(Schematic for planned ‘skate dot’ at Morgan Junction Park site)
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
11 years after the city bought the Morgan Junction Park expansion site – currently a fenced-off hole – the project’s budget has shrunk.
You might call it the case of the missing million (dollars), according to project advocates. And that’s where we’ll start our report on tonight’s quarterly meeting of the Morgan Community Association, facilitated at a new-to-MoCA venue – West Seattle Church of the Nazarene – by president Deb Barker.
MORGAN JUNCTION PARK EXPANSION MISSING MILLION?: MoCA learned about the downsized budget during Q&A with Seattle Parks‘ newest planner on the project. Jonathan Garner was a guest via Zoom, in the wake of recent news that the park’s opening date was delayed yet further. They need to “get back to filling the pit” – where contaminated soil was removed on the expansion site, formerly a dry cleaner and mini-mart – with a few conversations to have soon with SDOT for “a clearer understanding of the path forward and the timeline to resolve all the issues,” hopefully by September 1. The “SDOT issues” have to do with that department turning over to Parks what is Eddy Street right-of-way between the current park site and addition.
Meantime, Garner said, they’re changing the design to work with the “budget that we have.” This is a big deal for what’s been in the project spotlight for a couple years, getting a skateable area into the plan, a process led by the Morgan Junction All-Wheels Association, formed after local skaters of all ages created a guerrilla skating area on the long-vacant site. Garner said Parks is working with MJAWA – who had several reps at the meeting – to “find a path forward for the skate spot.” Why is it in question? he was asked, given all the work – including volunteering and donations – that had gone into getting it into the plan. Funding is the problem, Garner said. On one hand, he said, “We’re committed to taking the design work Grindline has done and bringing it into the park itself” – but he also said “we cannot confidently say that we can construct the skate spot … we are working on ways to find the funding,” which he said will require grants and fundraising. He said Parks “is committed to building the skate dot” … someday.
If the skate dot isn’t the top priority for new park features, what is? “Our priorities right now are to fill the hole and have greenspace open and available for the public to use.” Phase 2 is pathways and benches to make the space accessible, and “future phases will come on as funding is available.” That’s a big change from past plans, in which “filling the hole” and putting grass over it was nothing more than a bridge from cleanup to park. Along with the skate dot, the expanded park was supposed to have a play area, but Parks doesn’t have money for that either, said Garner.
Though Garner said he didn’t have information on the project’s original budget, MJAWA cited city reps having told them $2.2 million, back when funding was “restored” after a pandemic pause. Now, Garner said, the budget is $1.2 million. Asked what happened to the other million, Garner said he doesn’t know. Another attendee said, is there anything that can be done to encourage the city to provide more? Garner noted the city’s having budget trouble as it is, and they’re being very “cautious” because of the federal situation as well. “We know what we can put back and have (a space) for the community to use by the end of the year.” MJAWA noted the construction budget for the skate dot was $180.000. Garner suggested that wouldn’t be the full price, saying there are other costs to “fit it into the park,” bringing stormwater systems up to code, and more.
Garner also said they’re planning on a community meeting to show what they’re planning to do with the funding they have. An attendee said Seattle Parks shouldn’t bring their favored solution but should instead get early feedback and design from that. The new contract, Garner said, would involve site monitoring, design services “to redesign within the budget that we have,” and then construction management. MoCA hopes to bring him back for an update in July.
MORGAN JUNCTION EV CHARGING LOT UPDATE: Also from the long-delayed-project file, Lizzie Kay from Seattle City Light was a guest (via Zoom) for this update and Q&A. She went into some background on the project on an ex-substation lot between Morgan and Fauntleroy, which will have eight fast-charging stations, four Tesla-owned and -maintained (on the west side), four City Light-owned and maintained (on the east side), all open to the public.
The site will have landscaping (“some trees, native shrubs, some ground cover”) as well as additional lighting. She acknowledged the “many delays” and spoke about the biggest issues – “we essentially had to redesign the site for three different manufacturers” of charging equipment. The first manufacturer they were going to use went out of business; a later plan was hampered when their payment software “dropped” them. “We’re cautiously optimistic” that no further big changes will be needed, she said, and they’re trying to find ways to “streamline” the project. They’ve talked with other city departments to try to make that happen. They’ve also found a local manufacturer to produce the equipment. Once construction starts this fall, they hope it will last five or six months (though her slide said “4 or 5”), and that the station will be operational in April; they hope to go out to bid this July.
Questions: Will the landscaping have irrigation? Yes. What will the lighting be like? Not too bright, said Kay, and half as high as streetlights. No cover, for not just winter but also for hot days? No cover, affirmed SCL – it would have “dramatically expanded the scope of the project,” from cost to design time to permits to visual impact on neighbors. How is the exit onto Morgan going to work, given the challenges that intersection already faces? In short, they think it’ll be OK, but other questions led to president Barker suggesting they need more info on the traffic plan, especially with the addition of two multifamily buildings next door since this was first proposed. Why not permeable pavement? The drainage on the site wouldn’t have made it worthwhile. Do they think they’ll have enough bidders? Yes, said Kay; this is the largest project of its type that SCL has ever done. Have any permits been applied for? Yes. Will the charging prices be posted? On the chargers, yes, but “we’re not going to have a gas-station-style sign.” What hours will it be open? 24/7. Who’s responsible for maintenance? The city, for the property; Tesla, for its chargers.
Other topics were addressed more briefly:
POLICE UPDATE: Southwest Precinct second-in-command Operations Lt. Nate Shopay said “all forms of crime” are down in Morgan Junction, and motor-vehicle theft in particular has “tanked,” due to arrests as well as the precinct handing out almost 1,000 steering-wheel locks. No one in attendance had any concerns or questions for him, so this was a short report.
GATEWOOD ELEMENTARY: The Neighborhood Emergency Communications Hub’s twice-yearly meeting with Gatewood Elementary families is coming up, reported Cindi Barker – this is where they talk about a disaster plan and how neighbors would be able to collaborate with the school in case of catastrophe. … Gatewood’s lively Gator Fair (as reported here) is coming up May 31.
CITYWIDE DISASTER DRILL: Cindi Barker said the scenario for upcoming drills is “power outage during (World Cup) games.” June 7 and 22 are the drills; though neither is in West Seattle, local volunteers/coordinators will be involved – there are three ways you can get involved, including as an actor – pretending you’re, for example, you’re a stranded tourist. Interested in helping? Here’s how to contact the Hubs group.
ONE SEATTLE PLAN, WITH REZONING: MoCA has continued watching the proposals, after its informational meeting months ago (WSB coverage here). Deb Barker talked about the recent van tour with District 1 City Councilmember Rob Saka, showing him areas of concern in the wider neighborhood. She said that after the public hearing back on the ice-storm was cut short before the MoCA contingent got to voice their comments (after a five-hour wait)i, there’s now another public hearing planned May 19th. She also mentioned the Council “going through legislation” to align with the state mandates to allow “missing middle” legislation. Morgan is “keeping tabs on what the upzones would be like.”
NEW BIZ: The Fine Baking Company is the new “cake shop” – proprietor Chely Smithgall (above) told MoCA that “we like the area, it’s friendly, business is going well … every day we have new people … working through permits and other requirements was “a long process” taking more than a year but they finally made it. What are their most popular flavors? Funfetti, chocolate Oreo, churro, red velvet, Smithgall said. A meeting-goer said she’s tried just about everything and buys some to give to people she knows. She raved about the empanadas, the cupcakes, the cakes, “everything”! They’re open 10 am-5 pm Tuesdays-Saturdays at 6969 California SW.
MORGAN JUNCTION COMMUNITY FESTIVAL UPDATE: A committee of six is working on the June 14 plan – they have the entertainment lineup finalized and will be reaching out to vendors. They’ve begun their marketing plan, snagged a couple of sponsors already, and they’re getting ready to apply for permits – they can use help with that, and with the festival planning in particular. They’re waiting for word on a Small Sparks grant from the city to help fund the entertainment. They’re also going to benefit from a West Seattle Thriftway (WSB sponsor) barbecue.
SPD COMMUNITY SERVICE OFFICERS: Helene and Jamie introduced themselves, starting off by talking about their recent Resource Fair (WSB coverage here)(=, which drew about 50 vendors/organizations – more than twice as many as planned – and around 250 participants, “really successful.” They explained Community Service Officers as “resource connectors” – unarmed civilian personnel who don’t enforce laws. Part of their job is exactly what they were here doing tonight – talking with and learning from neighborhood groups (they had also been to the Village Green-West Seattle [WSB sponsor] meeting earlier). “We do a lot of community.” They also support patrol officers dealing with people who might need housing, elder care, rehab, other needs uncovered in situations that sworn police handle. They can help look for missing persons, provide food and hygiene needs, transport people home from crash scenes, get people to safe places …community engagement … CSO coverage is 7:30 am-10:30 pm, seven days a week …. the CSOs serve both the South and Southwest precincts since they share a radio channel. But those assigned in this area start and end their days at the SW Precinct. They’re generally not directly dispatched – you don’t call 911 and ask for a CSO, it’ll be up to the calltaker/dispatcher to decide who to send to a call.
NEXT TIME: SDOT should have design info about Fauntleroy/Rose pedestrian improvements after an internal meeting April 21. … The next MoCA meeting will be July 17.
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