By Jason Grotelueschen
Reporting for West Seattle Blog

The Fauntleroy Community Association met on Tuesday night at the Fauntleroy Schoolhouse for their January meeting, to kick off the new year.

One important “save the date” for neighbors to make note of, which was discussed and decided in the meeting: The group’s annual meeting and popular “Food Fest” will be held Tuesday, March 24, from 6-8 pm at The Hall at Fauntleroy (9131 California SW). More details below, and in our coverage of last year’s event.

Additional notes and toplines from the meeting, which was led by president Frank Immel:

SPD UPDATE: Jamie Heslin from Southwest Precinct was on hand to provide some updates and crime statistics, focusing on “year over year” comparisons for 2025 vs 2024:

• For SW Precinct, there were 3,718 total reported crimes in 2025 compared with 4,697 total calls in 2024 (a 19% drop).
• For Fauntleroy, there were 104 reported crimes in 2025 compared with 181 in 2024 (a 40% drop). For the last 30 days, there were 4 calls compared with 7 calls the prior year.
• Notably, for the SW Precinct, there were zero homicides in 2025 (as we noted earlier this month). Out of 91 total shots-fired calls, there were 6 calls with a victim.

One attendee asked about the ambiguity between hearing gunshots and fireworks, and Heslin emphasized “when in doubt, just call it in,” and 911 is the preferred number. For anything considerably less urgent, the non-emergency number is 206-625-5011. Although many Ring cameras are associated with neighbor-provided crime reports, Heslin said “Ring posts are not police reports” and encouraged people to always call 911 to report it, rather than just posting online.

Attendees asked about the Jan 6 evening helicopter/ground search in and near Fauntleroy Park (see WSB coverage here) involving a stolen and abandoned car. Heslin didn’t have any additional details, because SPD CSOs (Community Service Officers) such as herself typically work until 10 pm, and this incident occurred after that. SPD and KCSO officers responded, and the search involved quite a large area.

Heslin then excused herself from the meeting, explaining that SPD was “in four different places tonight,” providing community updates to various groups.

FINANCIAL UPDATE AND BUDGET: Treasurer Alan Grainger presented a year-end overview of the group’s 2025 finances, and led a discussion about items planned for the 2026 budget. The group’s finances were better than budget in 2025, and Grainger presented a balanced budget for 2026. As discussed in last month’s FCA meeting, the group is still planning to do some sort of neighborhood survey in 2026 (see the 2023 results here) and is budgeting for that. FCA is the area’s only community council that regularly surveys its residents and businesses. Fundraising efforts for the Fauntleroy Fall Festival were particularly strong.

Other budget items discussed included maintenance of neighborhood plantings, crossing flags (the group places these in the neighborhood but their current supply is depleted), website and administrative costs and potential savings, and various fundraising ideas (including sponsored flower baskets similar to those in the Alaska Junction). Grainger will make revisions to the budget based on the group’s discussion, and they’ll vote on approval of the budget in their February meeting.

ANNUAL MEETING AND FOOD FEST: As mentioned above, the date and time is set for Tuesday, March 24, 6-8 pm. Board members David and Reed Haggerty attended Tuesday’s meeting via phone, to talk about preliminary plans and to get feedback from the board. The group will start promoting the event via email and their newsletter. They want to consider doing some different fundraising ideas and displays this year, and as usual they’ll need lots of volunteer support. More to come in the near future.

501c3 vs 501c4 STATUS: Vice president Catherine Bailey led a brief discussion regarding her research into the group’s non-profit status. FCA currently has 501c4 status, and there has been some discussion about considering 501c3 status to potentially unlock broader funding and tax-deductible donations. There are pros/cons and things to consider for both options, Bailey said, including potential limitations on community advocacy and endorsements. Next steps: More research into the options, and consulting legal/tax counsel before making any decisions.

TRANSPORTATION AND INFRASTRUCTURE: 

• Crane at the ferry dock: As we reported earlier this week, there is a crane onsite doing maintenance and preservation work, which is expected to last about a week.
• Pedestrian safety near ferry queue and SW Rose Street: There are still concerns about project designs (as presented earlier this year) and several board members wondered if pedestrian-activated flashing beacons (as used elsewhere in the city) versus standard signals could be a good choice. The board would like to hear more from official project managers at a future meeting.
• Upcoming overlapping projects: Work is anticipated on Fauntleroy and California including Seattle Public Utilities‘ 45th SW Fauntleroy Creek culvert-replacement project, with significant traffic impact. Board members expressed concern with snarled traffic due to the concurrent projects (culverts, ferry dock, SW Rose crossing) and Immel plans to invite project managers to a future FCA meeting and to the Annual Meeting for community Q&A.

The Fauntleroy Community Association board meets on the second Tuesday of most months at 6 pm, usually in-person and online – go here for info. The group will meet again in February, on Tuesday the 10th.