West Seattle, Washington
03 Monday
We’re at the Capitol Hill Arts Center for the “Townhomes: Can the Patient Be Saved?” forum. Glad we’re here, definitely some West Seattle-related players on the roster — local architect and Design Review Board member Brandon Nicholson, developer Dan Duffus (whose name has appeared on many a townhouse permit in WS), several councilmembers including of course Sally Clark who called the event and West Seattle-dwelling Councilmember Tom Rasmussen. Not planning to liveblog it – will add a complete report later – but if anything incredibly newsworthy happens, we’re online and will add here as it happens. 1:52 PM UPDATE: The forum wrapped up around quarter past twelve; we are working on our article – no stunning revelations but quite the range of viewpoints about how to “save” the “patient” (and a couple suggestions to “kill” it, as Clark joked at the start of the session), including thoughtful and thought-provoking proposals for what Townhouses, The Next Generation might and should look like. More in a bit.
(WSB photo taken on Alki, November 2007)
Two more notes this morning on the still-smoldering re-emergence of the notion of banning beach fires on Alki (and at Golden Gardens) — First, City Councilmember Sally Clark has posted a blog entry panning the prospective ban, writing in part:
Let me just say that if there’s one thing I believe it is that we have a God-given right to have bonfires on the beach. Yes, I care about global warming and I believe that we all must make changes small and large in our lives to keep the planet alive. However, I cannot support extinguishing beach bonfires. Beach bonfires are not killing the planet. Hummers, coal-fired power plants, routine air travel, and single-occupancy car commutes are killing the planet.
Second, we’ve now read through the document that’s part of the “briefing” that park commissioners will get this Thursday (read the full document here). Here’s one point that didn’t get much play before Superintendent Tim Gallagher‘s “clarification” announcement late yesterday saying “no action this year”: The list of possible restrictions includes the idea of requiring people to pay for permits to have beach fires. The memo says Parks spends $60,000 a year to manage the beach-fire program and didn’t expect much immediate cost savings even if a ban were implemented: “Even with the cessation of the beach fire programs, park resources maintenance staff will still need to respond to illegal fires with cleanup until the public understands and accepts a no beach fire policy as a logical element of the CAN Initiative.” We sent a note late last night to Superintendent Gallagher to double/triplecheck that his “no action this year” statement meant NONE of these changes would be put in place this year, meaning COMPLETE status quo — he e-mailed back early this morning, “No change this year.” As for what happens for next year and beyond – we’ll keep watch.
L to R in this photo from Seattle Public Schools‘ “School Beat”: Zenaida Lopez and Nita Tino (West Seattle Elementary); Cynthia Linder (Cooper Elementary); Pauline Hance (Highland Park Elementary); Carmen Maymi O’Reilly, Family Support Worker and parent leader trainer; and Ayaan Aden (Cooper).
We often get – and share – info from Seattle Public Schools celebrating achievements by students and teachers. SPS’ latest newsletter also includes this bit of news about what a group of parents — most with ties to West Seattle schools — is doing:
Ten parent leaders at five elementary schools coordinated and implemented more than 22 family engagement events this school year which impacted more than 2,360 family members. Seattle Public Schools’ Readiness To Learn (RTL) project began training parent leaders in 2006 and will have trained 24 by June 2009. Parent leaders are identified by principals and staff, and have natural skills in connecting with others. They receive training in cross-cultural communication, effective leadership, how to help others navigate schools and the critical things parents and families can do to support their children’s school success. Schools with active parent leader programs are: Cooper, Dearborn Park, Highland Park, T.T. Minor, and West Seattle elementary schools. The RTL program is exploring ways to expand to additional schools next year.
Sent this afternoon by the Parks Department in the wake of our report last night and others:
… Seattle Parks and Recreation Superintendent Tim Gallagher clarified that Parks does not intend to take any action this year [on the proposed beach-bonfire ban].
The briefing is an opportunity to make the Board, which has many new members, aware of the costs and issues associated with beach fires, and to let them know what the options are for regulating them.
In 2004, Parks did a substantial analysis of the issues surrounding beach fires after receiving a citation from the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency for allowing the burning of illegal fuels. Parks decided at that time, with the support of the Park Board, to continue them with some education and regulation.
Parks continues to receive a steady trickle of complaints about associated behaviors–drinking, loud music, and huge amounts of trash, and continues to have concerns about the costs of managing the program.
We also heard late today from Parks spokesperson Dewey Potter, who we had e-mailed to ask about the process that would be involved in making any sort of decision on this – she notes that it would be an “administrative” matter, not a “legislative” matter. Potter also forwarded the briefing paper that the board will be reviewing for next Thursday’s meeting; you can read it here.
Harbor Properties‘ Emi Baldowin tells WSB the big white sign’s going up Monday at 38th/Alaska, site of the next residential/retail project it’s planning in The Junction area (city project page here; coverage of last Design Review meeting here). The site includes former Huling land that’s been headquarters for Hi-Yu float work this summer, as well as West Seattle Montessori School, which we’re told has found a location for next year, in White Center; Baldowin says HP is still talking with WSMS about having a permanent home in the new development. She adds that construction at this site likely will start in late winter.
As promised the other night, when King County Councilmember Dow Constantine told the Southwest District Council that the Elliott Bay Water Taxi’s ridership was up 17 percent over last year (as of mid-May), we now have the complete May report, and it has other interesting details — read on:Read More
Matt Johnston just broke the news at his West Seattle-based (but covering skating issues citywide) site seattleskateparks.org: Now it looks like Delridge will be the site for a West Seattle skatepark. Read Matt’s story here.
Thanks to Rick for the tip – 5 months after the demolition permit was granted, it’s finally teardown time at the house at 5933 California — future townhouses, next to the townhouses that are almost done on the ex-Guadalajara Hacienda site. Here’s the “before” photo:
Six townhouse units and one single-family home are slated to be built at the site (city project page here).
Just 3 days ago, we republished the “West Seattle 101” chapter celebrating Alki Beach fires. Now, it seems, they once again are in danger of being extinguished forever: Tonight there’s word that when the city Parks Board meets next Thursday, members will hear about a proposed ban on beach fires at Alki and elsewhere — in the name of climate change. The online agenda says the proposal is to “eliminate beach fires as part of the Climate Action Now program.” The board meets 7 pm Thursday, 100 Dexter Avenue North. (It’s listed as a briefing, not a public hearing.) This is the second time in four years that a beach-fire ban’s been proposed. The city website says the briefing paper on this will be available online tomorrow on the Parks Board page.
That photo came in late tonight from Tim, who writes:
I happened upon the aftermath of a traffic accident earlier that left a pickup truck turned over at the west end of the bridge. The attached photo shows the truck, rear gate removed, and was taken about where the statues are at the west end of the bridge. The occupant(s) must have been transported by the time I drove past; there were three SPD cars but no other emergency vehicles on the scene at 8:32. Traffic was getting past, albeit slowly, in both directions.
911 call for this was not major so here’s hoping that means whoever was in the truck was not badly hurt.
Next door to the now-shuttered Corner Inn in Morgan Junction, some have noticed work under way at the former Beveridge Place Pub site. A permit has just been issued for some preliminary work, so we called the person listed as the project contact to find out what’s up: Paul Larkin tells WSB that he and West Seattle residents Jeff Gilbert and Matt Johnson are opening a “21-and-over restaurant and lounge,” hoping to be up and running in three to four months.
First: The city has added more information to the “public outreach” page of the seattle.gov section focusing on the jail proposal. See it here; it includes this link to information gathered from 50 community leaders (including Pigeon Point’s Pete Spalding, who gave us the heads-up that this info is now online – thanks!) during the process that narrowed a list of potential sites down to four, including two in southeast West Seattle (see the map above). SECOND: King County Councilmember Dow Constantine‘s has provided more information on the county ordinance officially proposed today, as first mentioned by Constantine during Monday night’s Highland Park meeting (WSB coverage here), to extend the contract the county has with cities for handling misdemeanor inmates, till a “regional solution” can be found rather than a patchwork of city jails like a prospective new one for Seattle. Councilmember Larry Gossett is the main sponsor, with all others joining as co-sponsors. It now moves to the Committee of the Whole, which Constantine chairs, where a committee hearing on the proposal is scheduled for 9:30 am June 16th. Read the first version of the ordinance here. After that hearing, the next meetings scheduled on the jail-sites issue are Highland Park’s meeting on June 23 (get the latest at the Highland Park Action Committee site) and the city-organized meetings – June 26 in South Park, July 26 at SSCC (full details here).
As promised last night, we have more information from the Southwest Precinct today regarding a 12-year-old girl reporting being molested during a field trip at Camp Long last week. Lt. Steve Paulsen tells WSB that the incident was reported through the North Precinct, which is the area where the victim lives; SWP and the Special Assault Unit are now investigating. “We take incidents such as this very seriously,” Lt. Paulsen adds, and says his staff will get a schedule of events such as field trips and group activities at Camp Long so they can keep an extra eye out.
From tonight’s monthly meeting of the Southwest District Council, which includes representatives of neighborhood associations and other major organizations in the area of West Seattle that the city considers the “Southwest District” (map of all “districts” here):
HELP CLEAN UP A MAJOR GATEWAY TO WEST SEATTLE: It’s been discussed here before, and now the date is set: The volunteer cleanup from 35th/Fauntleroy to “Walking on Logs” is set for Sept. 13, as announced at tonight’s meeting by Nancy Driver. Mark your calendar!
WATER TAXI RIDERSHIP UP: King County Councilmember Dow Constantine attended tonight’s meeting and provided a quick preview of recent ridership stats — Elliott Bay Water Taxi operation: Through the middle of May, readership is up 17 percent over last year. (We’re expecting the full May stats soon.) Two factors are considered to be in play — higher gas prices and higher Water Taxi awareness.
RAPIDRIDE REACTION: With the latest news about West Seattle RapidRide (WSB coverage here), Constantine got an earful of concerns about the latest details on the forthcoming bus service. He promised to report the concerns to Metro leadership and his colleagues.
VIADUCT MEETING: The Southwest and Delridge District Councils plan to discuss the latest on The Viaduct at their next joint meeting, coming up in September.
JAIL-SITES FIGHT: Monday night’s Highland Park meeting on the jail sites (WSB coverage here) was summarized, and new Highland Park Action Committee chair Dorsol Plants spoke to the SWDC and asked the council to write a letter expressing concern about the two proposed West Seattle sites; council reps agreed to do that and are consulting their respective organizations. Councilmember Constantine said that tomorrow is when he plans to introduce the proposal he mentioned at Monday night’s Highland Park meeting — proposing that the county extend its agreement to house cities’ misdemeanor offenders till a regional solution can be found, rather than having Seattle and other cities each pursue their own potential new jail sites. He says the county council’s Committee of the Whole, which he chairs, will get the proposal on Monday, with a hearing and action scheduled later. (If you missed it earlier, this morning the city announced dates for its public meetings on the jail sites – details here.)
We will ask the Southwest Precinct about this first thing in the morning, but in the meantime, channel 13 reported tonight that a 12-year-old girl said she was molested at Camp Long last week. Here’s the online writeup of their report, including a description of the suspect.
We caught up with the West Seattle Food Bank‘s newly wrapped van today while driver Charlie Workman was making his weekly pickup at Metropolitan Market.
WSFB executive director Fran Yeatts says the van was made possible by an anonymous donation they received last summer. Additional donations paid for the graphics you see “wrapped” on its sides. She says the new Dodge van uses less gas and holds more food, “so it’s more cost-efficient than anything we’ve had before.”
Just in from the city Transportation Department:
SDOT paving crews will repair failed concrete panels on the west side of Delridge Way Southwest at Southwest Elmgrove Street on Saturday, June 7. (Last Saturday crews repaired pavement on the east side of the street.)
The crews plan to work from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., starting with breaking out and removing the damaged concrete. One lane will remain open to traffic. Flaggers will assist drivers through the area. On-street parking will be restricted. When the new pavement has sufficiently cured, expected Saturday evening, the full street will be reopened to traffic.
Elmgrove doesn’t fully intersect with Delridge – this is the 8100 block of Delridge – here’s a map.
The city has just set the dates for feedback on the four potential municipal-misdemeanor jail sites (which include two in eastern West Seattle, as we’ve been reporting; most recent WSB coverage here) – the forum in WS will be 9 am July 26 in Brockey Center at South Seattle Community College, but a June 26 forum in South Park also is supposed to focus on the Marginal Way and Myers Way sites. Here’s the full text of the city announcement:
Seattle seeks feedback on possible municipal jail sites
Four dates set for public forums
SEATTLE – The city of Seattle announced today it will hold public forums around the city to provide information and hear feedback about possible sites for a new Seattle Municipal Jail. While residents are welcome to attend any of the forums, each will focus primarily on a specific potential jail site, as outlined below. The forum dates and locations are:Thursday, June 26, from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Aerospace Machinists Union Hall A, located at 9125 15th Place S. [map] focus: West Marginal Way and Myers Way sites
Saturday, July 12, from 9 a.m. to noon, in the Wellness Center at North Seattle Community College at 9600 College Way N. focus: Aurora site
Saturday, July 26, from 9 a.m. to noon, in the Brockey Conference Center at South Seattle Community College, located at 6000 16th Ave. S.W. focus: West Marginal Way and Myers Way sites
Wednesday, July 30, from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Seattle Center Exhibition Hall, located at 225 Mercer Street – focus: Interbay site.
Be ready for optimal walking weather when it arrives! From Chas Redmond, who put together the West Seattle Trails walking map with Feet First (and with your suggestions) – here’s the first list of places you can get a map (as well as tonight’s Southwest District Council meeting at the board room at South Seattle Community College, 7 pm, with guests including West Seattle’s King County Councilmember Dow Constantine):Read More
(photo by Akemi Hart)
That’s Princess-Nyosha McWilliams, a Pathfinder K-8 eighth grader (and future Chief Sealth High School student) wearing a special city-provided jacket that’s part of a big honor she just won – here’s the full story, sent by Eric Baer, co-president of the Pathfinder PTSA:Read More
Tree branches, a street sign, and an SUV door are among the items which didn’t make out well in some of the more unusual crime reports from the latest round we reviewed at the Southwest Precinct — they were publicly released for review within the past few days, but some are from older incidents. Here are the toplines on 16 incidents of note:Read More
Just re-checked the City Light outages hotline. They are now saying 2 am is when they expect to have power back in the north West Seattle areas that lost power in tonight’s pole fire. (206/684-7400 is that hotline, by the way.)
Mentioned briefly this morning while the meeting was under way – now here are the full details from this morning’s West Seattle RapidRide briefing presented to the Seattle City Council:Read More
| Comments Off on Live at the townhouse forum: West Seattle players here