Safety and stormwater were hot topics as HPAC – the community coalition for Highland Park, Riverview, and South Delridge – met online this past Wednesday night.

SOUTHWEST PRECINCT: New third-watch (nighttime) commander Lt. Nathan Shopay was a guest. He was surprised to find how busy it is “deep into the night” in West Seattle/South Park – it’s the quietest precinct but still busy. “We augment a lot – a minimum amount of officers we have to get to (via volunteers) to get to 10 officers a night.” He said they run many “emphasis patrols,” including Westwood Village, and extra staffing for gun violence. He says cross-precinct dispatches to or from South Precinct are common. “Our priorities are … enough officers to serve the community (plus handling) shots calls, anything gun violence related, and we’re still going after all our violent offenders.”

16TH SW SAFETY: With the increase in RVs along 16th SW near South Seattle College (WSB sponsor), crime/safety concerns, said an attendee who works at the college. “I’m at a crossroad where I don’t know what to do with the situation.”

He is particularly concerned because school started this week and there are teenage students attending too. Lt. Shopay said that they’re going to be doing an emphasis patrol in the area and invited the attendee to contact him with concerns but stressed it’s important to report crimes because SPD remains “data-driven.” That also goes for reporting parking violations by RVs, too. (As an aside, Shopay noted there are currently two RVs in front of the precinct.) Another area resident asked which kinds of reports were most helpful; Shopay said all kinds, also noting that reporting drug use other than marijuana is helpful too. Yes, even low-level theft, he said. What about more than one call about the same thing – like suspected gunshots? Yes, said the lieutenant. Multiple calls can help them verify what’s going on. What if you find a bullet just lying around? Yes, call police – might be evidence linked to another crime. “It won’t be on an emergency level (response) but eventually we’re coming to get it” – they can run tests to see if it’s related to other cases. Back to illegally parked RVs – how is the 72-hour rule being enforced? he was asked. They still don’t just immediately tow RVs, he said. He also advised calling in complaints to Parking Enforcement rather than reporting via Find It Fix It. The SSC staffer said they’ve added nighttime security after a lot of fence damage on the east and north sides of the campus.

LEAD: Sean Blackwell re-introduced himself and talked about how LEAD gets referrals from SPD. The subject of problems in the area of the Rozella Building in South Delridge had come up in the conversation with Lt. Shopay and Blackwell said there’s been a lot of discussion and activity related to it. He also said he’d gone for a look at the 16th SW RV encampment and said he can see why vehicle residents from other swept areas moved there “to a place of least resistance.” The people who live in vehicles, he said, are willing to move to someplace like a tiny house if they can have someplace else to store the stuff they have in their vehicles – without that, they would rather take their chances being parked on the street. Also, he noted, “there was a tent that used to be known as ‘the problem tent’ at 15th/Cambridge” and they got that person into the program. There are new tents and a van there now, though, and he talked to one of the tent dwellers, a man in a wheelchair who said he wants help – who also said that he has family members living in an RV on Barton, “Just to give you guys a window into what’s happening .. these folks want help but the resources aren’t there.” Even LEAD has limited resources in West Seattle; the mayor is asking them to focus downtown.

WEST DUWAMISH WET WEATHER STORAGE FACILITY: Amelia Bahr from the a href=”https://kingcounty.gov/depts/dnrp/wtd.aspx” rel=”noopener” target=”_blank”>King County Wastewater Treatment Division brought an update on this storage-tank project meant to reduce stormwater/sewage overflows into the Duwamish River. The big tank to be built underground just west of the 1st Avenue South Bridge will hold up to 1.25 million gallons, as first reported here in February. They spent the summer focused on community engagement for the design of the above-ground portion of the project. An online open house is happening right now to answer questions about the project. Fencing, wildlife habitat, other aspects are what they want to hear about, as well as “high-priority neighborhood goals” regarding the environment and economy. The project will incorporate public art and will call for artists soon – with a requirement that they be local (not always the case, even for publicly funded local art). The project will be part of Trick or Trees on October 29th. Construction of this facility isn’t expected to start until 2025. The county has not yet closed the purchase of the site from the Port of Seattle but has an “access agreement” to start work related to the project, Bahr said. The encampments in the area are not on the property planned for the project, it was also noted in Q&A.

NEXT MEETING: HPAC meets on fourth Wednesdays most months, 7 pm. Watch hpacws.org for updates.