West Seattle, Washington
24 Saturday

Thanks to Tim McMonigle of West Seattle Soccer Club for the tip that Hiawatha’s starting to get its new turf, part of field improvements that should be complete next month. Tim added: “I talked to one of the workers there and they said they’ll probably have the turf laid in the next week, then another couple weeks after that for all the prep work (lines glued, spreading rubber pellets). The backstops and track are all installed, although they still need to put rubber on the track. This will be fun watching the dramatic transformation over the next month.” As the official page for the project puts it, the finished fields will include “full-size facilities” for soccer, baseball and football.

Another update just in from the city regarding what started as 3 (projected) weeks of federally mandated drain-upgrade work at Southwest Pool and now has turned into 2+ months including repairs for a previously undetected problem – read on:Read More

JUNCTION PLAZA PARK: Within months, groundbreaking is expected for the long-in-the-works construction of this park at 42nd/Alaska. But first – one last public meeting – discuss the current design plan tonight at 6:30, Senior Center of West Seattle (southeast corner of California/Oregon).
VOTER-REGISTRATION DEADLINE: With Election Day four weeks from tomorrow, today’s the deadline to either postmark a by-mail registration form or register online – or to update your information. Here’s a link for form printout and online registration. (If you haven’t been registered in WA before, you can do it in person at the Elections Office up till 10/26.)

From left, that’s High Point Community Center‘s assistant coordinator Rebecca Hall and coordinator Brian Judd, with Superintendent Tim Gallagher at his open house happening right now at HPCC (6920 34th SW; map). It’s a casual drop-in event, so you can go over any time between now and 8 to join the chat (beverages and snacks supplied). Other Parks-affiliated folks we saw there in the early going included Parks Board chair Jackie Ramels (from Alki) and Parks and Green Spaces Levy Oversight Committee member Cindi Barker (from Morgan Junction). Question, concern, idea for a West Seattle park – or someplace you think should be one? These are the folks to see – they’re there till 8. P.S. There’s a Facebook page now for highlights of West Seattle community centers’ activities – “fan” it here (and be sure you’re connected with us on FB too, facebook.com/westseattleblog).
The two meetings mentioned here last week for discussion of upcoming improvements at Delridge Playfield – artificial turf and lighting – have been rescheduled; the first one had been in conflict with the West Seattle Candidates’ Forum, so now you can attend that too. New playfield-meeting dates: October 19 and November 23, both at 7 pm, both at Delridge Community Center. You can find more info on the project – which is funded by the Parks and Green Spaces Levy approved by voters last year – by going here.
PARKS BOSS IN HIGH POINT: It’ll be the 2nd time this week that High Point Community Center has played host to a citywide superintendent: Tuesday night it was Seattle Public Schools‘ Dr. Maria Goodloe-Johnson; tonight, it’s Seattle Parks and Recreation‘s Tim Gallagher. He’s been running the city’s park system for almost two years now – how do you think it’s going? Issues in the parks you’re concerned about (or happy about)? Be at HPCC (map) at 6:30 pm.
FALL FASHION AFFAIR: The Junction is not only a great place to eat/drink — its boutiques have citywide fame. Four of them team up again tonight for the annual Fall Fashion Affair. Go to Carmilia’s, Clementine, Edie’s and Sweetie 7-10 pm – see what’s new and enjoy treats – a punchcard will then entitle you to bubbly @ West 5.
From the Parks and Green Spaces Levy Oversight Committee meeting downtown: The group voted unanimously Tuesday night
in favor of spending money to finish the historic substation building at Dakota Place Park.
Parks manager Kevin Stoops explained that the department had $1.2 million in “excess interest earnings from Pro Parks” (the previous levy), and after putting $500,000 of that toward Delridge Skatepark, that left $720,000 – which his team proposed using for two Pro Parks projects that hadn’t been done yet – one of which is the Dakota Place Park building, which still needs a lot of interior work before it can be used as intended, as a “satellite facility” for Hiawatha Community Center programs. The committee unanimously approved Stoops’ recommendation to spend $400,000 from the “excess interest earnings,” which will be added to $120,000 from the Hiawatha Advisory Council to finish the work, including, he said, seismic improvements, flooring, wall work, paint, cabinetry, and more. “Until we can make that happen, the building is just a sculptural element,” Stoops said. As he recounted for the committee, the park adjacent to the building was recently completed, and some exterior work was done on the historic building – a city landmark because of its past as a City Light substation – but money wasn’t available to finish its interior. “This project was underfunded from the get-go,” another department manager, Michael Shiosaki, told the committee. Now, pending the next layers of final city approvals, that will be remedied; we’ll be checking on timetables for work to start.
Also at the Parks Levy Oversight Committee:
*Junction Plaza Park was discussed briefly, at the request of a committee member; Stoops said its funding is now “enough to make that project work” and also noted the SDOT plan to fix the nearby sidewalks and curb ramps. The “revised schematic design” will be shown at the final public meeting next week (6:30 pm Monday at the Senior Center) but the highlights Stoops listed included a “small stage area, at grade,” an ‘arc of plantings” at the rear of the site, and one or two light fixtures.
*Fairmount Playground upgrade: Stoops says the plans are 99 percent complete and they’ll be advertising for bids within two weeks.
*Opportunity Fund: Draft criteria for figuring out which projects will share this $15 million fund created by the levy were presented to the committee members at the meeting; questions and concerns were raised about some of the wording, so it will be brought back to them at October – with a public hearing to follow in early November. Initial applications will be due in February, so committee members are anxious to make sure that community groups and others are working now to be ready to apply for a share of the money, and asked that Parks staff post the application timeline on the Opportunity Fund webpage as soon as possible.
12:42 PM UPDATE: Pete Spalding sends word that the date/time/location has been set for the aforementioned public hearing on Opportunity Fund criteria:
At last night’s meeting we discussed the need to schedule a public hearing on the Opportunity Fund criteria. The hearing will provide a chance for the community to speak to the Committee on the proposed criteria before they are formally approved. The public hearing will be Monday, November 9, at 7:00 pm in the Park Board Room.
That’s at Parks HQ downtown (in Denny Park).
FAUNTLEROY/CALIFORNIA SIGNAL: You may recall our story from last week, in which the city’s project manager for the now-virtually-complete Fauntleroy Way road rebuild/repave/rechannelization, Jessica Murphy, said crews would be out this week to fix the Fauntleroy/California signal timing. According to longtime WSBer and nearby resident Mike, looks like they have been (we’re checking to see if SDOT will confirm 12:26 pm – just got confirmation from Murphy, “Fauntleroy and California has been restored to normal operation”).
SOUTHWEST POOL: Last week, the city Parks Department warned that a problem detected during federally mandated drain-upgrade work could further delay the reopening of West Seattle’s only city-run year-round pool. According to a note on the Southwest Pool home page, that seems to be the case – reopening is now tentatively scheduled for October 19; by then, the shutdown will have lasted almost two months.

Your West Seattle city-run community centers all have Advisory Councils – and one of those groups wanted to share the news of what they’re up to. We were forwarded the above photo of members of the Southwest Community Center Advisory Council and a summary of their monthly meeting last Thursday:
Guest speakers were Royal Alley-Barnes and Sue Goodwin from the City of Seattle, who described a new program. Seattle Youth Violence Initiative (“Power of Place”) coming to Southwest C.C. soon. The late Friday and Saturday program is planned for teens on the “edge “. It targets good kids who are starting to face the challenges associated with adult decisions. The teens will be offered on site community resource support for counseling and educational guidance. Focus will be placed on making choices that will prepare teens for success in life.
Join Us! Citizen direction and participation is essential to our success. Monthly meetings are held to talk about programs, policies, and financial issues. Our advisory councils always are looking for new members. If you would like to get involved, please contact the facility staff for further information. The next meeting of the SWCC Advisory Council is scheduled for 7 pm Oct. 15th at the Community Center and is open to the public.
Read more about the SWCC Advisory Council here. For the other centers: Alki’s advisory-council info is here; Delridge, here; Hiawatha, here; High Point does not have a standalone council listed.

On behalf of City Councilmember Tom Rasmussen (who chairs the Parks Committee), this photo and update are just in from his legislative assistant Brian Hawksford:
In August the Seattle Parks Department closed on a .12 acre property, with an abandoned house, located in the Admiral Way greenbelt.
Last spring Councilmember Tom Rasmussen spotted a “for sale” sign on the property and immediately called the Parks and Recreation Department to urge them to make an offer. The property was in foreclosure and the Parks Department negotiated a purchase favorable to the City.
This acquisition along with the transfer to the Parks and Recreation Department of the Manning St. SW triangle and 9.6 acres of other City owned properties along Admiral Way will place over 70% of the land fronting both sides of Admiral Way from the West Seattle Bridge to the Belvedere Viewpoint into a greenbelt.
The City is currently undertaking a significant reforestation effort along this stretch of Admiral Way as part of the Green Seattle Partnership. The house will be demolished (date to be determined) and the site restored to a natural condition.
This acquisition was made possible with funding from the 2008 Parks and Green Spaces Levy. Councilmember Rasmussen praised the Parks and Recreation Department for its quick action in saving this portion of the greenbelt from possible development.
Starting later this year, people with proposals for spending the levy’s Opportunity Fund will be able to start the application process – find out about it here. And you can get a firsthand look at what the Parks and Green Spaces Levy Oversight Committee, which has three West Seattle reps, is up to, by attending their next meeting a week from tonight, 7 pm September 29, at Parks HQ downtown.

That photo from Twitter shows some of the silky pink that stretched across the sky after tonight’s final sunset of summer; tomorrow night, fall arrives, and you can greet its arrival with Alice Enevoldsen, who you may remember as the heroic volunteer WSB mapmaker during Snowpocalypse last winter. Alice is among many other things, author of alicesastroinfo.com, and is welcoming you to join her at Solstice Park (over the tennis courts northeast of Lincoln Park; map) tomorrow night to greet the arrival of fall at 7:06 pm our time. Could be some stargazing involved if the weather holds; read Alice’s full invite here.
Big news in West Seattle with so many Parks Department properties here: Mayor Nickels is proposing a gun ban in parks facilities “intended for children and youth.” (The prospect of new city rules on guns in parks also came up at an Alki Community Council meeting this summer, during discussion of recent incidents involving firearms, like this one in June, although it does not appear the ban would include beach parks like Alki.) Here’s the full text of the city announcement, plus information on how to formally comment on it:Read More
The final public meeting about Junction Plaza Park (mentioned in our coverage of Tuesday’s Junction Neighborhood Organization meeting) is now officially scheduled: 6:30 pm October 5 at the Senior Center of West Seattle. Topics will include what the Parks Department announcement describes as “plant selection and minor design elements.”
ORIGINAL 11:14 AM REPORT: West Seattle’s only city-run indoor pool, Southwest Pool, has been closed for three weeks while its drain system is upgraded to meet new federally mandated safety standards, and was scheduled to reopen Monday; we just checked with the Parks Department to see if that’s still the plan – and spokesperson Karen O’Connor tells us there’s in fact a new reopening date: September 21st, a week from Monday:
Currently, they are finishing up the work and will run tests on Monday, September 14th. We will have a better idea if the opening on the 21st is firm following the tests on Monday the 14th.
In the meantime, since outdoor Colman Pool is now closed till next year, your swimming options in West Seattle are limited to private pools; the West Seattle Family YMCA (WSB sponsor) is one of them, and does sell day passes.
2:42 PM UPDATE: Got additional information from SW Pool’s assistant coordinator Matt Richardson, as well as this photo (his explanation is below it):

I thought I would provided a bit of insight into why the closure is running longer than expected.
The Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act (VGBA) closures have been a challenge for our maintenance personnel. Every site has had its unique elements. Southwest is no different.
Prior to the closure, our engineer and lead pool operator submitted plans and construction drawings to the health department for approval. The permits were issued based on the original construction blueprints. The plan was to use the existing drain sump and attach the new VGBA compliant covers. When the pool shell was opened up, the drain sumps did not match the original blueprints. This required our engineer to design new poured in place concrete sumps and re-submit the drawings to the health department.
The new permit came through in the afternoon of Tuesday, September 8th. Our plumbers have been working feverishly this week. The cement crews should be starting on Monday with pouring new sumps and plastering. The cement requires a couple of days cure time. It takes about 5 days to fill and heat the pool up to our usual 85 degrees F. That puts us opening on Monday September 21st.
A quick note for all of our current lesson participants. The lesson session that was scheduled to begin on September 16th is delayed. We plan on starting lessons on Wednesday September 23rd. All of the currently enrolled participants will have the fees for the missed classes credited onto their accounts.
Our estimate of re-opening on September 21st is based on everything going on as planned. We will update the latest information regarding the opening date on our voicemail and our pool schedule page at
http://www.cityofseattle.net/parks/aquatics/Pools/southwest/schedule.htmThank you for understanding as we work to comply with the new federally mandated codes that resulted from the VGBA.
Sincerely,
Matthew Richardson, Assistant Coordinator
Seattle Parks – Southwest Pool

Chilly or not, this is the final day of 2009 operations for Colman Pool on the shore in Lincoln Park. It’s on a “holiday” schedule – page 5 of the brochure – which means: Lap swim noon-1:30 pm, public swim 1:45-4:45 pm, half lap swim/half family swim 5-7 pm. (This was also supposed to be the final day of the season for city wading pools, but unlike swimming pools, they don’t open if the forecast doesn’t call for temperatures of at least 70 degrees; you can check the wading-pool hotline at 206-684-7796.)

A few more things of note, along West Seattle streets: The “rechannelization” – striping that’s part of the last phase of the road reconstruction – has begun along Fauntleroy Way; we spotted the striped-in bike lane tonight, as we headed northeast. SDOT announced recently that the work will be done by the middle of this month. And “sharrow”-painting continues to stretch further south:

We just noticed sharrows have been roughed in along Thistle between California and Delridge (map).Last but not least, Rhonda from The Mortgage Porter (WSB sponsor) called our attention this morning to this scene along Jacobsen Road just east of Beach Drive, south edge of Me-Kwa-Mooks Natural Area (map):

She wondered what was being cut and why, and so did we when we saw it, so we contacted the Parks Department – the crew had clearly labeled Parks vehicles – and Dewey Potter tells us:
This was a single dead alder tree that our Tree Crew Chief identified. It was hanging close to the road and the driveways of two houses. The bark was starting to fall off the stem and branches. The crew will leave a snag for habitat if possible. That is the only tree being removed.

After a rainy morning and early afternoon, the sun showed up full force for Tuesday night’s community picnic on the playfield next to Alki Community Center. Rain or shine, they promised – in the end, it was even nice enough for the planned burger barbecue to be all sizzle, no fizzle:

Activities and entertainment included free live music: Presidents of the United States of America rocker Chris Ballew, now a West Seattleite, performed in his kids-music guise, Caspar Babypants. In our clip, you’ll see how he somewhat startled the youngest audience members toward the start of a tune about dust bunnies:
After CB, The Not-Its finished out the bill – they posted video of their own to YouTube (we got the link via Twitter):
Lots more going on at Alki Community Center as the fall proceeds – you can find the full program listing in the areawide “combined brochure” for fall programs and classes; see it here.
Half an hour from now, as previewed yesterday, Alki Community Center hosts a picnic and concert – food starts at 4:30, music (with Caspar Babypants followed by The Not-Its) starts at 6. In response to a WSB’er question, we checked to make sure there was no chance of rainout – Mary Pat at Alki CC says it’s on, rain or shine (the stage has a tent), and please bring that requested food donation for Northwest Harvest.
Tomorrow night’s Alki Community Picnic has been in the WSB Events calendar for a while but without the extra details we just got from Mary Pat Byington at Alki Community Center, (5817 SW Stevens), where all the fun is happening tomorrow afternoon/evening: It starts at 4:30 pm — free food and a “jump toy” for the kids – plus music from Caspar Babypants (aka West Seattle-residing rock star Chris Ballew of The Presidents of the United States of America) at 6 pm, followed by The Not-Its (shown above in a clip from last year’s Halloween party at Full Tilt Ice Cream in White Center). Mary Pat adds, “Please bring a can food donation for Northwest Harvest.” (That regional organization distributes supplies to local food banks.)

NOT HAPPENING, #1: Today marks the first day of Seattle Public Library branches’ one-week budget-cut-forced closure – even the SPL website (which now carries the header shown above). They’re scheduled to reopen a week from tomorrow (9/8).
NOT HAPPENING, #2: The 7-day-a-week summer schedule for Colman Pool is now over, so it’s closed today, and will shut down for the season after the upcoming three-day weekend (Saturday-Sunday-Monday). Remember that Southwest Pool is still closed as well, for another two weeks, because of drain-safety work.
SPEAKING OF POOLS: If you have an interest in White Center’s Evergreen Pool, scheduled to close as of tomorrow and to stay closed until and unless a deal can be worked out with a private operator to take it over, you might be interested in a rally planned at the pool tonight, 5-7 pm (more details at partner site White Center Now).
HAPPENING #1: Keeping up the water theme – the second-to-last summer community kayak tour of the Duwamish River leaves South Park at 6 pm tonight. Full details here.
HAPPENING #2: Delridge Produce Cooperative‘s wrapping up the third of four 4-day weeks for its Mobile Market demonstration program – free produce at a roadside stand, to gauge neighborhood interest in access to fresh fruits and vegetables. Today, it’s on the south lawn of Youngstown Arts Center (4408 Delridge), 3:30-7:30 pm.

Saturday afternoon, we showed you the young artists preparing the south wall of Super 24 (Delridge/Findlay) for a mural – now, here’s the finished artwork. Here’s what Philippia Goldsmith from DNDA added tonight in a comment on our Saturday afternoon update:
This project is part of a larger initiative to transform the local corner stores into destinations where local residents have an ‘option’ to purchase affordable, delicious, and healthy food for their families. We will be having more projects like this in the coming months. If you’d like to volunteer or contribute to this effort. Send me an e-mail: phillippiag@dnda.org
Now to Alki:

Abby Suplizio tipped us to the “Save the Tata’s” Breast Cancer 3Day fundraising car wash at Alki Auto Repair this morning/afternoon. The 3Day route skips West Seattle again this year (it went through here in 2007 – WSB pix here) but more than a few West Seattleites are participating; breast-cancer survivor Diana McCasey organized this fundraiser. (If you missed it, you can donate through her page at the 3Day site.) East from Alki, to Schmitz Park:

That’s about the closest Shauna Causey got to the crew filming the online series “Star Trek: Phoenix” again this weekend in Schmitz Park, which had limited public access as a result (Friday night preview here). Shauna reports:
Entering the park from Admiral (Way), there is a sign that says “no admittance” and explains the filming. We came from the Alki Elementary entrance so we did not see this, or any signs that the film crew was still there until we got to the stream and could clearly hear a generator running not too far away in the park. Walking down the trails, we came upon the filming and saw some alien costumes laying on the trail (black helmets covering the head) and looked over to see a man with moss, sticks and brush covering his entire body. The only thing showing was his face, otherwise he looked like a giant pile of moss. I snapped a photo from fairly far away and they wouldn’t let me take any photos closer up.
More about “Star Trek: Phoenix” – which bills itself as “a not-for-profit Internet series and the largest, all volunteer, consistent film production in the Pacific Northwest” – at stphoenix.com. Posted notices said the crew’s work was to be done by 10 pm tonight, so tomorrow Schmitz should be back to normal.

(Art by Susan K. Miller)
If you’ve been thinking about going to Schmitz Preserve Park this weekend, note that access will be limited, as the film crew associated with the online series “Star Trek: Phoenix” is back. We’ve received two notes about this today – one from Susan K. Miller, author of Picturing and Poeting, a Schmitz Park-centric site, who writes on her site that the notices posted at the park say the film activity will be happening tomorrow and Sunday. She created the art above – explaining:
The porta potty at the Admiral Ave. entrance to Schmitz Preserve Park was the first indication something was up. There are two 8×11″ paper signs saying that Temporal Studios, a local film production company, is filming “a short film” Saturday and Sunday, Aug 29 and 30 from 6am-10pm at the entrance and inside the park. Visitors may not be able to access that entrance or parts of the park, the signs said.
The “Temporal Studios” mentioned on the notices reported by that author is the “ST: Phoenix” production company; they shot in Schmitz Park a month ago (here’s what we wrote afterward).

(future skatepark site at northeastern corner of Delridge Playfield/Community Center park)
A followup this afternoon to a story we brought you yesterday, with Pete Spalding reporting from the Parks and Green Spaces Levy Oversight Committee meeting that the funding situation for the planned Delridge Skatepark was changing. We checked in with City Councilmember Tom Rasmussen, who chairs the Parks Committee, and today he’s sent this update:
As the Chair of the City Council’s Parks and Seattle Center Committee, I am working to ensure that the City keeps its commitment to build the skateparks that are planned. When I saw yesterday’s article in the West Seattle Blog about the money for the Delridge Skatepark vanishing I immediately contacted the Superintendent’s Office to find out what is going on.
There has been confusion about the funding source for the project, but based upon assurances from the Parks Superintendent, I am confident that the solution the Parks Department and Levy Oversight Committee have settled on is a workable one. I will keep a close eye on this during the City Council’s yearly budget review and will make sure we have the skatepark built as planned.
I want to thank Pete Spalding for his work on the Parks Levy Oversight Committee and your readers and the Delridge neighborhood residents for their tireless support of this project. In other areas of the city we have had trouble finding sites for skateparks. Delridge has been very supportive and welcoming. Together we can make this happen!
I am committed to the project 110%. I agree with the suggestion of some of the writers that it would be good to contact the other eight City Councilmembers to ask them to support the Delridge Skatepark. It is important that the Council hear from the community now and during our budget review which will begin at the end of September.
Thank you,
Tom Rasmussen
Seattle City Councilmember
Here again is the contact information for City Councilmembers
| 15 COMMENTS