West Seattle, Washington
01 Thursday
ALKI STATUE OF LIBERTY PLAZA: Phase 2 of work on the 9-month-old plaza is scheduled to start today; as announced last week, fencing will go up (for about 2 weeks) as new bricks and tribute plaques go in.
EMERGENCY CLOSURE OF SOUTHWEST POOL: As the Parks Department announced yesterday , Southwest Pool has to shut down noon-5 pm today for emergency repairs on its main circulation pump. They’re expecting to reopen at 5 pm for “evening programs.”
WEST SEATTLE CRIME PREVENTION COUNCIL: Main item on the agenda tonight – YOU, and whatever concerns you want to bring up to Southwest Precinct police leadership, who also will share their latest toplines on crime trends. Find out what’s happening and how best to keep your family safe, 7 pm, SW Precinct meeting room (map).
Look further ahead with the WSB West Seattle Events calendar – and please be sure to send info about any events you’d like to see listed!
(December 2008 photo by Brian)
Six months ago, when Winter Solstice arrived on December 21st, skiing, snowmobiling and snowshoeing were rampant along West Seattle walkways and streets. If you didn’t have the equipment to try making your way around in any of those ways – you probably tried driving – and if you did, you may have used one of the maps made during our snow coverage, using WSBers’ road-condition reports, by Alice Enevoldsen. Now, half a year later, Alice is looking ahead to Summer Solstice this weekend, with an online exploration of West Seattle’s Solstice Park (the former Lincoln Park Annex, uphill from the Fauntleroy Way-fronting tennis courts). See her story (with, yes, a map!) here.
The Parks Department asked that we share this: “Southwest Pool will be closed from noon to 5 p.m. tomorrow, Tuesday, June 16, for emergency repair of the main circulation pump. The pool will reopen for evening programs at 5 pm.”
Thanks to Minette for sending new photos of the Lincoln Park barred owlet and its family (previously featured May 23, May 27, May 31), along with the story of what was happening while she observed them (including this watchful adult):
Minette wrote:
Last night I went to visit the owl family in Lincoln Park and I’m happy to report that as of yesterday they’re all alive and doing well, including little Wollet.
While I was observing them, the crows were of course going crazy cawing at them and dive-bombing the family, but the owls didn’t seem overly concerned. The male and female spent a good deal of time together grooming each other while little Wollet sat on a branch in a tree about 40 feet away making his funny little screechy “feed me” sounds. At one point he made a very good, controlled flight to a tree that was nearer the adults, so his skills are definitely improving.
If you missed the link in a previous report – here’s Seattle Audubon info about barred owls.
Within the past hour, the ribbon was cut, speeches were made, and the $480,000 Morgan Junction Park is now a full-fledged member of the Seattle Parks system. It’s also the site today of some of the events in the Morgan Junction Community Festival – but be sure to make your way behind Beveridge Place Pub, Feedback Lounge and Zeeks Pizza to see the community group and business booths, including ours. Now back to the park dedication: Morgan Community Association president Deb Barker made note of this park’s origins as a site for the Seattle monorail-that-wasn’t:
In addition to the plaza-like park itself, there’s also a sidewalk art project fronting California SW alongside the park – it went in along with new sidewalks funded by SDOT – and two of its creators, from SuttonBeresCuller, accepted thank-you art from Steve Sindiong of MoCA:
Others who received similar honors from Sindiong and Deb Barker on MoCA’s behalf included Parks project manager Virginia Hassinger, who led many a public meeting on the park design (in addition to the considerable behind-the-scenes work):
And Gary Sink, owner of the nearby Beveridge Place Pub, which helped make the park happen as part of a purchase of the entire monorail-property site, where he moved his popular pub to the former Video Vault building that’s just south of the park (it used to be where the Feedback Lounge is now):
Q13 FOX sent a photojournalist, so you might see a bit of the dedication on their 9 and 10 pm newscasts. Now, for the rest of the day, it’s the festival in and around the park, and we’ll be reporting as it happens (the occasional Twitter update at @westseattleblog as well – where you’ll find links to photos we “tweeted” before the event, including City Council President Richard Conlin in his “I Love West Seattle T-shirt” – he and Parks Superintendent Tim Gallagher were the two top dignitaries on hand for the event). [added 8:55 pm – video of Gallagher discussing the park’s relationship to BPP]
The park is on the west side of California SW, a block north of Fauntleroy (map).
MORGAN JUNCTION PARK DEDICATION: 10 am today, right before the Morgan Junction Community Festival, which is happening in and around the park 11 am-6 pm. The park’s been open a couple months just north of Beveridge Place Pub, on the former Fauntleroy Auto Works site once tabbed for a monorail station. (More on the festival shortly – we’ll be there all day, reporting “live.”)
GOODBYE, GENESEE HILL: The elementary school building atop the hill had already been closed once when it was reopened to serve as “temporary” home to West Seattle’s only public alternative school, Pathfinder K-8. More than a decade later, the district is closing it again and moving Pathfinder to the Cooper building in Pigeon Point. The Pathfinder community is leading a closure ceremony/commemoration 10 am-2 pm today.
CHIEF SEALTH HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATION: Members of the Chief Sealth Class of 2009 end their high-school years with a commencement ceremony at 1 pm. This year, it’s at Memorial Stadium at Seattle Center, same place West Seattle HS had its graduation two days ago.
For more of what’s happening around the peninsula today, see the West Seattle Weekend Lineup.
West Seattle photojournalist Matt Durham from mattdurhamphotography.com shares this scene, describing it only as follows: “A monster emerged … out of a downed tree’s root ball at a West Seattle park. The location will remain a mystery.” Hmmm.
(2008 photo by David Hutchinson)
It’s been anticipated for quite a while that the next round of brick installation, and time-capsule placement, would be happening soon at the Alki Statue of Liberty Plaza. Now there’s word from Libby Carr that it’ll start next week:
Seattle Parks & Recreation has informed us that the Phase II construction work on the Alki Statue of Liberty Plaza will begin on Tuesday, June 16th. The immediate area of the Plaza will be fenced for approximately 2 weeks while the 850 new engraved bricks and 7 Tribute Plaques are installed. Preliminary work will be done for the installation of the Time Capsule which has been prepared by the Log House Museum. The Capsule is scheduled to be opened in 2059. Some additional maintenance work will also be done at this time.
Funds raised in Phase II (by selling these bricks and plaques) are dedicated, through the Parks Department, to the future maintenance of this plaza, after paying for the cost of materials and labor.
We are anticipating a Celebration event for the completion of Phase II will be held in late September.
Our first report on Tuesday night’s Admiral Neighborhood Association meeting focused on a progress report regarding the upcoming summer concert series. Now, more from the meeting, much of which focused on a presentation about the draft Seattle Pedestrian Master Plan, an agenda item on many of the community meetings we’ve covered lately – and important because you have until next Monday (June 15) to comment on it. On behalf of the city, consultant Peg Staeheli summarized the plan’s key points; as noted before, the PMP is an online document, and as Staeheli put it, it’s worth taking some time to “wander” through the plan. It’s not only about the walkability of local neighborhoods, however – “maintenance is a huge issue,” she observed, which in turn means education of home and business owners regarding their liability for making sure the sidewalks around their properties are usable. (Did you know that whatever’s growing over your sidewalk needs to be cleared for 8 feet of headroom?) The city’s ideal street is a “complete street,” Staeheli added, saying that Morgan/Sylvan through High Point is an example — with landscaping, pedestrian features, and other components. The pedestrian-planning process was more than document creation, she added, saying that city programs/divisions are working together more than ever, looking for opportunities such as the current Fauntleroy road work, which has been preceded by curb cut/ramp creation along much of the stretch that will be repaved. Also from the meeting, Ann Limbaugh from Friends and Neighbors of North Admiral had a quick update on California Place Park, reminding attendees that a celebration of the just-concluded design process is set for one week from this Saturday. The design report from architect Karen Kiest will be made public then, she said.
Back in March, when we checked on the status of work at Myrtle Reservoir, which has now been “covered” — with a park coming to the new open space that was created – park project manager Virginia Hassinger told us she was hopeful the site would be turned over “this fall.” Today we’ve received an update from the city, saying the rest of the work on the reservoir site will start later this month – so nearby residents should watch for a return of construction activity – to be complete “by the end of October.” Hassinger has said that once the site is turned over to Parks for construction, the park should take about three months to “build.” (Here’s the approved design.)
They haven’t yet announced whether they are going to proceed with fundraising for any additions to California Place Park, but Friends and Neighbors of North Admiral have set the date for the community celebration marking the end of the design process for which they obtained a $15,000 grant: 3:30 pm Saturday, June 20. Musician/entertainer Eric Ode will perform. While the future of the main park site is still a question mark, money for a P-Patch community garden on the “southern triangle” across the street is proceeding through the Parks and Green Spaces Levy allocation process (as reported here last week). It’s been almost exactly a year since first word that a group of neighbors was proposing changes to the tiny park in North Admiral; our archived coverage, newest to oldest, is here.
Two of West Seattle’s green spaces are in better shape this week than they were last, thanks to work parties with extra volunteer help. First, the photo above from last Saturday was shared by Mike Arizona, volunteer steward for the Delridge Natural Area across from the Chief Sealth High School/Boren campus:
The event was attended by 13 volunteers, all from www.Onlineshoes.com. This was the second time in the past year the kind folks from Onlineshoes reached out to me and asked to set up an event with their employees. We cleared about 2300 square feet of the park of non-native plants (ivy, blackberry, holly), picked up trash and put down a layer of mulch on 1400 square feet. This area is now all ready to be planted with native trees and plants this fall.
The restoration of this site is part of the Green Seattle Partnership project (greenseattle.org) whose goal is to restore all 2500 acres of Seattle’s urban forest parkland. Another great website to get information is www.longfellowcreek.org. The next volunteer work party is June 27 from 10 am to 2 pm. For more information contact Mike Arizona at m_a1533@yahoo.com.
And last Friday, an even-bigger group of volunteers – workers from outdoor-industry businesses that belong to the Conservation Alliance — worked in Lincoln Park:
Krissy Moehl says almost 100 volunteers were there, with help from the Cascade Land Conservancy and Green Seattle, as a Backyard Collective project from the alliance’s ConservationNEXT. Look for a wrapup soon at conservationnext.com/blog.
If you’re going to talk about a playground on a warm almost-summer night, why not do it outside? So that’s exactly what Delridge Playground project organizers decided to do, setting up that table outside the Delridge Community Center tonight. The main task: Decide which of the three designs (all shown in this WSB report) to choose, before Delridge’s new playground gets “built in a day” next month by KaBOOM! – with volunteer help. Design #3 is way out in front:
(This link also shows you its full schematics.) Besides taking votes tonight, they were also accepted by e-mail and at the playground-fundraiser booth at Delridge Day (shown in this report), which by the way brought in enough money to put the community-contribution total over the top. Another vote tonight was for the swing setup; results – two regular swings, one bucket swing, one disability-accessible swing. Also tonight, the fate of the current playground’s popular merry-go-round was discussed; Parks Department rep Maureen A. O’Neill said it’ll be removed, but it can be stored, and maybe painted and fixed up – any time a playground has major changes like this, O’Neill explained, everything has to be brought up to safety code, and she says that means the merry-go-round would need a “textured wood structure” underneath, plus some drainage and concrete work, totaling about $15,000, which would require a lot more fundraising, and/or perhaps another city Small and Simple Grant. But she promised the merry-go-round would be removed and stored carefully. One more note: While the fundraising goal’s been met, LOTS of volunteer help is needed to make the playground happen on July 17 – more than 100 in all – e-mail helpdelridgeplay@gmail.com if you can help.
New information tonight about the Lincoln Park barred-owl family’s owlet (previous coverage here and here), this time (along with that photo) courtesy of Trileigh, who says it even has a name:
The little owlet is getting better about navigating his way through the trees. He practices by walking out on branches, and hopping/flapping from one to the other, with his parents usually nearby. He likes to go sideways along branches to the very farthest end and sit at the tip, which probably makes his parents pretty nervous!
Recently one evening, we were watching as he lost his balance and fell about 30′. He bounced right up (I imagine he could flap his wings with enough strength to cushion his fall) and headed for a nearby tree to climb to be safer from potential predators. Fortunately, the good West Seattleites who witnessed all this stayed a respectful distance away so the little owl could climb without feeling too stressed by humans and dogs coming too close.
His parents flew in and checked thoroughly to make sure little Wollet (named after the owl “Wol” in Winnie-the-Pooh) was safe and sound. A happy ending!
I’ve attached one picture of Wollet tightrope-walking along a branch, and I’ve posted a number of other pictures of him, his parents, and other Lincoln Park birds on my Flickr site at www.flickr.com/photos/trileigh/.
That’s the BigBelly solar-powered trash compactor west of the Alki Bathhouse, a demonstration project of sorts for the city, which is reducing the number of trash cans in local parks (as reported this week by the Times). When the trash-can-reduction campaign came up in the WSB Forums, member Que mentioned that her 8-year-old daughter had an opinion on the matter, after deciding to practice her reading by perusing the aforementioned article. We invited Que to offer her daughter the chance to practice writing by elaborating and sharing it with us (and you). Here’s the result!
I read the newspaper and there was an article about how they were taking the trashcans away from the parks. I don’t believe that they should take the trash cans away because then people will litter. Everyone uses the parks. People use them for playing and having fun and having picnics. We need to have trashcans because people will leave all their trash in the parks. This will make the parks disgusting. Then the parks will be full of trash and bags of poop. That will make the parks not fun anymore and the Moms will not want to take their kids there for picnics because they will be gross. I don’t think that the city is going to save enough money to make it worth having yucky parks. How much money would we all give to have nice parks? The city should find a different place to save that money.
– Rosemary A.
age 8
After we published Kim‘s photos last weekend of a barred-owl family in Lincoln Park, Minette wrote a comment with a link to her gallery of the same owls. Tonight, she’s sharing two more recent photos, along with word that, as of a couple nights ago, they were spotted again, doing well. The photo above is the male owl and the baby; below, the baby by itself:
Here’s what the Seattle Audubon website BirdWeb has to say about barred owls.
Betsy Hoffmeister from the North Delridge Neighborhood Council has just shared these three designs from which the new Delridge Community Center playground (recent WSB coverage here) will be chosen. She also says community fundraising that’s needed for the project only has $350 to go. Here’s the full specs for the design above; here are the full specs for the design below:
And here are the specs for this next one:
We’re checking on the proper pathway for public feedback; meantime, feel free to comment here for starters! And remember there’s a plant-sale fundraiser for the playground project at Delridge Day, Youngstown Arts Center this Saturday (WSB story here – by the way, we’ll be reporting live from Delridge Day throughout the event, so hope to see you there!). ADDED 9:09 PM: More info on what happens next, sent by Holli:
Cast your design vote – you can e-mail helpdelridgeplay@gmail.com with your pick, or attend a public meeting at the Delridge Community Center on Monday, June 1 from 7:30pm-8:30pm. The designs will also be on display this Saturday, at Youngstown Arts Center as part of Delridge Day which runs from 11 am-5 pm.
We’re looking for all the help we can get to build the playground on July 17th. We’ll have the equipment, breakfast, lunch, water and free exercise! Registration starts at 7:45 am, building begins at 8:30 am and ends around 2:30 pm for some fun.
Anyone interested in being a Build Captain on Build Day needs to attend an orientation on Prep Day, July 15th. All are welcome to help on Prep Day.
Food Committee: We also need someone to lead the Food Committee! A few volunteers are doing double-duty on the Food Committee and have done some preparations, but we need a leader.
To volunteer contact Chris via email at helpdelridgeplay@gmail.com or call (206) 499-3733.
Also, we’d love to put the spotlight on some local musical talent to entertain our volunteers at a closing ceremony that afternoon around 3pm, and at a grand opening the following week. Please contact Holli Margell via e-mail at holli.margell@gmail.com if you would like to perform.
Design note: We can only chose from these three designs. Changing any element is no longer an option – it is too far along in the process.
Update from the Parks and Green Spaces Levy Oversight Committee meeting downtown (the committee includes West Seattleites Neal Adams, Cindi Barker and Pete Spalding): 
The committee unanimously approved what the Skatepark Advisory Committee recommended earlier this month – moving $250,000 to the Delridge Skatepark project, from the levy’s designated funding for a future “skatespot” at the Myrtle Reservoir park site. City Council approval is needed next. The Delridge project originally was supposed to have $700,000 funding in this year’s state budget, but that got cut at the past minute; with community enthusiasm running high for Delridge Skatepark, though, the Parks Department has been trying to find the money somewhere else, and this will be added to $500,000 that materialized when the Hiawatha Playfield improvements came in way under budget. Lots of other interesting info here tonight about plans for the park-levy money: Parks executive Kevin Stoops says that the prices for acquiring land are so favorable right now, the department could move quickly to acquire more than a few sites around the city – from greenbelts to future neighborhood parks to garden sites. (Photo from last week’s Seattle Design Commission review of the skatepark’s “schematic design”; WSB coverage here.)
We’re at the Parks and Green Spaces Levy Oversight Committee meeting, awaiting a discussion of whether the committee will go along with the Skatepark Advisory Committee‘s recommendation to transfer money to the Delridge Skatepark project, from the unpopular-with-neighbors Myrtle Reservoir Skatespot proposal. In the meantime, we’ve heard some West Seattle news – starting with four possible P-Patches that might be funded with the $2 million “community garden” funds coming from the levy – including the site shown in Google Street View above, 34th/Barton. We reported three months ago that this 12,000-square-foot site at 34th/Barton, just east of the Exxon/Propel station, had been identified as “surplus” by the city, and comments were being sought regarding what to do with it. Many people in the comment thread following our report suggested using it as community garden/P-Patch land — and that’s exactly what’s under consideration now. The three other West Seattle sites mentioned for possible acquisition were the West Seattle Christian Church site that already is being turned into the Genesee P-Patch (which just won a Neighborhood Matching Fund $15,000 grant, by the way), a parcel in High Point, and California Place Park (we’ll be following up, but we believe they mean the “southern triangle” discussed in the recent design workshops as a possible garden site). More on these as they move through the process, and more from this meeting when the skatepark funding decision’s in. ADDED 12:52 AM: Read on for a few more details on these 4 West Seattle P-Patch sites, from the document made available at Tuesday night’s meeting:Read More
Thanks to Kim and Jordan Petram of Fauntleroy for sharing these photos of a baby owl and its parents in Lincoln Park tonight – Kim says they were spotted in the trees “north of the north parking lot.”
Looking at birdweb.org – we’re thinking these are barred owls (experts, please weigh in)? Also note – Camp Long naturalists often lead owl-watching walks in Lincoln Park; check the newly issued summer brochure (registration starts Tuesday) or the online signup system SPARC for upcoming opportunities.
That’s Colman Pool, the saltwater swimming facility on the Lincoln Park waterfront, opening today for its always-too-short summer season – it’s the first of three “pre-season weekends,” so after today/Sunday/Monday, it’ll be closed till next Saturday – full schedule here.
Other major highlights today include the first-ever West Seattle Edible Garden Fair, 9:30 am-4 pm at South Seattle Community College — here’s the full schedule; presentations start at 10 am – all FREE (and don’t forget to bring garden supplies, tools, books to recycle – scroll down here for details on that).
And on Alki, a big party to celebrate the community’s National Wildlife Federation certification as a Community Wildlife Habitat. Events and activities center around the Alki Bathhouse, 11 am-3 pm with a ceremony scheduled at 1 pm.
Lots more happening today, including a Car Show/Carnival at Southwest Community Center – full slate of activities can be found in the West Seattle Weekend Lineup.
That’s Micah Shapiro from Grindline, the firm designing the future Delridge Skatepark, explaining its newly unveiled “schematic design” to the Seattle Design Commission this afternoon at City Hall downtown. We’re expecting a digital copy soon so we can give you a closer look at the design, but this will have to do for now. It has one “bowl” with both beginner- and expert-suited areas, and the half-circle-shaped park will have “skatable paths” around its perimeter. Design Commission members were unanimous in their approval of the “schematic design,” which won’t make way for a “final design” until after one more community meeting (which project manager Kelly Davidson said today is expected to happen in late June), though they did ask for a safety feature between the skatepark and the nearby wading pool so that small children don’t dash from the pool into the skatepark’s bowl. Commission members also were impressed by what the project team described as the “phenomenal public support” for the skatepark; Davidson said she hasn’t received a single call from someone upset about it – instead, she said, she keeps getting calls asking when it’ll be done. As for the answer to that: First, the funding has to be nailed down; as reported here recently, even though the original funding was taken out of the city budget, replacement money has been found from two sources: $500,000 saved from two other Parks Department projects (including the Hiawatha Playfield renovations) that came in under budget, and $250,000 in Parks Levy dollars that will be moved from a proposed “skate spot” at Myrtle Reservoir (where neighbors previously expressed strong opposition to a skate feature), if the Parks Levy Oversight Committee (which meets next week) and City Council approve. Delridge Skatepark would be about 12,000 square feet, which the project team says would roughly tie with the upcoming Seattle Center skatepark for second biggest in the city (largest is the recently opened Lower Woodland Skatepark, at 17,000 square feet).
Happening right now, the crew in the background of that photo is hard at work in The Junction — and has been since about 5:30 this morning! — hanging baskets of summer flowers (like the ones in the foreground). Here’s some of what else is happening today/tonight (in addition to the poetry slam and Pier 66 EPA hearing/rally we re-mentioned last night):
TODAY: Next step toward the Delridge Skatepark (most recent WSB coverage here)- its schematic design goes before the Seattle Design Commission at City Hall, 2 pm today.
TODAY: Great weather for a car wash, and SafeFutures Youth Center will clean yours in the U-Haul parking lot at the northwest corner of 35th/Morgan (map), 4-7 pm.
TONIGHT: At 5:30 pm, Seattle Public Schools is holding a public hearing at Gatewood Elementary about the proposed sale of part of the property it owns at Jefferson Square. The hearing has only been announced in a fine-print public notice, but we reported details of the proposed deal (which involved a legal fight) two weeks ago; if you have anything to say about it, be at tonight’s hearing.
TONIGHT: Also at 5:30, a potluck kicks off the rescheduled Pathfinder K-8 Multi-Cultural Night (full details here), with performances starting an hour later.
TONIGHT: 7 pm at Alki Community Center, the Alki Community Council meets with two big items on the agenda: Crime concerns in the wake of the May 1st shooting (and looking ahead to summer), and this Saturday’s Alki Community Wildlife Habitat celebration.
TONIGHT: Do a good deed while having a good time — at 7 pm, lend a hand (or two) for WestSide Baby‘s monthly “sorting frenzy”; details here (including how to RSVP).
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