West Seattle, Washington
16 Friday
(WSB photo, Wednesday night)
As we reported last night, City Councilmember Rob Saka‘s community-safety meeting for three West Seattle neighborhoods ended with several frustrated attendees shouting that they hadn’t been allowed to speak.
Among them, Phil Brandt, the High Point resident whose car had been hit buy gunfire in High Point last month – leaving his 3-year-old’s car seat with a bullet hole.
Today, he contacted WSB wanting to tell his side of the story, to offer context. “That wasn’t anger for the sake. of anger,” he said. “It’s important for the community to understand the three weeks that preceded last night.”
He laid out this timeline:
-April 17, in gunfire near Walt Hundley Playfield, two rounds hit his vehicle, one going through his son’s car seat. We received this photo from a reader that night:
Brandt said that was one of eight West Seattle gunfire incidents in 34 days. Two were in High Point, he said, one in an area with a longterm streetlight outage. He said he was out of town at the time and not aware of the bullet hole for a few daus but once he was, he emailed a photo of the car seat to Councilmember Saka, and other emails to SPD and the councilmember’s staff. He said they got back to him and urged him to speak at the April 22 City Council meeting, which he did (with the car seat), expressing frustration there too (see it here, two minutes into the meeting).
After that meeting, he said, “multiple staffers from multiple councilmembers” asked what they could do. Talking to other High Point community members, he said, they had three demands, starting by asking that all 33 streetlight outages in High Point within a week. He said that led to staff for four councilmembers – Saka, Alexis Mercedes Rinck, Sara Nelson, Dan Strauss – contacting City Light, and fast repair action resulting.
Second, he said, was a High Point town hall with Saka and SPD, and third was a High Point neighborhood walkthrough with Saka, his staff, and local police. Saka’s staff started working on the town hall, Brandt said, and community members emphasized that they did NOT want a presentation. “They agreed to open Q&A,” he said. But, he said, he did not hear from Saka himself until a phone call on May 2. “I don’t know why it took 11 days to contact me directly.”
The meeting announcement sent to Saka’s newsletter email list said the meeting would be “about listening” among other things – here’s a screengrab:
But, Brandt told. us, “last night I had a feeling we weren’t going to get what we asked for. I’m happy that (many) city officials showed up, but it’s not what we asked for and agreed to. When I got there at 6 pm, it was the first time I had heard there would not be live questions.”
Overall, he said he found the hour-and-a-half meeting frustrating except for Police Chief Shon Barnes and Chief Public Safety Officer Natalie Walton-Anderson. Regarding the announcement promising “listening,” he said, “I don’t know where the ‘listening’ was.” Not with Saka, he alleged, “I lost track of how many times he (started sentences) with ‘I’… this was not a campaign stop, this was a community hurting.” Instead of guns, Saka focused on sidewalks, Brandt noted, saying that might have been relevant if there was data to show that a lack of sidewalks factored into crime.
Brandt has lived in High Point since last summer, after returning to Seattle from a few years away, noting that he has two sets of family members who also live in High Point. He says the organizations that manage the area have been “very helpful,” so his beef’s not with them.
He’s waiting to hear what Saka plans to do … but hadn’t heard from him or his staff by day’s end. (We’ll be asking them “what’s next?” tomorrow.)
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
The Admiral Neighborhood Association‘s gathering Tuesday night was the “final meeting before our summer events!” president Joanie Jacobs exclaimed exuberantly. “And we have a full night.’
That, it was. Here’s how it unfolded across almost two hours in the community room at Admiral Church (itself the night’s last major topic):
POLICE: Southwest Precinct Community Liaison Officer German Barreto was, as. usual, the SPD rep. “Everything has been going down” regarding crime stats overall, he said, as has been the declaration at other recent community meetings. Burglaries (down by half in Admiral, 19 year-to-date this year, 38 in 2024, auto thefts also halved – 22 compared to 40 – and even gunfire incidents have dropped – in all the precinct jurisdiction, 34 year-to-date, down from 39 at this point last year.
The David Williford case came up; we’d reported his arrest five hours earlier. Barreto had no additional info to offer. Then someone asked about the Admiral stabbing/robbery incident from the previous evening (WSB followup coverage here); had the 25-year-old suspect been on police’s radar previously? Barreto said no.
One other question: How’s staffing going? Barreto said he actually had a ridealong that night “of someone interested in the department.” But “it’s going to be a gradual thing” to get staffing back up to full strength, he warned.
Due to event coverage this morning, we’re not able to publish a highlight list for today, but you can check our West Seattle Event Calendar for all the listings. We did want to make a quick reminder about tonight’s biggest event – the community-safety forum that City Councilmember Rob Saka is coordinating for North Delridge, High Point, and Snake Hill, all coping in particular with gunfire incidents. It’s happening at High Point Neighborhood House (6400 Sylvan Way SW), starting at 6:30 pm. From his announcement:
I’ve invited key city leaders to join us including Police Chief Shon Barnes, Chief of Public Safety Officer Natalie Walton-Anderson, Parks Superintendent AP Diaz, and Seattle City Light CEO Dawn Lindell. Council President Sara Nelson and additional city representatives will also be in attendance.
This community gathering is about listening — and acting. Our goal is to give city leadership a clear understanding of how this violence is affecting daily life and to explore real, cross-departmental and community-rooted solutions. Because no one agency — and no one person — can solve this alone.
Again, though we usually publish a home-page list every morning, today you’ll need to go here to see what else is happening in the hours ahead.
Last month, the Alki Community Council focused its gathering on summer safety at the beach (WSB coverage here). Some of the measures that we’d previously reported are about to kick in – earlier closing time at Alki starts a week from Friday,for one. But the April ACC discussion will have to stand as the group’s last pre-summer focus on this year’s plans, as the May ACC meeting planned for this Thursday (May 15) is canceled. The group’s leadership says, “We have several intiatives and activities this week and a shortage of folks available for the normal Thursday night meeting. However, we will see you at the West Seattle 5K,” happening on Alki this Sunday.
This week brings multiple community meetings. Among them, the Admiral Neighborhood Association‘s every-other-month general gathering, 7 pm Tuesday (May 13), last one at Admiral Church (4320 SW Hill) – here’s the summary of agenda highlghts we received:
SPD, a representative from Parks to update the Hiawatha project, and an appreciation for Admiral Church and all of its hospitality and contributions to the ANA as they prepare to leave their building in the coming months, as well as an update on their project.
(If you’re just catching up, Hiawatha Community Center has been closed for five years and is undergoing a strengthening/modernization work; Admiral Church is partnering with an affordable-homeownership organization to turn its campus into housing and a new church/community/space.) All are welcome.
As we first reported on Monday, City Councilmember Rob Saka announced plans for a community-safety meeting May 14, but said details were still being worked out. Last night at the community-organized North Delridge public-safety gathering (WSB coverage here), his chief of staff Elaine Ikoma Ko said it would start at 6:30 pm and the location would be announced today. Now that’s just in – he’s describing it as “a Community Safety Meeting focusing specifically on the concerns facing the North Delridge, Snake Hill, and High Point neighborhoods”:
Wednesday, May 14
6:30 PM to 8:00 PM
(doors open 6:15 pm, event ends promptly at 8:00 pm)Neighborhood House – High Point
6400 Sylvan Way SWI’ve invited key city leaders to join us including Police Chief Shon Barnes, Chief of Public Safety Officer Natalie Walton-Anderson, Parks Superintendent AP Diaz, and Seattle City Light CEO Dawn Lindell. Council President Sara Nelson and additional city representatives will also be in attendance.
This community gathering is about listening — and acting. Our goal is to give city leadership a clear understanding of how this violence is affecting daily life and to explore real, cross-departmental and community-rooted solutions. Because no one agency — and no one person — can solve this alone.
I have always said that public safety must be a shared responsibility – one that involves government, law enforcement, community organizations, and neighbors. So let’s come together to find shared solutions!
If you live in North Delridge, Snake Hill, or High Point, I encourage you to share your voice ahead of the meeting by submitting a question for the panel
The question-submission form appears to require a login, so we’re checking on that.
5:18 PM: City staff tells us they’ve fixed the “technical glitch” with the question-submission form, so we’ve added it above (and it’s here too).
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
Knowledge is power.
That saying seemed to be the prevailing sentiment as dozens of North Delridge neighbors gathered tonight at Cottage Grove Park in hopes Seattle Police could tell them more about the gunfire incidents that even Southwest Precinct commander Capt. Krista Bair agreed were “horrible.”
And it was clear that community is power, too. They resolved to share more real-time information between themselves – house to house, street to street, micro-neighborhood to micro-neighborhood – in hopes that will help police make arrests, and might even deter people from using their neighborhood as “target practice.”
Bair, Community Liaison Officer German Barreto, and Community Service Officers Jamie and Helene were there. The captain offered a detailed briefing on where things stand and what police are doing. We captured much of it on video, in progress as we arrived a couple minutes late:
City Councilmember Rob Saka, who lives nearby, was not there, but his chief of staff Elaine Ikoma Ko and district director Erik Schmidt both were, explaining that Saka had conflicting family commitments. Ko and Capt. Bair both spoke about Saka’s planned May 14 community-safety town hall (first reported here Monday after he announced it during the City Council’s regular “briefing meeting”); there’s now a start time – 6:30 pm – but no location yet; Ikoma Ko promised that would be announced tomorrow. Ikoma Ko warned that “we don’t have all the answers” but hoped the town hall would at least be a positive step toward providing/obtaining some.
Bair did have some tidbits – for example, she said they don’t believe the gunfire suspect arrested after a neighbor grabbed him in High Point is related to the 100-plus-shots-fired incident in North Delridge, though she did observe that since his arrest, things have been a lot quieter.
As Officer Barreto had told last month’s HPAC meeting, SPD is doing “emphasis patrols,” and one attendee said that was likely a factor in the quieting down, too – “a heavy presence makes a big difference.” Bair agreed, although she also warned that when officers are assigned to “emphasis patrols” – not just in North Delridge, but in other SW Precinct areas such as Alki, Westwood, and South Park – that takes them out of the mix for some911 responses.
Much talk centered on the belief that the 100-bullet-plus gunfire was related to gang activity, and a vigil that night for an apparent gang member recently murdered in another part of the city. Why was that vigil held here? One theory in circulation, Capt. Bair said, was the fact that the park lends itself to an easy getaway route. She also affirmed that though SPD doesn’t currently have a Gang Unit in name, there are gang specialists in what’s currently known as the Gun Violence Reduction Unit.
Talk also turned to a problem house in the neighborhood that neighbors said had been raided repeatedly, and yet is still a source of crime. Focusing home security cameras on trouble spots like that might help provide police with the evidence needed to make arrests, some suggested. A fair amount of energy was displayed around the concept of flooding the area with home cameras, since new types of official police/government anti-crime cameras didn’t seem to be expected any time soon. Bair encouraged the discussion, saying police appreciate having video evidence.
One camera supporter, who said he’d lived in the neighborhood 26 years, said that on the night of the 100+ bulleets, “the last time I heard that many bullets was in Iraq.” Bair and Ikoma Ko indicated the city would like more camera coverage, with the partnership of community members, maybe finding new ways to feed community information into a “real-time crime center.”
Bair also cautioned that there could be higher standards for what’s considered evidence – if casings are collected, they check for their “fingerprint” to see if they could be linked to any other shootings.
Other proposed solutions were voiced – flooding a dark SW Brandon intersection with light (“they shoot there because it’s dark”), close problematic parks early (a la Alki). Some things are already being “worked on,” promised Capt. Bair.
This is why next week’s town hall will include city department heads empowered to take action, noted Ikoma Ko – from new Police Chief Shon Barnes to leaders from City Light and Parks, to the mayor’s public-safety director Natalie Walton-Anderson (a West Seattleite).
But grass-roots power would triumph, Officer Barreto insisted: “Because of you guys, we’re going to find out what’s going on.”
And organizer Doug suggested that simple community gatherings could reclaim the space too, and voiced the hope that more would follow, not just solemn-purpose get-togethers like this one.
A good motivation for that was in view on the park’s gentle green slopes all around the circle and tables where the neighbors gathered: The youngest members of the community, depending on the grownups to keep them safe.
WHAT’S NEXT: We’ll update the May 14th community-town-hall info as soon as it’s announced.
3:30 PM: As we reported over the weekend, frustrated neighbors in North Delridge have organized a community meetup for tomorrow night (6 pm Tuesday, May 6, Cottage Grove Park) to talk about safety concerns, including multiple gunfire incidents. Now City Councilmember Rob Saka has just announced that he’s organizing a District 1 Community Safety Town Hall focused on that area among others, with Seattle Police Chief Shon Barnes among the panelists. He made the announcement during the City Council’s weekly briefing, at which he’s still speaking as we type this; he said Wednesday, May 14, is the date, but did not announce a time or place, saying that’s forthcoming; we’re also inquiring. (Added) City Council President Sara Nelson just told Saka during the meeting that she’ll attend too.
5:09 PM: The council communications office tells WSB they don’t have any additional details yet.
7:47 PM TUESDAY: One more bit of info revealed today – it’ll start at 6:30 pm. Councilmember Saka’s chief of staff Elaine Ikoma Ko, representing him at tonight’s North Delridge community conversation, said the location is still being finalized but they’ll announce that tomorrow.
(Reader photo from March, bullet hole in home’s siding)
More than a month has passed since a huge volley of gunfire hit homes and vehicles in North Delridge (WSB coverage here), and other gunfire incidents have followed, including three in two days in mid-April. No word of arrests so far, so neighbors are organizing a community-safety gathering this Tuesday (May 6). One of the organizers, Doug, says, “The goal is to give neighbors a chance to gather, share ideas for solutions, and hopefully be able to ask some questions of city officials.” As of last check, Doug says they hadn’t received city-official confirmation, aside from the likelihood that SPD will be able to attend; as we reported last week, police have been doing “emphasis patrols” in the area. They’ll be gathering at 6 pm Tuesday at Cottage Grove Park, on the paved circular area near the playground.
(WSB file photo from a past Station 37 open house
Thanks for the tip! A caller reminds us this is Neighbor Day in Seattle, and that means you’re welcome to visit your local fire station during a short window in which they’re offering tours, provided everyone’s not out on a call. The window is 1-3 pm today. West Seattle’s neighborhood fire stations, south to north, are Station 37 (35th/Holden), Station 11 (16th/Holden), Station 32 (37th/Alaska), and Station 29 (2139 Ferry SW). West Seattle is also home to Station 36 alongside the north end of Delridge under the bridge, but that one hasn’t tended to open for tours because it’s harder to access.
(West Duwamish Greenbelt Trails Groupfile photo)
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
Your role in a vision for Seattle’s largest stretch of remaining forest was the largest topic at this month’s gathering of HPAC, the community coalition for Highland Park, Riverview, and South Delridge.
Police had updates too during the meeting at Delridge Library, which was facilitated by Kay Kirkpatrick, HPAC co-chair.
RIDGE TO RIVER: While this initiative is being reinvigorated, it’s not new. Paul West, who said he had lived in the area for 25 years, explained that Ridge to River was inaugurated in 2019 “to make more connections between the Longhouse and the nearby neighborhoods,” particularly through the West Duwamish Greenbelt, a “four-mile-long corridor along the Duwamish River,” stretching south to White Center. He summarized, “We’re in the process of introducing people to the greenbelt … our goal is to make people fall in love with the greenbelt …it has a lot of existing .. and future potential.”
That love would be accompanied by community connections, West continued. Ridge to River has in its sights the entire stretch, north to south, especially underserved neighborhoods. And as a centerpiece, it’s the historical home of the Duwamish Tribe. “They don’t just think that their ancestors are in the greenbelt, they KNOW their ancestors are in the greenbelt.” And now is prime time to get more people involved with the land, the trees, the wildlife.
Some are working on that through other groups and initiatives – West and Caroline Borsenik, who also was there for the Ridge to River presentation, are also involved with the West Duwamish Greenbelt Trails group, a volunteer organization that’s been improving trails in the WDG and leading community hikes through it. The trails-focused group also has produced a map, announced earlier this year.
As for Ridge to River, “We’re just getting up and running,” including their new website, city connections, and a pilot project, the first trail that will connect to the longhouse. West said they expect the first phase to take about two years to roll out. They’re also doing studies, and then next year they’ll ask the community for opinions to refine the draft plan, shaping it into a final version they hope the city will adopt for the area. About a dozen organizations are directly involved.
Borsenik told the HPAC attendees that this year’s focus is “gathering community input” and they really want to know what you love about the West Duwamish Greenbelt – or whether you even know about it. They’ll be launching a community survey in May, open through August 25, and will attend some community events (like the West Seattle Farmers Market on June 1, and the WDGT hikes). Contact info is on their website. But this isn’t just about a plan; after one is finalized, hopefully in 2027, there’ll be another phase to turn it into reality, which she acknowledged will be hard.
What about volunteer opportunities? asked an attendee. “There are groups running volunteer events right now!” said Borsenik; West had noted that the area’s been part of the Green Seattle Partnership efforts for ~20 years.
Who owns the land? another asked. Answer: Primarily multiple city departments, plus adjacent South Seattle College (WSB sponsor).
A variety of issues then bubbled into the discussion – from the long-running kiln-dust contamination in part of the area, to “sketchy people,” to a shipping container that’s long been in the forest for storage (Borsenik said “we’ve been trying to get it out of there”). Kirkpatrick also introduced an attendee she’d invited, owner of a nearby building that’s being revived as an event venue, who had temporarily activated a trail through the greenbelt between his property and the SSC parking lot rented for a recent event.
Regarding trails past and present, West explained, the ones there now were built without a central plan/vision so might not be optimally located, and some areas don’t have access at all.
Overall, “activate it and that’ll get more people interested” was a prevailing sentiment. Watch for opportunities – starting with the survey next month. (We’ll of course publish that announcement here when it’s available.)
The meeting started, as many community-coalition meetings do, with an update from Seattle Police.
POLICE UPDATE: Gunfire is the only category of crime that’s going up; in response to that, they’re doing “emphasis patrols” in North Delridge and High Point, “trying to comb this area to be sure it doesn’t happen again,” said Southwest Precinct Community Liaison Officer German Barreto. (Editor’s note: It’s been quieter in the week since this meeting.) SPD has emphasis patrols continuing in Westwood too. One attendee asked about the encampment along Barton Place; Barreto says he’s brought it forward to the Unified Care Team. The attendee said what they believed to be stolen bikes are a particular concern. Another attendee asked about the issues at 9th and Henderson, and two trucks “constantly bringing in trailers” with suspended licenses. They can’t be removed because they’re occupied, Barreto explained. “If they’re living in their vehicle, that’s their home, and we can’t take it.” But the officer clarified that if there are “no-parking” signs, vehicles can be towed. The attendee engaged with Barreto back and forth about “constant traffic” on the street at all hours. Are you calling 911? Barreto asked. No, said the attendee, but they’re recording security video. You can always call suspicious activity in, Barreto said – get the incident number when you call, and then ask for the outcome. Meantime, he mentioned the RV/trailer that was hit by a driver on Henderson a day earlier; Community Service Officers had talked with its owner/resident afterward.
WHAT’S NEXT: HPAC meets fourth Wednesdays most months – time and location might vary, so check the coalition’s new website, hpaction.org, for updates.
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
Though Thursday night’s Alki Community Council meeting yielded no major revelations about the summer safety plan for the beach, the fact that the meeting happened at all, one month before the season’s traditional start, was a triumph.
ACC brought together reps from Seattle Police, Seattle Parks, and Seattle Public Utilities, with other guests and with the Alki Bathhouse serving as a symbolically important setting, just steps from the epicenter of summer activity at the beach – both good and bad. Last year, a multi-agency community meeting (WSB coverage here) happened after a still-unsolved murder on Duwamish Head in June.
As we’ve been reporting since last month, Parks plans to finally make earlier closing times at Alki (and elsewhere) permanent, after years of implementing them as a “pilot” (here’s our coverage of last week’s Parks Board meeting at which commissioners voted in favor of the change. So that means a 10:30 pm closing time for Alki. But closing times alone won’t solve everything. Other aspects of Alki summers were spotlighted at the meeting.
“We are really looking forward to the summer season,” opened Starck with optimism, even with the possibility that a small percentage of “bad actors” can cause trouble. The meeting was intended, she explained, to learn from city reps who are “guardians” of the area, and to learn how everyone can be a “guardian” in their own way.
Taking the concept of guardianship back a few centuries, the area’s First People were represented by Chief Sealth descendant Ken Workman stood before the crowd to deliver a welcome in Lushootsheed, the Duwamish Tribe‘s language, which he said children are learning again. He spoke of his great-great-etc. grandfather welcoming the Denny Party in 1851. In the less than two centuries that have passed, he observed, “On this land, everything has changed. … this was all trees.” He wanted to come and “show you where you are.”
EXPLORER WEST MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS: Two guests whose stewardship of the land started far more recently spoke to the ACC next – Explorer West Middle School (WSB sponsor) eighth-graders whose “Change the World” project is plastic pollution. They’re oganizing a beach-cleanup day – no date chosen yet – and will need help getting the word out. They haven’t set a date yet but will let the ACC know. Starck told them, “We’re super proud you’re taking control of what’s happening in your back yard.”
SUMMER-PREVIEW PANEL: Then it was on to the summer-preview panel – Seattle Police Southwest Precinct commander Capt. Krista Bair, Jon Jainga from Seattle Parks’ security and emergency-management team, Tracy Cramer from Seattle Public Utilities‘ Clean City Initiative, and one more Parks rep, Brian Willis, Southwest District maintenance captain (handling 86 parks – with “not a lot” of staff, he said when Starck asked).
(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.
(WSB photo, last month)
It’s not quite on the scale of what semi-old-timers will recall as The Hole, but a hole is what the Morgan Junction Park expansion site has been for a while, thanks to an interdepartmental permit snafu, and that’s one of the long-delayed city projects that’s on the Morgan Community Association quarterly-meeting agenda this Wednesday (along with the EV-charging lot that’s now delayed again – until next year). MoCA will meet this time at West Seattle Church of the Nazarene (42nd and Juneau) – here are the agenda toplines sent by president Deb Barker:
Morgan Minute Updates
● SW Precinct, Updates from SPD
● Gatewood Gator Fest is May 31st
● Highland Park Way status
● One Seattle Plan current focus
● Help Stock the Morgan Junction Park Free LibraryNew in Morgan Junction
The Fine Baking Company, 6969 California Ave SWCommunity Business
● Morgan Junction Electric Vehicle Charging Station: update by Seattle City Light
● Morgan Junction Community Festival on June 14th
● Morgan Junction Park Soils Remediation status: update by Seattle Parks
● Meet SW Precinct Community Service Officers (CSO’s)
● Status of pedestrian safety projects for Fauntleroy Way SW at Rose Street
Wednesday’s MoCA meeting starts at 7 pm; you can attend online too – here’s the link.
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
The next big Fauntleroy Community Association-organized event, this year’s Egg Hunt, is just three days away. It was one of the major topics at last night’s FCA board meeting, led by FCA president Frank Immel. FCA’s annual membership meeting was just three weeks ago; its board meets most months on the second Tuesday, but community members are always welcome at those meetings too.
EGG HUNT: Candace Blue coordinates it for FCA andprovided an update. It’s at 1 pm this Saturday (April 12) at Fauntleroy Schoolhouse (9131 California SW). She said there were so many returned and donated plastic eggs that they have 600 to hide this year, up dramatically from the 359 last year; if you’re participating, look for the bins to use to recycle your eggs afterward. The littlest kids will get a head start right at 1, before the older kids get their turn; last year, Candace said, the hunt began with 60 kids. Another number she’s happy about – a dozen-plus volunteers have signed up to help hide eggs before the hunt. The eggs will be filled with non-candy treats, and there will be 10 “special prizes” (only one per family, please). If you’re going, look for wayfinding signs that will point you to where it’s happening on the Fauntleroy Schoolhouse grounds.
Other major topics last night:
The neighborhoods for which HPAC serves as the community coalition – Highland Park, Riverview, and South Delridge – are also the West Seattle neighborhoods with the largest current concentration of encampments. So this Wednesday night (6:30 pm March 26 at Delridge Library) they will be discussing the city response. From the announcement:
We expect to have folks from SPD, the CARE team, and a discussion with a representative from the Unified Care Team. For those not familiar, they are tasked with doing direct outreach and intervention with our houseless and RV residents. We hope to learn more about their work, their workflow and response times and start a dialogue about more robust ways to bring help getting folks housed in the South Delridge area. While we know this is a citywide, even nationwide issue, we want to lean in as to why we have concentrations of illegal campers here and how we can work together to improve the situation.
The Citywide dashboard from 2024 Quarter 4 notes 2 tent and 3 verified RV sites contacted by UCT in Highland Park. It also gives a relational snapshot of where we are in a list of neighborhoods with unhoused residents. The numbers unfortunately do not reflect the reality what we see around us now.
If you are interested in taking action right away, a current opportunity to help out folks in need is via donation to the Westside Neighbors Shelter.
The library is at 5423 Delridge Way SW.
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
Don Armeni Boat Ramp rocks!
(Photo by Stewart L.)
Or, you can call them “boulders.” That’s how they were described in a wide-ranging Alki Community Council meeting this past Thursday, facilitated by ACC president Charlotte Starck.
DON ARMENI IMPROVEMENTS: Seattle Parks didn’t have a speaker at the meeting but ACC had been in contact and learned that the boulders were placed to discourage drivers from going up onto the grassy area. More are planned. And more speed bumps to slow drivers inside the park. Parks has also added a gate, so both the entrance and exit are gated. They’ve also reinstalled “parking signs after they keep getting removed.” Parks also has been coordinating with SPD regarding consistently clearing out the park at 10 pm.
POLICE UPDATE: Year-to-date for Alki, said Officer German Barreto, sexual assault is the only category of crime that’s gone up. He didn’t have exact numbers. (Update: We’ve since received the numbers – two rapes reported in the Alki area year to date, compared to zero in the Alki area a year earlier.)
CARE COMMUNITY CRISIS RESPONDERS: CARE Department spokesperson Sean Blackwell was in attendance (as he usually is). He recapped the mayor’s West Seattle briefing a day earlier (WSB coverage here) about CARE Community Crisis Responders‘ expansion into Southwest and South Precinct areas. He explained the kind of call to which CARE Responders might be sent – maybe a person in crisis, walking in the street – he also explained that the team started with six responders and has now expanded to 24. Right now, they’re dispatching South and Southwest out of SODO, but (as we have reported) are working on a Southwest space. Their on-duty hours for potential dispatch are noon to 10 pm. Any particular geographic areas of emphasis in our area? They’re working right now to get the lay of the land on that, as well as walking the streets. “Please call 911 … if you see any kind of emergency,” and the people who answer will decide who to send.
Story and photos by Jason Grotelueschen
Reporting for West Seattle Blog
Fauntleroy neighbors gathered Tuesday night for one of the Fauntleroy Community Association‘s biggest events of the year — the FCA Annual Meeting and Food Fest at The Hall at Fauntleroy (9131 California SW).
The popular yearly event (see WSB coverage of last year’s fest) featured food and drink samples from local purveyors, tables hosted by local community groups, and a brief FCA business meeting to elect next year’s FCA board:
From left to right, that’s Reed Haggerty (FCA’s newest board member), David Haggerty, president Frank Immel, vice president Catherine Bailey, treasurer Alan Grainger, Amber Heinemann, Meredith Sciarrio and Bruce Butterfield. Other board members for the upcoming year include David Follis, secretary Kris Ilgenfritz, Susan Lantz-Dey, Mike Dey, and Bill Wellington. This slate of officers was presented and approved unanimously by those in attendance on Tuesday night.
Unsurprisingly, the popularity of the Food Fest is driven largely by — you guessed it — the food! Here’s some of it:
Read MoreBy Jason Grotelueschen
Reporting for West Seattle Blog
Fauntleroy Community Association board members held their March meeting on Tuesday night, featuring updates and discussion about upcoming events, collaborative projects, and areas of neighborhood concern.
The well-attended gathering (open to the public, as usual) was held at Fauntleroy Schoolhouse, with FCA’s Catherine Bailey running the meeting with assistance from Dave Follis. FCA president Frank Immel wasn’t in attendance because he was representing the group at the concurrent Washington State Ferries online community meeting about the Fauntleroy terminal project.
Much of the meeting was devoted to discussing final details for the FCA Annual Meeting and Food Fest (all are welcome), which is less than a week away: Tuesday, March 18 from 6-8 pm. More on that event below.
Bailey called the meeting to order and facilitated opening remarks, introductions, and approval of minutes, and then the group dove into the night’s agenda:
SPD UPDATE: Community Liaison Officer German Barreto from the Southwest Precinct was in attendance (as he walked in, he said he was coming directly from helping to recover a stolen vehicle), and he provided some crime updates and statistics: In a nutshell, “everything is down” as it relates to crime numbers for the Fauntleroy area compared to last year, when looking at year-to-date as well as the past 28 days specifically. That’s also true for the greater West Seattle area with the exception of thefts, which are up slightly compared to last year. There was a question about recent “shots fired” incidents, and Barreto said the cases primarily involved people shooting into the air (not at each other or anyone else). Another attendee asked Barreto if he expected criminal activity to increase as the weather gets warmer, and he agreed that typically that’s the trend. There was a question about hiring, and Barreto said that much of that would begin taking more shape as chief and captain positions get settled now that new SPD Chief Shon Barnes started work in January. Barreto said he hadn’t met Barnes yet, but noted that Barnes would be in attendance at next Tuesday’s meeting of the newly revived Southwest Precinct Advisory Council, at 6:30 pm at the precinct (same time as the Food Fest). An attendee asked where the SPD budget comes from, and Baretto explained that it’s set by the City Council, and he noted that officers are waiting for a new contract to come in. Barreto thanked attendees for their time and stepped out, adding that the SW Precinct’s Mobile Precinct vehicle would be onsite and parked outside for next week’s FCA Food Fest on Tuesday the 18th, and he encouraged people to check it out and to bring their kids.
ANNUAL MEETING & “FOOD FEST”: FCA is gearing up for next week’s FCA Annual Meeting and Food Fest at The Hall at Fauntleroy (9131 California SW), 6-8 pm Tuesday (see WSB coverage of last year’s event). Board member and event organizer David Haggerty said that this is “one of the biggest things we do — a real celebration of the community,” and said preparations are going very well. He shared a list of local organizations, businesses, and restaurants that are expected to attend. The local eateries will be providing free bites for attendees, and FCA representatives will be on-hand to help neighbors sign up for the group (or renew their annual dues) if they’re so inclined. If you’re a Fauntleroy neighbor, don’t miss this fun event! Board members also discussed the slate of officers that they’ll be presenting for approval on the 18th, during a brief business meeting that will take place at the halfway point of the event (approximately 7 pm).
DIGITAL WAYFINDING IN FAUNTLEROY PARK: As we reported previously, the Fauntleroy Watershed Council have launched a service allowing anyone with a smartphone to navigate the trails and points-of-interest in Fauntleroy Park. Project lead Tracy Randle was in attendance on Tuesday, showing off a printout of the poster that is available in the park kiosks at the SW Barton or 97th St. entrances to the park. (or, you can go directly to fauntleroywatershed.org/index.php/park or here to view the map.) You can scan the map’s QR code to download a geo-referenced map using Avenza Maps from fauntleroywatershed.org, or download a static map. You may instead download a static map to use as a guide.) Randle said that members of the project team will be on-hand to demonstrate the map during next week’s “food fest” on Tuesday the 18th.
ZONING AND “ONE SEATTLE” COMPREHENSIVE PLAN: Follis provided an update on last month’s discussion about the city’s proposed rezoning plan and other elements of the One Seattle Plan, which will have impacts on Fauntleroy and city-wide. Board members and attendees reviewed and discussed several maps and visuals (which are available online from the city of Seattle’s GIS maps) including “critical areas by ordinance” and “neighborhood center zoning” among others:
Attendees discussed how particular areas of Fauntleroy present unique challenges and risks, while acknowledging the need for responsible development to increase opportunities for housing. Unsurprisingly, there were a variety of opinions on the issues as it relates to the issue: “I can’t afford to live where I was born and raised (I rent),” “All of these proposals talk about density, not about affordability,” “It shouldn’t even be about the density; it’s about the quality of how things are done,” “I want my kids to be able to actually own a house here, too,” “I don’t want us to lead with ‘no’ development; we want people to move in and enjoy the area,” “because of all the development in WS, things just aren’t the same,” “I’m grateful to have a bustling city; I want a mixture of people to live here.” Attendees agreed that “we need a lot of great minds to think about this,” including the FCA board and the community as a whole.
COUNCILMEMBER SAKA MEETING: Bailey gave an update on a recent meeting that the FCA board had with Rob Saka, describing it as a positive interaction and saying “it felt like we were heard” with regard to unique issues such as ferry traffic and terrain. Bailey added that Saka (and/or someone from his office) are going to tour the area next week (the morning of March 20th) along with FCA board members, to learn more. Bailey said that she’ll work with the board to accurately represent the variety of opinions that members have regarding various neighborhood issues and their possible solutions.
FERRIES: There was an online Washington State Ferries community meeting happening at the same time as the Tuesday meeting, and many Fauntleroy residents (including FCA president Frank Immel) were attending that. Bailey and other board members provided some updates, saying the project was in “level 3” screening with regard to the proposed longer dock, which will hold 124-155 vehicles (compared to 80, currently) while protecting Cove Park north of the dock. The WSDOT “online open house” is available through March 21st, with descriptions and photos and the opportunity to provide comments. Staff from WSF will also be at the Food Fest next Tuesday. Meeting attendees expressed a variety of opinions on the project, ranging from expansion support to concerns like “a bigger dock likely means bigger boats with more capacity; Fauntleroy Way would need to be widened” and “the expansion and changes may not speed things up at all” with regard to board loading/unloading.
Also during the meeting, treasurer Alan Grainger provided a positive financial update for the group, saying that things were “chugging along.” Also, some neighborhood concerns: Many (if not most) of the road-crossing safety flags and even the mounted flag holders are gone (likely stolen) — Bailey is following up on that. Bailey also said that some of the planter boxes in the area had been vandalized with graffiti, and she is leading the effort to clean them up.
UPCOMING EVENTS:
FUTURE MEETINGS: FCA meets most months at 6 pm on the second Tuesday at the Fauntleroy Schoolhouse, open to the public. The next two meetings are April 8 and May 13.
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
Neighborhood meetings are often a prime example of how to catch up with your community for a relatively short time investment. Last night, the Admiral Neighborhood Association packed a lot into less than two hours, facilitated by president Joanie Jacobs, stressing “think of this as your living room.”
CRIME REPORTS DOWN: It’s seemed quieter lately; stats presented last night suggest that’s not an erroneous perception on our part. Southwest Precinct Community Liaison Officer German Barreto brought the area’s latest stats. “Everything’s been going down” in West Seattle, except for thefts. For Admiral, everything except robbery has decreased in the past month, compared to a year earlier – Admiral has had 4 robbery reports in a month (which can include “shoplifting turned violent,” Barreto noted), compared to 2 in the same month last year. A notable decline was in motor-vehicle thefts – four in the past month, compared to 10 a year earlier. Also noted, the Southwest Precinct has a new liaison from the City Attorney’s Office (we followed up today with the CAO, which tells us that Rachel Wang is now in that role for both the Southwest and South Precincts). Later in the meeting, ANA’s communications lead Dan Jacobs mentioned that he’s the Admiral neighborhood rep to the newly revived Southwest Precinct Advisory Council, which is meeting – all welcome – next Tuesday (March 18), 6;30 pm at the precinct, featuring the new SPD Chief Shon Barnes.
OVERVIEW OF SUMMER EVENTS: Not too soon to think summer! President Jacobs said they’ll have a summer volunteer meeting in June. The West Seattle 4th of July Kids’ Parade has new coordinators. They’re starting to plan for the various components like food trucks and sack races. They might have a marching band lead the parade. Meeting-goers stressed that this is a BIG parade, four-digit participation, as our annual “here’s the entire parade” videos have shown, like the one below from last year!)
Admiral Music in the Parks is set for July 17, 24, 31, three different parks again this year, and there’ll be a “knitting circle” at each concert … For the late-summer Admiral Block Party (that’s the name it’ll go by this year), the first organizational meeting just happened, and it’ll be “very neighborhood focused,” on the fourth Saturday in August.
(WSB file photo)
HIAWATHA UPDATES; ANA’s communications person Dan Jacobs shared some info obtained from Seattle Parks, which is expecting to send a rep to the next general ANA meeting, May 13.
If you live, work, shop, dine, play, study, etc. in the Admiral area, you’re invited to the Admiral Neighborhood Association‘s every-other-month gathering this Tuesday, your next chance to talk and hear about community issues and events. Here’s the preview provided by ANA:
ANA is presenting a full slate of events again this year – the West Seattle 4th of July Kids’ Parade, three Admiral Music in the Parks concerts in July, and the Admiral Block Party later in the summer, plus Halloween and winter-holiday happenings.
The fourth Wednesday of most months brings a gathering for HPAC, the community coalition for Highland Park, South Delridge, and Riverview – but not this month. HPAC leadership has announced they’re canceling the February meeting, but keep your calendar set for a meeting on March 26. No meeting doesn’t mean no activity, though; on the HPAC website, you can see the issues the group’s paying attention to right now.
P.S. If you missed last month’s meeting – which featured local beaver expert Pamela Adams revealing everything you didn’t know about beavers – here’s our coverage.
The Alki Community Council meets most months on third Thursdays, but has had to cancel this month’s meeting – originally planned for tomorrow – due to “unforeseen circumstances.” The group’s announcement has a suggestion of what to do instead: They’re asking for people to join District 1 City Councilmember Rob Saka in supporting two bills before the state Legislature, relating to a long-running Alki (and elsewhere) issue: “SB 5417 and companion bill HB 1423. This proposed state legislation would authorize the use of automated vehicle noise enforcement cameras in vehicle-racing camera enforcement zones and allow municipalities like Seattle to deploy automated noise enforcement cameras if they so choose.” The full ACC announcement includes links you can use to contact state legislators if you choose to. Noise enforcement has been a long-running issue in Alki; Saka’s predecessor, Lisa Herbold, was working on it seven years ago, though the plan back then did not involve cameras.
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