West Seattle, Washington
05 Friday
(WSB photos by Katie Meyer)
Thanks to Shelley and Kristen for e-mailing about this sighting today – crews working for the city on the slope beneath Hamilton Viewpoint. The burlap they’re spreading is striking enough – but what really caught passers-by’s eyes were the mounds of bottles and cans found beneath years worth of blackberry tangle – here’s a closer look:
WSB contributor Katie Meyer talked to the workers while photographing the project zone and the bottle/can mounds. They told her the areas being protected now with burlap will be seeded with grass, and then planted with native bushes and shrubs (Oregon Grape and ferns were mentioned).
As Katie points out, the recovered containers have been sorted into piles for recycling!
You’ll be seeing work crews shortly at Alki Beach Park — Seattle Parks‘ Garrett Farrell explains that it’s a new project “to add irrigation” in areas that didn’t have it before. He says the contractor, Specialized Landscaping, will start toward the end of this week east of Alki Bathhouse and will move westward to the west end of the park. This is from Parks Department capital-improvement funds; the work should be done by the end of January.
(Photos added 2:05 pm)
Though Seattle Parks had said this wouldn’t happen until tomorrow, they just confirmed the fence is down at the new Myrtle Reservoir Park today, so it’s officially open to the public, albeit, Parks had warned, in “soft-open” mode (aka, today, soggy open).
Seattle Parks just sent word the fence at Myrtle Reservoir Park (35th/Myrtle/Willow; map) will come down on Wednesday. This park has been in the works for four years and has had some speed bumps along the way, including a series of public design meetings in 2008 that grew contentious over the possibility of a skatepark on the site (long since dropped), and a multimillion-dollar problem last year that extended the time needed for Seattle Public Utilities to finish covering the reservoir itself – the project that created the park site in the first place. (The dispute over the waterproofing problem eventually went to court; we’re checking on its status.) The new park has a viewpoint, pathways, and a playground, among other features; this September story took a closer look with a video tour.
If your name or message isn’t part of the Alki Statue of Liberty Plaza already – you’re running out of opportunities. David Hutchinson sends the latest on the brick/plaque sales (which pay for ongoing plaza maintenance, so that doesn’t come out of dwindling public funds):
The Alki Community Council would like to thank all those who have supported the Alki Statue of Liberty Plaza this past year through the purchase of engraved bricks and plaques. Seattle Parks & Recreation has notified us that our most recent order for 168 additional bricks arrived at their warehouse in West Seattle last week. Now that the recent cold weather has moderated, Parks will be determining a date for installing them in the Plaza. This will bring the total number of engraved bricks installed to over 2,700. In accordance with our agreement with the Plaza designers, to preserve the spiral pattern on the main plaza floor, only about 130 bricks remain available for sale. Bricks will be installed each spring and fall until this supply is exhausted.
Order forms may be picked up from the info boxes at the Plaza or downloaded from the Sealady website at: www.sealady.org/brickform.pdf
There are also 4 bronze Tribute Plaques available for sale. Information on these can be obtained at: www.sealady.org
Proceeds from the sale of the bricks and plaques are turned over to Seattle Parks & Recreation, and are placed in a dedicated fund that is used to maintain the Statue and Plaza. By the end of this year, the ACC will have raised almost $40,000 for this fund.
Thanks again for your support, and we wish everyone a happy holiday season.
In addition to the eroded shorelines we’ve shown you, Monday night’s fierce wind also brought down trees – and as seen here Tuesday afternoon, a wild beehive came crashing down with one of those trees in Lincoln Park. In the comments on that story, we all learned they’d been rescued … and their rescuer Rob added a comment a day later with an update. We e-mailed Rob to ask if he might share new photos and more information on how the bees are doing; he obliged, with some background:
By the path along the bluff of Lincoln Park, a tall fir tree grew and a half dead maple tree had grown with its trunk wrapped around that of the fir. In the space between these trunks and in the rotting maple a wild bee-hive made its home. I have watched this hive over about the past four years, but last year I had concluded that the hive must have failed during the long wet spring.
I was wrong, and the hive must simply have made itself another entrance from the one I had been watching, because when Monday night’s wind took down the fir and the rotted maple with it, there was the hive smashed up on the ground in among the tangle and rubble of the shattered trees. The temperature was in the teens Tuesday morning, so I was utterly astonished to see bees still alive and clustering around the broken fragments of honeycomb.
I keep bees, but all my good equipment is stored at my bee yard on Bainbridge. Still I had an old box lying around, so I scooped up all that I could of this hive, thinking it was a lost cause, but worth the try for the sake of sentiment if nothing else.
Amazingly, this tough old hive seems to be making a comeback. At the moment I just have the boxed fragments in the spare bedroom keeping warm, but the level of activity and work around the old combs makes me think the ladies may be viable. I have long felt that different hives have distinct personalities, and this one is certainly a rugged, determined survivor.
This weekend I’ll be able to make a trip over to Bainbridge and bring back a proper home for the girls, along with some fresh frames and comb foundation, and set them up so they can make a go of it. I’ve long wanted to make an observation hive, so I think I will set this up indoors for the time being with a sealed gangway out a window. That way, in their weakened state, they will have a better chance and will be less likely to starve for energy to keep warm.
Thank you to WSBlog and all the followers and commenters who have taken an interest in this little saga. I will send updates of news of their progress. Happy Thanksgiving to all!
Congratulations to 6 people associated with West Seattle programs/facilities who have been announced as nominees for the Seattle Parks and Recreation Department‘s annual Denny Awards for Outstanding Volunteer Stewardship. The Parks Department has just sent out a news release announcing nominees and that the awards will be revealed at a December 7th event on Lake Union – read on:Read More
Two intrepid West Seattle photographers are sharing scenes from Lincoln Park and vicinity – above, John Gallone suggests captioning that photo he took near the park around noon today “Coyote enjoying his snow day.” Earlier in the morning, Trileigh was out in the park:
Trileigh explains:
There are several very large trees downed in Lincoln Park, a couple across the bluff
path. First, there are probably some safety issues in that downed trees can bend both their own wood and that of other trees/branches that they knock down, and that bent wood can be under a lot of stress. If you happen to release that stress, the tree or branch can suddenly pop up with a lot of force-so kids and parents (and the rest of us) should be cautious about exploring those downed trees.
She continues:
But also, on a sad note – one of the huge trees that came down was the one that had a wild beehive in it, and this morning we saw that some of the bees are still alive, though probably not for long in this cold. We tried to cover them up so that they could huddle and stay warm. There are so few wild hives left that we were really sorry to see this one knocked apart by the storm.
Pre-snow, while driving by the rolls of turf lining the street south of Delridge Playfield, we realized we were overdue for a followup on the much-awaited project. Here’s what we found out from Ted Holden, project manager:
There are several reasons that the project is not complete right now. The main reasons are we added scope to the project on several occasions which added days to the base contract before the turf contract could start. Bottom line is they are completing the laying of the turf and the inlay of all the lines. They cannot infill the turf with sand and crumb rubber until we get dry weather. They need approximately 8-9 days (not necessarily consecutive) to complete the infill. With the weather not cooperating, I can’t provide a date that the field will be open for use. I’m really hoping we can finish early in December.
For more on the project, check out its official page; the funding comes from the Parks and Green Spaces Levy approved by voters two years ago.
With the city budget days away from a final vote, its effect on the city Environmental Learning Center in West Seattle, Camp Long, was among the discussion items at last night’s Delridge Neighborhoods District Council meeting. While CL is *not* slated for closure, it will go through big changes, including the end of non-school-related educational programs, Sheila Brown explained to the DNDC (video clip below left):
The final budget vote is slated for Monday. Meantime, the leader of one of the council’s member organizations, Delridge Neighborhoods Development Association (DNDA), presented a primer on what DNDA is all about. In the above-right clip, you can see/hear DNDA executive director Derek Birnie‘s presentation. He explained that the organization’s about projects big – like affordable-housing developments – and small – like the Delridge “Night Market” events this summer and fall as part of the campaign to make healthier food more available in the area. In addition to listening to the presentation, you can find out a lot about DNDA at dnda.org.
Another huge topic of the night – Mayor Mike McGinn‘s impending visit to Delridge for a Community Forum on December 2nd (first reported here 2 weeks ago). DNDC attendees last night worked on ways to ensure the mayor would hear about central topics of community concern – maybe even preparing a briefing paper to get to him. The Delridge-area concerns that were mentioned last night included the need for an east-west transit connection, economic-development funds, and greenbelt protection. The mayor’s event is set for 6-8 pm on December 2nd at Youngstown Cultural Arts Center, and it’ll include a chance for you to learn about local community organizations as well as Q/A with the mayor..
The Delridge Neighborhoods District Council includes reps from community councils and major organizations around what the city calls the Delridge Neighborhoods District – mostly east West Seattle, from 35th SW eastward. Its December meeting will be a mostly social potluck, but business meetings are usually on the third Wednesday of the month, 7 pm, Youngstown Cultural Arts Center (4408 Delridge Way SW).
“Construction of our new park is almost complete,” says a brand-new update on the Seattle Parks webpage for the under-construction Myrtle Reservoir Park (map). Thanks to Heather for pointing out the update, which bears today’s date; we hadn’t checked with project manager Virginia Hassinger since she reported in early October that there was at least another month of work left. The new update says in part:
In the next several days we will be testing and commissioning our irrigation system and doing final cleanup work.
We also will be installing temporary protective fencing and signs within the park to direct people away from the newly seeded lawn and to protect SPU facilities. We are working closely with SPU to install fencing as soon as possible.
Once these things are done we will selectively remove construction fencing at the entry pathways, opening the park pathways and play area to the public. Our goal is to provide public access to the new park before the Thanksgiving weekend.
The park’s been almost four years in the making – we started covering the process when the second round of meetings began in early 2008.
Fairmount Playground‘s upgrades are done and it’s open for the serious business of having fun. “Granny Annie Lenssen” shares this photo of someone who already gave it a test run:
Just wanted to send you this photo of my grandson, the official First One To enjoy the newly updated park with the ferry, swings, climbing net, and more. You can tell from his expression that he’s loving it! And this is in pouring rain! The workers had just removed the fence and said he was the first one to visit!
Remember this MOHAI Minute video about what lies beneath Skylark Café and Club (WSB sponsor)? The team’s come back to West Seattle, this time to tell the story of Schmitz Park, and e-mailed us with news of the clip. (It’s actually a three-minute “minute.”) P.S. Want an up-close-and-personal look while doing a good deed? Tomorrow happens to be a work-party morning at Schmitz Park, 9 am-noon – details on the Green Seattle website.
Story and photos by Jason Grotelueschen
Reporting for West Seattle Blog
Almost 100 people packed the clubhouse Wednesday night for the third community meeting about the West Seattle Golf Course’s future driving range, as the project team unveiled a refined design they say was developed in response to numerous “environmental concerns, golf concerns, and neighborhood concerns” raised in the previous two meetings.
According to project architect Todd Schroeder, the new design (pictured above, full PDF version here) boasts a 300-yard full-size “double-loaded” driving range with 50 stalls, and a short-game practice facility and learning center. To accommodate it, some changes would be necessary to the surrounding holes — #1 would get a new green (otherwise largely unchanged), #8 would be converted to a “mammoth par 5” (570+ yards in length at the white tees, playable up to 655 yards for special events), and an entirely new #9 would be constructed adjacent to Camp Long.
Schroeder noted that the new #9 hole would be a downhill par 3 with an “amazing view of downtown Seattle from the teebox,” and that the tops of the driving range’s tall net poles (previously considered to be a major community concern) would still be “below the grade” of 35th Ave SW even at their highest point (120 feet).
Reaction to the new proposal was mixed, with some audience members lauding the project team for a “fantastic job” and a “world-class design,” but many others saying the project “isn’t worth it” and “should just go away” primarily because it does include changes to the 70-year-old golf course. One attendee called the proposal a “bait-and-switch” because such changes to the holes themselves weren’t considered to be part of the original plan as envisioned in the city’s Golf Master Plan (which indicated that the #1 golf priority city-wide was a “high-quality driving range in West Seattle,” according to the project team.)
The night started with a full house, and then some, at Miller Community Center on Capitol Hill, full of people supporting one (or more) of the 15 projects that made the list of finalists for Parks and Green Spaces Levy Opportunity Fund money – and a few that didn’t (the committee is free to change the list before making its final recommendations). Listening to the pitches: The levy’s Oversight Committee, citizen volunteers including three West Seattleites: Bruce Bentley, Pete Spalding of Pigeon Point, who as vice chairman is running the hearing (he’s in the white hat), and Cindi Barker of Morgan Junction:
The first West Seattle representatives to speak as part of the hearing included five speakers supporting Puget Ridge Edible Park – part of a delegation that appeared to number about a dozen – seeking a little over half a million dollars to acquire a “homestead” property in northeastern West Seattle, telling the committee about the neighborhood’s involvement and determination. One of the strong community voices for PREP, Stu Hennessey, talked about its ties to the watershed for Puget Creek and the Duwamish River, and how it would cleanse water bound for those waterways, also promising, “We will be producing a lot of food on this land.” Also noted: The project’s proximity to South Seattle Community College, which is starting a permaculture program, and would use PREP as a “demonstration park” for students and other community members. (video added later) Steve Richmond also talked about an envisioned partnership for PREP:
Later in the hearing, the committee heard from Carolyn Stauffer of Highland Park, on behalf of the HP Spray Park proposal that she spearheaded: (video added later)
As she told the committee – with an entourage of supporters surrounding her – this is already a “named project” for Parks and Green Spaces Levy money, but as a bare-bones spray feature (replacing the existing HP wading pool) – if the half-million-dollar request is granted, not only will the park be more fun, but it will save more than 2 million gallons of water per year. (She is one of two people who have spoken about it so far.)
The committee also has heard from passionate supporters of projects around the city – perhaps the biggest contingent represented Friends of Lewis Park on Beacon Hill, all armed with little yellow signs; one group advocated for Jimi Hendrix Park, while others talked about a project proposed for the neighborhood of the iconic Fremont Troll.
If you weren’t able to make it to this hearing (which looks to have at least another half-hour to go – we have some video to add when we get back to HQ), you can still comment on the projects until November 17th; the committee is scheduled to make its final recommendations to Parks leadership on December 6.
We’re watching the latest meeting of the City Council Budget Committee right now – they’re taking a closer look at Parks and Recreation budget items, and potential changes in the mayor’s original proposal. One that’s just come up is a new plan to study the possibility of paid parking at about half a dozen city parks – including, a city staffer told the council, possibly Lincoln Park. Specifics weren’t mentioned, but they envisioned possibly $1/hour for parking, which, if put into place at “6 or 7 parks” under consideration, could bring in almost $1 million/year. City Councilmember Tom Rasmussen noted that this idea has come up before and was not received well by the public, so he urged plenty of “public outreach” before that idea moved much further. (Note: There’s an explanatory paragraph in this document; the study wouldn’t be finished till middle of next year.) Also at this hearing, it’s been mentioned that they intend to put back 3 Parks apprenticeship jobs that were targeted for cuts. We’re still monitoring the hearing and will add anything else that comes up; you can watch it live here.
Jennifer Cargal from Friends of Dakota Place Park said this afternoon’s work party at the park was on, no matter what the weather did – and she wasn’t kidding. Despite the intermittent rain and wind, “hardy volunteers prevail(ed),” as she headlined the note in which she shared these two photos and this report:
Despite the weather, we had a dozen or so hardy volunteers who came to weed, plant and prune at Dakota Place Park Sunday afternoon. Through rain, wind and even a little sun, we accomplished a lot and even had some fun.
Dakota Place Park was dedicated a year ago. One final phase has been on the drawing board a while – completion of the old substation building’s conversion into auxiliary space for Hiawatha Community Center programs.
You might recall the story we published earlier this week, written by Tilden School‘s fifth-graders, who are working on forest restoration. They’re volunteering weekly at nearby Dakota Place Park, too – removing trash as well as weeds and other invasive plants – as did last year’s fifth-graders, and Tilden shared the photo to help remind you of a communitywide work party TODAY at Dakota Place – it’s been on the WSB West Seattle Events calendar since Jennifer Cargal from Friends of Dakota Place Park sent word: “You’ve been enjoying that park. Well, it’s time to grab your gloves, a trowel or a shovel and join us for a work party … LABEL ALL TOOLS!! And come prepared for the weather! We work either way. We hope you’ll join us as we work together for a great fall clean-up for Dakota Place Park. Hope to see you at the park!” If you haven’t been to the park (dedicated exactly one year ago), it’s on the northwest corner of California/Dakota – here’s a map.
(What else is up in West Seattle today? Here’s the calendar!)
If you can spare time Monday night to be at Miller Community Center on Capitol Hill, you can help two community-envisioned park dreams in West Seattle come true. As first reported here last month, two local projects are among the finalists for the first round of Parks and Green Spaces Levy Opportunity Fund money, the upgraded Highland Park Spray Park plan, and Puget Ridge Edible Park, each seeking about half a million dollars from the voter-created levy fund. Supporters of both are asking for support at Monday’s citywide public hearing on the 15 finalists – first, here’s the pitch from Carolyn Stauffer, a Highland Park resident hoping the currently planned bare-bones conversion at the closed HP wading pool can be a real spray park:
Don’t Forget!! The Highland Park Spraypark was one of 15 projects citywide that made it to the “Draft” Final List for funding from the Opportunity Fund! We need your continued support to make sure we stay on the list! Here are two ways that you can help:
1. Come to the Public Hearing this MONDAY NIGHT to tell the Oversight Committee how awesome this project is and how much you support it. You get three minutes to speak, the signup sheet for speaking goes up at 6 pm, and the meeting starts at 7 pm. Details: October 25, at Miller Community Center: 330 19th Ave E, Seattle. We need people… the more physical presence we can have at this hearing the better, you don’t have to speak – someone can speak on behalf of a group of people too…
2. and/or you can e-mail Susanne Rockwell your voice of support at susanne.rockwell@seattle.gov, or call her at 206-684-0902.Please forward this to any other neighbors that might be interested in helping out by demonstrating to Parks one last time that the Highland Park Spraypark has the support of its community. Here is an excerpt from the final application that summarizes what we would like the priorities for the project to be:
* Water Conservation: Sprayparks are already using a precious natural resource; we would like to ensure that our park demonstrates a water-wise approach and uses our region’s resources responsibly. With this as a goal, we would prefer the use of a recirculating pump for the Highland Park Spraypark.
* Exceptional Water Play: We would like to see the design incorporate a combination of high and low-flow spray nozzles and present outstanding, inspiring, and diverse play opportunities for our neighborhood’s children and youth of all ages.
* Integrated Sustainable Design unique to Highland Park: We don’t want an “amusement park” type of spraypark that could be plopped down anywhere. We would like to see a design that is distinctive to Highland Park, one that demonstrates state-of-the-art technology for water use and re-use, and is a model of sustainable practices.And here are some current numbers – this additional funding for the spraypark would help us:
* save 19,400 gallons of water a day, or 2.2 million gallons a year – that’s 98% less water than the proposed system would dump down the drain
* save over half the annual cost of running the spraypark
* reduce the 20-year life-cycle cost by 63%
* manage wastewater from the spraypark on-site, reducing sewer fees substantially and allowing for groundwater recharge
On behalf of the Puget Ridge Edible Park proposal, also one of the 15 finalists citywide, Stu Hennessey‘s urging support at Monday night’s meeting too:
The acquisition grant that the Puget Ridge community is looking to obtain would be used to purchase an exsiting original homestead in West Seattle along the Puget Creek Watershed and create an urban working farm. This farm will be dedicated to permaculture design and will provide an excellent learning center for the public and our community. We also look forward to a future with brighter local food security. We need your support at (Monday’s public hearing) … Speakers are encouraged… This is the final hurdle…. We can do it….. We need to show the same kind of community support that we had at last summer’s presentations. Please contact me for carpooling.
Stu’s e-mail address: alkistu@hotmail.com. Miller Community Center is at 330 19th East; here’s a map – again, the public hearing is at 7 pm Monday, signups at 6.
As reported here on Monday, renovated Fairmount Playground is almost ready to open – and we just got a note from Seattle Parks saying, “There are a couple of minor items to be fixed before we can open the site, but these should all be completed by next week and we anticipate opening the playground on Friday, October 29th.” Project manager Kelly Davidson had told WSB on Monday that the “punch-list” inspection was set for today.
Some speed bumps lately for a few West Seattle park projects – as reported last week, Delridge Skatepark now won’t be built till after rebidding next year, and grading/utility challenges are pushing Myrtle Reservoir Park into next month – but this one is really on the home stretch: We just checked in with Fairmount Playground project manager Kelly Davidson, after noting that the hoped-for reopening date of October 15th had come and gone (our photo was taken last night). Here’s her update: “I just scheduled our punch-list inspection for Wednesday afternoon, 10/20. The contractor installing rubber surfacing took a bit longer than expected. The fence should come down after this inspection.” The project, designed with two community meetings last winter, is funded by about $170,000 in Parks and Green Spaces Levy money.
(WSB photo from this year’s Alki Art Fair)
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
“Pretty dramatic stuff.”
That’s how Seattle Parks Board vice chair Neal Adams of West Seattle described the briefing that Seattle Parks finance director Carol Everson gave last night to the board – a city-convened citizens’ advisory group – on the cuts and changes to Parks operations contained in the budget Mayor McGinn proposed late last month, six months after Everson delivered a dire warning to the board (WSB coverage here) of what was to come
As part of the briefing, Parks staffers provided the board with a document that they say will be frequently updated through the budget-vetting process – which the City Council is in the middle of now – featuring specifics on the budget’s potential effects. Covering the meeting last night, that’s when we heard for the first time that one of the casualties would be the popular annual midsummer Alki Art Fair, as part of the proposal to cut Alki Community Center operating hours to a bare minimum.
Read on for what else we’ve learned about Alki Community Center as well as other Parks programs:Read More
As previously reported, there’ve been questions concerning the bidding process for Delridge Skatepark (to be built at the northeast corner of the park adjacent to Delridge Community Center), after the low bidder was reported to not have met an amendment to the qualifications requiring a certain number of skateparks of a certain size to have been built within a certain time – Parks was deciding whether to give the project to the second-lowest bidder, or to re-bid it. According to a note just received from project manager Kelly Davidson, they’ve made the latter decision:
After internal review and review with the City Attorney’s office, Parks is rejecting all bids for Delridge Skatepark. The project and qualifications will be reviewed and the project will be re-bid. I will follow up with more information on the re-bid process once we have determined the dates and revisions to the qualifications.
Just after we published the first version of this, another e-mail came in, this one from Kevin Stoops, a top manager in Parks, confirming this means a months-long delay in skatepark construction:
Earlier today we decided to reject all bids for the Delridge Skatepark and rebid this project later this year or early next year for mid-2011 construction.
This decision has been reached after a review of the very restrictive supplemental bidder qualifications that were issued by addendum to the original project requirements. These focused on volume of work rather than specific construction requirements to complete the work, and are unnecessarily restrictive. the project will be re-bid with clearer contractor qualification requirements outlined in the construction documents. The design of the skatepark will not be changed.
Further, issuance of a construction contract involving excavation and concrete work at this time of year will be problematic was we are now ready to enter a wet rainy period for some time. The construction window for such concrete work is already rapidly coming to an end for 2010 and an extremely wet winter is forecast. Starting construction in the face of such would likely lead to unintended site costs due to wet conditions.
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