How to spend Parks Levy $$? 4 meetings set, 1 in West Seattle
During our four fun hours at the Gathering of Neighbors on Saturday, we published a bit of news resulting from a chat with Pete Spalding, who (among other things) is on the new Parks Levy Oversight Committee: Pete told us a series of public meetings was about to be announced, giving you the chance to speak out about how you would like to see some of that money (particularly its $15 million “Opportunity Fund” for community-generated projects) spent. Tonight, we get word from Pete that the dates/times/locations of four open houses are now set, including, as he said, one meeting in West Seattle: 7-8:30 pm May 6, West Seattle Golf Course. (The other 3 open houses: 7 pm 5/4, Rainier Community Center; 7 pm 5/12, Green Lake Community Center; 7 pm 5/13, Parks HQ downtown.)
2nd off-leash area in West Seattle? Unleash your support!
That’s Sophia the Italian greyhound, aka the current CityDog Magazine cover dog, companion to Wendy and Stephen Hughes-Jelen. Wendy’s High Point K9 Club has a new mission = a second off-leash area for West Seattle (the only one right now is at Westcrest Park). She explains: “The High Point K9 Club is refocusing its mission to concentrate exclusively on the creation of an off-leash exercise area for dogs in the community. The meetup group that was founded in August of 2007 will be purging inactive members so that all current active participants in the off-leash area project are plugged in and receiving communications as we go through the steps of this large project. You do not have to live within the borders of the redeveloped High Point to participate or use the off-leash area. People and their social dogs living in the surrounding communities are welcome to join and participate in the creation process and use of the park after it is done. If you have always wanted to design and build a dog park, we need you!” Just sign up for the group by going here.
Labor of love: Who’s digging in at those “work parties”
Every Friday in the West Seattle Weekend Lineup, we include listings for Saturday morning work parties at West Seattle’s greenbelt treasures, from well-used parks to tangled greenbelts. So who are the intrepid volunteers who show up to help tend what so many of us take for granted? We sent a new WSB contributing reporter out this morning to meet one group and find out how much progress they’re making.
By Jonathan Stumpf
Reporting for West Seattle Blog
The first Saturday of every month is like most at Lincoln Park: Dog-walking, jogging and baseball make up the bulk of activities in this 135-acre urban forest. But among the shrubbery and trees, a group of individuals — the Friends of Lincoln Park — are performing an activity that is vital to the park’s future: the removal of invasive plant species.
The Friends of Lincoln Park is a volunteer group led by West Seattle resident and trained forest steward Sharon Baker. For three years she has been leading individuals into Lincoln Park to help with the removal of invasive plants like English holly and ivy, Himalayan blackberry, Stinky Bob, nipple-wort and clematis, with hopes of reclaiming the forest for the native plants.
Today, nine volunteers are on hand for this work party to help with removal of Stinky Bob and blackberry in the north end of the park. While Baker is not a botanist by trade, she did take an intensive course on plant identification through the Native Plant Society. “I know enough to be dangerous in the park,” Baker says. This knowledge is passed along to her group of dedicated volunteers—this is the first event for only one volunteer—and they begin ripping the blackberry and Stinky Bob from the undergrowth.
Read More
From the Gathering: Two updates – paving and parks
From the Gathering of Neighbors (continuing till 3 pm at Chief Sealth @ Boren, find us in the cafeteria, where free food’s available too!), where so many of the people we talk to often for WSB news stories are also here:
FAUNTLEROY PAVING UPDATE: Jessica Murphy from SDOT just stopped by our table. We asked if there’s word yet on whether the Fauntleroy Way paving project will stretch past California (see our previous report) – she says the bid was awarded a week ago and it WILL cover the full stretch, all the way to SW Holly. She’s here with updated flyers.
PARKS LEVY COMMITTEE UPDATE: Pigeon Point’s Pete Spalding (above with wife Kerry Hughes) is here too, on behalf of the PP Neighborhood Council; he is one of three West Seattleites on the new committee overseeing how the money from last fall’s Parks Levy will be spent, and he tells us there will be a series of four public meetings citywide next month to get your thoughts on how to use the levy’s “Opportunity Fund” — dates aren’t set yet but will be soon, and he says one WILL be in West Seattle. So if there’s a park project you’d like to see happen (the Delridge Skatepark would be one proposal, since money to build it got cut out of this year’s budget)
More to come – including photos from the event!
Morgan Junction park name: 1 more day to get signatures
Just heard from Pete Spalding, who’s been helping lead the months-long community effort to convince the city Parks Department to name the new Morgan Junction park after longtime West Seattle Herald reporter Tim St. Clair, even though he’s been gone less than the three years the department lists as a minimum for such naming proposals. Pete says they have ONE MORE DAY to gather petition signatures supporting the park name – they will be at the Gathering of Neighbors tomorrow, 11 am-3 pm at Chief Sealth High School (at Boren), where you can sign in person, or if you can’t go, contact Pete at bayouwonder@msn.com and he’ll arrange to get your signature. (The park is scheduled for its official dedication at the Morgan Community Festival in June, but construction’s been proceeding quickly — including sidewalk work on the California SW frontage — and it will likely be done well before then.)
N. Delridge Neighborhood Council: Problem properties; park; more
Notes from this week’s North Delridge Neighborhood Council meeting: Hours after the meeting, NDNC co-chair Mike Dady sent around photos including the one above, as a hopeful note looking ahead to this afternoon’s tour of Delridge-area problem properties: That was the scene exactly three years ago, he noted, right across the street from what is currently the temporary home of Chief Sealth High School. Dady recalled spending months trying to get the property’s previous owner to clean it up; finally it was sold, and the new owner quickly moved to get rid of the blight and move toward the development that’s now gone up on the site. This afternoon at 2:30, starting from Delridge Uptown Espresso, Dady will lead a tour of current problem properties, expected to include two city councilmembers and two city department heads (you’re invited too!). As he said at Wednesday night’s NDNC meeting, he isn’t just looking for something to be done about these specific sites – he’s hoping city leaders can be convinced to take action to toughen the laws regarding vacant properties, citywide. “They’re causing a lot of grief,” he said. “It doesn’t need to be this way … We have a chance to get something done.” That discussion started Wednesday night’s meeting, but other big items were on the agenda, including a major change for the playground project North Delridge residents have been involved with — read on:Read More
Also official: Admiral/SW Manning plan; levy committee; rezone
Also from the City Council meeting that’s under way now, 3 more items of West Seattle relevance: First, after hearing an explanation from Councilmember Tom Rasmussen regarding the significance of the Admiral Way/SW Manning parcel, the council just voted 7-1 (Richard McIver was the “no” vote) to approve the new plan to open a public discussion of the site’s fate. As first reported here earlier this month, the Parks Department is now willing to take over the site, which once was targeted for possible sale. We’ll let you know how to participate in the public discussion, once details of the process are outlined. Second, the council has just finalized appointments to the new committee that will oversee how the money’s spent from the Parks Levy approved last year; members from West Seattle are Neal Adams, Cindi Barker, and Pete Spalding. Third, councilmembers have approved rezoning for part of the High Point development (6800 31st SW is the official address) that Councilmember Sally Clark described as “correcting an oversight” from long-ago rezoning action. Details are in items 26 and 27 on the agenda.
Video: Groundbreaking ceremony for ARK Park in Arbor Heights
That’s the future site of ARK Memorial Park, just west and a little south of Arbor Heights Community Church, which owns the 8,000-square-foot parcel. Under and around that gazebo, a small but hardy group gathered Saturday afternoon for the ceremonial groundbreaking:
The young assistants are Isabella and Elliana Kimball, sisters of the park’s namesake, Alexandra Ramona Kimball, stillborn on the same day – March 28th – one year earlier. As Hal Kimball noted goodnaturedly during the downpour-graced groundbreaking, baby Alexandra’s initials are part of the double meaning in the park’s name:
AHCC says the park/playground will be for the entire community, not just for church families. As noted in our first story about the ARK Park plan last summer (see it here), this is a private project, not seeking city funding. So far they have raised more than $5,000, enough to begin the project’s first phase, but that’s just a start; next fundraising event is a spaghetti dinner at the church Fellowship Hall on April 18th (more info here). The timetable for construction depends on how the fundraising effort goes, but
Also tonight: Coffee, dessert, music to support Camp Long
(WSB photo, January 2008, madrona alongside Schurman Rock)
We shared news of this event earlier this week but failed to get it into the West Seattle Weekend Lineup so here’s another reminder: Tonight at Camp Long, 7 pm, a coffeehouse and dessert-auction fundraiser featuring music by Jim Page and Grant Dermody. $10 per adult; kids over 5 are $5, and will be invited to participate in a naturalist program during the event. While Camp Long is a beautiful, sprawling treasure, its main entrance is a “blink and you miss it” spot along 35th, so here’s a map to help, if needed. (P.S. Registration is under way for Camp Long’s spring events; you can see the catalog here.)
It’s your $: Parks Levy overseers; Matching Fund recipients
KEEPING WATCH ON THE PARKS LEVY MONEY: The committee that’ll keep an eye on what’s being done with money from the $145 million Parks Levy approved by voters last fall includes three West Seattleites — Neal Adams, Cindi Barker, and Pete Spalding. Their appointments were approved by the council’s Parks Committee today; the committee’s first meeting is 7 pm March 30th at Parks HQ downtown.
MATCHING $: A city event tonight honored groups from all around the city that are getting money from the latest round of Neighborhood Matching Fund Small and Simple Awards — including, from West Seattle, $14,850 for Community Harvest of Southwest Seattle< to put on an Edible Garden Fair and Tour; $14,935 for Sustainable West Seattle‘s second annual SWS Festival; $14,700 for the Youth Media Institute to put on workshops to help young people “counter negative coverage of the High Point community” by telling their own, positive stories; $15,000 for Friends of the Duwamish and the Duwamish Tribe to produce “The Duwamish Diaries,” historical exhibits and multimedia presentations to be shown in Delridge and Greater Duwamish areas. These grants require applicants to get commitments of volunteer time and donated money matching at least the full sum of what they’re seeking from the NMF, which limits ‘Small and Simple’ sums to $15,000.
Groundbreaking set for ARK Park in Arbor Heights
(WSB photo from August 2008)
Last August, we brought you first word of the plan for ARK Park in Arbor Heights, on the site shown above, which is owned by neighboring Arbor Heights Community Church. Now the date for groundbreaking is set, as well as for another fundraiser – here’s an update from project leaders Loretta Kimball and Jan Seidel:
1. Our February 9th Benefit provided an enjoyable evening of music to those who attended and helped us establish a solid Development Fund for ARK Memorial Park. We appreciate Chad Kimball and cast members of Memphis for their part in making our first fundraiser a success as well as the generosity of our donors!
2. A Groundbreaking Ceremony will be held at the site (102nd and 42nd Ave SW [map]) on Saturday, March 28th at 3:00 p.m. in memory of baby Allexandra Ramona Kimball on her 1 Year Birthdate Anniversary. Refreshments will be served in the Fellowship Hall of Arbor Heights Community Church following the groundbreaking ceremony.
3. We are planning to hold our second fundraiser, a Spaghetti Dinner, on Saturday evening, April 18th in the Fellowship Hall at Arbor Heights Community Church. Dinner will be served between 5:00 and 8:00 p.m. There will be family friendly activities such as a bouncy house, face painting, etc. Cost of the dinner is $5.00 for singles, $10.00 for couples and $15.00 for families.
You can read more about the park plan – which is a private/community-funded project, not a city park site – at this website.
Highland Park Action Committee: A “banner night”
The debut of that new banner (designed by Dina Johnson) was just one of the reasons why tonight could have been called a “banner night” for the Highland Park Action Committee, with highlights including:
**Southwest Precinct Community Police Team Officer Adonis Topacio said crime’s trended downward in the Highland Park area in the past 30 days; hearing complaints about late-night door-knockers, he advised calling 911.
**HPAC chair Dan Mullins said he’s been in touch with a Shoreline neighborhood group that, like HPAC, has been working to keep the possible future regional misdemeanor jail out of proximity to residential neighborhoods, and said they agree the jail belongs downtown. He also read a quote attributed to City Councilmember Bruce Harrell, saying the city should be building “castles for education,” not jails.
**Mullins also had an update on the Westcrest Park reservoir’s future park project; he says the Parks Department doesn’t plan anything definitive for the site until after the Seattle Public Utilities work to bury the reservoir is done next year – then public meetings will ensue. Rory Denovan suggested a neighborhood summit be held BEFORE then, so neighbors can create a plan for what they’d like to see.
**Highland Park Improvement Club – whose building houses HPAC meetings and much, much more — is celebrating its 90th anniversary this November, and planning fundraisers and work parties before then, starting with a wine-tasting event April 23rd.
HPAC meets the fourth Monday of each month; its info- and photo-laden website can be browsed at highlandpk.net.
New plan for city’s SW Manning parcel near The Bridge
There’s word of a breakthrough in West Seattle-residing City Councilmember Tom Rasmussen‘s work on the issue of what to do about a city-owned parcel at SW Manning/Admiral Way near The Bridge that’s best known for its sequoia tree, which has a 4-foot-diameter trunk:
The 14,000-square-foot site was originally purchased in 1961 as part of the West Seattle Bridge right-of-way; several years ago, it was targeted for potential sale as surplus property, but neighbors and community activists expressed concern, saying it still had potential for public use. Now, there’s a plan in the works to not only keep it off the market, but to have it transferred to the Parks Department, which wasn’t interested in the site in years past, but is now. That “public involvement plan” is on the agenda next Tuesday morning for the council’s Parks Committee, which Rasmussen chairs; here’s what will be proposed as a next step:
A) A public meeting should be scheduled in the vicinity of the property. Notice of the meeting will be provided to all citizens who have previously submitted comments, as well as property owners and residents living within a 1200-foot radius of PMA No. 4273, community organizations, and others who might be interested.
B) The meeting will consider uses put forward by the community, including but not limited to the following: green space, park area, sculpture garden, off-leash area, mini skate park, flower garden, or P-patch. The proposed transfer of the property to the Department of Parks and Recreation will also be discussed. Other issues may include concerns about the tall Sequoia tree located in the northeast section of the property, the sloping nature of the parcel, and the pace of residential development in the neighborhood.
Rasmussen’s committee meets at 9:30 am Tuesday at City Hall downtown; if you can’t be there in person, you can watch live on cable channel 21 or online via Seattle Channel.
Renovations planned for West Seattle’s Colman Pool – if $ stays
The city Parks Department is planning some renovations at West Seattle’s only outdoor pool, Colman Pool in Lincoln Park – but the plan’s fate is pending, as Parks managers wait to see if the $900,000 allotted for the work will stay in the budget. Parks spokesperson Dewey Potter tells WSB the planned renovations include “adding a family changing area that would be accessible for people with disabilities, and reinforcing the structure of the deck, and other miscellaneous work.” Right now, design work is scheduled to happen this year, with construction next year – if the potential funding stays out of range of the sizable budget ax that’s expected to fall next month, once city number-crunchers figure out just how much real-estate-excise-tax revenue they’ve lost. Meantime, this year’s Colman Pool season is scheduled to open May 23; swim-lesson registration starts April 2; learn about the pool’s history in our West Seattle 101 on WSB section.
Parks Board in West Seattle: Golf plan, Water Taxi dock, more
The city Board of Park Commissioners – the Parks Board, for short, whose chair Jackie Ramels and vice chair Neal Adams are both from West Seattle – took a field trip Thursday night to meet at the West Seattle Golf Course clubhouse instead of their usual digs at Parks HQ on the north end of downtown. The meeting was preceded by even more of a jaunt – they visited two of the locations to be discussed in the night’s business, Seacrest Pier and the Golf Course itself. Seacrest is before the board because Parks has to sign off on the King County Ferry District plan to fix up the Seacrest dock to facilitate year-round Elliott Bay Water Taxi operation starting next year (this year’s season starts April 5); the proposal is detailed here, and in our coverage of an informational meeting in Alki. Board member John Barber said he had some questions about the use of parks land for nonpark use, given a past ballot measure guaranteeing park uses for park land; city staff will review this, but noted that this extended use of Seacrest is only expected to last three to five years, while the county continues working to find a permanent home for the Water Taxi. Former port commissioner and nearby-park namesake Jack Block spoke in support of the Seacrest dock improvements, even though he cautioned that the long-term solution must be found elsewhere (a proposal for a terminal adjacent to Jack Block Park has long been floated); the board vote on this happens in two weeks. Next, the Golf Master Plan; tonight’s review focused on the money aspect. Two competing proposals are under consideration — one costs $30 million and would pay for all recommended upgrades at all city golf courses. The other costs $20 million and prioritizes key work. Parks Superintendent Tim Gallagher told the board that staffers are learning toward #2 given the rough economic times — when things get better, the department could go on to complete the remaining $10 million work. Raising the money is the challenge; Gallagher said the city can finance $20 million in improvements without raising green fees, but not $30 million. Following tonight’s discussion, a public hearing on the Golf Master Plan is set for the April 9 Parks Board meeting, and a board vote on April 23.
Also happening tonight: Parks Board in West Seattle, and more
In addition to the Conner project Design Review meeting, lots of notable events tonight. They’re all on the Events calendar — where you’ll find the full list — but here’s an extra shoutout for a few more:
WEST SEATTLE ART WALK: The map/info link will be in the sidebar at right till the event’s over tonight, but if you missed it: 6-9 pm tonight, 40 venues all over West Seattle, and many offer treats and special deals for Art Walk-night visitors and shoppers. Artists highlighted here; printable venue map here.
PARKS BOARD IN WEST SEATTLE: The regular twice-monthly meeting of the Seattle Parks Board (whose chair and co-chair are both West Seattleites) is coming here tonight: West Seattle Golf Course clubhouse, 7 pm. The agenda includes two items of WS-specific interest — the city’s Golf Master Plan and the Seacrest dock renovations for the Elliott Bay Water Taxi (which starts its season April 5). Briefing papers are all linked from the Parks Board page.
SNAP AT WEST SEATTLE LIBRARY: Find out how to make sure your family and neighborhood are ready for anything. Seattle Neighbors Actively Prepare has a free how-to at West Seattle Library (Admiral) at 6:30 tonight.
GENEALOGY AT SOUTHWEST LIBRARY: A genealogy librarian is coming to Southwest Library at 5:30 tonight to show you how to use the Internet to find out more about your family history. It’s free but you have to call to register; number, and more info, all here.
HIGH POINT NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION QUARTERLY MEETING: 6 pm at Elizabeth House, 3201 SW Graham. The theme: “Doing more with less impact on the environment,” according to HPNA president Andrew Mead‘s meeting announcement on the HPNA site.
CHIEF SEALTH HIGH SCHOOL MULTICULTURAL NIGHT: Food, performances, silent auction, and more, all presented by the CSHS PTSA, 6 pm.
Junction Plaza Park updates: New website, more pledges
Quick update from the Junction Neighborhood Organization meeting that’s under way right now: A new website for the project has just gone live – you can see it at friendsofjunctionplazapark.org. That’s where you can get the forms to pledge volunteer time, which is the big push right now – JuNO president Erica Karlovits, who’s co-chairing Friends of Junction Plaza Park, says the first West Seattle Farmers’ Market tabling this past Sunday collected “two pages of volunteer pledges.” They’re trying to gather as many pledges as possible before the early April deadline to apply for a city $100,000 Neighborhood Matching Fund grant to apply toward the $350,000 cost of finishing the park (on the northwest corner of Alaska/42nd in The Junction). Susan Melrose of the West Seattle Junction Association is here too and says that if fundraising and all else goes well this year, construction could start early next year.
Spring has sprung at West Seattle community centers
Looking for a little Sunday light reading? If you haven’t already browsed the combined spring brochure for West Seattle’s city-run community centers (Alki, Delridge, Hiawatha, High Point, and Southwest) — you can download it here. It lists all the special events, classes, and ongoing features at those facilities (plus South Park) as well as the art programs at Alki Bathhouse and swimming at Southwest Pool.
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