Jim Sander and Theresa Hoy led the Pigeon Point Neighborhood Council meeting last night as co-chairs for the first time. Before the meeting was too far along, all 20 or so chairs set up in a circle inside the Pathfinder K-8 cafeteria were filled, one by the night’s special guest, Southwest Precinct Crime Prevention Coordinator Benjamin Kinlow. He’s always busy but has been on an extra-intense tour of neighborhood councils recently, as more groups show interest in helping facilitate the growth of Block Watch activism in their respective areas. Kinlow (who is a civilian SPD employee) stressed, “Get your entire block involved in watching out for each other’s homes. … When you see somebody out on the street or the sidewalks (who looks unfamiliar or out of place), think about them being in your back yard … call your neighbors, have everybody stand in the window and watch … if they see that (and are up to no good), they will leave your neighborhood.” More crime-prevention advice and other Pigeon Point notes, ahead:

Of course, before you can call your numbers, you have to have their numbers – one thing a Block Watch should do, Kinlow says often. And when you need to call police, he reiterated what police say over and over, “We want you to become trigger-happy when calling 911. The 911 operator will ask you a list of questions – some people will be discouraged, but that’s not what they’re trying to do – just insist you want somebody to come out. And if you have a bad experience with 911, don’t let it discourage you from calling in the future.”

From there, PPNC members started talking amongst themselves about how to work to make Block Watch a success around their northeastern West Seattle neighborhood. One man who said he had been hit hard by burglars just before Christmas offered to help lead the effort. And former PPNC chair Pete Spalding – who is on the Southwest Precinct Citizens Advisory Council – reminded everyone that it’s imperative to report crimes of all types and all sizes; he recounted a crime spree that involved almost two dozen cars around the area, by neighbors’ count, but only yielded four police reports because so many victims didn’t report what had happened. “If you don’t report stuff, it doesn’t make it into crime analysis, they don’t send more cops to patrol up here on a regular basis – no matter how minor it is, you’ve got to report it.”

One other semi-hot topic, the recent six-week road closure near Youngstown Arts Center with the detour that increased Pigeon Point traffic and decreased its parkingr; when the closure plan came to light less than two weeks in advance, PPNC worked intensively to get concerns heard and addressed by agencies including SDOT and Metro. Co-chair Sander recalled the situation by starting last night’s meeting with the observation, “The best news is that we all lived through the road closure.” Some have noted that 21st SW suffered wear and tear from increased traffic during the detour period; Spalding said SDOT reps were in the neighborhood last Friday for a firsthand look. The signs Sander created drew kudos too; Spalding said they both “showed the neighborhood had a sense of humor” and “made people slow down to read.” (The one that was stolen hasn’t yet been found.)

Other quick notes – A Parks and Green Spaces Levy Opportunity Fund proposal is out for a potential park at the corner of Andover and 21st SW (map); the formal application was in by the April 2nd deadline, and now the levy Oversight Committee will review the 100-plus applications to decide which to examine more closely for potential funding. … A long-overdue website update is in the works, though the group agreed that the years-old archives on their current one need to be retained, not deleted, so they’re still accessible when an updated site is in place … May 1st is Pigeon Point Spring Clean, starting around 8 am, with cleanup activities throughout the neighborhood.