West Seattle, Washington
03 Sunday
NORTH DELRIDGE NEIGHBORHOOD COUNCIL: 6:30 tonight, Delridge Library (map). Holli Margell sends word of what’s in store:
Want to cast another vote? Join us (tonight). We’ll be reviewing the “Bridging the Gap” Projects for the neighborhood to prioritize and narrow down the list for submission. Also on the agenda are our guest speakers, Amy Pennington of Urbangardenshare.org and Galena White of the Delridge Produce Coop, both sharing about their programs and answering our questions.
SOUTHWEST DISTRICT COUNCIL: 7 tonight, South Seattle Community College (WSB sponsor) board room (map). As previewed here, highlights will include deputy Parks superintendent Christopher Williams with an update on plans for West Seattle Golf Course‘s future, and a rep for Councilmember Sally Clark talking about neighborhood planning. (The next step on that is tomorrow night, at a meeting that’s not in West Seattle but needs as many WS attendees as it can get – the followup to July’s neighborhood-plan “status check” meeting and all those online questionnaires – Thursday, 6 pm, Mercer Middle School on Beacon Hill [map].)
The planned agenda for next Wednesday’s Southwest District Council meeting has just been sent out by district coordinator Stan Lock, and they’re expecting two special guests: Deputy Parks Superintendent Christopher Williams is expected with an update on planned improvements at West Seattle Golf Course; a representative from Councilmember Sally Clark‘s office is expected with an update on the neighborhood-planning process. (See our story from earlier this week.) The SWDC meeting at 7 pm Wednesday in the South Seattle Community College (WSB sponsor) board room will come one night before the next key gathering in the neighborhood-plan-update process — THAT meeting next Thursday is on Beacon Hill (complete details here), but it’ll include discussions of the 5 West Seattle neighborhood plans, so WS representation is vital.
Headlines from Wednesday night’s meeting of the Southwest District Council: Two briefings regarding changes in the ways citizen-proposed projects get money from certain city funds. One set of changes, for the Neighborhood Street Fund, didn’t draw much controversy as SDOT’s Krista Bunch explained things, but the other, for the Neighborhood Matching Fund, did. Read on:Read More
SOUTHWEST DISTRICT COUNCIL: Tonight’s agenda includes Dante Taylor from SDOT briefing the group on the proposed changes in Junction parking. The map you see above is the official version of the one that was shown in rough draft to the recent Parking Project Committee meeting (WSB coverage here); it’ll be on a mailer going out to area homes/businesses shortly. Also on the agenda for tonight’s meeting: 7 pm, board room at South Seattle Community College (WSB sponsor).
NORTH DELRIDGE NEIGHBORHOOD COUNCIL: 6:30 tonight, Delridge Library.
COMBINED SEWER OVERFLOWS – AND WHAT THAT MEANS TO LOCAL BEACHES: Tonight and tomorrow night, King County Wastewater Treatment Division comes to West Seattle to talk about two projects involving pump stations and “combined sewer overflows” — what happens when the system gets overloaded – which affects Puget Sound and local beaches more than you might realize. Tonight’s meeting looks at the “Murray basin” – related to the underground pump station at Lowman Beach north of Lincoln Park. It’s at 6:30 pm at The Kenney; background information here. Tomorrow night, it’s the “Barton basin,” related to the underground pump station next to the Fauntleroy ferry dock – that meeting’s at 6:30 pm, The Hall at Fauntleroy; background info here.
Last week, the Highland Park Action Committee hosted the fall’s first major candidate forum in West Seattle (WSB coverage, with video, here). Coming up in two weeks, what’s likely to be the biggest West Seattle candidates’ forum of all, co-sponsored by the Delridge Neighborhoods District Council and the Southwest District Council, whose members include reps from all major community groups and organizations around the area. Pete Spalding from DNDC has just sent this update on the plan for the October 15th forum:
West Seattle Candidates Forum
The Delridge Neighborhoods and Southwest District Councils will be hosting the candidates for the Seattle City Council and Mayoral races.
October 15th from 7 – 9 pm at the Youngstown Cultural Arts Center, 4408 Delridge Way SW (map)
Agenda
7:00 pm Opening remarks
7:05 pm Position #4 Candidates
7:25 pm Position #6 Candidates
7:45 pm Position #8 Candidates
8:05 pm Position #2 Candidates
8:20 pm Mayoral CandidatesCome find out how your candidates view West Seattle specific issues.
From tonight’s Southwest District Council meeting, from which we’ll have more to report later – Alki Community Council rep Tony Fragada says the date is set for the placement of the new time capsule (with items collected late last year) at the Statue of Liberty Plaza: September 19th. We’ll be checking on other details of the event and will add them when we get them. ADDED 11:06 PM: Just found a mention of this event, along with other Alki news, in the new edition of the Alki News Beacon, which you can download as a PDF here.
SOUTHWEST DISTRICT COUNCIL: Reps from community councils/associations and other major organizations in what the city refers to as the Southwest District section of West Seattle (map left) will gather in the board room at South Seattle Community College, everyone welcome, 7 pm. City Councilmember Bruce Harrell (who chairs the committee overseeing utilities and technology) will be a guest, as will reps from Friends of the Seattle Public Library and Southwest Seattle Historical Society to talk about the fire-damaged Alki Homestead.
NORTH DELRIDGE NEIGHBORHOOD COUNCIL: Neighbors from all around North Delridge are welcome – note that because of this week’s library shutdown, NDNC will meet at Olympia Pizza (5605 Delridge; map), 6:30 tonight. Lots going on in the neighborhood (including plans for another get-together at mid-month, following up on the ice-cream social success).
FUNDRAISER FOR FIRE VICTIMS: 4-8 pm at Feedback Lounge (WSB sponsor) in Morgan Junction (6451 California SW; map), you can bid on silent auction items to help out local musicians/artists affected by a July house fire near The Junction last month. More on the FL website.
Not West Seattle-specific but of potential interest here:
SEATTLE SCHOOL BOARD: Last meeting before the new school year starts a week from today; agenda items include the new contract just approved by the teachers’ union. 6 pm, district HQ in SODO (2445 3rd S.; map)- here’s the agenda.
FINAL ELECTION RESULTS: The last few ballots are to be counted and the county will certify the August 18th vote today (watch for the final report here). The trends that took shape within the first week of ballot-counting haven’t changed – but now we’ll have the final numbers to read the tea leaves looking ahead to November 3rd.
No major public meetings tonight, but tomorrow night, you might want to show up for the Southwest District Council‘s monthly meeting at the South Seattle Community College board room if you’re interested in libraries or landmarks: The agenda includes a Friends of Seattle Public Library rep talking about the SPL budget – hot considering this is the week the libraries are shuttered to save $ – and a Southwest Seattle Historical Society rep discussing what’s up with the landmark Alki Homestead Restaurant, closed since the fire last January. Also on the agenda, Seattle City Councilmember Bruce Harrell, and a discussion of the candidates’ forum the SWDC and its counterpart the Delridge Neighborhoods District Council plan to co-sponsor before the November election (as reported here last month). The council meets at 7 pm Wednesday, board room at SSCC (campus map here; map of the Robert Smith Building, containing the board room, here).
The Southwest District Council usually meets the first Wednesday of the month but moved and shortened its meeting this month to combine with an SDOT presentation about neighborhood traffic calming – and that brought out more than a dozen extra attendees. At left, SDOT’s Christina Legazpi with a radar gun, which her colleague Jane Rebelowski explained is often the first tool to determine if your neighborhood really needs help. If you sign up and get at least four more people on your street to join you, you’ll be able to take a class on how to use a radar gun, which will be loaned to you. She suggests neighbors work in pairs to track how fast cars are going and what type of cars are seen speeding. They notch two hours of logged observations to gauge the speed problem. Then comes the next phase – SPD enforcement and/or installation of calming measures. They can include signs, humps, chicanes, chokers (chicanes right across from each other) … all explained here, all potentially funded by money you can apply for. So how effective are the various measures? she was asked – and: Why not put up more stop signs? She says the federal government outlaws simply using stop signs for traffic calming – and they’re easily ignored anyway. Some attendees said they’d applied for traffic calming and gotten turned down; Rebelowski said she’d take a look at the specifics of their applications. If you’re interested in finding out more about how to confirm whether your neighborhood has a problem, and then figure out what to do about it, e-mail her: jane.rebelowski@seattle.gov – and note that this year’s deadline to apply for projects like traffic circles is fast approaching, end of the month.
The group also heard from Andrea Petzel with the same presentation on “backyard cottages” that she gave to the Delridge District Council last month – the city is considering allowing them in more areas. One attendee asked if there would be a vote or whether the City Council would “just ram it down our throats.” Junction Neighborhood Organization president Erica Karlovits expressed concern about density; Petzel said the cottages would only be allowed on single-family lots, but Karlovits pointed out that in The Junction, single-family residences are in close proximity to the ongoing new high-density building. Petzel countered by saying the city planned a maximum of 50 permits per year and she didn’t think that would ultimately affect density. (According to the “backyard cottage” program website, they’ve been allowed in Southeast Seattle for three years, but only 18 permits have been sought.)
At left is The Kenney‘s CEO Kevin McFeely, when we caught up with him at West Seattle Summer Fest in The Junction last weekend. This afternoon he’s expected to be at the Municipal Tower downtown as The Kenney introduces its landmark nomination for the Seaview and Sunrise Buildings to the city Landmark Preservation Board (see the document here), a prelude to The Kenney’s redevelopment plan moving forward. 3:30 pm, board room on the 40th floor of the Muni Tower. The rest of the Wednesday highlights happen tonight:
(Photos by Matt Durham of mattdurhamphotography.com)
ArtsWest ‘s “Sweeney Todd” opens tonight. It’s a production of the Summer Youth Musical Theater Apprenticeship Program and plays through July 25; showtimes and ticket info can be found here. Also tonight — three meetings tackling an array of big issues:
NEIGHBORHOOD TRAFFIC CALMING: The traffic circle at left is just one example of the many tools that can be used to “calm” neighborhood traffic. If you have questions, concerns, ideas about your neighborhood, anywhere in West Seattle, come to an SDOT public meeting at 6:30 tonight in the South Seattle Community College board room. The Southwest District Council-presented event also includes a Backyard Cottages briefing at 7:30 and an 8 pm version of the briefing that will happen earlier at the next event:
DELRIDGE DISTRICT COUNCIL: Haven’t made up your mind yet on the bag-fee referendum that’s on next month’s ballot (official city voters’ guide info here)? That’s the measure asking city residents whether to approve or reject the City Council-approved fee for using non-reusable shopping bags. A pro-bag fee rep will speak to the Delridge District Council tonight, among other items on the agenda at 7 pm, Youngstown Arts Center.
MORGAN COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION: We published a preview last night (see it here); tonight’s MoCA meeting, 7 pm at The Kenney, includes a long list of hot topics from The Viaduct to RapidRide to future work at the Lowman Beach pump station.
First Wednesday night of the month is the regular meeting night for two West Seattle community organizations. 
One, the Southwest District Council, does NOT meet tonight, but the other does: If you live or work in the North Delridge area, join the North Delridge Neighborhood Council at 6:30 tonight at the Delridge Library. This group has a LOT going on, including the Delridge Community Center playground-in-a-day project on July 17th (a few dozen volunteers still needed at last report – have you signed up yet? E-mail helpdelridgeplay@gmail.com ASAP!).
Not sure how many were from West Seattle, but kudos to the MANY volunteers (like the green-shirted cheerleaders above) who made the Race for the Cure an incredible event again this year (our photos later, and if you have one of you and/or other West Seattleites in the event, please share – editor@westseattleblog.com – thanks!) Anyway, seeing them reminded us that we want to update you on the GREAT response so far to the brand-new effort to celebrate West Seattle volunteers, just launched by the Southwest and Delridge District Councils and WSB. We know the peninsula’s home to HUNDREDS of people who really rock the volunteer world to make this a better place, so while we’ve got some fab nominees now, let’s get more — take a second and send in the name(s) of the one(s) you appreciate the most! Here’s the quick ‘n’ easy online nomination form – deadline is June 17th; a community panel will review the entries and choose three for recognition during one of the summer’s big events, the July 14th Hi-Yu Concert in the Park.
Along with members of the Southwest District Council and Delridge District Council, WSB is proud to announce this morning a new way to recognize people who make a difference in West Seattle. If you know someone who is one of those “unsung heroes,” who live, work or serve in our community, we want to hear about them. We’ve set up a simple application form online. You have till June 17th to nominate someone; then, after review by a citizen panel, the top three people will be selected in late June and they will be recognized at the July 14th West Seattle Hi-Yu Concert in the Park event. So take a minute and nominate someone – or more than one – by going here! Thanks!
From Wednesday night’s Southwest District Council (WSB sponsor) meeting: 2 drafts, both with time running out for you to review them and have a say. First one is the city’s draft Pedestrian Master Plan — which you can see here – comment time running till June 15. SDOT‘s Barbara Gray was at the meeting to review its highlights and answer questions. One thing she was asked: Do too many advertising A-boards on sidewalks get in the way of pedestrians? Gray said the city used to have a staffer who worked on those types of enforcement issues, but the position was cut, so now neighborhood business groups need to work internally to handle any such issues. Next draft that comments are being taken on is a little wonkier – read on: Read More
Major events today/tonight, from the WSB Events calendar:
VIADUCT/TUNNEL “SOUTH PORTAL” WORKING GROUP: Third meeting of this group reviewing issues regarding how traffic will flow on the side of the Highway 99 corridor that’s closest to West Seattle. Three West Seattleites are members of the group (Jerome Cohen, Vlad Oustimovitch, Pete Spalding) but you are welcome too; 4 pm, Sound Transit board room at 401 South Jackson [map]. (P.S. Remember The Viaduct closes 6-11 am Sunday for Race for the Cure.)
TEACHER LAYOFF PROTEST AND SEATTLE SCHOOL BOARD MEETING: As mentioned here. The rally is at 5 pm, School Board meeting (with many other hot topics) at 6 pm, district HQ in Sodo [map].
NORTH DELRIDGE NEIGHBORHOOD COUNCIL: This neighborhood is jumping these days, with the playground and skatepark projects, among other things. NDNC meets at 6:30 pm, Delridge Library [map].
SOUTHWEST DISTRICT COUNCIL (WSB sponsor): Representatives of groups and organizations from all over the Southwest District section (as outlined by the city) of the peninsula will have their monthly meeting at 7 pm, South Seattle Community College board room [map], with agenda items including the city’s draft Pedestrian Master Plan.
FREE REMODELING/HOME-BUILDING WORKSHOP: Longtime WSB sponsor Ventana Construction offers its monthly free workshop tonight, 6:30 pm – just call to RSVP. Details on the workshop, and contact info, are here.
In addition to our Events calendar, be sure to check the new Announced page daily – with links to even more West Seattle news than we publish on the main page, particularly when first word comes in about non-immediate events (it’s evolving to include other stories too). And make sure to let us know when you have scheduled an event you want everyone in West Seattle to know about – editor@westseattleblog.com – thanks!
Here’s hoping you feel more like the osprey in Alkimac‘s photo today than the crow – unless you prefer to be the scrappy outsider! Anyway, once your great Wednesday is in the books, here are tonight’s highlights for how to make a difference in your neighborhood (and beyond):
NORTH DELRIDGE NEIGHBORHOOD COUNCIL: 6:30 pm, Delridge Library. Discussion is certain to include the big Delridge Community Center playground breakthrough reported here earlier this week.
SOUTHWEST DISTRICT COUNCIL: 7 pm, South Seattle Community College board room. Agenda includes a presentation on the changes ahead (reported here three weeks ago) in the Restricted Parking Zone program (here’s the city’s official page).
PARK LEVY $ AND HOW YOU THINK IT SHOULD BE SPENT: 7 pm, West Seattle Golf Course. Not all of the money in last fall’s Parks and Green Spaces Levy was earmarked for certain projects, so the city’s going into neighborhoods to talk about the possibilities (as well as the already-set projects).
At Youngstown Arts Center tonight, the Southwest District Council and Delridge District Council got together for one of their periodic joint meetings; these groups include representatives of various organizations in the two city-defined “districts” that comprise West Seattle. Highlights ahead:Read More
(Evan Woltz as Bud in “Gutenberg! The Musical!” – photo by Matt Durham, mattdurhamphotography.com)
It’s opening night tonight at ArtsWest in The Junction for “Gutenberg! The Musical!” ArtsWest describes it as “a loving spoof in which two aspiring playwrights perform a backers’ audition for their new project: A big, splashy musical about printing press inventor Johann Gutenberg … With an unending supply of enthusiasm, Bud and Doug sing all the songs and play all the parts in their “historical” epic, with the hope that one of the producers in attendance will give them a Broadway contract – fulfilling their sky-high, if simple-minded, dreams.” “Gutenberg!” runs through May 15; showtimes and ticket sales are accessible online here.
ALSO TONIGHT: You could call it an all-star lineup at the Morgan Community Association meeting, 7 pm at The Kenney, from City Councilmember Tom Rasmussen, to SDOT’s Jessica Murphy with the latest on the Fauntleroy Way repaving/restriping, plus a RapidRide update, officer elections, and more. Also tonight, the two “district councils” whose territory together covers the entire peninsula will sit down together – the Delridge and Southwest District Councils meet at 7 pm at Youngstown Arts Center. (Both of these meetings are open to the public.)
From Wednesday night’s meeting of the Southwest District Council (WSB sponsor): Busy agenda including not only updates on West Seattle projects, but also guest appearances by City Council President Richard Conlin, Alaskan Way Viaduct team reps, and a 
Seattle City Light spokesperson. But first: A followup on a story we brought you at this time tonight, the kickoff of the Friends of Junction Plaza Park‘s efforts to collect pledges of volunteer time and money to get the park finished this year. Susan Melrose of the West Seattle Junction Association told the SWDC that just since the Tuesday night meeting, 22 signed pledges have come in, representing 400 hours of volunteer time, and organizations are volunteering too – nearby West Seattle Christian Church has pledged 200 hours of volunteer time. Patti Mullen of the West Seattle Chamber of Commerce said she had spoken with Lafarge Cement, who, she told Melrose, “wants to know if they can offer any labor and product that can support you.” Volunteer pledges circulated through the room before the meeting ended; here’s a form you can print, sign, and send in – also, as mentioned before, look for park volunteers at this Sunday’s West Seattle Farmers’ Market. Listening to the park update, Councilmember Conlin said, “It’s great to see Junction Plaza Park moving forward,” and that segued right into his update – which, along with Viaduct and City Light points, is just ahead:Read More
(“History Boys” photo by Matt Durham, mattdurhamphotography.com)
OPENING NIGHT: Three nights after we brought you first word of their 2009-2010 season, ArtsWest continues the current season with the first performance of “History Boys,” 7:30 tonight in The Junction.
CITY COUNCIL PRESIDENT IN WEST SEATTLE: Council President Richard Conlin is scheduled for a guest appearance at the Southwest District Council‘s (WSB sponsor) monthly meeting, 7 pm, board room at South Seattle Community College.
NORTH DELRIDGE NEIGHBORS: If you live in the North Delridge area, meet your neighbors and see how you can help work on neighborhood issues as the North Delridge Neighborhood Council meets tonight, 6:30 pm, Delridge Library.
FAUNTLEROY SERIES: “Re-creating Community in Our Day” continues with leadership expert Bill Grace, 7 pm at Fauntleroy Church (after 6 pm “simple supper” by donation).
Whenever a new sponsor joins WSB, we publish a special welcome with information the sponsor wants to share. This time around, we’re welcoming the Southwest District Council, with a special emphasis on one of its work priorities — emergency preparedness. The SWDC’s next meeting is this Wednesday night, so it’s a good time to share more information about it. First, an explanation: The Southwest District is one of 13 neighborhood districts in the city, created by City Ordinance in 1988. (The rest of West Seattle is in the Delridge Neighborhoods District.) Each district has a district council made up of representatives from neighborhood/community councils, business groups, a variety of other community-based organizations, non-profit human-service organizations, or arts/cultural groups. District Councils advise the city on services, initiatives, and programs, such as the Neighborhood Street Fund/Cumulative Reserve Fund and Neighborhood Matching Fund Large Projects applications, and provides a forum to inform, discuss, and encourage civic engagement and community-building. The Southwest District Council meets 9 or 10 times a year on the first Wednesday, at 7 pm – usually January, February, March, April, May, June, July (when needed), September, October, and November – at the President’s Board Room at South Seattle Community College on Puget Ridge (map). The District Council is staffed by the Southwest Neighborhood District Coordinator, Stan Lock with the city Department of Neighborhoods. Read on to find out about SWDC participants – and how the emergency-preparedness push (with a new website) can make a difference for your family:Read More
Updates constituted most of the highlights from Wednesday night’s Southwest District Council meeting — representatives from neighborhood groups and other key organizations dealing with the section of West Seattle that the city calls the SW District (map). In the photo above is Dante Taylor, who’s traveling the West Seattle meeting circuit to remind everyone that the city’s Junction parking review is getting under way (all our coverage is archived here). Regarding the big question, whether pay stations will be the result, Taylor stressed nothing is settled – the study is supposed to determine whether they would be needed anywhere to keep cars moving and create a steady flow of people through the business district. One of his previous appearances (WSB coverage here) was at the January meeting of the Junction Neighborhood Organization, whose president Erica Karlovits is co-chair of the SWDC; she reiterated concerns her group wants to keep on the front burner – “park and hiders,” who drive to Junction neighborhoods and leave their cars while catching buses to downtown, and construction workers parking in neighborhoods. Ahead, another Junction item – the latest on the 42nd/Alaska park – and more SWDC notes:Read More
Always lots going on when the Southwest District Council meets. Its members include representatives from many neighborhood groups and other organizations based in the section of West Seattle that the city calls the Southwest District (the city calls the rest of WS the Delridge Neighborhoods District; here’s the map). Last night, its new co-chairs began their terms – Erica Karlovits, president of the Junction Neighborhood Organization, and Chas Redmond, from the Morgan Community Association (among many other groups). On the agenda: Three major aspects of how West Seattleites get around and will get around in the future — Metro’s forthcoming RapidRide, the Spokane Street Viaduct widening project, and the Alaskan Way Viaduct Central Waterfront decision-to-come – read on for the latest:Read More
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