By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

Fewer RVs and greenbelt campers. More traffic calming. “Partnership” with police.

That’s part of what Alki/Harbor Avenue-area residents listed as “accomplishments” when they met with city reps Wednesday night for the fourth time in their ongoing push against crime and street disorder in the West Seattle waterfront area. (Here’s our coverage of their meeting back in December)

But they say there’s work yet to be done. For one, they’re particularly concerned about the increase in gun violence, with the recent shooting deaths of Peyman Shojaei at Don Armeni Boat Ramp and Davonté Sanchez near Whale Tail Park. And they want the city to install signage reinforcing the no-parking hours of 11 pm-5 am. They also want to see traffic calming extended further north/westward toward the beach.

The meeting at Admiral Church was facilitated by Mike Gain (above), one of the leaders of the ad-hoc community group.

City reps in attendance included, above from left, Southwest Precinct Operations Lt. Dorothy Kim (currently acting precinct captain), SDOT’s Bill LaBorde, Unified Care Team rep Tom Van Bronkhorst, Seattle Parks’ Andy Shaffer, and Deputy Mayor Greg Wong (who had to leave an hour into the meeting). The city delegation included other reps from the mayor’s office, SPD, Office of Economic Development, and Seattle Public Utilities.

Another of the community group’s leaders, Steve Pumphrey, showed photo and video examples of what he and his neighbors have been trying to get stopped, including waterfront parties with blasting music in the 3 am vicinity and drivers doing donuts and other stunts. (See his slide deck here.)

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By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

The Alki Community Council‘s been lamenting low meeting turnout for some time now. Not tonight. The room at Alki UCC was full, and the online turnout hit double digits too.

Last weekend’s trouble at the beach, including a deadly shooting, was the main motivation, judging by the discussion, so Southwest Precinct commander Capt. Martin Rivera was the guest who drew the most questions.

(WSB photo, Saturday evening)

ALKI MURDER: No arrests yet in the shooting that killed 25-year-old Davonté Sanchez near Whale Tail Park on Saturday evening. But Capt. Rivera said detectives are getting ready to “put something out to the community” making another plea for information and video in the case. He also revealed one new piece of information – the crowd on Alki were there because of an “event on TikTok” that police got “late word of” via a Parking Enforcement officer. He said SPD was mobilizing to address the situation when shots were heard, “and you know the rest.” He said the “follow-up units” are still actively working the case.

Beyond that, attendees wanted to know about plans for dealing with disorder, especially reckless driving.

Capt. Rivera said Alki “emphasis” will start this weekend and continue most Fridays-Sundays through Labor Day and that they’ll get the mobile precinct there when they can. “All depends on what’s going on in the whole precinct at the time.” Would a petition for more staffing help? “We’re in a little bit of a staffing crunch,” and the “emphasis” patrols are already made up of people on overtime, Rivera said, so there’s really no place else from which to draw “more staffing.” He also noted that shifts do have some overlaps. But if big events – like last night’s two Delridge gunfire incidents – happen elsewhere, the officers have to go there, regardless of how busy the beach is.

He also noted that they do what they can – the traffic-calming measures took a while but finally got implemented – “it’s hard to move those things along” but can be done, especially with community partnership.

One attendee observed that “car culture” overlaps with violence and wondered if SPD is working with SDOT on more calming. Short answer, yes, but budget challenges have kept them from expanding those measures beyond where they are now.

At that point, City Council D-1 candidate Rob Saka stood up and said to attendees, “My heart hurts for you” regarding the shooting by Whale Tail Park, saying his kids were playing there just a few hours before the murder. “We need anti-cruising emphasis patrols, anti-gun violence … I would like to see police be able to be more proactive and less reactive.” Capt. Rivera said he agreed that “we need more officers.” (Saka was the only candidate in attendance, though someone in the gallery identified themselves as Phil Tavel‘s campaign manager.)

The support for more traffic calming was strong; one attendee suggested crowdfunding if money is what it takes; talk to SDOT, Rivera suggested. What about paid parking on the beach to raise money? asked another attendee, or charging people to visit the beaches? Capt. Rivera said that hasn’t caught traction because it would inequitably affect community members.

Another attendee said he wanted to ensure that the early closing time starting Memorial Day weekend stretches all the way to Don Armeni, the entirety of the shore, not just the beach itself.

Two other guests from the city spoke relatively briefly.

SDOT SHARED-MICROMOBILITY PROGRAM: Kim Pearson from SDOT was the guest. She focuses on scooter and bike share. Four companies offer five device types – three scooters, two bikes. \\

In 2022, more than 3.7 million trips were taken, more than a million-trip gain from the previous year. Each trip averages 11+ minutes. Pearson talked about various related programs including free helmets available from city customer-service centers (including Southwest).

Here’s how to report problems:

PUMP STATION 38: Valerie Tokumoto from Seattle Public Utilities said PS 38 – the under-renovation station in the 1400 block of Alki SW – is one of 70 pump stations in the city’s system ‘and we have plans for all of them.” Landscaping will stretch 50 feet on both sides of the pump station. She wanted to ensure people knew how to surface questions and concerns, and recommended Find It Fix It for the latter. (The project’s webpage is here.)

NEXT MEETING: ACC president Tony Fragada and vice president Randie Stone expressed hope that the first-timers would be back next month. The group’s meetings are usually at 7 pm third Thursdays at Alki UCC (6115 SW Hinds).

By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

With three projects on the way – two of them long-delayed – Hiawatha was the centerstage topic at last night’s Admiral Neighborhood Association meeting, facilitated by ANA president Joanie Jacobs:

HIAWATHA: Seattle Parks’ Kim Baldwin brought the latest information, though little has changed since our most-recent reports. She clarified that she’s with the capital division – the one that “gets projects built.” First, the Hiawatha turf replacement, which she noted is needed because it’s close to the end of its 10-to-12-year life cycle. The track also will be redone. The field striping will include softball. And a new batting cage is part of the project. Right now they’re awaiting contract execution (we reported the rebid results here) and later this month expect to issue a notice to proceed, so the project would be complete “by the end of August.” Baldwin said there’s no specific start date yet. A former West Seattle High School baseball coach voiced concerns about past problems with the site, including safety because of a light pole “that somebody’s going to run into.” He also wanted to ensure that the mounds on the field will be turf, not dirt. Baldwin said some of these issues might already be addressed in the project – she didn’t have the plans handy. The former coach also had concerns about limitations on the times that the school teams could use the field.

Regarding the renovations for the years-closed community center, which includes a wide variety of components, the FEMA grant has been received, Baldwin said (as noted here), and they’re hoping to go out to bid soon and start construction in late summer. Work will last “nine to 12 months,” she said – meaning they hope to reopen the center before 2024 is over. Total project funding is $3 million, including the ~$500,000 FEMA grant.

Regarding the play area – the current spot “beneath the trees” will be turned into a natural area, and the new site is just south of the wading pool. It will include a swing set, accessible pathways, picnic tables, basketball. That project has been delayed “and we’re still waiting to get our permit – we’ve come across stormwater issues” – hoping to bid summer or fall this year, with construction starting after that and they’re hoping it’ll be open summer 2024. When construction starts, the current play area is scheduled to be demolished; one attendee wondered if the timing could be altered. Baldwin didn’t know whether the wading pool would be open this summer or not, in response to a question. Another question was about the softball field near the wading pool; “no work is scheduled in that area,” Baldwin said. Why? she was asked. It’s not funded, for one, she replied. A neighbor said the area was “virtually unused because it’s in such poor condition,” and suggested some consideration of changing it. (Tupper said it was a Pee Wee field for years ‘and then the Park Department abandoned it.”) WSHS’s lack of a softball field forces them to travel to Nino Cantu Southwest Athletic Complex right now, said another attendee identifying herself as a WSHS softball coach.

How do folks contact the project teams directly? Contact info is on the website, Baldwin replied, and the department is working with WSHS directly.

SEATTLE POLICE: Lt. Nathan Shopay, night commander for the Southwest Precinct (7 pm-5 am), who supervises 3 sergeants and 20 officers, said nothing much has changed since last month – everything’s down except auto theft, which continues to be way up. Summer planning and emphasis patrols at the beach are a big focus right now – “we will have more officers out on the beach coming up” – and yes, they’re still short on officers; special events mean call-ins for officers on their days off. He focuses on ensuring there’s adequate staffing and dealing with “community issues.” He also noted that the latest state laws regarding pursuits mean a lot of new training and “that’s not making anyone happy.” Back to the beach – “it comes down to us babysitting young adults,” who are gathering at the beach. They’re dealing with it most nights, not just weekends; he sends officers there when they’re available.

In Q&A, one attendee asked how you get something declared a “nuisance property” – Lt. Shopay noted that it’s important to have contact with the owner so they can give permission to boot trespassers. Another question: What helps prevent auto theft? His first advice: “Have really good insurance,” he said. That aside, he said, the best thing you can do is to make sure there’s nothing in your car – not just so it’s not tempting, but also because then you aren’t missing anything else if it’s stolen. Another officer in attendance suggested a kill switch, battery disconnection, fuse removal, to keep it from being taken. What about “air tags” to help you find them? asked an attendee. “We can find it, but if there’s someone in it and they take off, we can’t pursue them.” Another question: An attendee was troubled by people smoking cannabis in public at the Don Armeni parking ;ot. They could be cited – or it could lead to a DUI – Lt. Shopay noted.

UPCOMING EVENTS: Much of this was announced at the last ANA meeting, and plans are proceeding. For the Summer Concerts, coordinator Stephanie Jordan reiterated that these will be on the Lafayette Elementary playground – with partnership of Seattle Public Schools and Seattle Parks – July 13, 20, 27. They have sound handled, but they’re also looking for staging and a drum set, plus fundraising assistance. She’s not ready to announce the acts yet but there’ll be a youth-focused night, a jazz night, a retro party night.

An idea previously called Summer of Wellness has become Seasons of Wellness – they’ve applied to the city’s Small Sparks Fund for money to underwrite a series of free yoga classes. Two 5-week sessions, in fall and then winter – but they might do some summer one-offs such as Zumba classes. The venue will be Admiral Church (4320 SW Hill, where the ANA meets).

Admiral Junction Funktion – Though the Chamber of Commerce staged it last year, this year the ball’s in ANA’s court, and they’re partnering with Mission and Admiral Pub proprietors. Lots of volunteer opportunities ahead! August 26th is the date. It’ll be a street party again and area businesses will be invited to have booths. Some new features are planned including an art tent.

Adopt-A-Street – the new organizer couldn’t be at the meeting but the first one is scheduled June 3rd.

4th of July Kids’ Parade – ANA will have a booth and also needs volunteers.

Outdoor movie – Jacobs is working with Parks on a possible movie – the small park alongside Admiral Church, combined with the church grounds, is a likely site, and this would be in August.

COMMUNITY EVENTS: Thursday (May 11) is the next West Seattle Art Walk, and some venues have music as well as art – this month will include West Seattle Grounds (which Jacobs manages). West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day this Saturday (May 13) was mentioned too – Jacobs enthused that the day “feels like a party.” Support local businesses while you’re out – grab coffee and/or lunch. Also noted, Admiral Church has events coming up – see their website – and Rev. Andrew Conley-Holcom keeps “office hours” in the community, 11:30 am-1 pm Wednesdays at Bebop Waffle Shop (California/Admiral). Also noted, the church has a shoe-donation drive under way.

ANA ONLINE: Dan Jacobs manages the organization’s website and social-media channels and is continuing to add content, including spotlights on local businesses.

WHAT’S NEXT: Watch the aforementioned ANA website, connecttoadmiral.org, for updates on events and future meetings. Joanie Jacobs closed with a reminder that it’s an all-volunteer group and more help is welcome – “as great as it already is, we want to make our neighborhood a better place.”

Breaking news got in the way of today’s full event list – you can check our West Seattle Event Calendar to see everything that’s ahead – but there are two community meetings we want to mention:

PARKS @ ADMIRAL NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION: For those interested in the projects happening at Hiawatha, the Admiral Neighborhood Association plans to discuss them tonight with a Parks representative. All are welcome at the meeting, which is in-person only, starting at 7 pm at Admiral Church (4320 SW Hill). SPD also is expected to be in attendance as usual, so you also have an opportunity to ask about recent incidents/concerns.

FAUNTLEROY COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION: Toward the south end of the peninsula, tonight’s also the regular meeting for the Fauntleroy Community Association board. Community members are always welcome. It’s a hybrid meeting, so you can attend either in-person at Fauntleroy Schoolhouse (9131 California SW) or online – you can register via the FCA website.

By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

Public safety was the top topic at last night’s Alki Community Council meeting, held at Alki UCC and online, facilitated by ACC president Tony Fragada.

SOUTHWEST PRECINCT: First guest was the precinct’s night commander, Lt. Nathan Shopay, connecting from home on his night off. He said Alki had been relatively quiet lately and asked about community concerns. One attendee asked if the new traffic-calming measures in east Alki seemed to be working; Lt. Shopay said yes, adding that things would be even better if the diagonal parking area on Duwamish Head were reconfigured. One attendee said the dividers and speed bumps had led to stunt-driving and racing further west. As for crime trends, Lt. Shopay repeated what he had told the Morgan Community Association on Wednesday night (WSB coverage here) – most categories are down, except for auto theft.

CITY ATTORNEY: Ann Davison attended in person. She told ACC attendees that community-meeting attendance is important to her because she wants “to be accessible.” She first spent some time explaining how the City Attorney’s Office works, with civil and criminal divisions, and the latter primarily handling the lesser crimes known as misdemeanors. She also recapped two initiatives on which her staff has been working – “high utilizers” and “close-in-time filing.” She spent some time discussing the matter of filing charges, and noted that if crimes don’t get reported, it’s a sure bet no one will be arrested and no one will be charged. Her office has to get cases referred from police. So, she stressed, call police if you see something! She said there’s another category of assumption she’s trying to change – police sometimes sending a case directly to the City Attorney’s Office because they assume the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office won’t charge a certain type of offense. Davison says she’s been working with SPD to stress that if something seems like a felony, they will send it to the KCPAO; if they decline to file, then Davison’s staff can review.

She also spent some time discussing the civil division of the CAO. So often, municipal law offices are focused on defensive matters, she explained – somebody’s suing over tripping on a sidewalk, or challenging a law, for example. She took the rare tack of going on the offense with the Kia/Hyundai theft lawsuit. She said Seattle was the first in the nation to take that action, and now 10 other municipalities have joined. “I’m not a crowd-follower,” she said. She believes going after the car companies for their products’ vulnerabilities is merited because it’s “resource-draining” for cities to have to spend so much law-enforcement resources on this. “It was not a hard call – even if the lawsuit is unsuccessful, it’s the right thing to do,” she believes.

One last point she made – she said she’s spent time rebuilding relationships with other city departments.

Before she left, an attendee offered these parting words: “We love Joe Everett.” (He’s the Southwest Precinct liaison from the City Attorney’s Office.) His boss appeared to agree with the positive appraisal.

COUNCIL CANDIDATE: He wasn’t officially on the agenda, but City Council District 1 candidate Phil Tavel was in attendance. He was asked whether outgoing Councilmember Lisa Herbold will be endorsing him. He said they had actually had a good conversation in which he asked her to consider it; he said she didn’t rule it out.

NEXT MEETING: ACC president Fragada said guests are expected next month from SDOT (to talk about scooters) and Seattle Public Utilities. ACC meets third Thursdays most months, 7 pm at Alki UCC (6115 SW Hinds) and online (see our calendar for connection info), so that means May 18th for the next one.

By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

The biggest news from last night’s online quarterly meeting of the Morgan Community Association was a progress report on the Morgan Junction Park expansion site.

While this long-empty site awaits first a cleanup of contaminated soil from its dry-cleaning past and then funding for its much-delayed development, local skateboarders turned it into an unofficial skatepark for a while last year, until Seattle Parks‘ crackdown ended that. More recently, supporters of skating on the site proposed ways to revise the years-old Parks design for the site’s future. They weren’t at last night’s MoCA meeting, but the Parks manager who is point person for the site’s future, Kelly Goold, was.

“Things are moving,” Goold said. The grading permit for removing the contaminated soil was issued earlier this month, and now he’s negotiating a price with a “pre-approved” contractor, Clearcreek/Holt Services. The job will in essence “dig a big hole,” taking away the contaminated soil and replacing it with clean fill. This work is expected to start in July/August, when the ground-water table will be at its lowest, and will last about two months.

What happens after that isn’t settled yet – though, while Parks is committed to fully developing the site by 2026, Goold said they might be able to get construction going in “late 2024” (by which time the city will have owned the site for a decade). Post-cleanup, it will be open to some kind of activation in the meantime. So they’ll have a community conversation to talk about that as well as possible changes to the design (which is now 4+ years old), such as incorporating a “skate dot.” Should that conversation be a traditional community meeting, or an on-site tabling event, or both? No conclusion was reached.

Attendees also pointed out that the existing Morgan Junction Park needs lawn help. For concerns like that, Goold suggested reporting it to Parks – the more reports the better – via email (pks_info@seattle.gov) and/or Find It Fix It.

Other topics during last night’s meeting facilitated by MoCA president Deb Barker included festival plans, a major redevelopment project, an update from police, and a new board member:

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Now in the second year of her term, Seattle City Attorney Ann Davison has been working on some major initiatives – from dealing with “high utilizers” to suing the carmakers whose vehicles have become frequent targets of thieves. Has her office’s work made a difference for neighborhoods? You can hear from her firsthand during Thursday night’s Alki Community Council meeting, in person at Alki UCC (6115 SW Hinds) or online. You can RSVP here; video/phone attendance info is in our calendar listing. (Photo: Davison at SW Crime Prevention Council last November)

This month’s Alki Community Council meeting included updates on two ongoing topics:

HARBOR AVENUE RVs: Since the most-recent city attempt to clear the street, some RVs have returned (we counted three on Thursday afternoon). An outreach worker at the ACC meeting said that area is “a priority” now – as outreach for the 2nd/Michigan encampment was wrapping up at the time of this meeting last week – and that more people “are accepting offers” than used to be the case. SPD Southwest Precinct Operations Lt. Dorothy Kim added that parking-enforcement officers are going through the area twice weekly to tag vehicles: “We’re not letting it be stagnant.”

OTHER POLICE UPDATES: Updating crime trends from SPD data, Lt. Kim said that in the Alki area, property-crime reports are down, except for auto theft, which continues on the rise citywide. Violent crime is unchanged. So far, as of meeting time, the Alki area has had one verified shots-fired incident since the start of the year (at Hamilton Viewpoint Park). The new SPD schedule “seems to be working,” Lt. Kim said, with a three-hour overlap during the first two watches of the day enabling some officers to be spared for “directed patrol” in areas that need more attention. She also mentioned that staffing issues are improving, saying that they “just got two officers back from the vaccine mandate” (which ended recently) and others returning from parental leave or “limited duty” constraints. She also noted that the department has been developing more officers as “field trainers” for new hires, which requires them to go through special training of their own; a new class of trainers is starting up.

GET INVOLVED: If you live/work or have some other interest in the Alki area, the ACC needs more participation – it’s been operating at a bare-bones level for a long time. A little help can make a lot of difference. You can send questions or suggestions via this page on the ACC’s website.

The Alki Community Council meets 7 pm third Thursdays most months, in-person (at Alki UCC, 6115 SW Hinds) and online.,

Busy night Tuesday for community meetings, as has long been the case for second Tuesdays. Here are our notes from the Admiral Neighborhood Association meeting, held in person at Admiral Church, facilitated by ANA president Joanie Jacobs:

TRAFFIC: One of the two major topics of discussion was too-fast traffic on SW Admiral Way east of California. The curve in particular is a spot for periodic crashes that take out and/or damage poles and landscaping, or worse. ANA’s Dan Jacobs noted a 2021 SDOT survey that has shown many cars way over the speed limit in the area – a thousand drivers per day at 50+ mph+, 100 at 60+ mph, at least 1 per day at 80+ mph. They’re hoping to work with SDOT about what if anything can be done to try to slow down drivers on that stretch.

CONCERT SERIES: With Hiawatha Community Center unavailable for another summer, ANA has to decide whether to try to have one or more summer concerts at an alternate location. They’ve been looking at two possible locations, Hamilton Viewpoint and the Lafayette Elementary playground. Concert-series coordinator Stephanie Jordan said both would have increased production costs. In discussion, ANA thought Lafayette was a more promising location, particularly for accessibility via either car or bus, but also for access to other businesses – the ability to grab a picnic dinner at a grocery deli or restaurant and walk over, for example. Play facilities for younger kids, which don’t exist at Hamilton, also were an appealing aspect.

What remains to be decided is whether they’ll try to host one event with multiple bands or three events with one band each. (The pre-pandemic concert series was one band per night on six Thursday nights.) So watch for updates later this spring.

OUTDOOR MOVIE: Side note, ANA and Admiral Church plan to present an outdoor-movie night on the church grounds this summer.

NO POLICE: SPD is usually represented at these meetings but wasn’t last night after all.

Watch connecttoadmiral.org for updates between ANA meetings.

Some community groups continue to meet online, some have moved to “hybrid” (in-person and online) meetings, and a few have gone back to just meeting in person, Tomorrow, the District 1 Community Network will meet in-person for the first time in three years. It’s a coalition of community advocates and organization/group representatives from around West Seattle and South Park, now ready to broaden the reach since the district has grown too. Everyone interested is invited to attend. D1CN is meeting at 7 pm Wednesday (March 1st) at Neighborhood House High Point, 6400 Sylvan Way SW.