We’re in South Park, where the official announcement of the $34 million federal TIGER II grant completing the pledged funding for a new South Park Bridge has just concluded. King County Executive Dow Constantine was joined by U.S. Senator Patty Murray, who spoke first:
Also there: U.S. Rep. Jim McDermott, King County Councilmembers Jan Drago and Larry Phillips, Mayor Mike McGinn, City Councilmember Tom Rasmussen, State Transportation Secretary Paula Hammond, State Sen. Joe McDermott, Port Commissioner Gael Tarleton, and South Park business owners and community leaders including Dagmar Cronn of the SP Neighborhood Association, who co-chaired the New South Park Bridge Coalition:
The new bridge will go out to bid “as soon as possible,” said Constantine, adding that “a few approvals” are needed, but expressing confidence that all the pledged funding from various levels of government will come through. The bridge should open in May 2013, the county says, though South Park community activist Bill Owens told WSB he’s hoping that can be accelerated; he also said he’s thrilled. a target=”_blank” href=”http://www.kingcounty.gov/exec/news/release/2010/October/15southpark.aspx”>Here, meantime, is the full news release.
(WSB photo from this year’s Alki Art Fair) By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
“Pretty dramatic stuff.”
That’s how Seattle Parks Board vice chair Neal Adams of West Seattle described the briefing that Seattle Parks finance director Carol Everson gave last night to the board – a city-convened citizens’ advisory group – on the cuts and changes to Parks operations contained in the budget Mayor McGinn proposed late last month, six months after Everson delivered a dire warning to the board (WSB coverage here) of what was to come
As part of the briefing, Parks staffers provided the board with a document that they say will be frequently updated through the budget-vetting process – which the City Council is in the middle of now – featuring specifics on the budget’s potential effects. Covering the meeting last night, that’s when we heard for the first time that one of the casualties would be the popular annual midsummer Alki Art Fair, as part of the proposal to cut Alki Community Center operating hours to a bare minimum.
Read on for what else we’ve learned about Alki Community Center as well as other Parks programs:Read More
These aren’t West Seattle cases – but there are calls to be on the lookout region-wide, so we’re sharing them here, one with a photo, one with a sketch. First is the recent attack on a jogger in Seward Park, with new information about the attacker, and second is a just-announced case of alleged “cyberstalking” that may have victims all over Western Washington (if not beyond) – read on:Read More
(King County rendering of design for future South Park Bridge) 11:14 AM: Just got word that King County Executive Dow Constantine and U.S. Senator Patty Murray promise a big announcement at the South Park Bridge at 2:30 this afternoon. This is about when news was supposed to come in about whether a federal grant via TIGER II would be available for all or part of the rest of the money needed to build a new bridge. 11:23 AM: $34 million grant, per sources cited by seattlepi.com.11:37 AM: More evidence that TIGER II announcements are coming out – found this East Coast story about a bridge-replacement project there getting $. And more here. 11:50 AM: The Seattle Times (WSB partner) is on the story too.12:37 PM: News advisory from U.S. Rep. Jim McDermott‘s office says he’ll be there too. It’s been three and a half months since the old bridge was shut down for safety concerns. The county has called the replacement project “shovel-ready” but says it would still take about 2 years to build once all the money’s in. 1:20 PM UPDATE:The Times story is updated with confirmation of the $34 million, from Sen. Murray’s office.
Reminder – the Alaskan Way Viaduct‘s semi-annual checkup is this weekend, so it’s scheduled to be closed 6 am-6 pm both Saturday and Sunday. (They tend to finish and reopen early on Sundays – if that happens, we’ll have updates here as well as via Facebook and Twitter.) This is the first inspection closure since the new 4th Avenue offramp opened, so you don’t have to go all the way to I-5 to get off The Bridge eastbound.
(First 6 photos in this story are by Ellen Cedergreen [Alki, ArtsWest, The Kenney])
Steps from the beach, Alki Bathhouse celebrated the exhibit “Beach Structures” last night during the October edition of the West Seattle Art Walk, 41 venues this time around, and we made it to eight of them last night. At the Bathhouse, David W. Simpson is the artist:
He’s also known for cyanotype prints (the image behind him is a print of the same structure), and he’s teaching a class in that medium at the Bathhouse Studio on October 30th, 10:30 am, call 206-684-7430 to register. Another of last night’s most unusual shows, WTF?! Guys and Dolls and Zombies at ArtsWest– here’s artist Kate Vrijmoet attacked by her zombie children tonight in front of her giant zombie paintings:
Click ahead for another unusual sight at ArtsWest – plus more stops around the Art Walk map:
From the WSB West Seattle Events calendar for today/tonight: Homecoming game for Chief Sealth International High School, with a barbecue on campus at 5:30 pm followed by the game vs. Nathan Hale at Southwest Athletic Complex, 7 pm … West Seattle High Schoolplays Ingraham tonight at Northwest Athletic Complex, also at 7 … Live in a flood-prone zone? Today and tomorrow, you can get up to 25 sandbags, courtesy of Seattle Public Utilities, at Delridge Community Center (map), 8 am-4 pm each day, but be sure you or someone with you can lift/carry/load them (40 pounds each) … The Monday Artists are having a show today and tomorrow, 10 am-4 pm, Island View Community Room, 3033 California SW (map) … Concerned about city budget cuts? Here’s a chance to show your love for Alki Community Center – Friday Night Skating, $3/person, 6:45-8:45 pm. … And at Kenyon Hall tonight, a vocals/piano show described as a “program of show stoppers … the best of Bernstein, Purcell, Rossini, Loesser, Weill, Kern, Berlin, Herman, Porter, and more,” 7:30 pm, kenyonhall.org.
(Satang Sallah, the first girl to receive a Kona AfricaBike, sets off from Medina Wallom to her village five kilometers away. Sallah starts school this month. Photos in this story by Lori Hinton and Barbara Trenary) Story by Lori Hinton
Special to West Seattle Blog
“Hand me that pedal wrench,” smiles Sandy Murray of West Seattle, wiping her brow while assembling one of 225 Kona AfricaBikes in 110-degree heat at a remote school in The Gambia’s upcountry village of Medina Wallom.
Murray, an emergency room nurse and Medical Teams International volunteer, and industrial hygienist Barbara Trenary have traveled to this West African country on multiple occasions for humanitarian work, but this year marked the beginning of an incredible ride.
What brought these women and a handful of volunteers from Seattle all the way to The Gambia some 8,000 miles away? A chance to help break the cycle of illiteracy in Gambian girls.
How? By assembling hundreds of ultra durable Africa-specific bicycles for kids to use as transportation to school—thanks to fundraising efforts from local non-profit HopeFirst Foundation and Kona Basic Needs.
(Toy Swap photo from 2009)
Once again this year, CoolMom is planning its annual Holiday Toy Swap ‘n’ Sale, a chance to recycle what you don’t need and pick up something you want that somebody else doesn’t need. The sustainability-focused group is planning two versions this year, both on November 13th, including one in West Seattle (the other’s in Wallingford). It’s set for 9 am-1 pm that day at Fauntleroy Church (9140 California SW). Proceeds benefit WestSide Baby and FamilyWorks as well as CoolMom. From the CM announcement:
There are 2 ways to participate:
1. Donate items before the sale & receive a $5 credit toward your purchase the day of the sale.
2. Nothing to donate? Show up and shop to your heart’s content.
Please don’t forget your reusable bags to collect your treasures. Cash and Check only.
Bag up donations – toys, sports clothes and products, baby gear, but no clothing or car seats (got any of the latter? take ’em to WestSide Baby this Saturday). To get your $5 credit, make sure your name is on or in your donation bag, so you can redeem the credit on sale day. Here are the West Seattle donation locations, which CoolMom’s Terri Glaberson tells WSB are set up now:
PCC West Seattle [WSB sponsor]
Gatewood Elementary School
Arbor Heights Elementary School
Community School of West Seattle
Pathfinder School
C&P Coffee [WSB sponsor]
Small Clothes
CoolMom is a Washington State Not-for-Profit 501(c)3 – organized to unite families to take action on climate change through education, lifestyle change, and advocacy. The West Seattle group meets the first Wednesday of every month, 7 pm at C&P Coffee Company, 5612 California SW.
Tis the season for spookiness. And tomorrow night – the question of whether the Southwest Seattle Historical Society‘s Log House Museum is haunted, or not, may be laid to rest. It’s getting a visit from the paranormal investigators of PIHA (Paranormal Investigations of Historic America). This isn’t Ghostbusters, mind you – PIHA, according to Vaughn Hubbard, is a registered nonprofit organization doing this for free. And he acknowledges part of the visit is to “support the upcoming annual Halloween fundraiser for the museum” (a brunch at Salty’s, October 30th). But PIHA doesn’t just visit any old – we emphasize, old – historical site; they need proof of the potentially paranormal. So we asked him, what’s the haunting haps here? Reply: “About any paranormal activity at the West Seattle Museum, according to Sarah Frederick, Collections Manager, Log House Museum, she has stated that there has been numerous stories about strange things happening there for years now but they just don’t talk about it. I have to believe what she is telling me is fact, otherwise we wouldn’t spend the time and money required by us for an investigation. We are very selective about where we schedule investigations because of our cost and time invested.” So how do they investigate? We’ll find out tomorrow night, once the PIHA “Grey Team” shows up in its “Command Central Van” (as seen in the promotional clip above). (P.S. We asked SWSHS about the brunch – $65 adults; $25 kids 13/under; free for kids 4 and under; RSVP to 206-938-5293, costumes encouraged.)
Two photos shared this afternoon – obviously taken before the weather turned. First, Tom sent the top photo, taken at 12:45 pm in his backyard at 21st and Holly (map), observing, “That’s one healthy-looking coyote! He’s looking at our chicken coop…..” (Here’s info on coexisting with coyotes.) Next, from Gary Jones:
In the distance, looking over the top of Alki Lighthouse, Gary believes that was a Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser under tow northbound, coming out of Rich Passage from Bremerton. Closer look:
We’re still researching in hopes of figuring out exactly what that ship was.
The Admiral District space that Click! Design That Fits (WSB sponsor, now in The Junction) vacated at 2210 California SW didn’t stay empty for long. Meet Monica Skov (and daughter) – Monica is going to open a fabric store there, something West Seattle has been without since Hancock Fabrics closed two years ago to make way for the now-tied-up-in-lawsuits 39th/Alaska development. Monica tells WSB that her store, West Seattle Fabric Company, will carry fabrics and notions like thread and needles. While the notions will be fairly basic, she’s planning on a variety of fabrics including special vintage-inspired fabric and brands such as Amy Butler/FreeSpirit, Michael Miller,Kona Cotton/Robert Kaufman. She also hopes to eventually have classes for people who are new to sewing, and quilting groups. She’s expecting to open the shop within the next two months – as you can guess from the photo, remodeling is under way now.
(Added 3:10 pm, KING 5 video of orcas in the North Sound)
West Seattle-based whale expert Jeff Hogan from Killer Whale Talescalled with a report of a large number of orcas heading south from Edmonds not too long ago – and we’ve since heard from Krista that Orca Network is reporting this too (keep an eye on their Facebook page). No way to know if they’ll make it this far south, but we’re sending out the early heads-up just in case. Let us know if you see any! 5:06 PM: Just got a call from Donna with The Whale Trail, orcas visible from Alki area. We’re off to check. 10:12 PM NOTE: By the time we got there, they’d turned from Alki Point toward the Kitsap Peninsula, where they put on quite a show for a while in the early evening, north of Blake Island (we caught a glimpse thanks to binoculars loaned by Donna and Jeff, who were both there). According to the Orca Network‘s nightly report, they were last seen heading south down Colvos Passage on the west side of Vashon Island, so keep a look out in the morning just in case they stayed in the South Sound overnight!
We just got more information about the police presence Wednesday morning at a home near 49th SW and Stevens (here’s our previous report; the actual location turned out to be closer to 49th than 50th) – police are able to share a few more details. According to Det. Mark Jamieson in the Seattle Police media unit:
Detectives served a warrant at that location and arrested a 19-year-old man. He was booked into King County Jail for Investigation of Sexual Exploitation of a Minor. They also seized items from the house of evidentiary value.
He says the investigation is ongoing but they’re not looking for any other suspects. As for what the “evidentiary value” items might be – the city’s crime-report map shows a report filed yesterday in that vicinity described only as “pornography”; the full report is not likely to be available for a few days. We’ll continue to follow up, including checking with the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office on whether the man who was arrested will be charged.
In our daily election countdown coverage this time around – on the same day King County sent out ballots, the two candidates in this area’s most closely watched race joined the Kiwanis Club of West Seattle for lunch. From left, Joe Fitzgibbon, club president West Niver, and Mike Heavey, with tokens of the Kiwanians’ appreciation – certificates, and books for One Page Ahead. It was a cordial forum for the two finalists in the 34th District State House Position 2 race – perhaps the strongest point of differentiation between the two Democrats that could have been drawn by someone with no prior knowledge of the race is that Heavey’s a West Seattleite and Fitzgibbon is not. Both were offered seven minutes for an opening statement, and were asked to focus on the jobs crisis – Fitzgibbon took almost the full allotment, Heavey ran about four and a half – we recorded both on video, minus a bit of their respective introductions (Heavey mentioning his father had been a Kiwanian, Fitzgibbon detailing his work with Rep. Sharon Nelson, whose seat they’re running for):
After each presented his statement from the front of the Kiwanis Club’s usual meeting place (back room at Be’s Restaurant in The Junction), the floor was open for Q/A. Among the questions – whether the state had squandered federal stimulus money. Both acknowledged that, instead of creating “new” jobs, much had gone to existing programs, but, as Heavey summarized it, “a job loss prevented is a job created.” Their answers more or less also dovetailed on a question about cuts in occupational training – they agreed on its value; Fitzgibbon noted, “We get stuck in a trap if we say ‘every kid needs to go on to college’.” Asked about liquor privatization, Heavey noted they both are on the record as opposing both current ballot measures; he said he’s morally opposed to anything that might mean young people have more access to alcohol, while Fitzgibbon allowed that while he’s not in favor of scrapping the state-run system, there are things that could be done better. In their closing statements before the one-hour lunch meeting ended, they both alluded to the grueling campaign, with Heavey saying, “It’s been a tough election, but a journey worth taking,” and Fitzgibbon acknowledging it’s “not an easy choice” between the two. The next candidates’ forum for these two in our area is a week from today, Oct. 21st, sponsored by the North Highline Unincorporated Area Council at Greenbridge YWCA, doors open at 6 pm.
NOTE: With a few visitors on hand for the candidates’ forum, president Niver prefaced that part of the program with an overview of the many community efforts with which the Kiwanians are involved – you can check out their upcoming programs and events at their website, kiwaniswestseattle.org.
Brian Fenskeshared that photo with the note: “A beautiful, sparkling afternoon [Wednesday] to go kayaking off Alki. Will it be our last of the year?” Whatever the weather looks like by tonight, it’s time to get out for the West Seattle Art Walk, with more than 40 venues from Alki in the north to Westwood and Fauntleroy in the south. We mentioned a few notable points in this preview yesterday – others include the annual bazaar at The Kenney during Art Walk, and a combination of photography, live music, and Wine Club at C & P Coffee. Art Walk hours overall are 6-9 pm; here’s the walking map … 3:30 pm at Merrill Gardens-West Seattle (WSB sponsor), you’re invited to an Oktoberfest Celebration with live entertainment by The Bonnie Birch Duo and seasonal refreshments; RSVP to (206) 932-5480 … In-progress screening of “Oil and Water” – previewed here earlier this week – at the Duwamish Longhouse tonight, 7 pm … That’s also the start time for a book fair at Bloom Preschool, which welcomes families to come check them out while shopping … Want to talk about the county budget? Countywide Community Forums is organizing a discussion 7-9 pm at Freedom Church of West Seattle, 9601 35th Avenue SW – free dinner with Dick’s Drive-In burgers and shakes, but you need to RSVP online or by calling (206) 937-1417 … And the city budget gets another airing tonight – specifically, its potential effects on Parks facilities and programs – when the citywide Parks Board meets at 7 pm at department HQ downtown (100 Dexter N., agenda here).
(Photos by Ellen Cedergreen)
Right in the middle of homecoming/spirit week, a big nighttime event at Chief Sealth International High School – with three sports teams teaming up to raise money for the athletics program. In our top photo, that’s Sealth athletic director Sam Reed with members of the volleyball team, one of the three – also front and center in the effort, boys’ basketball:
Football players, here with volleyball-team friends, too:
But the teams couldn’t do it alone. Friends and families joined them at Wednesday night’s spaghetti dinner:
From a platform above the crowd, Principal John Boyd opened up the bidding for a silent auction:
Items listed included a Mariner-autographed baseball and a “Two-Hour Work-Crew Party” donated by six Sealth basketball players and their coach. Another unique fundraising element, the dessert dash, won by (making the highest donation) table 19:
For their $300 total, they got first pick at the dessert table — choosing a pumpkin pie. P.S. You can find Sealth teams’ schedules here.
At 31st and Henderson (map), neighbors who fought for a traffic circle finally got it … and now they’re putting on the final touches. The circle was obtained in hopes of making their street, on a busy route between the Southwest Library and Westwood Village, a little bit safer. And now, they’re making the circle itself a little lovelier. Teresa Christianson shared photos, explaining that after the circle construction was complete in mid-summer, neighbors decided it wouldn’t be a good idea to put in plants and risk having them wilted by August heat. That “heat” never arrived, but time passed, and this week, in the autumn sunshine, they had a planting party:
Top photo is Tess Severns; immediately above, that’s Darci Severns and Lilah Christianson; and in the next photo, Pablo Lambinicio:
Other neighbors helped out too. So, how DO you get a traffic circle? you ask. Answers can be found on this city webpage.
Tomorrow (Thursday) is tipoff day for West Seattle YMCA (WSB sponsor) youth basketball signups for ages 4-11. Just got the reminder from sports director Matt Schlede, who says you can sign up by clicking “youth basketball” on this webpage listing Y activities – that’ll show you all the options. It’s basically a 7-game schedule with one practice during the week and one game on the weekend; practices start after Thanksgiving, and the first games are the weekend of December 11th. (You can also register in person at the West Seattle YMCA or Fauntleroy YMCA.)
(Group of speakers asking the council to cancel cuts in a domestic-violence program) ORIGINAL 6:31 PM REPORT: We are about 45 minutes into testimony at the City Council Budget Committee hearing in Brockey Center at South Seattle Community College in West Seattle. By our unofficial count, about 200 people are here; more than 70 have signed up to testify – though so far, we have seen some of the speakers bring up others to take part of their turn, so the eventual number may surpass that. West Seattleites who have spoken so far include Fran Yeatts, executive director of the West Seattle Food Bank, and a Senior Center of West Seattle volunteer. WS Food Bank’s Shannon Braddock spoke too:
It’s not too late to come to the hearing, which is likely to last several hours – signups are being taken at the north entrance of Brockey Center. Six councilmembers are here; Sally Clark has sent word she will be here after another commitment wraps up around 7 pm.
7:19 PM UPDATE: All councilmembers are here now – the last to arrive was Mike O’Brien, as of 6:53 pm.
West Seattleites who have spoken in the past 10 minutes or so include Katy Walum, president of the Admiral Neighborhood Association (above), and Mat McBride, chair of the Delridge District Council, both opposing the proposed Department of Neighborhoods cuts – specifically, the proposed cuts in district coordinators and in the Neighborhood Matching Fund. Two Highland Park residents, including City Council candidate (next year) Dorsol Plants, have spoken in favor of the Streets for All program – some of its objectives would be met by the increase in the commercial parking tax that Mayor McGinn is proposing. We are now on the 48th speaker, but the number of actual speakers will be longer than the number signed up, since some are bringing up associates to tag onto their time.
7:37 PM UPDATE: Lisa West from the Alki Elementary PTSA and two area kids (including her 7th-grader daughter) are testifying to keep Alki Community Center completely open:
She says that in 45 minutes today at school she collected more than 40 signatures from parents who want to keep the community center from reductions that are tantamount to a closure. “Alki Community Center is the one place I allow my children to go on their home,” she says. She also mentions that whether you live in an apartment or a house, few of the residences in the Alki area have yards for kids to play in – she is becoming emotional as she tries to read through a statement to the council. She says that the outdoor areas of the park are not an option because there are so many problems – caused largely by adults. And with maintenance cuts, she says through tears, how will they even use the outdoor basketball courts? The indoor courts, she says, are the main source of recreation during winter weather. “Our community is diverse and rich, and is just that – community,” and the area around the community center and school are a meeting place for parents, both before after school. (We have her testimony on video and will add it, along with several others’ clips, later.)
7:53 PM UPDATE: More West Seattle speakers – Patrick Dunn from Sustainable West Seattle, on behalf of keeping the Neighborhood Matching Fund whole – he mentions that it helped launch the successful and popular West Seattle Tool Library, and also is paving the way for the in-the-works Community Orchard of West Seattle.
After him, Tony Fragada of the Alki Community Council is up, mentioning yet more Neighborhood Matching Fund projects (including the money just given to Seal Sitters for education):
Then, mega-involved Chas Redmond, co-chair of the Southwest District Council (among other things), mentioning how the grant money has helped SWS with even more projects such as the Sustainable West Seattle Festival. (We interviewed Redmond and Dorsol Plants, mentioned earlier, on video before the hearing.)
“3 years after our 1st conversation with the Department of Neighborhoods, we have become an organization in West Seattle that has amazing capacity,” Redmond says, even able, now that it’s a 501(c)3, to help other groups. He says it’s a tool to allow the city to “amplify its neighborhoods.”
7:59 PM UPDATE: Rick Jump from the White Center Food Bank is testifying, not against a cut, but to ask the council to support the mayor’s request for $35,000 for WC Food Bank – which serves city residents but has never received city money. He also says the food bank has just started a new program for city residents, a mobile food bank that on Tuesday at Arrowhead Gardens served 80 senior citizens. (The orange scarf he wore was also worn by dozens of others to show support for human-services spending.)
8:27 PM UPDATE: 81st speaker now. 80th speaker was Alki’s Steve Cuddy, another voice opposing the “virtual closure of Alki Community Center.” A few speakers earlier, Fairmount Community Association’s Sharonn Meeks spoke, another voice in support of restoring Department of Neighborhoods cuts, speaking about how the Southwest Neighborhood District Coordinator in particular is so important for community connection and assistance – giving the example that was given at the recent Southwest District Council meeting, the huge Gateway cleanup two years ago, bringing together hundreds of volunteers – it couldn’t have happened without district coordinator Stan Lock‘s help. Now, Fauntleroy Community Association’s Vlad Oustimovitch, also on the DON cuts, saying that McGinn is “the second mayor in a row that’s tried to dismantle (the department)”:
9 PM UPDATE: The hearing is over, after 95 speakers. Probably the single most-testified-about topic was the cable public-access network SCAN, with multiple groups like this one taking their turn:
Before the hearing, musicians who perform on the cable channel serenaded people as they arrived:
There’s one more budget hearing coming up at City Hall later this month (October 26 – details here), and other meetings/hearings/chances to comment before the City Council approves a final version, which is expected on Nov. 22nd. We’re back to HQ with photos and video to add to our coverage.
Just received a note about an apparently thwarted case of animal cruelty involving beach birds known to many in the Fauntleroy area (featured on WSB back in August). The person who e-mailed us did not want to be publicly identified:
I called 911 on 3 youths today who were using a sling shot to sling rocks at the white geese that have taken up home near the front entry of Lincoln Park.
The youths were yelling, “kill them” when a lady stopped and asked them to leave the geese alone. I was walking my dog and told them to stop and leave them alone. At this point they had something in their hand and it looked like they were trying to put it around the geese’s neck. They yelled at me and asked what I was looking at. They made threatening remarks to me and the other lady. I called 911 and gave a detailed description to them. I couldn’t stay for the police to arrive as I had to leave to pick up my own son from after school care. This was about 4:30 today.
Description (I should have taken a picture with my phone, but was intimidated):
3 youth male between the age of 15-16
One Caucasian, very thin, dressed all in black with spiked blonde hair
2 others who looked like brothers, husky build, mixed race, definitely some islander, one was wearing a red t-shirt with jeans and the other a red hoodie with jeans. The one with the hoodie was yelling “kill them”. The one with the red t shirt was saying the threatening remarks.
I hated to see those innocent geese that are so beautiful tortured. Not sure if you want to post or not. The police dispatcher said a car would come patrol the area as soon as possible
As previously reported, there’ve been questions concerning the bidding process for Delridge Skatepark (to be built at the northeast corner of the park adjacent to Delridge Community Center), after the low bidder was reported to not have met an amendment to the qualifications requiring a certain number of skateparks of a certain size to have been built within a certain time – Parks was deciding whether to give the project to the second-lowest bidder, or to re-bid it. According to a note just received from project manager Kelly Davidson, they’ve made the latter decision:
After internal review and review with the City Attorney’s office, Parks is rejecting all bids for Delridge Skatepark. The project and qualifications will be reviewed and the project will be re-bid. I will follow up with more information on the re-bid process once we have determined the dates and revisions to the qualifications.
Just after we published the first version of this, another e-mail came in, this one from Kevin Stoops, a top manager in Parks, confirming this means a months-long delay in skatepark construction:
Earlier today we decided to reject all bids for the Delridge Skatepark and rebid this project later this year or early next year for mid-2011 construction.
This decision has been reached after a review of the very restrictive supplemental bidder qualifications that were issued by addendum to the original project requirements. These focused on volume of work rather than specific construction requirements to complete the work, and are unnecessarily restrictive. the project will be re-bid with clearer contractor qualification requirements outlined in the construction documents. The design of the skatepark will not be changed.
Further, issuance of a construction contract involving excavation and concrete work at this time of year will be problematic was we are now ready to enter a wet rainy period for some time. The construction window for such concrete work is already rapidly coming to an end for 2010 and an extremely wet winter is forecast. Starting construction in the face of such would likely lead to unintended site costs due to wet conditions.
Admiral Neighborhood Association president Katy Walum is among the neighborhood leaders you can expect to see at tonight’s City Council Budget Committee hearing at South Seattle Community College‘s Brockey Center (signups at 5, hearing at 5:30, more in this morning’s preview). ANA is the latest local group to voice concern about Mayor McGinn‘s proposed budget, particularly the cuts that would be made in the Department of Neighborhoods – closing the Neighborhood Service Center in The Junction and cutting the Neighborhood District Coordinator job that’s based there, as well as cutting the amount of money that would be available through the Neighborhood Matching Fund. Read on for more, as well as other toplines from last night’s meeting:Read More
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