West Seattle, Washington
05 Thursday
(POST-BRIEFING TOPLINES, 2:56 pm: Here’s the map showing which community centers are proposed for which level of service, citywide. Just added our video of the entire briefing, at bottom of this story, as well as the answer to the Neighborhood Service Center/SW Community Center question.)
11:59 AM: We’re at High Point Community Center, where Mayor McGinn, City Councilmember Sally Bagshaw and acting Parks Superintendent Christopher Williams are unveiling the proposal for how next year’s city budget will deal with community centers. We’ve just received the news release – a key component:
The preferred operating model would consist of five geographically based service areas, each with five community centers staffed by a team. Within each area, the centers would provide varying levels of service and each team would be led by a Senior Recreation Coordinator. This model preserves services to the greatest extent possible by keeping the centers open with varying levels of service.
Specifics on West Seattle community centers: High Point is proposed for “Level 1” service. Delridge and Hiawatha, “Level 2a,” Alki “Level 2b,” and Southwest, a “special-purpose facility.” Details are promised online at any moment now – still looking.
12:04 PM: News conference has begun. Williams is recapping “how we got here.” He says they took into account age and size of community centers, among other factors, in deciding which would deliver which level of service. “It’s a more tailored delivery model that doesn’t treat every center the same. … This proposal represents a fundamental shift in how we have operated our community centers.” Documents indicate more than 100 hours of service will be cut citywide, 1,095 next year compared to 1,214 this year (which in turn was down about 100 hours from the year before.)
12:08 PM: Now, the mayor speaks. He notes the revenue drop in the city budget, saying the gap will only get larger in the next few weeks, “so we have to continuously look for efficiencies and ways to save money.” Both he and Williams have said this moves away from a “cookie-cutter” way to operate community centers. The mayor says this will save the city more than $1.2 million. He goes over the geographic areas (mentioned above), saying each geographic area will have at least one community center with a “high level of service” – that’s High Point, in West Seattle. (The northwest and southeast sectors each will have two.) “This change came about because of budget pressures, but we do think we will have a more responsive, flexible and tailored system … than in the past,” McGinn says. According to the docs handed out here, a Level 1 community center will be open 70 hours a week, a 2a center (Delridge and Hiawatha) 45 hours a week, a 2b center (Alki) 25 hours a week.
12:15 PM: Councilmember Bagshaw is speaking now. She notes that Parks has taken a “disproportionate hit” in recent years, budget-wise. She is recapping the community consultation process that preceded this announcement. She says she had a two-fold expectation: Keep all 25 community centers open; make sure decisions were “community-driven.” She says that what is being proposed today is a “starting point … that could change.” If communities feel that they need more hours, they will have a chance to speak up, she promises (she stresses that twice.)
12:21 PM: Bill Keller of the Associated Recreation Council speaks next – these councils have taken a major role in operations at the centers that were dramatically cut last time around, including Alki. According to the docs given to the media here, of the city’s projected savings in these changes, almost $450,000 would come from ARC covering some of what the city pays for now. He says this year has been a “partnership experiment … and we learned a lot. We learned we couldn’t run those sites without Parks leadership. We had the doors open, we had programs running, but it wasn’t as good as it should have been.” So, he says, they made some changes this past July – the ARC contributed $234,000 in all to those five centers (including Alki).
12:25 PM: Big changes for Southwest Community Center, in the document. It will become exclusively a Teen Life Center downstairs; upstairs will become a Neighborhood Service Center operated by the Department of Neighborhoods. We’ll be asking in the Q/A whether that means the Delridge NSC will close (the Junction NSC closed earlier this year). Southwest Pool, the docs say, “will continue to operate as it does currently.” Now, Jim Cunningham from ARC is speaking.
12:32 PM: Q/A now. We ask our Southwest Neighborhood Service Center question – nobody here has the answer but the mayor’s staff will get back to us. Parks Sup’t Williams says community meetings will be held early next year (after the budget is finalized) to discuss specifics of what the community wants at each center.
12:35 PM: Thanks to Amy at MyGreenLake.com, who says the documents we’ve had in hard copy for half an hour are now available online – go here. As the Q/A continues, in response to a question, Councilmember Bagshaw stresses again that the community’s desire for how a center should be run will shape it. We asked, watching how Alki dealt with being a “limited use” center this year, with a heavy burden on its Advisory Council, if more centers’ councils would face that sort of task; Keller from ARC says that while each limited-use center’s council was tasked with its own financial burden last year, this year, they will all contribute together, and the ARC’s share of costs – that $445,000+ share – will come from one big pot. Responding to another question, Williams notes that all centers will have some level of drop-in use.
12:47 PM: The news conference is wrapping up. One High Point community member notes that program cost is an issue for her family. Williams responds by pointing out that the Parks Department “has a scholarship program” and points her that way. The mayor, in closing remarks, says that community members talking to each other will be the most important conversations in shaping this “…with the budget situation that we face.” Again, the full documentation on all this – with various documents (looks like PDFs) showing who’s affected where – are online now, here.
2:56 PM: Here’s our video of the 45-minute briefing in its entirety (we’ll substitute the Seattle Channel‘s version when it’s available, as its audio is bound to be clearer):
Note that the first City Council discussion of this proposal is set for 9 am this Thursday (September 15th) before the Parks Committee, which Councilmember Bagshaw chairs. Here’s the agenda. Meantime, Aaron Pickus from Mayor McGinn’s communications team has just answered our question about the SW Community Center’s big changes: “The Delridge Neighborhood Service Center would move to the Southwest Community Center as part of this proposal.”
Still more than a month away, but these are considered the hottest races on the Seattle ballot this fall, so you might want to mark that calendar: Announced last night in the WSB Forums, an October 18th forum at West Seattle’s Madison Middle School with the candidates for the 4 Seattle School Board seats on the November ballot. Though board members represent geographic districts, in the general election, all up-for-a-vote board seats are voted on citywide. The forum is hosted and sponsored by local PTA/PTSAs.
The King County Elections Department is out with the breakdown on last month’s vote, precinct by precinct, and our partners at the Seattle Times have turned the Seattle Referendum 1 (tunnel-related) vote into a color-coded map. Eastern West Seattle was the anti-Ref. 1 stronghold – get a closer look at the map here – and there was a bit of a north-south split, too, with a few pockets of opposition in north WS, such as one area just south of Alki Point. (If you know your precinct number, you can check out the text version of the vote breakdown – for all races/measures – on the county website.)
Quick reminders: Today is the second day of the weeklong Seattle Public Library shutdown. And tomorrow, also because of a budget shortfall (different governing body, though), Seattle Public Schools will be on a systemwide furlough day to save money toward its budget gap. A message from SPS says, “We negotiated this furlough day with our teacher and principal unions, and also required furlough days for our non-represented staff, to make up for the $4 million shortfall caused by the cuts to teacher, principal and administrator salaries in the last legislative session. These days were negotiated to have the least possible impact on students-though missing a day right before school starts may mean that classrooms and buildings will not be as ready as we hoped for the first day of school.” Which is a week from tomorrow – Wednesday, Sept. 7th.
If you garden, you know our area is described as having a “Mediterranean” climate. Last night at West Seattle Nursery, Mediterranean also applied to the music and food at the 34th District Democrats‘ annual Garden Party/Auction – above, the Sinovi Tamburitza Orchestra, specializing in Croatian music. Another guest star: New York Vinnie returned to West Seattle – more than a year after his move to Pittsburgh – to serve as auctioneer. WSB co-publisher Patrick Sand asked Vinnie what he misses about life here:
Ahead, more photos from the 34th Dems’ fundraiser, outdoors on a lovely summer night, including costumes and shades:Read More
(UPDATED 11:56 PM with more reaction)
King County Elections has just released its first, and only, round of results for the night (we’ll add reaction/analysis notes and links later tonight):
Seattle Referendum 1 (tunnel-related): 60% yes, 40% no
REACTION: Mayor McGinn just broke his silence via Twitter: “I worked to give the public a direct vote on the tunnel. The public said move ahead with the tunnel, and that’s what we’re going to do.” Also-anti-tunnel Councilmember Mike O’Brien told our partners at the Seattle Times, “…I will accept the tunnel.” But the Times quotes tunnel opponent Elizabeth Campbell as calling the vote “far from a decisive victory.”
Seattle City Council Position 1: Jean Godden* 45%, Bobby Forch 24%, Maurice Classen 16%, Michael Taylor-Judd 13%
City Council Position 9: Sally Clark* 71%, Dian Ferguson 22%, Fathi Karshie 5%
REACTION: Via Facebook, Clark said, “71% is a great vote of confidence.”
King County Council District 8: Joe McDermott* 67%, Diana Toledo 27%, Goodspaceguy 5%
REACTION: Via Facebook – McDermott: “I am gratified by our strong showing in the Primary and look forward to a vigorous campaign through the General Election.” Toledo: “Now the hard work begins; on to the General Election!!!”
Seattle School Board District 6 (West Seattle area): Steve Sundquist* 43%, Marty McLaren 30%, Joy Anderson 21%, Nick Esparza 5%
King County Veterans/Human Services Levy: 66% yes, 34% no
REACTION: In an e-mailed statement, King County Executive Dow Constantine said, “”The citizens of King County have demonstrated their respect for our veterans and compassion for our neighbors most in need by voting to renew the Veterans and Human Services Levy.”
Full King County results here; next count, tomorrow afternoon.
After voting this afternoon to put a $60/year car-tab fee on the November ballot, Seattle city councilmembers – as the Transportation Benefit District (STBD) board – came to West Seattle to explain it. They had originally scheduled the Delridge/Holden news conference for 12:30 pm – but the discussion back at City Hall wasn’t even over by then, so it was well past 1 when they were finally able to cross the bridge and meet the media. (Accompanying them were some community advocates, including Gatewood resident Chas Redmond, second from right in our photo, representing Feet First.)
Here’s what it’s all about: The vote in November will be the next step in a process that began months ago. Remember back in April, when we shared a question for you from the West Seattle Chamber of Commerce – about our area’s top transportation priorities? The results of that informal survey went to the Citizens Transportation Advisory Committee, which later had a series of meetings around the city, including this one we covered in May at the Southwest Library. (They also had an online survey.)
Then CTAC brought recommendations to the council/STBD, which in turn is now going out to voters with a request for money, and an outline of what would be done with it. The district could have asked voters to approve up to $80, as authorized by the State Legislature for a total fee of up to $100 ($20 already has been put into place). (Keep in mind – and we know this is confusing – this is a CITY-charged $20, and the ballot measure would be a CITY-charged $60, separate from the unrelated new COUNTY-charged $20 that was making news yesterday.)
So in November, it’s up to you to decide whether to approve the $60 added tab fee for transportation projects; it would raise about $20 million a year, and here’s how it would be spent, with the largest single category of spending, $4 million, going to fix roads. Here’s complete video of the City Council’s news conference on Delridge, led by West Seattle-residing Councilmember Tom Rasmussen, who chairs the council’s Transportation Committee:
(We recorded video too and will check to see if the sound quality is any better.)
By a vote of 7 to 2, King County Councilmembers have just approved the $20-a-year-for-two-years car-tab fee that is supposed to save Metro from drastic bus-service cuts. “We have made a giant step toward saving our Metro,” declared council chair Larry Gossett, right after the vote.
If you’ve been offline for a few hours, you might say, “well, isn’t that what was expected to happen, after the big deal announced last week?” Yes – until some multi-hour, last-minute drama: Preceding the vote, the council convened in early afternoon as scheduled – and then went into more than four hours of closed-door caucusing, according to multiple updates from citywide news organizations (including Slog and PubliCola) that also reported rumors the two Republican (officially nonpartisan) councilmembers who supported the fee last week, Jane Hague and Kathy Lambert, might change their minds. But before tonight’s vote, both spoke publicly to reiterate their support for it. Six “yes” votes were required to finalize the fee. All five Democratic (officially nonpartisan) councilmembers, including West Seattle’s Joe McDermott, voted for it too; McDermott acknowledged it’s a “regressive” tax, but pointed out it’s the only option the State Legislature gave them for raising money to cover the budget gap.
P.S. Another, separate car-tab-fee vote is ahead tomorrow – this one **for the city only**. Seattle City Councilmembers, sitting as the Transportation Benefit District Board, will vote on whether to send to voters in November a car-tab fee to fund transportation projects. They’re expected to vote at 11 tomorrow morning, and then they’re planning a news conference on Delridge to talk about it. The fee could be up to $80/year.
ADDED 9:04 PM – MORE ON TONIGHT’S COUNTY COUNCIL VOTE: The council’s official news release, after the jump:Read More
If you’re not registered to vote, it’s not too late to register in time to vote in the August 16th election – if you meet the requirements – as long as you do it by 4:30 pm today, in person at King County Elections HQ (919 SW Grady Way, Renton; here’s a map). Questions? Call 206-296-VOTE. That’s also the number to call if you are registered but haven’t received your ballot in the mail yet. Ballots have to be postmarked by next Tuesday, or placed in a dropbox by 8 pm that night.
Drivers and residents along 25th SW in North Delridge were doing a bit of a head-swivel this past hour, as a knot of camera- and microphone-wielding media clustered around a group of people including state Attorney General (and Republican candidate for governor) Rob McKenna. He was here to announce a lawsuit (see it here) against ReconTrust, a branch of Bank of America, for allegedly violating state law regarding foreclosures. The bungalow that served as a backdrop was chosen because its foreclosure involved ReconTrust; it’s now owned by Fannie Mae and up for sale, and the couple who used to own it – who fell on tough times when the husband was diagnosed with cancer – lives nearby.
(They were unable to attend the media briefing, but two homeowners from other areas of Puget Sound were brought in to tell their stories.) Here’s McKenna explaining what the suit is about:
As he explained, ReconTrust is a foreclosure trustee. In our state, foreclosures do not involve judges – they are non-judicial, and trustees are involved, though they are supposed to act, as the Attorney General’s news release says, “as a neutral party on behalf of both the lender and the borrower while conducting foreclosure proceedings in good faith and in accordance with the law.” McKenna expressed hope that this would be resolved quickly, as he believes bringing suit will “get (the company and its parent corporation)’s attention.” If you are facing foreclosure, the Attorney General’s Office has resource information here. Their news release (we’ll add it here when we get it as a linkable doc) also points out that Recon Trust’s site for which properties it’s selling locally – go here.
ADDED 12:10 PM: The official news release is now out:Read More
Not that long ago, each Seattle Police precinct had an assigned full-time liaison from the City Attorney’s Office. Many of the cases on which they worked went beyond the standard crime-and-punishment – they included nuisance properties, for example. Then came the cuts, and now, for example, West Seattle’s Southwest Precinct, like its counterparts, has just a share of a city lawyer’s time. City Attorney Pete Holmes is proposing that the next city budget fully restore the program, one liaison per precinct – read on for the news release just in from his office:Read More
Just as the county moves into the next stage of the plan to reduce combined-sewer overflows (CSO) from West Seattle’s Murray Pump Station by razing homes to install a huge underground tank in the area shown above, questions have been raised about the overall cost-benefit efficiency of the ongoing state-mandated CSO-reduction programs that the city and county both are pursuing.
Those questions are not new, but they are suddenly in a bright spotlight because of a Seattle Times report – which even led King County Executive Dow Constantine to send a news release late today with his thoughts on the issue.
More on that ahead, but first, the latest on Murray, one of two county CSO-control projects now in the planning stages in West Seattle (the other is a “green stormwater” approach for the basin feeding the Barton pump station by the Fauntleroy ferry dock):
At the Morgan Community Association‘s recent quarterly meeting, Murray CSO project manager Erica Jacobs said they’ve chosen a design team – Bellevue-based HDR – and are in the “contract negotiation and execution stage,” with preliminary design work to start next month. The design process, Jacobs said, will take more than a year – the timetable projects “final design” will be done by December of 2012. Next month, she said, also is when the county expects to make purchase offers to property owners.
The state-mandated environmental-review process is closed, she added, saying it brought “eight formal comment letters” – and that all have been responded to. Next step, according to Jacobs, is a September public meeting to “introduce members of the design team,” once the contract is “initiated.” Crews will be boring at the site, too, to “gather information for technical parameters of the design,” Jacobs explained, including “the depths that will be needed for the storage tank.” Then in October, she said, a community “design advisory committee” will be formed.
But now, enter the Times story about the overall CSO program – read it here. Reporter Lynda V. Mapes‘ story doesn’t dispute the point that CSO control has made a difference in Puget Sound water quality; it focuses on how much money is scheduled to be spent to make an additional, relatively small reduction in the pollution from the overflows that happen during big rainstorms, and points out that the biggest pollution threat to Puget Sound right now is runoff, which the hundreds of millions slated for further CSO control won’t even touch. She quotes several authoritative sources as saying it seems like time to step back and re-examine priorities.
County Executive Constantine’s statement late today appears to reaffirm support for the ongoing projects – read on for the full text:Read More
If you’re registered to vote, your ballot should have arrived by now – and needs to be postmarked by August 16th, or placed in a drop box by then. Still no drop box in West Seattle or White Center – here’s where you WILL find them. Meanwhile, we have one last segment of video to share from last Thursday night’s West Seattle Candidates’ Forum at South Seattle Community College – City Council candidates:
On stage were, from left, Pos. 1 candidate Michael Taylor-Judd (of West Seattle), Pos. 1 candidate Bobby Forch, moderator Mike Hickey (from SSCC), Pos. 1 candidate Maurice Classen, Pos. 9 candidates Sally Clark (incumbent) and Dian Ferguson. (Pos. 1 incumbent Jean Godden was on hand for the ice-cream social part of the program earlier, but left before the onstage Q/A; Pos. 9 candidate Fathi Karshie was not present at all.) Transportation and transit were a big topic in the West Seattle-specific questioning, as you’ll see/hear in our video. Positions 1 and 9 are the only ones with more than 2 candidates, so those are the only City Council races you’ll see on the primary ballot. (Our previous two WS Candidates’ Forum reports are here [School Board Position 6] and here [County Council District 8].)
Tonight’s final note: The West Seattle Democratic Women have announced their endorsements for the primary. Read on to see the list, as shared by WSDW chair Karen Chilcutt:Read More
In our first report from last night’s community-organized West Seattle Candidates’ Forum, you saw video of one of the two races for which all primary-ballot candidates turned out, School Board District 6. This time, the other race with full turnout: King County Council District 8. Onstage, from left, were incumbent Councilmember Joe McDermott, moderator Mike Hickey, Diana Toledo, and Goodspaceguy. Transportation was a hot topic, as you’ll see; McDermott said he supports the $20-for-Metro “congestion relief charge” that’ll come up for a council vote August 15th, while Toledo and Goodspaceguy said they do not. (This race also is spotlighted at SeattleTimes.com [WSB partner] right now.)
P.S. We forgot to mention this in our first report – the ice-cream social that preceded the candidates’ forum raised more than $200 for West Seattle Food Bank, according to board member Pete Spalding, one of a multitude of community volunteers/advocates at the event in South Seattle Community College‘s Brockey Center
County, city, port, and School Board candidates were all part of last night’s community-organized West Seattle Candidates’ Forum at South Seattle Community College‘s Brockey Center. One of two races for which all August 16th candidates participated, the School Board Position 6 faceoff, provided the most sparks, and news. For one, incumbent board member Steve Sundquist revealed that he believes two West Seattle schools will be reopened; public discussion to this point had focused on one (likely Fairmount Park, as reported here last month). The discussion also touched on some recent district controversies including the plan for some Seattle Public Schools to get trainees from the “Teach for America” program. We recorded the entire forum, in segments, and the clip above is the entire school-board discussion with (from left on stage) Sundquist, Marty McLaren, moderator Mike Hickey, Joy Anderson, and Nick Esparza. (Upcoming reports will include the other forum segments – city, county, and port.)
From waving to candy-throwing to pet-sign-wearing, there was plenty of campaigning in last Saturday’s West Seattle Grand Parade (here’s our video of the entire parade, real time, from the honor guard forward) … those are some of the scenes, above. Most of the candidates/advocates you saw in the parade – and others – will be in West Seattle again this Thursday night for the West Seattle Candidates’ Forum – that’s the same day ballots, to be mailed tomorrow, should start arriving.
The forum’s organizers have two things they want you to know tonight: First, they’ve locked in the lineups (see the PDF here, or in text after the jump) … including entertainment, as well as debate/discussion! Second, they WANT ***YOUR*** QUESTIONS – most of the event will consist of questions gathered in advance. There’s an open thread for questions in the WSB Forums (go here) – or, post yours as a comment on this story – or, use this form to send it to organizers. Reps from community groups and hot issues will be there to take your questions starting at 6:30 pm – along with candidates serving free Husky Deli ice cream! – including: WSDOT (on the tunnel), SDOT (on the SW Alaska rechannelization), Seattle Referendum 1 (tunnel), County Veterans’ Levy, Kiwanis Club of West Seattle, Neighborhood House, Sustainable West Seattle, WS In Motion, Seattle Police and Fire Departments, West Seattle Blockwatch Captains’ Network, West Seattle Be Prepared Emergency Communication Hubs. Free child care, too. Now – click ahead for the text of the news release: Read More
After about two hours of public testimony and a 40-minute recess to talk, the King County Council has just decided to put off till the last minute its decision on the proposed $20/year car-tab fee that County Executive Dow Constantine says would save Metro from huge cuts. They’ll reconvene on August 15th (as explained here), which is their last chance to get it on the ballot, although Councilmember Julia Patterson suggested there were “other” possibilities to “explore” in the meantime.
P.S. Since they’ve extended their decisionmaking time – if you hadn’t commented yet, here’s how to do it online.
For West Seattle Blog and White Center Now, Deanie Schwarz covered Thursday night’s Metro-future hearing in Burien – focused on whether the transit system will get a new $20 tax/fee to stave off budget cuts, or start cutting service. She reports it wasn’t the gigantic turnout that swarmed last week’s hearing in downtown Seattle, but “a few hundred people” were eventually on hand. Among them, South Seattle Community College student Vice President Joshua Clark:
Deanie reports that Clark lobbied to save routes 125 and 128 – the only routes which serve the campus. He also had a modification to the suggested $20 fee for cars. He’s a motorcyclist and half-jokingly suggested $5 per wheel would be another fee-structure alternative to consider; that got a big laugh and a “Nice try” from a committee member. From southeasternmost West Seattle, Arrowhead Gardens residents campaigned for the buses they take to services on Roxbury:
Next up – testimony before the council on Monday, as they prepare to vote on whether to implement the $20/year fee, or send it to voters. Signups will be taken at 1 pm at the park south of the county courthouse on Monday, with the item expected to come up in the County Council Chambers around 3 pm. If you can’t be there and still haven’t commented on this, you can do so in writing. Meantime, our partners at the Seattle Times have published their report on the Burien hearing – see it here.
(Added 11:33 pm: Unedited WSB video of the hour-and-a-half-long forum)
6 PM: Seattle Referendum 1 – which a court fight shaved down to two sentences out of 140 pages of city legislation – may turn out to be the only actual ballot measure related to the tunnel that’s proposed to replace the central-waterfront section of the Alaskan Way Viaduct. If you’re not sure how you’ll vote August 16th – or if you’re not sure what you’re voting on – or what it all means – or even if you are deeply versed on the subject, come on down to the West Seattle High School Theater, where two reps each from the main pro- and anti-tunnel organizations are at centerstage in a 6-7:30 forum presented by the WS Chamber of Commerce. Your WSB editor is moderating; the final half-hour is scheduled for audience Q/A.
7:56 PM: Forum over – thanks to the 20 or so folks who were there, and to the panelists, Gary Manca and Jeff Upthegrove on behalf of anti-tunnel Protect Seattle Now and City Councilmember Tom Rasmussen and Vlad Oustimovitch on behalf of Let’s Move Forward. We have it all on video and will put it up, unedited, when it’s done uploading later tonight.
11:33 PM: Video now up.
We’ve talked about the West Seattle Grand Parade, the Alki Art Fair, West Seattle Outdoor Movies – but one event on Saturday in West Seattle that’s outside the category of “summer fun” is also expected to draw hundreds. “Speak Out for Good Jobs Now” is a rally organized by activist groups for noon-2 pm at South Seattle Community College‘s Brockey Center, during a daylong leadership conference, explained by organizers:
Congress has forgotten that good jobs are the driver of a stable and prosperous economy. We’re here to remind them. … The Progressive Congress Speak Out Tour is part of a [daylong] community leadership training conference organized by Washington CAN. Attendance is free, and language interpretation and child care are provided. The leadership conference includes sessions on the history of unions, holding big banks accountable, and structural racism.
The noon-2 pm “Good Jobs Now” event is scheduled to include U.S. Reps. Jim McDermott (D-Seattle) and Keith Ellison (D-Minnesota), emceed by former Eastside congressional candidate Darcy Burner and Magdaleno Rose-Avila. If you use Twitter, the event has a hashtag: #CPCjobs. If you want to sign up for the full-day conference, go here.
Both of West Seattle’s major community meetings on Wednesday night tackled the topic of Metro Transit‘s potential cuts. In our video above, County Councilmember Joe McDermott talked about it at the joint meeting of the Southwest and Delridge Neighborhoods District Councils in High Point, listing the West Seattle routes that Metro says are doomed if either the County Council or voters don’t agree to a $20/year fee to cover its budget gap. McDermott has said he’ll vote for the fee, but if five fellow councilmembers don’t do the same (so far, four have committed), it won’t take effect without voter approval.
Concurrently Wednesday night, at the Morgan Community Association meeting at The Kenney (WSB sponsor), a Metro rep who was there mostly to talk about West Seattle RapidRide – still scheduled to debut in September 2012 – began with a recap of the fee-or-cuts situation. The proposed fee is scheduled to go to a County Council vote next Monday, she said, but first, the last of three public hearings on Metro’s future is tonight (Thursday) at Burien City Council Chambers (4th SW/SW 152nd), and there’s some talk that it could draw hundreds, as did the previous hearing, last week at the County Council chambers downtown.
If you haven’t been to one of the hearings and can’t make it to this one, you can still officially send a comment on Metro’s future and what you would like to see – use this form on the county website.
One of the few things that will actually be settled by the August 16th ballot is Seattle Referendum 1 – since most of the ballot otherwise is comprised of primary races, narrowing candidate fields to the top two.
“Settled,” of course, is a relative term here.
Technically, Referendum 1 asks you to approve or reject Section 6 of City Ordinance 123542, related to Seattle’s role in the 99-tunnel plan. The “section” is what remains after a separate court fight.
Symbolically, it has been pointed out that this may be Seattleites’ only chance for a public vote on something related to the tunnel.
Or is it a potentially meaningless vote?
That’s part of what we’ll discuss at what appears to be the city’s only all-tunnel pre-election forum, happening right here on the peninsula tomorrow night, as the West Seattle Chamber of Commerce presents a public forum, moderated by your WSB editor, Thursday at 6 pm, West Seattle High School Theater. Two reps from each of the two major groups campaigning on the issue – pro-tunnel Let’s Move Forward and anti-tunnel Protect Seattle Now – will be there; you’ll have a chance to ask your question after the first round of opening statements and moderated discussion. Hope to see you there.
The City Council has just approved a change in the city rules that have required food trucks to find private lots to set up on: Now they’ll be allowed to get permits to park on streets, with some restrictions, as detailed by our partners at the Seattle Times. (To read the full text of what the council approved, here’s the ordinance, and here’s a related resolution.)
| 20 COMMENTS