Story and photos by Katie Meyer
Reporting for West Seattle Blog

A new wayfinding kiosk, an update on the Murray CSO Control Project, and the 6th annual Morgan Junction Festivalthis June were some of the topics covered at the Morgan Community Association‘s quarterly meeting last night.

Toplines:

*A wayfinding kiosk will soon go up on the west side of Fauntleroy Way SW across from the tennis courts, with map and information about the area including Lincoln Park and Solstice Park.

*An update on the Murray CSO project was presented by Martha Tuttle from King County: The environmental review has been completed and results will be made public later this month, after which the public has 14 days to comment, then the design phase begins.

*The Morgan Junction Festival will be on June 25th, with 2 different stages for live music from 10:30 am to 7 pm; local vendors, plenty of activities for children, and the “Bite of Morgan” featuring local restaurants.

Traffic-calming concerns, Zipcars, a unanimous re-election, emergency preparedness drills, tips on deterring crime, and more, after the jump:

SOLSTICE PARK: Susanne Rockwell from Seattle Parks spoke about the recent work on the Solstice Park pathway, including removal of invasive plants/weeds, and ideas on additional improvements as possible to-do items. Some leftover money, she said, could be used now, or held in reserve for next year to re-gravel the pathways and put in trees north of the tennis courts.

KIOSK: A wayfinding kiosk will be installed on the Lincoln Park side of Fauntleroy Way SW right across from the tennis courts, with a big “you are here” and info/directions about Solstice Park and Lincoln Park. It will be part of the series that’s in the works around the peninsula – see the one installed at Junction Plaza Park earlier this month.

MORE PARK SPACE? MoCA community information officer Cindi Barker discussed the potential for more park space in the Morgan “urban village”: The Parks and Green Spaces Levy allocated funds for acquisition of additional green space within the boundaries of the urban villages. Suggestions of locations are welcome; so far two of the options being considered are 1) the vacant lot next to the church on 42nd SW and SW Juneau for a more “residential” park, or 2) expanding the current “urban” Morgan Junction Park northward a bit, which does have some right-of-way logistics with Eddy Street and the alley behind the dry cleaners lot.

MURRAY BASIN CSO PROJECT: Martha Tuttle from King County Wastewater Treatment Division updated attendees on the SEPA (State Environmental Policy Act) review for the Murray CSO Control Project, which is pursuing the “preferred alternative” of a huge underground storage tank beneath what is currently privately owned residential land across from Lowman Beach Park. As Tuttle retires this month, she introduced project managers Erica Jacobs and Doug Marsano. They say the environmental review has been completed and will be issued in late April, after which the public has a two-week opportunity to comment – residents in close proximity to the project will receive letters announcing how to obtain copies of the review results and how to submit written comments. The public can call or e-mail KC Environmental Planner Sue Meyer to ask that the SEPA document be sent to them (206-684-1171; sue.meyer@kingcounty.gov.

Next will be preparation for the design process – working with current property owners/tenants, selecting a design consultant, and by September, issuing notice of beginning preliminary design. Project is on schedule per the timeline presented at the meeting:

Landscaping planning will happen during the design phase; community input will be welcome for on the “above-ground esthetics.” The project managers say they will be back in the fall to attend another MoCA meeting with updates.

ZIPCARS: With Zipcars no longer at the Rite-Aid on California SW or in Morgan Junction, MoCA members plan to gauge interest (via Facebook and other venues) to decide if they’ll petition to have one in the Morgan Junction area again.

TRAFFIC CONCERNS: Patrick Dunn received MoCA’s endorsement in his quest to get a traffic circle put in at 38th SW/SW Graham; concerns about traffic speed near The Little Gym at California/Myrtle were discussed, and the city is looking at traffic-calming devices to go in at 48th Ave SW north of SW Graham: a meeting for that at Seaview Methodist Church with SDOT and neighbors is tentatively set for May 19th.

CRIME: Morgan Junction area residential burglaries are down 20% over last year. Car thefts are down. Advice: “Watch for small groups of two or three people who seem to have no purpose or destination. They’re looking at availability of cars, and lights going on and off in residences. Call police.” Community members are also urged to get involved in the Block Watch program.

MORGAN JUNCTION FESTIVAL: The 6th annual Morgan Junction Festival is scheduled for June 25th. Kids’ activities will include chalk art in the squares, face painting, and an appearance by “The Bubble Man.” Continuous entertainment will resound from two stages with a diverse lineup of musical artists (including kids from The School of Rock, original blues, rock, folk, Tongan choir music, and marimba tunes) and more than 20 vendors will be participating. The “Bite of Morgan” is being planned – with Kokoras Greek Grill and Zeeks Pizza on board, among others.

EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS: Per Cindi Barker – who’s also involved with West Seattle Be Prepared – a second Emergency Preparedness drill of the year is coming up, date TBA, coordinated with the Office of Emergency Management. Very specific to Morgan Junction will be “resource mapping” – inventory all buildings in neighborhood, and identify and verify potential places where people can stay (before Red Cross shelters are put up) after a disaster. The Morgan neighborhood had an existing mapping list from 1998; a volunteer will bring it up to date, then that info will be used for “ground truthing” – going door to door on targeted buildings, to verify if they’re suitable and available as resources.

MoCA OFFICERS: Deb Barker and Chas Redmond were unanimously re-elected as President and Vice-President of MoCA, respectively.

Morgan Community Association is online at morganjunction.org.