On assignment for WSB, photojournalist Matt Durham covered the final Terminal 107 Park day for the homeless encampment that calls itself “Nickelsville.” He was there hours before the police arrived, and through the sweep. The dozen arrestees included advocates for the homeless like 82-year-old Dorli Rainey, who has provided food, clothing and medical supplies to residents of Nickelsville since its inception. Before the arrests, it was a waiting game for residents like Gayre Jamieson (next photo) and James Noren (second photo below)

Most estimates counted about 50 officers on hand to make sure the camp was cleared and to arrest anyone who didn’t go voluntarily. We showed you a Twitpic of their arrival earlier; this is Matt’s image of that moment:

Residents weren’t sure where they would wind up:

Those who left the park voluntarily walked north to Herring’s House Park:

The encampment’s second stay in West Seattle was almost four months – much longer than the first one last fall, which was barely a week. After eight months in various other parts of the metro area, the encampment returned to West Seattle in early June at a state lot adjacent to the city lot it had occupied in September of last year; after a month and a half there, it moved to T-107 Park in late July and held a defiant open house/”1st birthday” celebration there last Saturday. Tonight, encampment residents have moved on to a short-term spot in North Seattle.

(For more photos from before and during the camp clearance, see this later WSB report)

(Twitpic from @otherthan)
As police move in inside, law enforcement vehicles line W Marginal Way, along with buses. Loud cheers can be heard. We’ve got one person inside, one person outside; you can see other reports via Twitter (this will bring up everything mentioning Nickelsville). Here’s our photo of the start of the vehicle lineup along W. Marginal Way outside the encampment/T-107 Park – besides port police, there are school-type buses, an animal-control vehicle, and a Fife police car that we’ve seen:

3 PM UPDATE: 12 people arrested. Maintenance crews are standing by to move in and start cleaning up. From the south side of the camp, nothing looks different – still a group of tents – just, nobody there. Most of the vehicles have moved off West Marginal Way but there were a few traffic slowdowns so if you have to head north on W. Marginal Way, note that things may be slow going past T-107. As the Port’s spokesperson told us yesterday, the park may be closed for some time for “repairs and maintenance.” The sign on the path at the south side announces the closure:

3:20 PM: Seattle Post-Globe‘s Kery Murakami reports some of the encampment residents are regrouping at a “nearby city park” to decide where to go next. Judging by the TV trucks we’re seeing, that appears to be Herring’s House Park a block north, across from the Duwamish Longhouse.

5:29 PM UPDATE: The port has issued another statement:

Most of the residents at the homeless encampment called Nickelsville chose to leave Port of Seattle property voluntarily today, departing the property peacefully. Twelve homeless advocates refused to leave in an act of civil disobedience to raise awareness of the issue, and were subsequently arrested for trespassing. The arrests were made without incident. The individuals were processed for identification, issued a written trespass warning, and released.

Encampment organizers announced shortly thereafter that St. Andrews Episcopal Church in Seattle would provide a temporary location for the encampment.

The Port of Seattle will store any belongings left behind. Encampment members were given information about how to reclaim their property.

The public park at Terminal 107 will remain closed temporarily while the port’s maintenance staff conducts necessary repairs.

Note the addition to the closure sign on the north end of the park entrance:

FIRST REPORT AT 9:31 AM: From photojournalist Matt Durham, who is staking out the “Nickelsville” site at Terminal 107 Park this morning for WSB: Nothing’s happened yet; encampment residents are gathering at any moment for a meeting. Matt says they’re still expecting that police won’t show up before noon. Some appear to be packing. (We’ll add updates to this item until and unless the encampment starts to clear out – whether that’s voluntarily or unvoluntarily – at which time we’ll start a new report.) Side note: Fellow independent neighborhood-news site Queen Anne View covered the SHARE/WHEEL sleepout at Councilmember Tim Burgess‘s house last night, followup to the Monday night protest in Mayor Nickels‘ North Admiral neighborhood – see the QAV report here.

10:13 AM UPDATE: From Matt – Encampment residents have concluded their meeting and reported that they have four people who are willing to get arrested (that compares to 25 in the sweep at a different site a year ago). They now also believe police are likely to arrive closer to 1 pm.

12:05 PM UPDATE: Some residents have departed. No major police activity yet. (Meantime, re: the SHARE/WHEEL sleepout protest, they say they’ll be back at Burgess’s house tonight.) We’ll be starting an afternoon report shortly.

12:19 PM UPDATE: But first – a statement just in from the Port of Seattle:

Port of Seattle officials expressed regret that some members of the homeless encampment known as ‘Nickelsville’ have thus far refused to leave port property voluntarily. The group set up the encampment on port property without permission and has been at the public park illegally for 69 days. The group’s presence violates city land use and shoreline codes as well as prohibitions against camping and lighting fires within the City of Seattle. In addition, the Port of Seattle does not have the authority to provide land for housing or housing purposes.

Nickelsville organizers and residents have been given multiple warnings that if they did not leave by September 30th, they would be subject to arrest for trespassing. Many residents are choosing to leave, seeking help from resources offered throughout the county. Encampment organizers issued invitations Tuesday to other tent cities across the region to join with them in choosing to be arrested to send a political message about the larger issue of homelessness in our community. While the port respects the right to civil disobedience, encampment members have been asked repeatedly to leave voluntarily.

“The port has worked diligently with Nickelsville and community leaders to find safe and legal options for the residents,” said CEO Tay Yoshitani. “Our first concern remains the health and safety of the men and women of the camp, and I’m relieved tohear that many of the original residents are now using our community’s network of shelters and support services.”

Port commissioners and staff members have worked for more than two months with members of the Nickelsville leadership, its supporters, and members of the faith community to facilitate efforts to find safe and legal shelter for those individuals who want it. Instead, Nickelsville organizers have pursued a permanent site with plans for hundreds of people. Over the past year, both the state and the city have rejected their request for permanent sites, and the City of Seattle has communicated repeatedly that a permanent Nickelsville encampment will not be allowed.

Despite consistent communication from the port that their presence was illegal and would not be tolerated, as recently as Monday organizers reiterated their request to stay an additional 90 days and their desire to extend that agreement on an ongoing basis.

The port has repeatedly stated that the Terminal 107 public park is not an appropriate location for housing or an encampment. Independent of the numerous code violations, there are not acceptable human services and hygiene facilities and lacks access to public transportation.

1 PM UPDATE: Matt Durham reports more Port police arriving at Nickelsville. Further updates will be in a new story.