important to be sure West Seattle is represented on any such committee; Conlin suggested she e-mail West Seattle-residing Councilmember Tom Rasmussen, who chairs the council’s Parks Committee.

Conlin said major priorities for this year include an “economic recovery and renewal and stabilization strategy” and a campaign kicking off later this month to “tackle hunger and malnutrition in the city … so that nobody in Seattle has to go hungry.” He listed tree protection as both a success from last year’s list and a to-do item for this year, with the reminder that the ordinance passed recently is just an “interim” measure.

He also warned that while Seattle city government and services did all right in the year’s first round of budgeting, the trouble since then means that a “reduction cycle” is coming up next month, with about $30 million in cuts expected; he invites you to e-mail any thoughts you have on what to cut, or, show up at a March 26 public hearing.

And he cautioned that budget questions may affect transportation projects too – the 1st Avenue streetcar line that is supposed to replace the waterfront streetcar as part of the Viaduct/Tunnel package, for example. (The SDOT rep who was at the meeting later for the Viaduct presentation, however, was a little less pessimistic-sounding.) “Until the Legislature makes its decision, we can’t talk seriously,” Conlin declared.

Regarding major city-only projects, he said he now regrets voting for the “Mercer corridor” where I-5 meets South Lake Union and hopes to get it put on hold till all the money is secure (you may recall it was revealed recently that the mayor may have known, but not told the council, that federal funding was NOT secure, even as councilmembers voted on the plan; Conlin said they were “stampeded”).

Vlad Oustimovitch from the Fauntleroy Community Association asked for assurances about the other city project that had been angling for federal stimulus funding, the Spokane Street Viaduct Widening Project. Conlin said, “We are focused on that … it is absolutely the top priority.” He thinks at least $15 million of the needed $25 million is in the works.

Next guest was Mike Eagan from Seattle City Light, who provided a refresher course on the utility’s history, which dates back to 1886. He shared numbers galore, including the contention that Seattle pays the “lowest electricity rates of any major U.S. city” — 6.3 cents per KWH compared to an average of 10 in other big cities, he said. But SCL has challenges, he explained, including half its workforce being within five years of retirement age, and lots of old equipment, even mechanical switching. Two more numbers that could apply to you, at home: The average Seattle home uses 15% less electricity than a decade ago; CFL light bulbs use a fourth of the energy of regular bulbs and last 6 to 10 times longer.

Another power-saving type of light, LED, will soon be used in street lights, in a pilot project, Eagan added. He said it would take a lot of money to switch out all street lights, but the savings could be worth it. And before his presentation ended, he also asked for help with Project Share – it needs $60,000 a month to help those who can’t afford their power bills, and right now, it’s only bringing in about $20,000. You can donate here.

Next up after Eagan – an Alaskan Way Viaduct/Tunnel update with Matt Preedy from WSDOT and Steve Pierce from SDOT. The Viaduct presentation, with rotating presenters, has made the rounds of multiple meetings we’ve reported here, so we won’t recap their recap. A few new-ish notes – Preedy did mention the State Senate vote today advancing the tunnel plan, which needs Legislative approval: “We’re still optimistic it will make it through the House, though probably not by the same kind of landslide” … a qualifier for the Viaduct’s fate, “it will remain in service till the tunnel opens in 2015, at the highest degree to which we can maintain it,” said Preedy (in other words, hope it stays stable); the work to tear it down and create a waterfront promenade will then take two more years, going on in to 2017.

Other notes from Wednesday night’s meeting:

WEST SEATTLE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE’S COMMUNITY GUIDE: Mullen said it’s “hot off the press,” first one the Chamber has put together in four years or so – contact her (wschamber.com has contact info) if you want one, or if you want some to distribute through your business or organization..

PARK NAME PETITION: Steve Sindiong from the Morgan Community Association reminded the group that a petition drive is now under way to get the Parks Department to waive its park-naming rules so that the new Morgan Junction park can be named in honor of the late longtime West Seattle Herald reporter Tim St. Clair. (You can print out a copy of the petition here.)

CITY COUNCIL CANDIDATE’S PITCH: Toward the start of the meeting, SWDC members heard a couple minutes of campaign speech from David Bloom, one of many declared candidates for the Seattle City Council, which will have two and possibly three open spots on the ballot this fall. Bloom said, “This is the kind of group I hope will support my candidacy … I believe in neighborhoods.” You can read more about him at his website.

The Southwest District Council meets the first Wednesday of most months, 7 pm in the board room at South Seattle Community College. Next month’s meeting is expected to be a joint session with the Delridge Neighborhoods District Council – watch for time, date, and location on that.