West Seattle, Washington
21 Wednesday
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
The Alki Community Council heard the same Seattle Police stats on Thursday night as two other neighborhood groups earlier in the week – but unlike the other two groups, they got a delegation of five SPD employees. But crime/safety was only one of the meeting’s many topics.
ACC SURVEY: As noted here, the group circulated an online survey for Alki residents earlier in the week “to find out what’s important to neighbors,” said ACC president Charlotte Starck, who reported 173 responses had come in over three days. The “high-level snapshot” of those replies (see it here) included love for Alki’s natural beauty and concern about encampments/RVs (particularly residents in the east Alki area) as well as the lack of a community center. Starck talked about frequently fielding questions about why city-owned Alki Bathhouse is “so often empty.” (Alki Community Center, meantime, was converted to a child-care-only facility years ago and is currently closed even for that purpose because of the school construction next door.)
Regarding the open-ended final question on the survey, requesting a message for the mayor, the #1 theme “consistent, visible public-safety enforcement “so Alki feels safe day and night.” Also, “traffic speed, reckless driving, vehicle noise” comprise a problem for which survey respondents said they would like to see enforcement. (A question came up, does the Traffic Unit even exist? Brown confirmed – “yes, it does.” We’d add that you can hear them radioing in from enforcement spots including Admiral Way, West Marginal, 35th SW, and other places. Listen for call signs that start with “T,” though regular-duty officers can sometimes be heard too.)
Summed up, the ACC hopes to “work collaboratively to keep Alki safe, welcoming, and vibrant.” Now, on to those stats:
POLICE: Seattle Police had four uniformed officers at the meeting (three of whom said they hadn’t been to meetings before, including one who said he’d been on the force a year and at the Southwest Precinct just a few wweeks) plus interim Crime Prevention Coordinator Matt Brown (his position is a civilian job). Brown brought the same precinct-wide data presented at Tuesday’s Admiral Neighborhood Association meeting (WSB coverage here) and Fauntleroy Community Association meeting (WSB coverage here), saying total reported crime in West Seattle/South Park last year was down 19 percent. For Alki specifically, reported crime in 2025 was down 10 percent, 177 reported crimes, down from 200 – mostly property crime – both reports taken in person or filed online/by phone. Brown explained, “Any way that you report allows us to (include it in the data) and that enables us to ask for resources … your reports show us what you need.” One attendee said people are tired of reporting if they feel they’re not going to get a response; Brown said he regrets that, but begs people, please report it so they can get the resources. Even if you’re not sure – like maybe, maybe not shots fired – call in and report it. As we’ve reported before, Brown confirmed the non-emergency line does get answered part of the time now.
Why can’t you just set up an email account for minor reports? one attendee asked. That would be something to request from the city, Brown said. ‘
Then he went back to another crime category, noting 91 shots-fired calls confirmed in the precinct jurisdiction last year, and that’s down. But – this was information we hadn’t heard previously – the number of casings per incident is going up – 4 to 5 in 2023, last year about double that. Alki had 10 shots-fired incidents last year, no injuries, no deaths. Twice as much as a year earlier, though, with the highest amount in August. Working with Park Rangers to close off areas (like Don Armeni Boat Ramp) seemed to help, and they plan to do it again this year, Brown said.
Brown also talked about encampments and Mayor Wilson’s recent decision to put a Ballard cleanup on hold. The Unified Care Team will continue to work, evaluating and responding to encampments, though (as the mayor’s office told us earlier in the day). He also briefly addressed the drug-use policy misinterpretation that erupted recently (“nothing changed with the policy” is the true bottom line, he said). Has ICE been seen in the Alki area? one attendee asked. Short answer: No confirmed sightings.
TRANSITION TEAM MEMBER: South Seattle College student Russell McQuarrie-Means, a member of Mayor Katie Wilson‘s 60-person transition team (and featured here a year ago), said he wasn’t present to be a spokesperson for the mayor but to be an advocate “for all of you.” Starck asked McQuarrie-Means what youth are concerned about, since his official role on the team is as a student/youth adviser. He said they’re worried about ICE and about affordability, to mention two, declaring that this city is unaffordable for his generation,.
EMERGENCY HUBS: Another guest appearance was by Cindi Barker, a longtime volunteer with the Seattle Emergency Communication Hubs. The what? you ask. That was her point: “Did you know you have a disaster gathering place here on Alki?” In case of catastrophe, neighborhoods need to fend for themselves, at least for a while – as Barker pointed out, “there are 800,000 of us (residents), but only 204 firefighters on duty at any given time” – so it’ll be neighbors helping neighbors if disaster strikes. Know where your hub is and how you’d help. West Seattle and South Park have 15 hubs right now. “Why do I not know this?” asked one woman. “Because we’re not part of the city, don’t have a budget, etc.,” Barker replied. She explained simply how the hubs will help collect info post-disaster, so people can come to them and find out what’s going on if regular communication channels are disrupted – information circulation will be done with the help of amateur=radio operators in some cases. They’ll be able to communicate hub to hub, neighborhood to neighborhood, with white boards of info available. Find out more, including hub locations, by going here.
GIVEAWAYS AT POLAR BEAR SWIM: Vice president Zak Nyberg talked about the emergency blankets ACC gave away at the beach on New Year’s Day (see one in our coverage). Starck said next year they want to budget to give out even more.
ALKI HOLIDAY LIGHTS: Nyberg also recapped the biggest-yet holiday event held the weekend before Christmas – carolers, Santa, a DJ, drinks, food, and the Christmas Ship. “It was a really great event!” As shown in our coverage, there was a “wish wall,” and that was brought to this meeting so the wishes could be shared with attendees. The wishes were heartfelt “wonderful messages,” Starck daid.
NEW BANNERS: As first shown here Wednesday, new flags (banners) are up along Alki – “to bring back vitality and neighborhood identity, to celebrate the beauty of the place,” Starck said.
40 YEARS OF ACC: 2025 marked the 40th anniversary of the ACC. Starck said that pages on the ACC website celebrate and detail their history – look at the accomplishments page, for one.
STATUE OF LIBERTY PLAZA MAINTENANCE: For more than a decade and a half, the ACC has overseen the plaza’s basic maintenance contract with Seattle Parks, based on excess funds from the plaza’s publicly funded creation. Starck said there’s maybe eight years worth of funding left and it’s time to start talking about how to keep that going.
COMMUNITY GARDEN: Attendee Gretchen talked about the Beyers Bulldog Community Garden P-Patch in South Alki, featured here last year, saying volunteers want more people to get involved. They’ve received a Small Sparks city grant for some improvements – they’re having a meeting at 11 am January 24. (The P-Patch is at 54th/Edmunds.)
NEXT MEETING: The ACC usually meets on third Thursdays, 7 pm at Alki UCC (6115 SW Hinds), so February 19th is up next.
Among this week’s main events, the Morgan Community Association‘s quarterly gathering on Wednesday night, this time at a new venue – Alki Arts, the event venue/gallery at 6030 California SW. The full agenda (which includes a link if you’d rather attend online) is here. It includes updates related to Morgan Junction’s two big city projects-in-waiting – the park expansion’s future “skate dot”/all-wheels area, and the EV-charging lot – plus leadership election and a business spotlight. All welcome, 7 pm Wednesday (January 21); here’s our coverage of last quarter’s meeting, held in October.
Here are our toplines from another of this week’s community-organization meetings – this time, the Admiral Neighborhood Association gathering Tuesday night at Admiral HUB, facilitated by ANA president Joanie Jacobs.
SEATTLE POLICE: The night’s main guest was Crime Prevention Coordinator Matt Brown representing SPD. He first presented 2025 stats for the precinct’s coverage area, West Seattle plus South Park:
-3,718 reported crimes
down 19 percent from year before
-415 reported crimes in Admiral last year
down 17 percent from year before
Typical of most if not all areas city-wide, Brown said, also noting, “The majority of crime is property crime.” Violent crime in Admiral held steady – 44 last year, 41 a year earlier. Confirmed gunfire for the entire precinct area – 91 total instances, 6 involved injuries, no deaths; 9 of the gunfire incidents were in Admiral, most recently in October. Brown said the department continues to closely track this. If you think you hear gunshots, even if you’re not sure, call 911. In all cases, even if you’re not 100 percent sure something’s an emergency, if it’s happening now or just happened, better to call 911 than not to – they’ll redirect you if needed.
Regarding personal safety, Brown offered some advice, having just taught a class earlier in the day. Be aware of everything. happening around you, was his top tip. But “if you’re constantly on high alert, you’re going to be exhausted.” Also: “Trust your feelings … trust yourself if you have a gut feeling about something, someone,” or some situation. Have a plan for what you might do in a specific situation. Evaluate your home’s security characteristics – you can replace a window with safety glass, for example, that resists breakage for longer. How bright are your lights? President Jacobs, who manages the coffee shop West Seattle Grounds, talked about reporting problems. What about if you’re not comfortable in a situation? Don’t jump in – but on the other hand, don’t ignore the impulse to try to help, like calling 911. He talked about alternate responders and their roles. “Go ahead and talk to them” if you see them at a scene or event.
There was also discussion of the 988 hotline, as well as the CARE Team – for dispatch of the latter, it all starts with a call to 911, Brown reiterated. And in response to a question from Jacobs, Brown said there are resources for businesses to work on crime, safety, and damage repairs.
ANA board member Ryan Crompton asked about police hiring. Despite the “huge hiring” success last year, the department still has a lot of ground to gain to get back to what’s considered full staffing. SPD remains “very optimistic about the numbers.”
Have we had any ICE activity in West Seattle? another attendee asked. While cautioning that he may not be the best authority, Brown said, not that he’s heard of. And in general, he said that if you see someone looking as if they’re being kidnapped, call 911, officers will respond and will sort it out if it turns out to be federal law enforcers.
MEMBERSHIP: New levels are available to support the ANA and its community work and events, ANA board member Dan Jacobs said. One businessperson who got a shoutout for offering major “All in for Admiral” support is Paula Kennedy from Timeless Kitchen Design (also a WSB sponsor), for example. Community support via membership is a huge reason why the ANA has been able to expand the size and number of events offered. There was talk of how to increase residential membership too – if you sign up for a $40 membership, what does that money do? They’re working on clear communication of the answer to that question. One attendee suggested that even features at events – like portable toilets! – could feature signage saying “Your membership dollars helped pay for this!” Also noted: A mistaken assumption that Admiral is, like The Junction, a “business improvement area” (BIA) with dues and funding. In short – it’s not. Some residents may in fact have the assumption that ANA is just a business group, Kennedy suggested – but it isn’t, at all (in fact, business involvement has been relatively recent, after a few attempts at creating an Admiral business group ebbed). Brainstorming ensued, including ways to network with other Admiral residents – dog walking? crafting? gardening? microneighborhood activities?
2026 EVENTS: Less than six months till this year’s Fourth of July Kids’ Parade! Joanie Jacobs said volunteer power aplenty is needed, as always, to make it work. “And it’s a great way to connect and meet people!” she enthused. This year’s Admiral Music in the Parks – last three Thursdays of July – will again be at three different parks (even though Hiawatha, the longtime venue will finally have reopened by then), and that needs volunteer help too. The Admiral Block Party also needs “lots of volunteers” – fourth Saturday of August. Then there’ll be a neighborhood cleanup too, maybe even two.
NEXT MEETING: March 10, also at the Admiral HUB. (And before then, Dan Jacobs reminded everyone, and as was announced here in mid-December, Hiawatha Community Center‘s grand reopening celebration is set for February 21st – the city is organizing that, so details are yet to come.)
-Tracy Record, WSB editor
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:
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:
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.
This week brings the first community meetings of 2026. Among them: The Alki Community Council, 7 pm Thursday (January 15), at Alki UCC (6115 SW Hinds). After another year of events (did you get to Alki Holiday Lights?), they’re asking Alki residents about their neighborhood priorities, in advance of Thursday’s meeting. The questions are linked in the email update the ACC sent out today. As noted in that update, a member of Mayor Katie Wilson‘s transition team is coming to the meeting to listen to neighborhood priorities, too.
If you have dreams, big or small, for something that will improve your neighborhood or enhance the lives of your neighbors, you might be able to get money from the city to help make those dreams happen. The Neighborhood Matching Fund has been around for more than 35 years and made more than 5,000 grants for everything from block parties to investments in community buildings and organizations. There are workshops starting this week to help applicants prepare.
The least-complicated ask is for a Small Sparks Fund grant, which is for up to $5,000. In 2024, those grants were given to a variety of events in West Seattle, from a summer festival for Vietnamese elders to the Alki Community Celebration and concerts by West Seattle Community Orchestras. In other parts of the city, grants have gone to art walks, parades, beautification of utility boxes and the purchase of plants so that neighbors can landscape traffic circles.
(WSB photo, 2024)
The Community Partnership Fund awards up to $50,000 for larger projects like big cultural events, along with long-lasting improvements like public art, supporting community buildings and community organizing. West Seattle area projects that received CPF support in 2024 included exterior improvements at the Duwamish Longhouse, demolition of the Highland Park Improvement Club building after a fire damaged it beyond repair, and supporting Hometown Holidays in the West Seattle Junction.
(WSB photo, 2024)
The Seattle Department of Neighborhoods administers the funds, and is having online workshops with tips on submitting a successful application. Having the workshops now is timely because the CPF fund has a nearing deadline for 2026, at 5 pm on March 10th, for the first round. Second-round applications are due in September. The Small Sparks Fund works on a rolling basis so that 2026 funds can go to events happening this year. The final deadline for SSF is October 30th at 5 pm.
The first of the virtual workshops is this Thursday, January 15th at 10 am. The SDN website has all the info for the workshops and applications.
Though the Southwest Precinct has postponed the community meeting originally planned for this Tuesday, a key precinct staffer will be at the Admiral Neighborhood Association‘s every-other-month general gathering that might. If you have questions about local crime/safety issues, Matt Brown is on the agenda for the 7 pm Tuesday (January 13) meeting, happening at the Admiral HUB (former church’s adjacent gathering space, 4320 SW Hill). All are welcome to be there to talk/hear about other Admiral-area happenings/issues too.
(WSB file photo)
Previewing major events planned for the week ahead – Thursday (December 18) is the next big West Seattle night on the holiday calendar. The Argosy Cruises Christmas Ship makes both of its 2025 West Seattle stops (with Choir of the Sound performing) on that night, 5:50-6:10 pm off Salty’s (1936 Harbor SW), 8:35-8:55 pm in the vicinity of the Alki Bathhouse (2701 Alki SW). The second stop will be the heart of the Alki Community Council‘s Alki Holiday Lights celebration, coordinated by the Alki Community Council with beach businesses plus the Log House Museum. See the dozen-plus participating locations – and the treats/freebies they’re offering – by going here. And be at Alki Bathhouse for free Santa photos 7-8:15 pm!
P.S. As mentioned here last week, boaters are encouraged to join the Christmas Ship off Alki on Thursday night too!
While we assemble our coverage from tonight’s big celebration in The Junction, we’re taking a moment to look ahead a week to next Saturday, when the Admiral Neighborhood Association invites you to wander a mile of local businesses for the Winter Wonderland party! The map’s live now, so here’s the full announcement:
Enjoy a full mile of festive fun on Saturday, December 13th from 11 AM-2 PM with the Admiral Neighborhood Association at our third annual Winter Wonderland!
Businesses throughout Admiral are offering a variety of family-friendly activities, specials, and promotions as we encourage our neighbors to shop small this holiday season. From holly-jolly pet photos and coffee-filter snowflakes to hot cocoa stations and artful nibbles; there’s snow place like Admiral this winter.
And while you’re out, don’t forget to stop by West Seattle Realty for a daytime disco party with Santa, take a break at the Admiral Theater for their special showing of The Nightmare Before Christmas, then sing along with carolers from the Admiral Church Choir. And be on the lookout for our roving Winter Wonderland penguin throughout the event.
Look for the penguins in the windows of participating Admiral businesses day-of and visit our website connecttoadmiral.org/winter-wonderland to see the full map and plan your route!
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
The hit-and-run crash that injured a child on Alki last Sunday afternoon was one of three major topics at Thursday night’s Alki Community Council gathering.
SEATTLE POLICE: Crime-prevention cordinator Matt Brown, filling in for Jennifer Satterwhite during her maternity leave, brought information about Sunday’s hit-run in the 2700 block of Alki Avenue SW. Though SPD had told us earlier this week that there was no arrest, Brown said police did find the driver and that the City Attorney’s Office would be pursuing charges. Brown said the driver’s vehicle was impounded and said it “sounds ike the driver panicked” and that’s why they left the scene. As the victim’s mother noted in comments following our original story, the child was treated at a hospital but able to leave the same day.
Brown said precinct commander Captain Krista Bair reahed out to SDOT shortly afterward about safety measures for that stretch of Alki Avenue; SDOT’s Bill LaBorde daid they’re “seriously tracking this injury” and pointed out that the city already has implemented a lot of safety improvements on Alki. But, the more people request safety measures, the more likely they are to be implemented. People are advocating for more improvements “because we don’t want this to happen again,” Brown said. Community advocate Steve Pumphrey said that’s great but unfortunately it always seems that nothing happens until there’s “been an event.” He mentioned previous instances in which the City Council passed measures such as technology initiatives for speed and noise enforcement among other things – but they were never implemented. ACC president Charlotte Starck noted that this particular stretch of Alki has a preschool, arcades, and other reasons for increased presence of children, and yet = decisions don’t seem to reflect the reality. Starck plans more conversations with SDOT as well as with Councilmember Rob Saka.
Also surfaced, 63rd SW has been left out of the most-recent traffic-calming plans (although the forthcoming “Healthy Street” updates have a pedestrian-activated light coming). But: “People have to care that there’s a crosswalk,” said one attendee. Another thought police should be there enforcing. Another attendee complained, “The speed bumps are launch pads for the racers.” “They’re too far apart,” added Pumphrey. Has SDOT walked all these areas? asked another person – particulary 59th, where a school will reopen in a year? One fact offered: The “Healthy Street” overhaul has shut down racing by Constellation Park.
ALKI HOLIDAY LIGHTS: Stacy Bass-Walden (above center), Zak Nyberg (above left), and Wyatt Carlock are organizing Alki Holiday Lights – which was put together on short notice last year, and this year has a $5,000 city grant to assist. Like last year, it’s the same night that the Argosy Cruises Christmas Ship comes to Alki (last year, before Thanksgiving, but this year, just a week before Christmas, December 18). They’re signing up businesses to participate, with plans so far including strolling carolers from West Seattle High School, Santa photos at the bathhouse, business offers including candy canes at Seaside Grill, free waffle with drink purchase at Happy Lemon, a TBA West Seattle Arcade “surprise,” free cocoa at some venues, cider and cookies too, plus free baklava at Christo’s, and free cider and kids crafts and bake sale at the Log House Museum. Also a bonfire, a DJ with holiday music for karaoke … This year the titular lights will include double the luminaria, 100 instead of 50, so they need a couple dozen volunteers to help with those (email the ACC if you’re interested).
2026 LEADERSHIP: President Starck started with words of appreciation for two trustees and longtime board members – past president Tony Fragada and trustee Will Winter, who were there, and outgoing treasurer Kathy Olson, who was not. Amy Anderson, who has been serving as acting VP and is incoming treasurer, said she “kind of stumbled into Alki Community Council” after people in her building were involved in the Harbor/Alki “safety group.” For the big picture, Starck explained, the group is marking 40 years (as the ACC logo notes, “est. 1985”), “and we want to keep the momentum going forward.” The board is adding a communications/marketing position. Lynn Drake, a retired engineer who’s been doing social media for ACC, is excited about some of the initiatives that the group has taken on. She talked about her support for urbanism and talking to ACC leadership to find out if she coud serve even if her philosophy was different. Starck made it clear that this isn’t an ideology-driven group – they all share big goals such as neighborhood safety. Starck also talked about the intensity of the wrk as president, advocating for Alki, often “on the phone” with government or other reps. She said she’s willing to take it on for another year as a “transition” year for another leader to emerge for future years.
BETWEEN MEETINGS: Watch for updates at alkicommunitycouncil.org.
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
Meet next year’s Admiral Neighborhood Association leadership:
Left to right, Becky Crompton is the new treasurer; staying on are secretary Meagan Loftin, president Joanie Jacobs and vice president Cheryl Lea. The vote came during Tuesday night’s every-other-month ANA gathering, this time
held at West Seattle Realty (WSB sponsor).
Seattle Police didn’t send a rep this time, so that meant no crime/safety discussion to open the meeting. But there were two other topics of note:
ANA’S WINTER WONDERLAND: The business-district holiday celebration will be back for a third year on Saturday, December 13; Loftin is overseeing it. The night’s meeting venue also will play a major role during Winter Wonderland – West Seattle Realty (2715 California SW) will be the scene of a disco-dance party with Santa! Other businesses – mostly along California, between Walker and Charlestown, will host holiday activities, plus the Admiral Church choir will carol, and West Seattle High School students will have an arts pop-up. Watch for details and a map here next week. The festivities are all intended to “encourage everybody to shop small” this holiday season. (And if your Admiral business isn’t already signed up to participate, you can still jump in – Friday’s the deadline!)
(Schmitz Park, in the center of pilot/photographer Long Bach Nguyen‘s 2012 image)
SCHMITZ PARK CREEK RESTORE: Tim DiMarco and Dan Nye came with an update on the vision for Schmitz Preserve Park, 53 acres of largely untouched forest with a lot of history. (Here’s our original report from when the organization went public a year and a half ago.) Nye is a forest steward and talked briefly about Parks’ light touch on clearing some trees that fell during recent storms, leaving much of the wood to rot. He also talked about investigating why the creek doesn’t flow beyond the park, which “is a very important place for the indigenous people … the ravine was saved as a sacred space.” The ravine is likely the result of glaciers and Seattle Fault earthquake activity: “We want to preserve (the ravine).” He talked about the site’s history, with even President Roosevelt visiting. He shared the history of how they got to this point, talking with the city, with tribes, with schools “about how the park had been used and how it might be uded in the future.”
One big problem: Invasive specied – ivy, holly, blackberries, laurel. Everyone is welcome to come volunteer digging up invasives “and we have a blast – you really make a difference.” They had a big planting party at 51st/Orleans last weekend planting native species. (Another one is planned 10 am this Saturday, November 22.) They think what they’re doing can inspire other neighborhoods.
They also talked about the UW students who did a presentation a year ago of what concept plans might look like (WSB coverage here) – they’re still interested in feedback – they’re hoping the students will revisit what they did – they’re hoping to replant part of the park into native species, which would nurture salmon.
“This all of course will cost money,” said Nye, so they’ve formed a 501(c)3 nonprofit – they continue working on the possibility of restoring and daylighting the stream and bringing back the salmon. Their first grant is from a foundation (updated) associated with the estate of Patsy Bullitt. They say Parks plans to establish an endowment fund.
They periodically lead what is actually a historic tour – you can see where this brook comes down into the forest – “it’s a gorgeous stream,” says DiMarco, and it pops out of the hillsides. As they troop up, they talk about the history and the people who would come over here from other parts of the city. “It’s a huge beautiful forest; it’s amazing,” said Nye, “and it’s right here at your doorstep.” They hope to be able to rename it Alki Creek someday.
What’s the timeline for their project? 10 years or so, Nye replied.
NEXT MEETING: January 13, at Admiral HUB (4320 SW Hill).
BONUS QUESTION: There was a round of Admiral trivia to determine winners of the door prizes. First one: Who was the admiral after who Admiral was named?
The Admiral Neighborhood Association usually holds its every-other-month gatherings on second Tuesdays, but this time it’s on the third Tuesday – two nights away. Different location this time, too – West Seattle Realty (2715 California SW; WSB sponsor), whose spacious headquarters double as a venue for performances, art receptions, and as in this case, community meetings. As previewed on the ANA website, the meeting is expected to include an update from SPD (bring crime/safety questions if you have them), the latest on plans for the Admiral Winter Wonderland holiday celebration, and a vote on next year’s officers. All are welcome, 7 pm Tuesday.
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
The Fauntleroy Community Association‘s board met this past week, for a meeting mostly featuring short updates, no guest presenters:
CROSSING FLAGS: FCA has long been placing these at various crossings in the area, and they’re depleted, president Frank Immel said, particularly by the ferry dock; board member Bill Wellington said he’d noticed one flag basket was on the ground rather than on the pole (he has 50 that can be used for replenishment) – Immel said he has fasteners. So the problem will be addressed
CROSSING AT SW ROSE: The FCA is still concerned about its design (as shown earlier this year) – some wondered if it’s “overdesigned” – though pleased it does contain a pushbutton-activated signal for crossers. Vice president Catherine Bailey also said she’s glad this will calm/slow traffic. Immel said he’d had a few questions out to SDOT for a while but no reply yet. They’re hoping project-team reps will come to a future meeting.
CULVERT UPDATE: With Seattle Public Utilities‘ 45th SW Fauntleroy Creek culvert-replacement project looming, board members wanted to talk about where they and the community are at with readiness for it. One attendee who recently moved from the project zone said his former neighbors are worried about the logistics of the work, which is expected to close 45th SW to through traffic for two years. Board member Alan Grainger noted that the bottom line remains, “we’re going to have a much-improved environment for the salmon.” There’s still concern, however, that not enough people know this is coming, and more people who live in the area need to come to a meeting and see how it’s going to work and ask questions.” (SPU had a meeting last month; here’s our coverage.) FCA thinks the community should be getting more, and more-frequent, messages about it, and plans to suggest that to the city.
FERRY DOCK: Immel, long the FCA’s point person on ferry issues, recapped the final Community Advisory Group meeting held recently (WSB coverage here) and the general outline with which WSF is going into environmental studies. The project is not yet fully funded, and that’s a big issue, Immel observed.
COVE PARK: Some of the art in the small beach park north of the ferry dock has been damaged, board member Mardi Clements said, and is working on what can be done about it – the raven’s “sun” was stolen (not the first time that sculpture’s been damaged), and there’s a chunk smashed out of the canoe. They’re talking to the county, which now controls the site, about repairs.
$ UPDATE: Grainger, who serves as treasurer, said the Fauntleroy Fall Festival was within about $600 of breaking even, so FCA is contributing to cover that gap.
SURVEY THIS YEAR? FCA is the only community council that regularly surveys residents and businesses. (See the 2023 results here.) Before the next one, they want to focus on building up their email address database. They talked about ways to simplify it, maybe asking people to rank community issues, adding their own priority if it’s not on the list. Board members thought it might be best to develop a “mini-survey” this time.
DIGITAL PROFILE: The group is still grappling with maximizing its online channels – in brainstorming, some wondered, could they find a volunteer? Or maybe send email to its subscriber list more than the current once a quarter – provided there’s good information that’s worth readers’ while.
WHAT’S NEXT: No December meeting, so they’re reconvening in January (6 pm Tuesday, January 13).
The fourth Wednesday of the month – tomorrow – usually would be HPAC meeting night, but the community coalition for Highland Park, Riverview, and South Delridge is skipping this month:
We hope everyone has been making the most of this beautiful autumn season. HPAC’s October gathering won’t be taking place as originally scheduled. However, we’re hoping to reconvene in November or December for a special session where we’ll dive into the revised design for the Highland Park Way SW hill project with SDOT.
SDOT announced last March that it was proceeding with the project to replace a downhill driving lane with biking/walking/rolling infrastructure
By Torin Record-Sand
Reporting for West Seattle Blog
Projects, crime stats, and City Council candidates were on the agenda when the Morgan Community Association had its quarterly meeting this past Wednesday at West Seattle Church of the Nazarene. About a dozen people attended, both in person and online.
The big news to come out of the meeting was the cancellation of next year’s Morgan Junction Community Festival. The festival was usually one of the first of the summer, held in June, featuring local musicians, vendors, and a place for other local community groups to advocate to attendees. The reason given for its cancellation given was a combination of a lack of funding, issues with overall attendance, and a lack of variety in new groups to bring to the event. “We need new blood to bring the festival to life … In additional conversations, we determined those things had not occurred.” said Christopher Miller, MoCA secretary. (President Deb Barker could not attend, so board members led the meeting.) He also said, however, they were considering other opportunities for MoCA to present events: “We are looking at new ways to activate public space in one-off ways, looking at projects like that, and other directions we can try to go when the [Morgan Junction] park (addition) is open.”
The other big news was that the park addition site will be open to the public as soon as November as it transitions between phases of development. The site has been hydroseeded , meaning that a new blanket of grass will grow soon over the filled and leveled site, expedited by the rainy season.
Olivia Reed, a planner from Seattle Parks and Recreation, came to deliver a presentation on the status of the site, north of the existing park. “The [additional site] project will go into construction winter 2026 [as in, December of next year], so the fencing around the site will be removed in the next couple of months, and it’ll be open until construction begins.” she said. She also said that the addition site project progress is on pace, with the primary design consultants are under contract. They are working now on finalizing the design requirements for the project. She said there will be additional chances for the community to input feedback on the proposed design before construction begins. (The issue of how and whether it will include a skatable area has not yet been settled – here’s our recent update after a site meeting with Parks reps and community members including the group MJAWA that has long been working for the feature to be in the project.)
Just in from Alki Community Council president Charlotte Starck, word that tomorrow night’s scheduled monthly meeting is outta there:
We’ve heard the powerful voice of baseball fans. :) We are canceling tomorrow night’s 7 pm Alki Community Council meeting to allow everyone to enjoy the Mariners playoff game. We look forward to rescheduling with our presenters and seeing you in person at our next meeting Thursday, November 20th.
After their 13-4 loss to Toronto tonight at T-Mobile Park, the M’s are still up 2-1 in the best of seven American League Championship Series; first pitch Thursday is just after 5:30 pm.
If you’re interested in finding out more about what’s happening in your neighborhood, you’re in luck if you live, work, shop, study, play in one of the three West Seattle neighborhoods whose community coalitions meet this week.
FAUNTLEROY COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION, TUESDAY: This is a hybrid monthly FCA board meeting, with community members welcome to attend too, 6 pm Tuesday (October 14) at Fauntleroy Schoolhouse (9131 California SW) or online. Agenda highlights are here; you can register for online attendance at fauntleroy.net/meetings.
MORGAN COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION, WEDNESDAY: This is a hybrid quarterly meeting of MoCA, 7 pm Wednesday (October 15) at West Seattle Church of the Nazarene (42nd SW and SW Juneau) or online. Agenda highlights and the online-attendance link are here.
ALKI COMMUNITY COUNCIL, THURSDAY: This is an in-person-only monthly meeting of the ACC, 7 pm Thursday (October 16) at Alki UCC (6115 SW Hinds). Agenda highlights are in the newsletter the ACC sent tonight.
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
From trails through the greenbelt to connections across the blacktop, HPAC‘s first fall meeting covered a lot of ground. The community coalition for Highland Park, Riverview, and South Delridge gathered at Delridge Library this past Wednesday night.
POLICE UPDATES: These updates usually start community-coalition meetings, with rotating representatives from the department, this time Community Service Officers. The year-to-date stats they brought for all of the Southwest Precinct were the same ones we’ve reported in coverage of other recent West Seattle community meetings; for Highland Park specifically, shootings, burglaries, motor-vehicle thefts, and thefts in general are down, robberies, aggravated assaults, rapes, and arsons are up, and there’ve been no homicides so far this year (same as at this point last year).
There was some discussion of the new SPD directive to report parking violations by phone rather than via the Find It Fix It app. The point seems to be that SPD wants these reports to come in in real time, rather than in a system where they might not be seen for a day or two. That led to a discussion of encampment concerns and potential new parking restrictions, including a growing encampment at the bottom of Highland Park Way hill. Perhaps the greenbelt gate could be closed at night? was the question. (Nobody from Seattle Parks was there, so that’ll have to be brought up in another way.) There were also concerns about fires in the area; one response from last Monday was mentioned, in the 6700 block of West Marginal Way (categorized as “rubbish fire” but no other info available).
RIDGE 2 RIVER: Speaking of the greenbelt, this organization currently has a survey open to help determine where trails should go in the West Duwamish Greenbelt, the city’s longest contiguous stretch of forest, mostly running through eastern West Seattle. Paul spoke; he explained that his group has a “broader definition of the WDG than the city does.” Yes, the WDG already has some trails; Paul noted that sibling organization West Duwamish Greenbelt Trails has mapped current trails but they’re mostly unplanned, uncoordinated, given that it “over time developed this network of trails which is fun to explore but it’s an adhoc process and not … the best system that could be there in terms of serving the community’s needs, environmental impact, etc. … If we were thinking about the greenbelt holistically,” something different would be created. They’re in the midst of a two-year process to determine that.
Where do people want to go? How do they want to get there? How can they avoid geologically unstable areas? In addition to community input, they’re also launching an expert analysis of the greenbelt. And they’re mapping destinations like həʔapus Village Park and Shoreline Habitat, Westcrest Park, Riverview Playfield, although “we don’t know if people would really use trails to get to those places.” Could there be a spine trail that would get you to almost anywhere in the greenbelt? Current phase, bottom line, information gathering, “and then out of that we’re going to develop some alternatives for different levels of greenbelt improvements” and they’ll have some community meetings for input, then a city process, and probably around early 2027 they’ll have a “preferred alterntive.”
They really want people to take the survey – only 200 have so far – it’s a long survey but Paul said they’re “fun questions.” If you can, go walk in the greenbelt and then take the survey! WDGT has monthly hikes if you want to go with a group – they have two more, in October 18 (from Pathfinder K-8) and November 15 (from the north end of the South Seattle College campus), before winter. The survey will be open until they get enough responses, so probably at least a couple more months. They’re doing in-person outreach too, including tabling at last Saturday’s West Seattle Ecology Fair.
RECONNECT SOUTH PARK: Maria and Jorge were there from the organization exploring the idea of reconnecting the community torn apart by Highway 99; she gave the backstory. They’re currently looking at the “reroute and reclaim” option. She noted she’s never been able to look at the highway the same way since learning it covers what was once a fertile valley where abundant food was grown. People who live by it now live 11 years less on average than others – not just because of the highway, but that’s a large contributor. She explained the state provided funding for them to do a community study and technical analysis. “The highway created 22 dead-end streets in South Park,” Maria said. And of course there’d be a question of where the truck traffic goes. The project has been under way for three years. Before turning it over to Jorge, Maria stressed, “We’re not anywhere near design – this round is about identifying an option and taking a look at whether it’s possible. This is about what we’re leaving for our kids. We all have to look ahead and not just think about us right now.”
Of the possibilities suggested so far, Jorge said the Reroute and Reclaim option would eliminate the freeway. “That could create 2700 new jobs, would reduce South Park traffic by 64 percent.” Second and third options are similar – the highway would turn into a boulevard, like Delridge. 25 percent less traffic or 47 percent less traffic. All the reclaimed land would be available for new housing and parks. The last option is “bridges and trails,” with the highway staying the same but adding community connections “on both sides.” Maria pointed out that the big clover-leaf intersection would be removed.
To some, this may all sound like an impossible dream or foolish venture, but: “We can be bold,” Maria exhorted. Supporters are certain it would increase safety, business, communication. She said they’ve gotten youth involved with this too, including the Duwamish Valley Youth Corps. If you’re interested in finding out more or even pitching in to help, volunteers@reconnectsouthpark.org is the email address.
NEXT MEETING: HPAC is planning to meet at the Southwest Library next month; October 22, since the fourth Wednesday is their usual meeting night. Watch hpaction.org for updates.
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
West Seattle’s first community-council meeting of fall was on the second night of fall, as the Admiral Neighborhood Association held its every-other-month gathering at the Admiral HUB (formerly church) this past Tuesday. We’ve already featured two news items from the meeting; here’s the full story:
SOUTHWEST PRECINCT POLICE: This briefing was presented by Lt. Wes Collier, the second-watch (dayside) commander, relatively new to the Southwest Precinct, after a variety of roles in the department – “I’ve been around for a while.”
He brought an update on the 27th SW shooting, as noted here, and also talked about Admiral-specific crime trends. Robberies are up 44 percent – a category of crime covering more than you think – could be a shoplifter making a threat or using violence. There’ve been four more in Admiral this year to date compared to last year. “That is a cause for concern.” He also said Southwest Precinct response times are slower than the – minute goal – currently 10 minutes, even for highest-priority calls (“if you tell me someone is here right now”). He said he’d be addressing that at a gathering Monday, the next day most of his officers are on duty because of an overlap. He declared he’s “no stranger to holding people accountable.” An attendee asked, “What’s the vibe about the end of the consent decree?” Reply: “A weight off our shoulders.” Another question: What about staffing? (As noted in our story on the mayor’s proposed budget – more hires, fewer departures than expected.) What about planning for next year’s World Cup matches? Planning began last year, Lt. Collier said. “We treat all the (big sporting events) as practice runs” for that, plus they’ve had a lot of drills – they’ve also sent police and POET (protest-focused team) members to London “to see how they handle it.”
Lt. Collier also noted the Traffic Unit has two motorcycle officers day shift who can do, and are doing, traffic enforcement. One attendee had words of praise for officers who were on Alki on the Fourth of July; another attendee said the Don Armeni Boat Ramp nighttime closures have been helpful: “It kept things nice and calm.” Lt. Collier said he’s going to dedicate two officers to an “09” car – emphasis patrol (which has been done on Alki and Westwood), taking orders directly from the watch commander rather than dispatchers (unless of course there’s a major emergency). He hopes to dedicate them to vehicle thefts, among other things. He also gave a short introduction to Matt Brown, who’ll be filling in for Jennifer Satterwhite as Crime Prevention Coordinator during her upcoming maternity leave. (Brown is South Precinct CPC right now.)
SCHOOL BOARD: Board president and West Seattle (and vicinity) director Gina Topp (who’s also a local small-biz owner, as a partner in Admiral’s Mission Cantina) was the next guest.
Enrollment is steady, finances are not – they’re facing an $80 million deficit, she noted, out of a $1.3 billion budget for a 49,000-student district. She said they’re trying hard to “protect what students need most.” Then there’s the superintendent search. They’ve heard from families, students, other community members, and they have a “leadership profile.” As noted in our Tuesday story, they have 41 qualified applicants for the job. “That is great – we are super excited about that number.” First review as a board is this Friday, she said. And as we recently reported, Alki Elementary remains on (revised) schedule to open in September of next year. One man noted that 43 percent of his property taxes go to education; Topp agreed it’s regressive taxation. Another attendee noted that West Seattle HS’s student body count – more than 1500 – is larger than last year, so how’s the district count now? Holding steady (100 more than last year, per figures presented to the board this week), although the graduating class is larger than incoming kindergarten, Topp said. “Looks like we may be plateau’ing a bit.”
An attendee who identified herself as a late-career SPS nurse said she’s one for 1,600 at her (non-WS) school, and before that 1,100. “We saved this community during COVID.” She talked about the effects of the lunch split – today she had two suicide threats, a dozen diabetics, and the idea of one nurse handling 1200 students is almost impossible. She seldom gets lunch and says it’s an impossible job for one person to handle. “You need to look at Health Services” and related areas, she implored. Another attendee mentioned that 2026 graduation dates are right up against the local FIFA World Cup matches and that’s going to make things difficult. “I hope there’s been some thought about moving the ceremonies early.” The attendee also talked about his child’s school using PTA fundraising for a school nurse and counselor, and he hoped that would be allowed where it’s possible so that district resources could be freed up to cover such services at schools that don’t have a fundraising capacity. He also suggested the district could be making more money off some of its facilities, like Nino Cantu Douthwest Athletic Complex. Overall, he said, “I’d like to see a new focus on fundraising.”
In wrapping, Topp noted that the next night’s board meeting – which also tackled the high-school lunch issue (WSB coverage here) – was planned in work session format, so no in-person public comment
EVENTS: President Joanie Jacobs sang the praises of volunteers. First, the two new coordinators of the Fourth of July Kids’ Parade … the organizers of the AMP concert series … and everybody who helped with the Admiral Block Party. Now it’s fall and it’s time for more fun, including Trick or Treating. Volunteers will be needed for the October 24 trick-or-treat event, as well as December 13 business event Winter Wonderland. Trick or Treating will go from Avamere in North Admiral to Charlestown/California in South Admiral. It’ll go back to 3 pm to 6 pm this year. Also ahead, 7 pm October 7 at West Seattle Realty (2715 California SW; WSB sponsor) is a gathering for prospective volunteers, for both the trick-or-treating event and Winter Wonderland.
ADMIRAL EMERGENCY HUB: Hiawatha is a gathering spot in case of catastrophe, with a big box full of emergency supplies. There’s a new hub captain, and the outgoing one spoke to the group, explaining what would happen there in case of trouble – the communication that would happen because regular channels would be down. Lt. Collier was asked about police readiness; he said they’d of course do what it took to help keep people safe, but also advised that people sign up for Alert Seattle, and mentioned that many more officers are trained as EMTs now.
NEXT ANA MEETING: November, which will include board elections. Possibly November 18, since the second Tuesday is Veterans’ Day and they don’t think that’s the proper night for a community council meeting. Watch the website for updates.
Often on Sundays, we look ahead to notable events in the coming week. This Tuesday (September 23), the Admiral Neighborhood Association invites community members to its every-other-month general gathering. Here’s the ANA preview:
Our special guest will be Seattle Public School Board President Gina Topp, who will be with us to talk about the state of the District as we begin a new school year. The meeting will now be held at 7 pm at the “Admiral Hub” (formerly Admiral Church) building on SW Hill Street and 44th Ave SW. Also present will be one of our friends from the SW Precinct. We will have some highlights from our Summer events as well as a look ahead to Fall/Winter.
P.S. The Admiral Hub itself – and what’s happening with the building now that the church and preschool have moved out – will be the topic of a WSB story we hope to publish tonight.
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
“It’s been a busy month so far,” observed Alki Community Council president Charlotte Starck at the start of last night’s meeting. That was no exaggeration, given the major topics the meeting spanned in the course of just an hour and a half. They included:
REZONING VOTE: Starck mentioned the results of the Comprehensive Plan amendment votes hours earlier, including the rejection of citywide Councilmember Alexis Mercedes Rinck‘s Amendment 34 proposal to add an area of Alki to be designated as a Neighborhood Center. She had circulated word of the proposal, made in an amendment just a month ago, and said she and the ACC weren’t advocating for or against it, just saying that there wasn’t enough notification about it compared to the many months of lead time for other proposed Neighborhood Centers. One attendee was concerned about how they’ll get word if the Alki Neighborhood Center idea is revived again in the future. (And in fact, Starck tells WSB today that an expected proposal at the council’s 2 pm meeting today would call for spending a year studying Alki and the other seven potential Neighborhood Centers that were in Amendment 34 – see page 6 here.)
PARKS UPDATE INCLUDING BOAT RAMP CHANGE: Jon Jainga from Seattle Parks, who’s in charge of Park Rangers among other things, presented department updates from what was dubbed the “Summer of Safety” plan. He said one big lesson learned involved city-operated boat ramps including West Seattle’s Don Armeni Boat Ramp – they were going to go back to 24-hour operation but now the gates will be closed at Don Armeni and Golden Gardens at 11:30 pm until further notice. Private security will close the gates and a ranger will be on until 12:30 am to check on them, until Park Rangers’ shifts will move up to a 10:30 pm end. Jainga noted, though, that he still has 19 rangers for the entire city.
Stats included that rangers have visited Alki 168 times, performed 142 customer-service acts, educated people aboard littering and drinking, and that off-leash dogs have been an ongoing problem. “We’re not police officers, we’re more of a park ambassador,” aimed at getting voluntary compliance. But if they have to escalate, they can cite – and/or call police for no-trespassing orders.
At Alki, he said, rangers gave 2,075 liquor violence warnings, 515+ offleash animal warnings, 600+ for urinating in public, 220 for smoking, 110 for unpermitted vendors on park property (they’re working to get right to enforce on sidewalk), 104 for litter, 2 for vehicles parked in unauthorized times, 666 for fires in unpermitted areas, 45 911 calls for police assistance, 18 calls to SFD for help, 6 people referred to the Unified Care Team. Jainga said they’re still analyzing everything, because it was a first summer for many things – but he said the ongoing concerns are the same at other major city parks.
SEATTLE POLICE: Precinct commander Capt. Krista Bair (photo above) and Officer German Barreto were there, as were Community Service Officers Jamie and Helene, as was Crime Prevention Coordinator Matt Brown, who will add the Southwest Precinct to his South Precinct duties when SW CPC Jennifer Satterwhite goes on maternity leave next month.
Community-group meetings are starting to resume after summer hiatus. Last night, the Fauntleroy Community Association board met, online only in a last-minute change after learning their usual venue, the Fauntleroy Schoolhouse conference room, was unavailable. Here are our topline notes:
CRIME STATS: First guest was Jennifer Satterwhite, longtime crime-prevention coordinator from the Southwest Precinct (a civilian position). She summarized the latest precinct-wide crime stats, saying reported crime overall is down 15 percent – that’s 530 fewer incidents than by this time last year. The precinct has had (corrected) 69 confirmed gunfire incidents this year, six fewer than a year earlier, with six resulting in injuries, zero deaths. She also said robbery is down 25 percent, burglary down 30 percent, and motor-vehicle theft is down 35 percent. On the subject of burglary, she said this summer has been devoid of burglaries along the lines of “broke in through an open-because-it’s-summer” window or door, but she continues to urge people to assess their own homes with a critical eye: “If you were a burglar, where would YOU break into your home?” She added that alarm systems aren’t fail-safes, because so many alarms are false that SPD only responds to the ones where an intruder is confirmed. She offers free home assessments; email her at jennifer.satterwhite@seattle.gov if interested. (Side note – the next community meeting to talk about crime and safety, the Southwest Precinct Advisory Council, is set for 6:30 pm October 7 at Alki Masonic Center in The Junction.)
FALL EVENTS: We’ve previewed these already – the FCA Pumpkin Search is October 4, the Fauntleroy Fall Festival is October 19. (The latter is supported, but not presented, by FCA, and there was a lengthy discussion of how much the association is able to give to the donation-and-volunteer-powered festival this year and how its support could or should be integrated into festival operations.)
REZONING: The City Council‘s public hearing this Friday on the Comprehensive Plan and accompanying rezoning was discussed. FCA leadership had worked with District 1 Councilmember Rob Saka on revising the boundaries for the proposed Endolyne/Fauntleroy “Neighborhood Center,” primarily to remove the schoolhouse – a nonprofit-owned community center – as well as some Fauntleroy Way frontage. Whatever you think about it, president Frank Immel said, it’s important to let the councilmembers know. Chris, a community member in attendance, asked how the FCA had arrived at the position that the Neighborhood Center boundaries should be reduced. He’s been in attendance at the board meetings and didn’t recall a vote or other way of determining that was the consensus. FCA board members explained community members had sent 600 letters expressing opposition to the rezoning as proposed, though they also said, “We don’t oppose the upzone – we are accepting change.” There was an extensive discussion of how/whether issues like this could/should be taken to the community before taking it up with the city. It was also noted that unlike other neighborhood groups, the FCA does a community survey every two years to ask what issues are of most interest and where residents stand on them; here are the 2023 results. (More info about Friday’s City Council hearing, including amendment links, are in today’s newsletter sent by Councilmember Saka.)
FERRY MATTERS: No new date for the final Community Advisory Group meeting on the terminal rebuild. In day-to-day matters, it was noted that Vashon Island schools – like others – are back in session, and while island-bound students usually head out on the 7 am boat, on Fridays the Vashon schools start two hours late, so they’re headed out at 9 am.
OTHER PROJECTS: Also mentioned fairly briefly, the Fauntleroy/Rose pedestrian improvements (as discussed at the previous Morgan Community Association meeting), the Fauntleroy Creek culvert emergency repairs (which are supposed to be complete before the Fall Festival, otherwise parking-lot activities will be moved to the schoolhouse grounds), and the Brace Point power-cable-replacement project.
The Fauntleroy Community Association board meets second Tuesdays, 6 pm, usually in person and online – go here for info.
Sweta sent the report and photos, so neighbors’ good deeds in South Alki would get wider exposure:
There’s a man and neighbors who have been hard at work improving the Spokane Street staircase.
They’ve cleared most of the bramble and added new plantings as well as adding the bench and the fish artwork (the man is a woodworker too).
I thought it might be worth noting these folks and their efforts on the blog.
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