West Seattle, Washington
16 Tuesday
As mentioned briefly toward the end of our report on the Elliott Bay Water Taxi year-round Seacrest dock briefing coming up at this Thursday’s city Parks Board meeting, the board is to be briefed about another notable item: A proposal to change operating hours at many of the city’s parks. Right now, 4 am-11:30 pm is the “standard” for most city parks, but as the briefing paper (see it here) notes, “several dozen exceptions” have been made over the years, and that’s led to some confusion, among the other problems listed in the document’s explanation of why park hours are now under review:
The purpose of this review is to consider 1) standardizing park operating hours so there is less opportunity for confusion about what the operating hours are, 2) alleviating actual and perceived safety issues – alcohol use, graffiti, and noise, 3) demonstrating Parks intention to be good neighbors by limiting negative impacts on our park neighbors, and 4) providing Seattle Police an additional tool for resolving issues in parks. Parks has an ongoing interest in being good neighbors and alleviating late night problems in our parks. Operating hours is one tool available to us and Seattle Police to address issues of noise, graffiti, and alcohol use.
The proposal suggests these hours:
Regional* (Alki and Lincoln Park included) – 4 am –11:30 pm year round
Neighborhood / Pocket – One hour before sunrise to one hour after sunset
Downtown – One hour before sunrise –10:00 pm year round**
Parks with Indoor Facilities (Pools, community centers, ELC’s) – Parking lot hours would coincide with facility operation hours or surrounding park hours, whichever is later.
Boat ramps, Boulevards – Open 24 hours a day
Lighted Athletic Complexes – Governed by lighting / scheduling protocols
To compare the proposed hours with current park-hours exceptions, take a look at the briefing paper, starting on page 5. Among the potential changes under the proposal, Alki, as a “regional park,” would have earlier and later hours in summertime, moving to 4 am-11:30 pm year-round; right now, that’s when it’s open Oct. 2-April 14th, with the hours 6 am-11 pm the rest of the year. According to the briefing paper, public meetings will be scheduled around the city in March and April to talk about the proposed changes; then a public hearing is expected before the Parks Board on May 14th, and a vote on May 28th.
(August 2008 photo of park site at 42nd/Alaska)
Earlier this month, in our coverage of the Southwest District Council‘s latest meeting, we mentioned a preview of the upcoming Junction Plaza Park campaign, from West Seattle Junction Association executive director Susan Melrose. This morning, we have full details of the plan to finish the park – purchased with city ProParks money in 2005 — and how you can help. Susan says a group called “Friends of Junction Plaza Park” is being formed to head up the project, with leaders including Junction Neighborhood Organization president Erica Karlovits and Friends of Ercolini Park chair Katie Hjorten. The group will apply for a city Neighborhood Matching Fund grant of $100,000, to be applied toward the $350,000 needed to finish the park. Where you come in: Commitments of community support and volunteer hours are needed, to qualify for the grant – just like so many other projects that have benefited from the NMF, including Ercolini. And Susan says they only have about a month to get those commitments lined up; you don’t have to make a big commitment, she says: “We have exciting ways for people to help out with the park, and we’re looking to bring the community together – looking for small commitments of volunteer time to involve a wide section of the community.” You’ll see volunteers out at places such as the West Seattle Farmers’ Market to talk with people about volunteering for the Junction Plaza Park project, and you are invited to the first Friends of Junction Plaza Park meeting: 6:30 pm March 3, Senior Center of West Seattle. Susan stresses, they’re not looking for “huge” commitments – a little help from a lot of people will turn the long-planned park from dream to reality. If you have any questions in the meantime, or want to extend an offer of help ASAP, please contact her by e-mailing susan@wsjunction.org.
As reported here a few days ago, this Thursday, the city Parks Board will get a briefing about the proposal to run the Elliott Bay Water Taxi year-round from Seacrest “temporarily,” till its permanent home is found. This is the next step toward final Parks approval of the plan, which then would enable county-funded dock improvements to be built later this year, to be in place for year-round operations to start in early 2010. The “briefing paper” that will be presented to the board is available online now; it says Parks staff recommends approval of the plan, and recaps “overwhelmingly supportive” reaction at the Alki Community Center open house last month (WSB coverage here), while mentioning a few more points:
*Final decision expected from the King County Ferry District by the end of June
*Project then would go out to bid in July
*Construction should be done sometime in December
*Divers’ ongoing concerns about Seacrest will be addressed – the briefing paper says:
Some divers would like to see mitigation at the park for increasing water-taxi service at the site. They have always had safety concerns about the shared use at this site, but we are anticipating that the improved dock configuration will be much safer for the divers as it moves the water taxi boat further from the diving area. A group of divers is going to work with King County Councilmember Dow Constantine on assistance in providing some amenities for divers at the site. In the past few years, a diver shower and safety buoys have been added as mitigation at Seacrest.
Public comment is not scheduled to be taken on this item at Thursday’s Park Board meeting (7 pm, parks HQ downtown); a public hearing is set for March 12, with a vote on March 26, and Parks Superintendent Tim Gallagher getting the final say after that. Side note: This week’s Parks Board agenda has another item likely to be of wide West Seattle interest — a proposal for changing parks’ operating hours — that “briefing paper” is online now too, and we’ll write about it shortly. (Side note in another direction: While checking links for this item, discovered the King County Ferry District has a “blog” site now, and it was running a web poll asking what you think county-run passenger-ferry service should be called — Water Taxi? Water Bus? Foot Ferry? Passenger Ferry? The poll appears to be closed as of this writing, though.)
That’s Blue 55 playing the Alki Boardwalk last August, one of two Alki summer concerts presented by the Parks Department, and it looks like they’re doing more this year – this announcement just in:
Alki Community Center in West Seattle is planning a series of Music in the Park events for the summer of 2009, and is looking for bands who are interested in playing on dates in July, August, and September 2009.
Bands should play music that families will enjoy. Interested bands should call MaryPat Byington at 206-684-7430 or e-mail her at marypat.byington@seattle.gov by Monday, March 16, 2009.
(photo taken today, added 4:50 pm)
Local neighborhood leaders have been working for months (9/08 WSB report here) to get Morgan Junction’s new park – under construction now and scheduled for dedication at the Morgan Community Festival June 13th – named for the late longtime West Seattle Herald reporter Tim St. Clair, who lost his cancer fight a year ago. The campaign has run into some roadblocks, including Parks Department policy stipulating at least 3 years between a person’s death and a naming honor like this. But supporters aren’t giving up, and now they are asking for your help: Pete Spalding just sent word that he and several other of the aforementioned leaders, including Morgan Community Association‘s Cindi Barker, Steve Sindiong, and Chas Redmond, are starting a petition drive, hoping to gather signatures to present to West Seattle-residing City Councilmember Tom Rasmussen, who chairs the Parks Committee, and Parks Superintendent Tim Gallagher, who has the final say on park names. Download a copy of the petition here, gather some signatures ASAP, and send them to Pete, whose address is on the form. (Also look for the petition at upcoming community meetings – Pete says signature-gathering began at meetings last night including the Delridge District Council.)
The next steps are set for the Parks Department to sign off on upgrading the Elliott Bay Water Taxi‘s dock at Seacrest (as discussed at the Alki Community Center meeting a month ago) , to prepare for year-round operation to start early next year: First, the city Parks Board (chaired by Alki’s Jackie Ramels) will be briefed at its next meeting, Feb. 26. Then the board plans a public hearing on March 12th – and it will meet in West Seattle for the occasion; that meeting’s set for the WS Golf Course. Two weeks after that, March 26th, the Parks Board will make its recommendation, and the final say goes to Parks Superintendent Tim Gallagher. If you don’t expect to be able to make it to the March 12th meeting, by the way, the department offers other ways to have a say:
E-mail: send to Sandy Brooks at sandy.brooks@seattle.gov. E-mails are forwarded as soon as possible after receipt. Deadline is 5:00 pm, Tuesday, March 24.
Fax: send “Attention: Sandy Brooks” at 206-233-7023
U.S. mail/hand-delivered: send to Sandy Brooks at 100 Dexter Ave N, Seattle, WA 98109-5199, or drop off at the front desk at 100 Dexter Ave N. Deadline is Thursday, March 19, to allow time for copying and mailing.
As first reported here last week, the Water Taxi’s start date this year is planned for April 5.
Just to be sure you’ve taken this all into account for Monday:
REDUCED METRO TRANSIT SERVICE: Same level of service most recently used on King Day; here’s the list of which routes aren’t operating Monday.
MOST GOVERNMENT OFFICES AND FACILITIES CLOSED: That includes libraries and community centers.
SCHOOLS CLOSED: And for Seattle Public Schools, students are off all week, for “mid-winter break.”
NO REGULAR MAIL DELIVERY: It’s a “postal holiday” for USPS.
FREE STREET PARKING IN SEATTLE: SDOT reiterates that here.
TRASH, RECYCLING, YARD WASTE NORMAL: Here’s the city news release.
STATE FERRIES ON A NORMAL SCHEDULE: Confirms WSF.
Updates constituted most of the highlights from Wednesday night’s Southwest District Council meeting — representatives from neighborhood groups and other key organizations dealing with the section of West Seattle that the city calls the SW District (map). In the photo above is Dante Taylor, who’s traveling the West Seattle meeting circuit to remind everyone that the city’s Junction parking review is getting under way (all our coverage is archived here). Regarding the big question, whether pay stations will be the result, Taylor stressed nothing is settled – the study is supposed to determine whether they would be needed anywhere to keep cars moving and create a steady flow of people through the business district. One of his previous appearances (WSB coverage here) was at the January meeting of the Junction Neighborhood Organization, whose president Erica Karlovits is co-chair of the SWDC; she reiterated concerns her group wants to keep on the front burner – “park and hiders,” who drive to Junction neighborhoods and leave their cars while catching buses to downtown, and construction workers parking in neighborhoods. Ahead, another Junction item – the latest on the 42nd/Alaska park – and more SWDC notes:Read More
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
The two most recent major meetings we covered both severely tested the perennial reputation of Seattle as Politeness Capital of the World.
First there was the Seattle School Board‘s special meeting last Thursday to vote on dramatic closures and changes, amid heckling, booing, chanting, and frustration.
Then, for a few minutes tonight at Alki Community Center, the first of three “design workshops” to plot the future of California Place Park had a lot in common with what we saw at school district headquarters five nights earlier.
In addition to shouting and disruption, the main common trait was that in each case, the 100-member-plus audience was dominated by people who would have preferred the meeting wouldn’t have happened at all.
We’re at Alki Community Center, where more than 100 people have gathered for the first of three design workshops on proposals for possible “improvements” at California Place Park. Members of the audience have repeatedly interrupted landscape architect Karen Kiest, whose firm has the $15,000 contract to lead this stage of the design project (any proposal to actually change the park would require a separate funding process). Kiest reiterated that she’s not a Parks Department representative; some shouting from the audience contended they haven’t had a chance to express their concerns. More later. 7:33 PM UPDATE: The crowd did calm down and Kiest has proceeded with her presentation, which is to be followed with “small group” discussions about possibilities for the park. 9 PM UPDATE: The meeting ended as scheduled as 8:30, after representatives of each “small group” made comments – overwhelmingly against changes to the park. We will write a separate article shortly. No decisions were made tonight, by design (so to speak); two more workshops are scheduled, the next one at 10:30 am on Saturday, March 7.
(progress at Morgan Junction park site, photographed January 2009)
Another headline from this past week’s Morgan Community Association meeting: Looks like June 13th will be the date for the next Morgan Community Festival; MoCA skipped last year but is going full steam ahead with this year, and expects to have some of the area’s opening-this-year businesses on board. Music, food, and fun are planned, with events happening in and around the new park and neighboring Beveridge Place Pub. More details in the months ahead. Also from the meeting — an update about the park too, and the push to have it named as a tribute – read on:Read More
That photo is courtesy Minette Layne – who saw the barred owl in Lincoln Park just after 4 o’clock this afternoon. They’re relatively common, according to online info from the Seattle Audubon Society. (If you’d like to look for owls with an expert, West Seattle naturalist Stewart Wechsler is leading an event at Me-Kwa-Mooks this Saturday, 5 pm, $1-$20 donation, RSVP at 206 932-7225 or ecostewart@quidnunc.net.)
A second wildlife note, from Mike in North Admiral:
Just wanted to let WSB readers know that Animal Control came to our house this morning to pick up an apparently sick raccoon. The raccoon spent the night in our dog’s kennel which we keep outside. This morning I discovered the raccoon and was able to close and latch the kennel. The raccoon was very lethargic and barely stirred when I approached.
The officer from Animal Control commented that every few years there is usually a widespread incident of the distemper virus that runs through and thins out the local raccoon population. The virus has two forms (canine distemper and feline distemper) both of which are deadly. This is a very contagious disease and unvaccinated dogs and cats are very susceptible to catching this. He suggested we discard the dog bed we keep in the kennel and spray down the kennel itself w/ a bleach/water compound to kill the virus.
So just a reminder to keep an eye on your pets and make sure their vaccinations are up to date.
That advice was also part of our coverage of the Living with Wildlife event at Camp Long last October (see the story here).
(WSB photo from August 2008)
Five months ago, we brought you first word of a proposal to create ARK Park on land owned by Arbor Heights Community Church. This morning, we have word of the first fundraiser for the project, which organizers told us last summer would be built entirely with church/community contributions. Co-organizer Loretta Kimball tells WSB her son Chad Kimball is headlining on the fundraiser – an evening of Broadway music, 7 pm February 9th at Roosevelt High School, including some of his castmates from “Memphis” (which opens this week at the 5th Avenue Theater). $15/person gets you the benefit concert plus a reception afterward. Here’s the official flyer, on the playground project’s website. Now, to North Admiral:
Meantime, in North Admiral, the first of three design workshops for California Place Park is now a week away. When it was announced recently that the workshops would be held at Alki Community Center, some voiced concern about the distance; now, there’s word from the community group spearheading the project that they’ll coordinate rides to the workshops so no one is stuck without a way to get there:
Friends and Neighbors of North Admiral (FANNA) will be coordinating rides for neighbors to each of the community design workshops for California Place Park. We will match people up who have extra room with those who need a ride. For those who plan to attend the meeting and have an extra seat or for those in need of ride to the workshops, please e-mail info@californiaplacepark.org or call Kellee Jones at 206-684-7052. Requests for rides must be received by end of day Sunday, February 1st.
The three design workshops will allow the community to explore various ideas and design options for California Place. Karen Kiest, Landscape Architects, will lead these meetings. We are looking for ways to increase community use of the park by people of all ages, and create a naturalized and safe area for the neighborhood to enjoy now and for generations to come. As an option, a supervised area for childcare will be provided during each meeting. Please bring your ideas, your neighbors and your community spirit!
Meeting Location and Dates:
Alki Community Center
5817 SW Stevens Street
Tuesday, 2/3, 7 – 8:30 PM
Saturday, 3/7, 10:30 – 12 Noon
Thursday, 4/16, 7 – 8:30 PM
For more information about the improvements proposed at California Place please visit our website: www.californiaplacepark.org
PANCAKES: Till 10:30 am, Fauntleroy Church (map), fresh-cooked breakfast (including pancakes, ham, orange juice, milk), to support the annual Fauntleroy Fall Festival. (In the photo above, helper Jason Chase is adding some special touches, including M&Ms, to a pancake or two.)
(photo added 11:29 am)
CAR WASH: Till 3 pm, the Chief Sealth and West Seattle High School swim teams are joining forces for a fundraising car wash at WSHS (map). Perfect weather to go get the dust washed off!
(Seacrest cleanup photo added 11:30 am)
PICKUP: Two special cleanup events this morning: At Seacrest (map), 9-noon, to help the park qualify as official Backyard Wildlife Habitat; also, meet at Delridge Community Center or Chief Sealth High School (map) at 9:45 to join in a double-teamed Adopt-a-Street cleanup along Delridge, from Orchard to Andover, with the North Delridge Neighborhood Council and Chief Sealth PTSA (photo added 11:32 am, after we caught up with some of the crew):
Lots more happening – check the West Seattle Weekend Lineup.
That’s the trailer from “Arctic Tale,” the movie that’ll be featured April 17th in the second CoolMom.org Family Movie Night at Camp Long; the first one, held tonight, was a roaring success. Why mention the next one so early, you ask? The answer ahead – plus a campaign that CoolMom is involved with now, to get a message to the new Mom in the White HouseRead More
Thanks to Cindi Barker for pix of two events this morning and afternoon – first, the Orchard Street Ravine planting party in Gatewood. Cindi reports volunteers “focused on planting the remaining plants provided by Parks right before the snowstorm and mulching everything around the trail and up on the steep east slope.” Here’s a wider shot – the orange flags, Cindi says, mark spots where Parks Department employees did some planting right before last month’s freeze/snow:
Can’t quite place OSR? Here’s a map; here’s our coverage of its dedication three months ago. Meantime, Cindi also provided photos and info from an event this afternoon that was her brainchild, an informal Google Map-making workshop with Alice Enevoldsen, who turned WSBers’ road reports into fabulously helpful G-maps during Snowstorm ’08. Half a dozen people showed up for the gathering at Uptown in The Junction – although Cindi reports it took a bit of a low-tech turn:
Uptown’s wi-fi was having trouble, so Alice resorted to pen and paper for a while. Then a nearby signal was acquired and she was able to get back to demonstrating via the actual website:
If you missed it – Google Maps do have online tutorials, although that’s seldom a substitute for watching somebody like Alice who knows their way around. Thanks again to Alice for being so generous with her time and talents. One last photo to share right now – we certainly agree with JayDee when he sent this under the heading “It was nice to see the sunset tonight”:
Looks like the sun might make an appearance again tomorrow.
From the city Parks Department:
Alki Community Center will close today, Friday, Jan. 16, at 6 p.m., and will remain closed all day on Saturday, Jan. 17, due to the fact that the heating system for the building is temporarily out of service. All Friday evening activities have been cancelled. Saturday basketball games have been moved to Madison Middle School, 3429 45th Ave SW. All other Saturday activities have been cancelled. The center will open again on Tuesday morning, Jan. 20, for regular programming.
That means no roller skating tonight; we’ll amend the West Seattle Weekend Lineup.
(from the brochure in Tigrigna, spoken in parts of Eritrea and Ethiopia)
Working on the forthcoming West Seattle Weekend Lineup, we stopped by the High Point Community Center website and remembered that HPCC’s Brian Judd had asked us to share this with you: An informational brochure about HPCC is now available in 11 languages besides English. If you have friends, neighbors, co-workers, relatives who speak any of these languages — Amharic, Arabic, Cambodian, Chinese-Simplified, Chinese-Traditional, English, Farsi, Oromo, Samoan, Somali, Spanish, Tigrigna, Vietnamese — you’re invited to print out the material or point them to the website – the links are all on the HPCC home page.
Just in from Friends and Neighbors of North Admiral, whose proposal to add a “playscape” to tiny California Place Park (Google Street View above) has drawn some neighborhood controversy (our past coverage is archived here) – the dates are now set for design workshops:
Mark your calendars! We invite you to attend a series of design workshops
that will allow the community to explore various ideas and design options
for California Place. These three workshops will be led by Karen Kiest,
Landscape Architects. We are looking for ways to increase community use of
the park by people of all ages, and create a naturalized and safe area for
the neighborhood to enjoy now and for generations to come. As an option, a
supervised area for childcare will be available during each meeting.Tuesday, 2/3, 7 – 8:30 PM
Saturday, 3/7, 10:30 – 12 Noon
Thursday, 4/16, 7 – 8:30 PMAll the meetings will be held at:
Alki Community Center
5817 SW Stevens Street
FANNA obtained a city matching-funds grant to pay for the design process, but any changes to the park would require a different round of funding – could be all private, all public, or a combination.
Before too much more time slips by, we wanted to remind you once more that in addition to the mayor’s snowstorm open house, 6:30 pm at Southwest Community Center, the other major event in West Seattle tonight is the Alki Community Center meeting about Seacrest dock changes to facilitate year-round Elliott Bay Water Taxi operation. That meeting starts at 7 pm.
(For original report with background on what this is about, go here)
1:56 PM UPDATE: Adam shot photos separate from the webcam, and here are two of them (above and below).
Note the burning car tipped on its side; WSB co-publisher Patrick Sand, who was covering this on the ground, says hydraulics were used.
ADDED 4:23 PM: Three WSB video clips – first, the car (a BMW) as it burned:
Second, the fire being put out:
Third, a hooded contestant arriving at the shoot:
The plot of “The Phone” apparently involves contestants answering ringing cell phones in major cities, and embarking on an action-packed race for cash prizes. We’ll watch to see when it’s scheduled to premiere — and we’ll be looking to see when this episode turns up. One more photo: Adam snapped the helicopter that was participating in the shoot – note the attached camera:
Published earlier in the afternoon:
1:12 PM UPDATE: Much better pictures from the webcam mentioned below, sent by Adam (thank you AGAIN!). What follows is what we originally posted at 12:54 pm:
That’s a screen grab from a couple minutes ago via the camera.eastalki.com webcam set up across the street from Seacrest, where – as first reported here yesterday – the TV show “The Phone” is shooting today, and their promised “detonation” simulating a car explosion was just set off. Lots more pix/video to come later. (Reminder, the parking restrictions remain in effect till 6 pm.)
ORIGINAL 4:13 PM POST: Thanks to JBC for the first tip on this — the Seacrest parking lot will be off-limits tomorrow as will a lot of parking in the area along the east side of Harbor Avenue, 6 am-6 pm, because a film/video crew will be in action. Someone we asked at Seacrest would only say “film” but Adam says his building nearby has been notified it’s a “TV pilot.” (We saw one obvious prop – a makeshift A-board sign for a nameless “Water Taxi” with three tiers of ticket prices that bear no relation to the pricing of the real Water Taxi, which of course is out of service till spring.) We’re off to do more online research in hopes of securing details, but wanted to get word out ASAP about the parking restrictions for tomorrow. 4:41 PM UPDATE: Just got a photo of the notice (thanks again to Adam). Will retype the text here momentarily. Two things of note: Alki Crab and Fish WILL be open during the shoot (which the notice says will last about six hours), and one part of the production will include “the detonation of a charge which will simulate a car explosion.” 4:57 PM UPDATE: To read the entire text of the notice with details about what they’re doing tomorrow, including that “detonation,” and why there may be some intermittent traffic control in the area tomorrow too — plus which show is apparently involved — click ahead:Read More
Just one West Seattle item on today’s Land Use Information Bulletin from the city: Before final approval can be granted for the Hiawatha Playfield project (field and light changes), a public hearing must be held before a city committee; that’s set for the 9:30 am February 11th meeting of the City Council’s Planning, Land Use, and Neighborhoods Committee. Read the official notice here.
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