West Seattle, Washington
07 Monday
Four Seattle School Board seats are on the ballot, only one with an incumbent – District 6, which includes West Seattle and South Park. While only the residents of a board district vote in the primary, school board seats are citywide votes in the general election.
District 6 (West Seattle/South Park) Leslie Harris vs. Marty McLaren*
Results here – Harris 75%, McLaren (the only incumbent on the ballot tonight) 25%
9:17 PM NOTE: Harris was at Herbold’s party (see photo above – she was cheering for Herbold, more demure about her victory, noting it’s not over until it’s over).
District 1 – Michael Christophersen vs. Scott Pinkham
Results here – Pinkham leading with 66%
District 2 – Rick Burke vs. Laura Obara Gramer
Results here – Burke leading with 79%
District 3 – Jill Geary vs. Lauren McGuire
Results here – Geary leading with 59%
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For the full list of results around Seattle and the rest of King County, go here; for the full list of state-measure results, go here.
For the first time since word of E. coli illnesses led to the voluntary closure of Chipotle restaurants in Washington and Oregon, the state has identified which locations are linked to confirmed cases.
The list just made public does NOT include the West Seattle location (which opened at 4730 California SW in The Junction less than two months ago). The 25 patients confirmed so far in this state reported eating at five Chipotle restaurants identified by the state as:
Hazel Dell, 7715 NE 5th Avenue, Suite 109, in Vancouver
1404 Broadway Avenue and 4229 University Way NE in Seattle
512 Ramsey Way 101 in Kent
1753 S. Burlington Blvd. in Burlington
Earlier this afternoon, the state hosted a media briefing from its laboratory facility in Shoreline; a little far for us to go today, so we were among several organizations who participated via a phone/Web hookup.
They confirmed it’s Shige toxin E. coli, which can “cause kidney damage among other serious problems.”
Our state has 25 patients “associated with this outbreak” – nine of whom have been hospitalized, though none with the illness that can lead to kidney damage – and Oregon has 12.
The Washington patients all live in the western part of the state – 11 in Clark County, 2 in Cowlitz, 2 in Island, 6 in King County, and 4 in Skagit County.
“The exact source of illness is still unknown,” but 23 of the 25 WA patients reported eating at a Chipotle. They are still trying to identify “a common food item” – more likely, they say, to be produce than meat. They’re testing samples from multiple restaurants and hope to have results later in the week. They also are awaiting tests on 20 people who reported getting sick after eating at a Chipotle but have not been confirmed as E. coli patients.
Health authorities still don’t know when the Chipotle stores, closed voluntarily, will reopen, but they are working with the chain to “identify criteria” for reopening. They still want people who became ill after eating at a Chipotle recently to consult their health-care provider.
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
Homelessness is an emergency, Mayor Ed Murray and County Executive Dow Constantine proclaimed today. This excerpt from their announcement spells out why:
Last winter’s One Night Count found 3,772 men, women, and children without shelter in King County, including more than 2,800 in Seattle – a 21 percent increase over 2014. In 2015, 66 homeless people have died in King County, including 47 on the streets and in unpermitted encampments in Seattle. The state now reports that 35,000 people in King County become newly homeless at some point during the year.
Part of the declaration includes a city plan to spend $5 million more on getting people off the streets and, for those who are on the streets, covering some basic needs, like sanitation. The plan will be discussed at a special City Council meeting tomorrow, and is to be funded through the sale of city property in West Seattle, according to the city documents related to today’s announcement. From the Frequently Asked Questions document:
How is the City paying for this new investment?
The $5 million investment is funded from the proceeds of the sale of excess property located on Myers Way South.
We’ve reported in recent years about the city process of figuring out what to do with that land, the “Myers Parcels“ in southeast West Seattle, next to the Joint Training Facility. Some community advocates have lobbied for preserving some of it as greenspace, as reported here most recently back in February.
The city Finance and Administrative Services Department clarified, when we inquired, that the property hasn’t been sold yet. More on that later.
First, what today’s announcement means for helping homeless people:
Both Murray and Constantine signed emergency proclamations. Murray was quoted in the city announcement as saying, “The City is prepared to do more as the number of people in crisis continue to rise, but our federal and state partners must also do more. Cities cannot do this alone.” Constantine was quoted as saying, “Emergency declarations are associated with natural disasters, but the persistent and growing phenomenon of homelessness – here and nationwide – is a human-made crisis just as devastating to thousands as a flood or fire. We call on the federal and state governments to take action, including shouldering more responsibility for affordable housing, mental health treatment, and addiction services.”
Go here to see what the city is proposing, or read the details below:
On the county side, Constantine is proposing $2 million in spending, some of it “already pending before the King County Council, to address immediate human needs and the root causes of homelessness,” according to the news release, which adds that both entities already invest heavily: “The City of Seattle already invests more than $40 million annually to assist people at-risk of or experiencing homelessness, including single adults, youth, families, domestic violence survivors, older adults, and veterans. King County invests $36 million a year to assist individuals and families at-risk of or experiencing homelessness.”
That represents a bigger share of those services than ever, says the city announcement: “A decade ago, City resources represented less than 40 percent of the total funding for homelessness services. The City is now responsible for over 60 percent of homelessness investments.”
Thousands of those who need help are children, the city says:
There are 32,000 homeless children in Washington state, with nearly 3,000 homeless children currently attending Seattle Public Schools. On average, that’s more than 1 student per Seattle classroom.
The city announcement says they’re trying to be strategic with the spending:
The City is currently analyzing all homelessness investments and expanding data collection to ensure resources are targeted at the most effective strategies. Seattle is also launching a new effort to reduce administrative burden on agencies by allowing non-profit partners to provide a range of services under portfolio contracts, rather than separate contracts for each type of service.
We don’t know yet what share of the new funding might be spent in this area. We checked with one local agency that offers emergency help to people in crisis, West Seattle Helpline, whose executive director Chris Langeler told us it’s good news in general:
We are excited by Mayor Murray and Executive Constantine’s announcements today declaring a “State of Emergency” and new resources dedicated to alleviating, preventing, and ending homelessness in Seattle and King County. The West Seattle Helpline has served hundreds of members of our community this year who are homeless or at-risk of experiencing homelessness by providing rent & utility assistance, transportation assistance, or clothing. With rents continuing to rise and utility costs increasing as winter approaches, we are seeing heightened demand for assistance and more of our neighbors facing the threat of eviction.
We have initiated a dialogue with the City of Seattle’s Department of Human Services and are exploring ways that we can work with the City to be a part of the solution to homelessness. We’re hopeful that the heightened focus and additional resources will help more of our West Seattle neighbors-in-need stay safe in their homes.
Now, back to the $5 million in city funding for extra services, described as coming from Myers Way sale proceeds. A document late in the day looking ahead to tomorrow’s meeting clarified that the $5 million will for starters come from an “interfund loan” out of the city’s “Cash Pool,” to be repaid from sale proceeds of some of the “Myers Parcels” land. That sale is still in the future, we found out from Cyndi Wilder in the city Finance and Administrative Services Department:
The Myers Way excess property has not yet been sold. The Myers Way property is still under active property review, meaning the City is working on strategies for the reuse and disposition of the property. We anticipate selling a portion of the site for commercial development, but a larger portion of the property, including certain wetlands and much of the tree canopy, would be retained for environmental protection. In 2016, the City Council will review legislation to authorize land to be retained and land to be sold. We understand that proceeds from the sale of any portion of the property not needed for identified future City purposes or retained for environmental protection would be directed toward the emergency response to homelessness. Information about the property is available here, and we’ll be updating that page with information about the property disposition as it becomes available.
Tomorrow’s meeting to finalize the emergency-response plan is at 2 pm at City Hall.
Haven’t voted yet? Don’t miss the chance to choose the first-ever District 1 City Councilmember, to settle the fate of the $930 million Seattle Proposition 1 transportation levy, and to make more than a dozen other decisions. Lots of last-minute voters again this election, judging by how few ballots have been returned so far – in D-1 (West Seattle/South Park), 9,141 out of 60,177. You have until tomorrow evening to vote, and you can do it for free by dropping your ballot off at a King County Elections ballot van or box – the full list is here, and it includes the drop vans at West Seattle Stadium (4432 35th SW, until 5 pm today and 10 am-8 pm tomorrow) and at Greenbridge (8th SW south of SW Roxbury, same hours). If you’ve been to the one in WS before, you’ll notice a new location – we just stopped by for a photo and discovered they’re by the stadium’s west entrance instead of along the driveway (200 ballots today, as of 1 pm). You also can mail your ballot, as long as it’s postmarked by tomorrow, but that’ll cost you 49 cents worth of postage.
(NOTE: Click “play” to see live feed when Council is meeting – budget hearing resumed just after 2 pm)
10:27 AM: The City Council‘s next round of budget-related discussions is set to start shortly (10:30 am) and today’s list of potential additions/changes to the original budget proposal includes transportation items. Among them, two related to the West Seattle Bridge Corridor “action report” made public in September.
The first item would specify $700,000 to be spent this way:
… The proposed budget action would allocate $200,000 for further analysis of physical and operational improvements in the Corridor. The following evaluations or studies would be conducted if the green sheet were included as part of the City’s 2016 Adopted Budget:
1. Evaluate the feasibility and benefit of installing center barrier sections so response vehicles can make U-turns to speed up response time.
2. Evaluate the feasibility and benefit of installing markings and signs to provide one designated emergency lane in each direction of the West Seattle Bridge upper roadways for use during emergencies.
3. Coordinate with WSDOT to determine the feasibility of traffic management modifications to improve eastbound Spokane Street Viaduct connections to south- and northbound I-5.
4. Evaluate Lower Spokane Street chokepoint relationships to determine if rail, truck and bridge opening blockages can be better coordinated to avoid cumulative impacts.
5. Evaluate better communications protocols for Port of Seattle cooperation with truck queue management and dispersal.
6. Evaluate the process and capability for providing data reports to the Washington State office of Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) in order for FRA to enforce the maximum 20 minute blockage rule.
7. Initiate an SDOT/WSDOT Peer Review Team to review traffic operational and safety improvement opportunities on the West Seattle Bridge upper and lower roadways and make recommendations.
In addition to the feasibility studies, the green sheet would add $500,000 for installing ITS infrastructure to help communicate delays and wait times associated with train activity in the Corridor. This project would install ITS equipment including Bluetooth readers and dynamic message signs along the Corridor between Airport Way South and Port of Seattle Terminals 5 and 18 in order to collect and display real-time travel time information to trucks drivers and other motorists. Traffic signal system improvements at the intersection of Chelan Avenue Southwest and West Marginal Way Southwest could also be included in the project scope.
The second item, at unspecified cost, basically calls for a report on how the “action report” is being followed up on:
… This Statement of Legislative Intent requests the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) prepare a written progress report on the implementation of initiatives described in the West Seattle Bridge Corridor Whitepaper and Priority Investment List.
The report should describe the Executive’s planning and progress implementing the 2015 West Seattle Bridge Whitepaper and Priority Investment List (the Investment List) recommendations to the Transportation Committee or the appropriate Council committee. The report should be transmitted to the Council no later than March 31, 2016 and should include the following information:
1) A description of all anticipated 2016 SDOT maintenance and capital project activities planned for the West Seattle Bridge Corridor (the Corridor). The report should identify all planned Corridor project activities included in the Investment List and any planned Corridor project activities not included in the Investment List.
2) A comprehensive schedule review defining SDOT’s timing for implementing the Investment List’s recommendations including any multi-year initiatives or projects that may not have full funding.
3) Estimated total investment of City resources in both staff and funding to carry out Investment List recommendations in 2016 and beyond.
4) A description of the on-going metrics SDOT will use to measure the effectiveness of the recommended investments and a Corridor-wide assessment of traffic conditions for all modes in 2016.
See the full list of items to be discussed at today’s budget meeting – no votes, since this is “Round 1” of the budget review – by going here; you can watch the meeting live via Seattle Channel, online (the “live” player is embedded above) or cable channel 21.
WHAT DO YOU THINK? To comment on anything in the budget process – which will continue until a final vote before Thanksgiving – click the “Send Us Budget Feedback” button on this page.
12:17 PM UPDATE: The West Seattle Bridge-related items hadn’t been reached yet when the council recessed for lunch, due back in session at 2 pm.
2:58 PM: They’ve just reached the West Seattle Bridge Corridor items now. (a moment later) Both went by without discussion, aside from a bit of context from Councilmember Tom Rasmussen.
(Aerial-photo graphic via Seattle City Light)
Again today, the City Council has a marathon meeting to go through potential additions/changes in next year’s budget, which will be finalized before Thanksgiving. Reviewing today’s long list – just made public, minutes before the meeting – we see one for potentially rezoning the former City Light substation at 16th and Holden and other nearby properties. This is something community advocates including the Highland Park Action Committee have pushed for, in hopes of expanding the mini-business district at that intersection, as the city continues determining the fate of eight ex-substations in all. Here’s the text of the document – remember, this is a proposal, and a final decision about including it in the budget won’t be made today:
Council requests that the Department of Planning and Development’s (DPD) Planning Division, or the proposed new Office of Planning and Community Development (OPCD), develop and execute a scope of work to consider zoning and land use changes for the properties in and around the intersection of 16th Ave SW and SW Holden Street, including the former Seattle City Light Dumar Substation (“Dumar”) at 1605 SW Holden Street. DPD/OPCD should add this to the scope of work for either the Delridge Action Plan or to the work called for in Resolution 31612 to consider zoning and land use regulation changes in certain single-family areas (implementing recommendations from the Housing Affordability and Livability Action Agenda Committee’s proposal).
The Executive is requested to submit a report to the Council with a project scope, timeline and implementation plan for potential changes to zoning and land use regulations that could apply to this area by July 1, 2016. The project scope must include working with the Highland Park Action Committee (HPAC), property owners of lots being considered for a rezone (to include 1605 SW Holden Street) and other community members to develop recommendations. The rezone analysis should consider the most appropriate zone(s) for the area, including considering the addition of a Pedestrian zone designation.
Seattle City Light (SCL) has submitted legislation (CB 118512) for Council consideration that would declare eight substation properties as surplus and authorize the sale of these properties. The Dumar site is one of the eight properties being considered for disposition.
The Dumar site is located on the southwest corner of the intersection of SW Holden Street and 16th Avenue SW in the Highland Park neighborhood; this property is in a Single Family zone. The other three corners of the intersection are zoned Neighborhood Commercial with a 30 foot height limit. The northwest corner is occupied by a 7-Eleven store, the northeast corner by the City’s Fire Station No.11 and the southeast corner by a two-unit strip mall. As requested in Resolution 31424, SCL conducted outreach to the community about the potential disposition. This included attending district council meetings, community council meetings, soliciting comments through letters and emails and two formal public hearings.
SCL heard from HPAC and from emails from community members, a strong interest in seeing the Dumar site rezoned to Neighborhood Commercial (or an alternative commercial zone) to implement their vision that this intersection will be built out as a small, pedestrian-friendly commercial center. SCL also heard from the abutting owners to the Dumar property who requested that the property not be made a park and, instead, be sold for development as a single family residence. Whether the City disposes of the Dumar property or retains it, this SLI directs DPD/OPCD to initiate an evaluation of the zoning and land use regulations that apply to this site and the surrounding area to determine if a rezone is appropriate and to implement any identified needed changes.
Sponsors are listed as Councilmembers Tom Rasmussen, Bruce Harrell, and Nick Licata. You can watch today’s budget meeting live on Seattle Channel, online or cable channel 21. The budget will be finalized before Thanksgiving; you can send comments about this or any other aspect of the budget via a feedback form you’ll find on this page.
Have you voted yet? If not – please don’t let it slide. You have more than a billion dollars in levies to decide, as well as three City Council positions, four School Board seats and Port Commission spots, and more.
*If you’re not registered – you can still do it by end of day tomorrow, but you have to do it in person, in Seattle or Renton – location details here.
*If you are registered and you have your ballot – you have to get it dropped off or in the mail by Tuesday night, November 3rd. Once again, King County Elections will have ballot-dropoff vans at West Seattle Stadium and outside Greenbridge Library in the final days – Saturday, Oct. 31, and Monday, Nov. 2, 10 am-5 pm, and Election Day – Tuesday, Nov. 3 – 10 am-8 pm.
Three forums in three nights in West Seattle for City Council District 1 (WS/South Park) candidates Lisa Herbold and Shannon Braddock – and our hour-long video above is from the finale, last night at High Point Library, one of six district forums presented by the Friends of the Seattle Public Library and SPL around the city last night. Your editor here was honored to have been invited to moderate; our questions and those contributed by attendees spanned topics including transportation, education, taxation, campaign funding, and zoning, featuring some followups on questions that came up the previous two nights. If you haven’t received your ballot yet, you should soon – you have until November 3rd to vote, and unless you are absolutely certain who you’re supporting in this race, you might consider at least listening to one of the recent forums. We’ve recorded each one – in addition to the video above, the others:
*Tuesday’s forum (presented by West Seattle Chamber of Commerce and West Seattle Transportation Coalition), which also included citywide Positions 8 and 9 candidates
*Wednesday’s forum (presented by the 34th District Democrats)
Our coverage from Tuesday includes text highlights as well as full video, but we haven’t yet had time to put together text notes from Wednesday or Thursday (note-taking is close to impossible while participating) – might get the time to do it this weekend, which, barring unforeseen breaking news, doesn’t look too busy so far, so check back if you are interested in that.
Big week of forums for the candidates hoping to represent West Seattle/South Park on behalf of its new City Council District 1 – including three in West Seattle on three consecutive nights. Last night, the second one drew a crowd to The Hall at Fauntleroy as the area’s largest political organization, the 34th District Democrats, devoted most of its regular meeting night to hearing D-1 hopefuls Shannon Braddock and Lisa Herbold answer questions. Above is our video of the event in its entirety; 34th Dems chair Marcee Stone-Vekich moderated, and read audience questions after three guest questioners quizzed the candidates on four topics: former State Rep. Velma Veloria on social justice/racial equity issues, Sustainable West Seattle‘s Stu Hennessey on sustainability issues, and your editor here on transportation and development issues. The forum was preceded by the 34 Dems’ Chris Porter presenting local nonprofits who each got to make a pitch (we live-tweeted that section).
Forum #3 is just a few hours away – presented by the Friends of the Seattle Public Library at the High Point Branch (35th & Raymond), moderated by us, 6:30 pm, all welcome, bring your questions!
By Tracy Record and Patrick Sand
West Seattle Blog co-publishers
The first of this week’s three City Council candidate forums in West Seattle – the only one with all six of the council candidates who will be on your ballot – included one moment of drama: When one candidate asked her opponent a money question.
We’ll get to that shortly. First things first. More than 50 people were at Neighborhood House’s High Point Center to watch the forum, presented by the West Seattle Chamber of Commerce and WS Transportation Coalition, moderated by Pete Spalding on behalf of the former and Michael Taylor-Judd for the latter. Each pair of candidates got their own section of the program, citywide Positions 8 and 9 followed by the longest section, for West Seattle/South Park District 1, which is where we begin. We recorded it all on video and are including each section below, just before our notes on the questions and answers. Please note that we’re paraphrasing/summarizing unless you see quotation marks. Also note that because of the sponsoring organizations, the questions were intended to focus on business and transportation issues. After each was given the chance to answer a question, there was also “rebuttal” time, which is why you see each question below followed by multiple responses.
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DISTRICT 1
Candidates Shannon Braddock, Lisa Herbold
OPENING STATEMENTS
Braddock: Stressed her experience volunteering with local organizations including the Lafayette Elementary PTA, West Seattle Food Bank, WestSide Baby, as well as her work as chief of staff for County Councilmember Joe McDermott. “I feel I have a very good overview of the issues affecting (this area).”
Herbold: Echoed moderator Spalding’s declaration that this is a historic election, with West Seattle/South Park electing their first District 1 councilmember. She stressed her experience working for City Councilmember Nick Licata and her career as a community organizer before that, a role in which she said you teach people how to be their own best advocates. She sees a parallel to that work and to what by-district elections are supposed to be about: “We will have more responsive government.”
First question – Do you support an employee head tax?
Big week as the November 3rd election approaches.
BALLOTS MAILED THIS WEEK: By week’s end, you should have your ballot – since King County says they’re going out Wednesday. (The sample ballot on the county website is what yours is going to look like, if you’re in West Seattle.)
THREE CHANCES TO SEE, HEAR, QUESTION COUNCIL CANDIDATES: Unless you are absolutely certain without a hint of a doubt who you are voting for in the City Council races – West Seattle/South Park District 1, plus citywide (at-large) Positions 8 and 9, you might consider going to at least one of this week’s three local forums/debates:
–First and biggest, tomorrow night (Tuesday) brings all six of those candidates (who last shared a table in West Seattle at the Fauntleroy forum five nights ago) to Neighborhood House’s High Point Center (6400 Sylvan Way) for the West Seattle Chamber of Commerce and WS Transportation Coalition co-presented event, focusing on business and transportation related questions. The at-large candidates are up first – Jon Grant and Tim Burgess for Position 8, Bill Bradburd and Lorena González for Position 9 – with District 1’s Lisa Herbold and Shannon Braddock for the finale. Mingling at 6:15 pm; debating starts at 6:45 pm.
–Wednesday night, Braddock and Herbold will be at centerstage in a forum/debate during the 34th District Democrats‘ monthly meeting, 7 pm at The Hall at Fauntleroy (9131 California SW), with guest moderators (your editor here is among them) asking questions on a variety of topics.
-Thursday night, Herbold and Braddock meet again, as we emcee the Friends of the Seattle Public Library-presented District 1 debate/forum at 6:30 pm at High Point Library, part of a simultaneous series of forums in the council districts citywide. Audience questions too – see you there!
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
With four weeks left until the general election – the night the voting ends and the vote-counting begins – a forum in Fauntleroy last night featured the six candidates for the three City Council seats that will be on your ballot.
“This is a unique election,” observed Boots Winterstein from the Westside Interfaith Network (WIN), which co-presented the forum with the League of Women Voters of Seattle-King County, whose Lucy Gaskill-Gaddis served as moderator.
The format put most of the questions to all of the candidates – for City Council District 1, West Seattle/South Park, Lisa Herbold and Shannon Braddock; for at-large (citywide) Position 8, Jon Grant and Tim Burgess; for at-large Position 9, Bill Bradburd and Lorena González.
The sharpest differences were evident between each of the two sets of citywide candidates; in the local race, it was more subtle, with little all-out disagreement. And District 1 is where the forum Q/A began.
The general election is November 3rd – exactly one month away – with ballots going into the mail in a week and a half. Two notes tonight:
CITY COUNCIL DISTRICT 1 – FLURRY OF FORUMS
Both finalists, Shannon Braddock and Lisa Herbold, were at the city’s “Find It, Fix It” walk on Saturday morning:
At one point in the introductory speeches, it sounded as if Mayor Murray was inviting both to come up to the podium – but they stayed in the crowd. Saturday night, both were due to participate in the Inspire Seattle candidates’ forum at a private residence in West Seattle. If you weren’t there, don’t fret – at least four more chances to see them side by side:
-This Tuesday (October 6th), 6:30 pm at Fauntleroy UCC Church (9140 California SW), presented by the Westside Interfaith Network and League of Women Voters
-Tuesday, October 13th, 6:15 pm, Neighborhood House’s High Point Center (6400 Sylvan Way), presented by the West Seattle Chamber of Commerce and WS Transportation Coalition
-Wednesday, October 14th, 7 pm, The Hall at Fauntleroy (9131 California SW), presented by the 34th District Democrats
-Thursday, October 15th, 6:30 pm, High Point Library (35th SW & SW Raymond)
REGISTERED TO VOTE?
If you’re not registered – this Monday (October 5th) is the deadline to get it done online. Just go here.
Story, photos, video by Tracy Record and Patrick Sand
West Seattle Blog co-publishers
Successes, challenges, even tragedy took turns in the spotlight as Mayor Ed Murray and a strike force of city staffers descended on North Delridge today for their 12th Find It, Fix It Community Walk, first one in West Seattle.
This was no “drop in and we’ll wander around” event. It was meticulously planned for months, with a community committee involved in planning the route and who would speak where and when. An audio system was carted from stop to stop, and speeches – by community members as well as the mayor and staffers – took up about a third of the hour and a half it actually lasted. With so much planned, it was far more thorough than the last mayoral walking tour we recall in the area, by Murray’s predecessor Mike McGinn five years ago, though part of the route was the same.
We’ll begin at the beginning:
At the starting point, the Louisa Boren STEM K-8 school at 5950 Delridge Way SW, the mayor was introduced by Neighborhood District Coordinator Kerry Wade, who spent months working with community volunteers to ensure this happened without a hitch. With a podium, PA system, and the full crowd, speeches ensued, starting with the mayor explaining what the walks are about:
He introduced the many department heads who were along for the walk:
From left, Seattle Public Utilities’ Ray Hoffman, Seattle City Light’s acting GM Jim Baggs, SPD Deputy Chief Carmen Best, Department of Neighborhoods’ Kathy Nyland, SDOT’s Scott Kubly, Parks Superintendent Jesús Aguirre, budget director Ben Noble, Department of Finance and Administrative Services’ Fred Podesta. Also taking a turn at the podium, City Councilmembers Tim Burgess and Tom Rasmussen:
The school was also the official first stop on the walk, highlighting the success story of its new crosswalk, installed just before this school year began:
Ironically, as community member Craig Rankin pointed out – having been deeply involved in making it happen (as reported here in March 2014) – it wouldn’t be where it is if the city had had its way:
After he spoke, it was off to the next stop, with residents Michelle Whelan and Maketa Wilborn pointing out one of the many places where the Delridge area – mostly a narrow valley, the “dell” between the “ridges” – has drainage challenges:
Using a tablet, they showed the mayor and SPU director Hoffman some images of problems in the past, and pointed out that nearby slopes are slated for development, wondering just how much worse things will get because of that, if something’s not done.
Stop number 3, as the group headed north, was a piece of city-owned property that will remain greenspace thanks to a community organization’s efforts to keep it from being sold off.
That’s Willard Brown from the Delridge Neighborhoods Development Association, which – as reported here recently – will be using grant money and donations to buy one of City Light’s surplus substation sites; here’s the aerial look from SCL’s website.
During the Find It, Fix It walk, Brown spoke about how preserving the greenspace will benefit students from the nearby school:
But some “fixing” is still needed here, he noted, adding his voice to those clamoring for drainage and water-routing improvements in the area. Turning west, the group crossed Delridge Way, and stopped by the planting strip on the south side of the Super 24 store, where, as previewed here last week, the Nature Consortium had a cleanup project under way:
(You might recall some controversy over that planting strip – which previously had been part of a small perpendicular-parking area, and then, when converted, was overpaved, leading to the creation of the beds that were weeded today.) NC executive director Merica Whitehall spoke here during today’s event:
She told the mayor and participants about her organization’s work with the community and with the West Duwamish Greenbelt, in tandem with thousands of volunteers every year:
The alley leading toward Delridge Library was the next segment of the route:
While walking northbound in the alley, community advocate Pete Spalding (above right) talked about neighbors’ watchfulness and the principle “if you see something, say something.” The mayor also heard from library manager Jane Appling, whose staffers and clients have to deal with what happens in the alley, too, and with North Delridge Neighborhood Council‘s Michael Taylor-Judd (below left):
(At right in the photo above is city traffic engineer Dongho Chang, seen at many a local project meeting.) Concerns related to the alley, besides its overall condition, continue to range from vandalism to drug use; the mayor mentioned the ongoing work to hire more officers for SPD, as well as rampant problems attributed to the nation’s “drug epidemic.” Finding needles and syringes was a problem also mentioned by Delridge P-Patch volunteers, who spoke at the next stop:
They also spoke of successes including their Giving Garden – growing food-bank donations – and how they were able to convert some young area troublemakers into garden volunteers. Some of the walkers moved on through the garden, still beautifully in bloom for fall …
… while some stopped for treats, including the mayor:
Food was the focus at the next stop, the space reserved on the ground floor of Cottage Grove Commons for the Delridge Grocery Co-op‘s future permanent home:
DGC volunteers met the visitors and talked about their years of work to get a store open to help make Delridge less of a “food desert.” This week, they announced to their 400+ members that they had been told “informally” that DGC would be declined for a loan it had hoped would bring a big boost toward opening – but they vow to push on and find financing some other way. This stop was a rare chance, by the way, to look inside their future space at 5444 Delridge Way SW – mouse over our Instagram clip to play a :15 clip panning around inside:
In the courtyard of Cottage Grove Commons, those who hadn’t straggled off along the way heard about the building – open now for almost two years as housing for people who were previously homeless – and that one of residents and managers’ biggest concerns is nearby traffic and safely crossing the street. This is where tragedy was mentioned – the death of a CGC resident hit by a car in November of last year. This next clip also includes the mayor’s closing remarks:
With his promise to return, the first West Seattle “Find It, Fix It” walk wrapped up after about an hour and 20 minutes – a visit that had been months in the making.
Perhaps one of the most important exchanges was back at the P-Patch, where the garden volunteers said they didn’t know how to ask for help with some of their problems – where to go in city government. The mayor said for one, speaking up at the event was the same as asking for help. For two, he said, his staff is working on ways for people to navigate the tangle of city departments and services more easily. Sometimes it might seem like departments are in silos – but a sighting along the way was a reminder that it doesn’t have to be that way:
Staffers from multiple departments – including the firefighter in our photo – carried grabbers and bright yellow bags, picking up trash and debris as they walked in the Saturday sunshine.
P.S. Both candidates for West Seattle’s new District 1 City Council seat were there too; photos to come, in a separate report looking ahead to Election Day, now exactly one month away.
P.P.S. Lots of side conversations – we’ll be adding notes about the ones we hear of, like this mention from Sanislo Elementary, whose reps brought up the illegal dumping that’s a chronic problem nearby.
From 11 am to 1 pm tomorrow, many eyes will be on Delridge Way SW as the first Find It, Fix It Community Walk in West Seattle travels along about a mile of the busy arterial. It’s happening one year into the mayor’s program, which describes each walk as “a gathering of community members, City officials, and the Mayor to help identify issues that affect the safety and aesthetics of a neighborhood.” In addition to the mayor and community advocates, Councilmembers Tom Rasmussen and Tim Burgess are also expected, according to a council tweet. A group of residents has spent many weeks planning for this, and some events are already scheduled – we mentioned the Nature Consortium-led beautification project (volunteers appreciated!) – and the Delridge P-Patch has announced that it will host a Cider Social 1-4 pm, starting right after the walk, which ends at the garden. You don’t have to register to be part of any or all of this – either be part of it from the start (11 am, Louisa Boren STEM K-8, 5950 Delridge Way SW) or join along the way (should be hard to miss). See you there!
West Seattleites who don’t want former substation sites sold to the highest bidder made their case to the City Council Energy Committee this morning, as previewed here on Monday. (Above, you can watch the full Seattle Channel video of this morning’s meeting.) In addition to the two sites – Delridge and Fauntleroy – for which community groups might get an extra year to raise purchase money, the Dakota site on Genesee Hill might also get a partial reprieve:
Councilmember Tom Rasmussen said this morning that he’s introducing an amendment to give that community, where the save-the-sites-as-open-space movement began, up to three years to raise money to buy it. Katie Stemp of Seattle Farm School told the committee about her new idea for the site, and members of the Genesee-Schmitz Neighborhood Council spoke of their longtime advocacy for keeping it as community-owned space – particularly considering it’s across the street from the under-construction Schmitz Park at Genesee Hill, which will be home to West Seattle’s most populous elementary school when it opens next school year. The two West Seattle substations that do not appear to have community purchase efforts under way right now are Dumar (in north Highland Park) and Andover (on Pigeon Point); Seattle City Light has said other city departments are not interested in the West Seattle sites. In addition to testimony about specific purchase efforts, some West Seattleites argued that open space is priceless -citing a big backlog of demand for community features such as P-Patches, for example. As committee chair Councilmember Kshama Sawant pointed out, this was the committee’s first look at the substations’ fate, so no vote today on the proposed ordinance that would authorize their sale – that’ll be at a future meeting; we’ll continue to follow up as the process proceeds.
That’s the Seattle Channel video from this morning’s City Council Transportation Committee meeting, where the big “action report” for the West Seattle Bridge-Duwamish Waterway Corridor received relatively little examination, since everything else ahead of it on the agenda had taken so much time. (Advance the video to 2:17:34 to get right to it; it’s the final 15 minutes of the meeting.)
We brought you the first look at the report, with its 27-item project list and an even weightier “white paper,” on Sunday night – if you haven’t seen it already, take a look here for direct links as well as embedded versions of the three project documents.
West Seattle-residing, and soon-departing, City Councilmember Tom Rasmussen – the committee’s chair – reminded those on hand this morning that ours is “the busiest traffic corridor in Seattle.” As the report notes, the number of “incidents” (crashes, stalls) in the corridor isn’t high – but any incident’s impact IS, affecting traffic for an estimated 47 to 55 minutes on average.
A few “highlights” mentioned by SDOT staffers from the project list, in the brief briefing:
*Red bus-lane markings (happening now) – “we’ve seen some promising results” from elsewhere in the city, SDOT says. Rasmussen reinforced that more enforcement will be sought.
*ITS improvements (messaging-board signage, signal adjustments, etc.)
*Incident-management protocols
*Enhanced crossing improvements at the notorious 5-way intersection
*4th Avenue improvements, especially to make it more viable for transit, particularly looking ahead to the post-Viaduct Highway 99 future
Some of the changes won’t require more money – just more training, for incident-management protocol changes, for example. Some ITS changes will require more money, though, and that’s part of November’s Move Seattle levy, the committee was reminded.
Rasmussen asked about a long-sore subject – working with the U.S. Coast Guard on reducing low-bridge openings during peak times, or at least during incidents – SDOT’s Bill LaBorde did not sound terribly optimistic. It’s still “voluntary compliance” with the request to reduce some of those openings. (Rasmussen led multiple attempts to change this in recent years, and the feds said no each time – saying maritime takes precedence.)
So what happens to all these ideas now? We asked Councilmember Rasmussen that last night, during a short interview in the bus-lane-marking zone. He said he’s glad to get all this out there – but others will need to step forward to hold the city accountable. (He didn’t say it, but whomever’s elected to the District 1 City Council seat – which he decided not to seek – is a prime candidate, obviously.)
(For starters, the West Seattle Transportation Coalition, which pushed for much of this even before its first year was out, will be talking about it at its meeting this Thursday, September 24th, 6:30 pm at Neighborhood House’s High Point Center, 6400 Sylvan Way SW.)
RELATED NOTE – TRAFFIC INCIDENT MANAGEMENT: Preceding the bridge-report presentation, Heather Marx from SDOT said 17 of the recommendations have now been acted on. She handed the baton to Mark Bandy, an urban-traffic-corridors specialist hired by SDOT from WSDOT, as mentioned in our followup a month ago on the incident-management recommendations.
That’s the video just published by the Seattle Channel from last Thursday’s first local post-primary forum (dubbed a debate, but not really in that format) featuring the finalists for Seattle City Council District 1 (West Seattle and South Park), Lisa Herbold and Shannon Braddock. It’ll be shown on SC’s cable channel (21) sixteen times between now and October 1st, so if you want to watch that way, here’s the schedule:
Mon, Sep 21, 7:00 p.m.
Tue, Sep 22, 5:00 p.m.
Wed, Sep 23, 4:00 a.m.
Thu, Sep 24, 12:00 a.m.
Thu, Sep 24, 11:00 a.m.
Thu, Sep 24, 4:00 p.m.
Fri, Sep 25, 1:00 a.m.
Fri, Sep 25, 7:00 a.m.
Fri, Sep 25, 8:00 a.m.
Sat, Sep 26, 4:00 a.m.
Sun, Sep 27, 8:00 a.m.
Mon, Sep 28, 8:00 a.m.
Tue, Sep 29, 4:00 p.m.
Wed, Sep 30, 4:00 a.m.
Wed, Sep 30, 2:00 p.m.
Thu, Oct 01, 6:00 p.m.
And if you’d like to see and hear the candidates in person, you have at least four more chances:
The next local, open-to-the-public forum on the schedule is 6:30 pm Tuesday, October 6th, at Fauntleroy UCC Church (presented by the League of Women Voters and Westside Interfaith Network). That’ll be followed by 6:15 pm October 13th at Neighborhood House’s High Point Center (presented by the West Seattle Chamber of Commerce and West Seattle Transportation Coalition), along with 7 pm October 14th at The Hall at Fauntleroy, presented by the 34th District Democrats‘ regular meeting; and one set for October 15th at the High Point Library (not on the calendar yet so stay tuned for the time).
ORIGINAL REPORT, 10:29 AM: The community coalition that’s been trying to convince the city not to sell off a group of ex-substation sites, mostly in West Seattle – saying we’ll regret the lost open space – has just discovered that a decision is near.
At Wednesday morning’s meeting of the City Council Energy Committee, City Light will ask official permission to sell eight sites (there originally were nine, but one in the Rainier Valley has been transferred to Seattle Public Utilities). Aerial views and addresses of the sites are here. Two (in south Highland Park, below, and Burien) are planned for sales to other public agencies:
Two (in Fauntleroy and Delridge, below) might go to community non-profits:
The other four (three in West Seattle, below – in Genesee Hill, Pigeon Point, and north Highland Park – one in SeaTac) will, at this point, just plain go up for sale:
Here’s the slide deck the council committee will be shown:
(Other meeting documents are here.)
This all goes back more than two years; in summer of 2013, Seattle City Light announced it was “studying” what to do with the surplus substations. A formal public hearing was held in fall 2013. Individual community groups took a look at the sites in their respective areas, such as the Highland Park Action Committee‘s discussion of the Dumar site in September 2013; the Genesee-Schmitz Neighborhood Council has been focused on the Dakota site’s fate. The two nonprofits hoping to purchase sites are the Fauntleroy Community Association, looking at raising money to buy the Fauntleroy site, and Delridge Neighborhoods Development Association, hoping to get the Delridge site.
Sale of the remaining four would bring $1.2 million into the city treasury, SCL estimates, adding that – as noted in the slide deck – they’ve already asked other city departments, including Parks, about their interest, and found no takers, aside from the aforementioned SPU transfer.
The Seattle Green Spaces Coalition – founded as the West Seattle GSC, focusing on the substation sites but expanding citywide to advocate for open-space preservation – says it didn’t even get notification this was coming up for council consideration this week, but rather found out by reading the committee agenda sent out at the end of last week. It’s asking supporters to contact the mayor and the council, which certainly can be done with any opinion on the proposed sale, pro or con. As with most council committee meetings, there’ll be a public-comment period on Wednesday as the 9:30 am meeting gets under way; it’ll be shown live via Seattle Channel, cable channel 21 and online at seattlechannel.org. Once the committee has considered the City Light recommendation, it’ll move on to the full council for a final vote.
ADDED 12:10 PM: City Light spokesperson Scott Thomsen clarifies the process: This Wednesday’s Energy Committee meeting is when the bill to “dispose” of the surplus ex-substations will be introduced; a briefing is planned but not a vote – that would come at a subsequent meeting. Also, reviewing the full agenda, this item IS listed as an official “public hearing.”
One year after voters approved creating the Seattle Park District to provide more money for the city’s park system, Mayor Murray has gone public with his first full-year budget proposal for the district. He was in South Park this morning for the announcement; above, you can watch Seattle Channel‘s archived video of the event. The news release is here – and probably of most interest locally is the list of what will be funded if his proposal goes through. See it here; we’ve excerpted specific West Seattle mentions below (but note that some items on the list are very general, so these are not necessarily ALL the ways in which WS facilities/locations would get funding):
PLAY AREAS
Renovate play areas with new play equipment and make any necessary safety and ADA improvements. Complete Lincoln Park (North), Webster Park and Gilman Park play areas in 2016. Begin the following 7 renovations: Prentis Frazier, Georgetown, High Point, Dearborn, Discovery, Hiawatha and South Park play areas.
COMMUNITY CENTER REHABILITATION AND DEVELOPMENT
Condition assessments under way for the following community centers: Green Lake, Hiawatha, Jefferson, Loyal Heights, Magnolia, Queen Anne, South Park, Lake City. This information and the Community Center Strategic Plan will inform priority projects
INCREASE PREVENTIVE MAINTENANCE
New Third Shift Crew of journey-level trade positions (electricians, painters, carpenters and plumbers) maintains recreation facilities at night to avoid disruption to the public during operating hours and to work more efficiently. In 2016, the Third Shift Crew will work at 14 sites Camp Long, Rainier Beach CC, Van Asselt CC, International District/Chinatown CC, Alki CC, Miller CC, Yesler CC, Montlake CC, Laurelhurst CC, Ravenna-Eckstein CC, Magnolia CC, Green Lake CC, Loyal Heights CC, South Park CC. These are in addition to 10 sites already funded for preventive maintenance in the department’s base budget: Colman Pool, Mounger Pool, Mount Baker Bathhouse, SW Crew Quarters and the following facilities which will require closures: Evans Pool, Southwest Pool, Amy Yee Tennis Center, Madison Pool, Queen Anne Pool. This means improved maintenance at 24 facilities in 2016, and moving from a 5-7 year cycle of visits to a 2-year cycle. Because much of the work is done at night, there will be fewer 2-3 week closures and fewer interruptions of child care programs, before- and after-school care, sports and many other activities.
PROVIDE CLEAN, SAFE, WELCOMING PARKS
Improve parks grounds maintenance, landscaping, and tree work by adding a third tree crew to protect the long-term health of park trees (decreasing tree maintenance cycle from once every 50 years to once every 14 years); increasing support for the Seattle Conservation Corps; and increasing park maintenance including doubling weekly cleanings of comfort stations during peak season at 41 locations: Cal Anderson, Powell Barnett, Volunteer, Madison Beach, Madrona Beach, Washington, Pratt, Garfield, Seward, Atlantic City, Genesee, Othello, Jefferson, Judkins, Alki, Rainier, Van Asselt, EC Hughes, Seacrest, Highland Park, Lincoln Beach, Riverview, Roxhill, Lincoln Wading Pool, John C. Little, Gas Works, Upper Woodland, Lower Woodland, Central Woodland, Green Lake, North Acres Spray Park, Carkeek, Golden Gardens Upper, Golden Gardens Beach, Soundview, Maple Leaf, Matthews Beach, Magnuson, Viewridge, Dahl, Meadowbrook.
PUT THE ARTS IN PARKS
Working with the Office of Arts and Culture, recruit and select artists to “activate” parks through approximately 40 performances and temporary installations. While not limited to these sites, the following parks have high priority for activation: Cal Anderson, Dr. Blanche Lavizzo, First Hill, Judkins, Flo Ware, Powell Barnett, Denny, Ballard Commons, Lake City Mini Park, Mineral Springs, Salmon Bay, University Playfield, Hutchinson, John C. Little, Othello, Pritchard Beach, Delridge, Duwamish Waterway, Roxhill.
DEVELOP 14 NEW PARKS AND LAND-BANKED SITES
Start planning and design from 2016 to 2018 for 14 new parks all over the city on land acquired with 2008 Parks and Greenspaces Levy including: Lake City Hub Urban Village, Baker Park Addition, Greenwood Park Addition, Greenwood/ Phinney Residential Urban Village, Wedgwood, U District UCV, Fremont HUV, Denny Triangle, International District UCV, 48th and Charlestown, North Rainier HUV, West Seattle Junction, Morgan Junction RUV, South Park Plaza (bold indicates the sites planned to start in 2016).
The local “land-banked sites” mentioned for West Seattle are, in the Junction, the one on 40th SW south of SW Alaska, current interim home to Fire Station 32, and in Morgan Junction, just north of MJ Park, the site currently housing a commercial building. Those two and 48th/Charlestown are all now city-owned but there’s no money to develop them as parks, pending this proposal (or something else in the future). Again, LOTS more in the full list linked above, but these are the items that include specific, called-out-by-name West Seattle locations. Next year is the first year that property taxes will be collected to fund the Park District and its projects.
(Photo substituted for video window post-event, until archived video is available; thanks to County Councilmember Joe McDermott for permission to republish)
7:35 PM: Click the play button and you should get the live feed of tonight’s Youngstown Cultural Arts Center faceoff between the City Council District 1 candidates who made it to the general election, Shannon Braddock and Lisa Herbold. This is one of a citywide series of forums/debates presented by Town Hall and the Seattle Channel; lead moderator tonight is your editor here, with community moderators Cecile Hansen, chair of the Duwamish Tribe, and Fernando Mejia-Ledesma of OneAmerica, and Q&A moderator Edward Wolcher from Town Hall. You can e-mail a question to debates@townhallseattle.org or ask one via Twitter with the hashtag #seacouncil.
7:40 PM NOTE: This program is intended to run an hour, by the way, so it will go until about 8:35 pm. After that – we’ll be watching for the archived video.
8:38 PM UPDATE: The forum’s over, so the live feed is too; Edward from Town Hall says it will be on Seattle Channel (cable) Monday night. Archived video will also be available via the SC website, and we’ll add it here when it is. Thanks to everyone who came to Youngstown to be in the “live” audience – the lights were bright and we didn’t get a count, but in a quick early glance, seemed like most of the seats are filled. Town Hall is doing these in all the districts – this was the first one. Also, if you missed it but want to be sure to see the candidates in person before you vote, you’ll have at least four more chances – we know of four forums in West Seattle next month – stand by for those dates.
Though other matters are holding the spotlight, the November election is just seven weeks away, and you’ll have a lot to decide. The coverage ramp-up has begun.
CITY COUNCIL DISTRICT 1 CANDIDATES DEBATE THURSDAY: The finalists for the City Council’s new West Seattle/South Park seat will debate in the district on Thursday (September 17th) for the first time since last month’s primary.
Shannon Braddock and Lisa Herbold will face off at Youngstown Cultural Arts Center (4408 Delridge Way SW), 7:30 pm Thursday. Your editor here is lead moderator, with community moderators including Duwamish Tribe chair Cecile Hansen. The debate is presented by Town Hall Seattle, whose website has full details – they’re also requesting you RSVP via that page (though admission is free).
34TH DISTRICT DEMOCRATS’ ENDORSEMENTS: We’ve already reported on some of what happened at last Wednesday’s meeting of our area’s largest political organization, the 34th District Democrats – a resolution supporting the striking Seattle Education Association‘s contract proposals, and a speech plus Q/A with SEA’s lead bargainer. Also at the meeting Wednesday night, in addition to endorsements they made before the primary, a block of general-election endorsements was approved, including Courtney Gregoire for re-election to Port Commission Position 2, approval of Seattle I-122 “Honest Elections,” approval of King County Proposition 1 “Best Starts for Kids,” and rejection of State Initiative 1366. In separate votes, Fred Felleman was endorsed for Port Commission Position 5 and the Move Seattle transportation levy was endorsed. The full list of new 34th endorsements is here.
The group also heard from numerous candidates and candidate reps. One memorable point was made by County Elections Director candidate Zack Hudgins, who spoke disapprovingly of the 25 percent turnout for the primary and said action was needed because “to get better government we need better participation.” One of his ideas: More ballot boxes in the county. West Seattle, you might recall, doesn’t have a fixed dropoff box – the last one was removed five years ago.
(West Seattle’s last fixed-location ballot-dropoff box – WSB photo, 2009)
A ballot-dropoff van visits for three of the four days before the voting deadline. Otherwise, you have to pay postage and get your ballot into the mail, an idea that once was suggested as a turnout-booster, not reducer.
Next month’s 34th Dems meeting (7 pm October 14th, Hall at Fauntleroy) is scheduled to include a City Council candidates’ forum.
Just in from the City Attorney’s Office, this announcement of how it’s defending against the lawsuit filed challenging the recently approved gun and ammunition tax:
The $25 per firearm tax on retailers enacted to mitigate the costs of gun violence in Seattle is “a proper and lawful exercise” of the City’s authority as granted by the Washington Constitution and Legislature, the City declared in rebutting a lawsuit filed by the NRA, among other gun-rights groups, and several individuals. “The Ordinance does not limit any person’s right to purchase, sell, acquire, transfer, discharge, or transport firearms or ammunition,” the City said in its answer to Watson v. City of Seattle.
“This is where Seattle draws the line,” City Attorney Pete Holmes said as assistant City attorneys, aided by national and local counsel working pro bono, entered their appearances in the case Wednesday in King County Superior Court.
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