Photos/updates: The city’s Neighborhood Summit @ Seattle Center

| Neighborhoods | West Seattle news

(Photos by WSB co-publisher Patrick Sand)

FIRST REPORT, 9:14 AM: We’re just arriving at Seattle Center to check out the Neighborhood Summit (agenda here) that’s a fulfillment of one of Mayor Ed Murray‘s campaign promises – under way at the Exhibition Hall (3rd/Mercer) until 1 pm.

(Video feed no longer active but keeping box as a placeholder for archived video Monday)
We’ll be adding some photos and updates, but for starters, clicking the “play” button above should take you to live coverage from Seattle Channel, including remarks from the mayor before 9:30 or so. If you’re there and posting to social-media channels, #SNS2014 is the hashtag. More to come.

10:03 AM UPDATE: We’ve been here for about 45 minutes. The mayor has spoken, stressing that this isn’t a self-contained event, but meant to be “the beginning of the conversation.” Here’s a 15-second Instagram video clip we took, panning the space here at the Exhibition Hall, as he spoke:

We’ve seen West Seattleites from Admiral, Arbor Heights, Fairmount, Genesee, Morgan, North Delridge, Pigeon Point, Westwood; we’ve seen South Park’ers. We’ll have a photo gallery later; we’ve put up cameraphone pix on our Twitter feed at twitter.com/westseattleblog (you should be able to see it even if you don’t use Twitter – that’s the web address). There IS password-free wi-fi here, and it seems to work pretty well.

10:32 AM UPDATE: Former City Councilmember Jim Street (above, at podium on the stage, with the mayor at left) is speaking and taking Q/A; most of those who’ve spoken seem to have issues more for current councilmembers – including land use – microhousing and rowhouses have come up. Now, a question about crime/public safety, which Street again can’t answer as he’s not a current councilmember. (Maybe the council should have been here. If they are, we haven’t seen them yet.)

11:34 AM UPDATE: We had to leave midway through, but coverage continues in the video window above (currently, it’s a discussion about the search for a new SDOT director) and on Twitter. Re: council presence, the mayor subsequently mentioned Councilmember Sally Bagshaw was there – not surprising since she chairs the Seattle Public Utilities and Neighborhoods Committee – and there was a Twitter mention of Councilmember Tom Rasmussen.

The first declared candidate for the West Seattle-specific City Council seat in next year’s elections (District 1), Chas Redmond, was there too (above right, with North Delridge’s Dorsol Plants at left).

12:23 PM UPDATE: Mayor is giving closing remarks (it’s open another half-hour, but speeches/discussions are ending onstage) and says more than 600 people participated in person, in addition to others online or watching the stream. He also gives a shoutout to Kathy Nyland, who put it together.

5:26 PM: Finally getting a chance to add our photos – interspersed above and below.

Above, Amanda Leonard and Holli Margell from North Delridge. Next, Sharonn Meeks from Fairmount and Cindi Barker from Morgan:

Cindi was also there for official “peer networking” regarding preparedness. Next, SPD’s crime-prevention coordinator for the Southwest (and South) Precinct, Mark Solomon:

Next, Jim Cavin from Admiral and Mary Fleck from the West Seattle Green Space Coalition:

Below, from left, Amanda Kay Helmick and Joe Szilagyi from WWRHAH and the West Seattle Transportation Coalition, with Deb Barker from Morgan:

Pete Spalding from Pigeon Point:

She’s not from West Seattle but much WS-related information has been shared over the years on the Seattle Schools Community Forum website by Melissa Westbrook:

(A few more to add – stand by)

Meantime, here are a few links potentially of interest:

–“Live blog” coverage by city staff, with notes, curated tweets (including a couple of ours) and photos

-Coalition for an Affordable Living Seattle was handing out flyers outside, headed “Developer impact fees now! Growth controls now!” with a URL that isn’t working, but we found them online here

Gatewooder April 5, 2014 (1:46 pm)

I was originally planning on going, but it looked like a pre-cooked kind of “summit”. The best place to learn about neighborhoods is in neighborhoods, not at Seattle Center.

WSB April 5, 2014 (1:57 pm)

That’s true, but I suspect it carried some value, not necessarily because of any chance to interact with city reps, but because people were meeting each other – seconds after we walked in the door, the first two West Seattleites we bumped into had just met. Different neighborhoods; ideally they wouldn’t have had to cross the bay to meet, but, well, they did. On the ever-hot topic of growth/development, the newest coalition seeking impact fees was flyering at the door – one way for them to reach people from all over the city. When we heard the event pre-described in part as “a civic boat show” during a briefing the mayor’s office had for neighborhood writers a couple weeks ago, that was cause for eye-roll here too – the resource fairs seem to work better when taken to the neighborhoods themselves, as happened during previous administrations’ town halls. Will be interested to hear the thoughts of those we saw (and those we didn’t) about whether they came away with anything of value. – TR

Diane April 5, 2014 (2:28 pm)

I decided yesterday, to not go, for some of these reasons; would like to hear from long time community activists who did attend, if they learned anything new at this event
~
and, I would love to see a WS neighborhood summit, or just big ole meetup/party; since I go to nearly all the sub-neighborhood meetings, I have had the pleasure of meeting community leaders/participants throughout WS, but I know that many of them have not met each other
~
also, cannot understand why all the city council members were not there

Diane April 5, 2014 (2:29 pm)

can you share any more info about this? “the newest coalition seeking impact fees was flyering at the door” I am sorry to have missed that

WSB April 5, 2014 (2:51 pm)

Diane – I realized just now, pulling their flyer out of my pocket, that I mentioned it on Twitter but not in the story so far. (I still have things to add, primarily photos.) It’s John Fox’s latest endeavor – http://calseattle2015.org – the flyer is headed, “Developer impact fees now! Growth controls now!” Deb Barker is one of the 30-plus people whose names are listed on it. (So is SeattleNERD.org, led by Paul Haury from 32nd SW behind the Avalon proposals.)

Diane April 5, 2014 (5:22 pm)

thank you

Holli April 6, 2014 (10:50 am)

I think the summit was a good first round. I’m hoping the local open houses will help fill the gaps left by this big event.

And, I thought the venue didn’t serve the event well. It get’s really loud in there since the acoustics just echo (not my area of expertise, but attending Urban Craft Uprising is just as hard to hear yourself think). It was hard to hear the speakers and folks I wanted talk with regarding specific issues.

Having only about an hour to actually talk to folks between being shushed while the key note speakers talked wasn’t very productive. It was annoying. But, I understand the frustration while trying to listen to a speaker.

I hope that next time they can find a venue where folks who want to hear speakers can have ample seating and be enclosed for better hearing, and an area for actually talking with specific programs and departments, separately.

Happy Camper April 6, 2014 (12:31 pm)

McGinn used to do the same event, only at City Hall. They put the departments in the lobby, and the speakers in Bertha Knight Landes.

I liked that it was at Seattle Center – easier to find parking. Maybe next year have the event at the Opera House or Playhouse? Put the tables in the lobby and have the speakers in the auditorium.

Diane April 6, 2014 (1:37 pm)

thanks Holli; I’ve read a lot of comments on facebook about the “shushing” of people trying to talk to city staff at tables, and trying to meet other neighborhood leaders, and from people who were trying to hear speakers being annoyed by people talking; definitely seems the venue and/or set up was biggest problem; something they’ll hopefully learn from and do different next time

Diane April 6, 2014 (1:46 pm)

@Happy Camper; good catch; sounds like the format of this event was nearly identical to the City Hall open houses that McGinn had a couple times (last year was cancelled last minute); although it looks like this event invited neighborhood groups to also have tables (that did not happen at City Hall open events)
~
City Hall is much easier for many to get to; I just take the bus; I wouldn’t drive to either on a Sat; parking is too expensive

Sorry, comment time is over.