Story and photos by Jason Grotelueschen
Reporting for West Seattle Blog

Neighbors gathered earlier this week for a general gathering of the Admiral Neighborhood Association to hear from guest speakers and discuss community issues and upcoming holiday events. The meeting was held at Admiral Church on Tuesday and was facilitated by president Joanie Jacobs, and here’s a recap: 

First on the agenda (bumped to the top because she needed to attend to a family commitment) was city attorney Ann Davison, who gave an update to the group and answered questions. She had spoken last month to the Alki Community Council (WSB coverage here) and provided a similar update for the Admiral group. 

Davison reiterated the importance of neighborhood meetings like this being a crucial part of her job, and how much she appreciates people coming out to attend.

Davison cited her partnership with the Seattle City Council in September’s 8-1 council approval of the creation of Stay Out of Drug Areas (SODA) areas, which target drug-related criminal activity in key areas of the city (such as portions of Belltown and the International District) and authorizing the courts to prohibit an individual from entering those areas if they have committed a drug-related criminal offense in those zones. Davison said she is optimistic that the zones are small and targeted enough to really make a difference, saying that past efforts to identify priority areas of the city involved about 40% of the city’s 83 square miles (“simply too big”) but that the current SODA areas make up only .5% of the city. “These areas are a tool for officers to protect the public space and provide predictability,” she said, so the general public “can get where they need to go and do what they need to do.” She added that because prior booking restrictions for King County Jail were lifted on November 1st, this will also help officers be more responsive for the community. “That was a missing piece; an instrumental change,” she said.

Davison then took some questions from attendees:

• Q: Can you help stop the proposed removal of the road divider on Delridge near the RapidRide stop on Delridge that Rob Saka has added to the budget? A: As a lawyer for the city, I can’t take litigation action “against myself,” but please continue raising your concerns. 
• Q: Regarding the SODA zones, do you find that people moving out of those neighborhoods simply go somewhere else and cause similar problems?  A: It’s difficult to track, but we’ll do what we can to monitor that. I recently attended an Alaska Junction meeting in which this general topic came up, and we want to keep an eye on it — do the people who aren’t allowed to be in those areas simply move just outside the boundaries?
• Q: What about the King County Jail space that’s opened up? A: The contract was for 135 beds; we had 70 beds previously, so we’ve almost doubled the capacity to help officers be responsive. It should help; previously the officers likely didn’t even take the person to jail because they knew they wouldn’t be booked. 
• Q: I was at a D1 council meeting a few years ago, and a woman was there who said she was hired by city to revamp 911 – what’s the status?  A: That was likely Chief Amy (Smith) Barden from the city’s CARE Department (Community Assisted Response and Engagement), which is working to expand those services, but that’s the extent of what I know.
• Q: I’m an Admiral Junction business owner and have been struggling with people involved with a nearby apartment building who have been using their dumpsters to block the sidewalk and block cars in, and have been threatening me. There are 3 existing police reports on this, but officers have said they can’t do anything unless there is an actual assault. What can I do? A: Very sorry you’re having to deal with that — please do contact my office.
  At that point, SPD officer German Barreto (who was also in attendance, representing the SW Precinct) also offered to follow-up and help, and provided his card and contact information to the business owner.

Davison then needed to leave the meeting for a family obligation, and encouraged attendees to reach out to her office with questions and concerns. She said that she lives in north Seattle and thus isn’t in West Seattle every day, but she wants to hear from citizens.  Jacobs thanked Davison for the extra effort to attend the meeting and make the time. 

The group discussed and approved the minutes of their prior meeting, and then invited officer Barreto to provide some updates: 

Barreto said that, from a crime-stats perspective in the Admiral area, most of the crime numbers are down, with the exception of aggravated assault and burglaries.  Some attendees noted that this wasn’t particularly comforting news, which Barreto acknowledged, but said that the relative number of incidents was still low, thus any data change one way or another is going to result in a significant “percentage change.” Barreto noted that crime data is published online and is readily available. 

Barreto then answered questions from attendees:

• Q: Just to reiterate the prior 911 question that we asked Davison, what changes are being made? A: That’s under the CARE department. What I can say is, always call 911 if you see something. Generally, don’t use the non-emergency line. 
• Q: What’s the current staffing level? A: We just got two more officers; getting staffing slowly but surely. Another Q: There seem to be a lot more police patrols (which is great), has there been a change in routes?  A: I can’t say the exact reason but I know that Lt. Shopay (referring to SW Precinct Operations Lt. Nathan Shopay) is working hard to get more officers out and about. The visual presence does deter criminal activity.
• Q: Are there issues with staffing and getting recruits, contracts etc? Or are you seeing more recruits coming in?  A: Yes, we had 50+ people at a hiring event last weekend, which is nice to see — obviously they would still need to go through training to determine if they’re the right fit (maybe we get 10 of them to be officers?) I can take people on ride-alongs.  Follow-up Q: Is there increased morale?  A: Yes, SPD feels very supported, which makes things better.
• Q: I was here a year ago and asked about traffic enforcement; what’s the status? A: That’s a different division, there are a small number of traffic-enforcement cars for the city.  If we can get more staffing (especially motorcycle officers) that’s helpful, because they are less visible and can help with enforcement.  (one attendee confirmed that it seems like he’s noticed more motorcycles around).  Follow-up Q: What about officers on bikes? I saw a big group of them recently. A: Yes, we’re trying to get more trained bike officers, and we promote that training department-wide; you may see groups of them riding across I-90 and back as part of training. Another follow-up Q: Would having more traffic officers end up being revenue-positive?  A: I would think so, but some traffic stops just result in warnings — when I was in academy, we learned that “traffic enforcement is education,” with the primary goal being to ensure that motorists aren’t harming other people.
• Q: With the “Belltown Hellcat” (aka Miles Hudson) being a nuisance, has there been copycats?  A: Perhaps some, but although we can pull people over if we think their exhaust noise is too loud, we’re unlikely to win in court unless the officer has a decibel meter (which we typically don’t).   Follow-up Q:  What about general reckless driving and lawlessness in cars? A: After we make an arrest, it goes to the courts. Yes, better and more drivers’ education could help.  Follow-up Q:  I think criminals know that there is very little enforcement, so the chances of them being deterred are slim. Another follow-up Q: The removal of “qualified immunity” 5+ years ago may play a factor.  A: We do what we can; we do have emphasis patrols in high-traffic areas like Alki in the summer, but staffing can be an issue. We have to weigh the risk/reward: if we see a person doing donuts with their car in an intersection, we can stop them, but if they take off then we have to weigh the risk of pursuing.  Our #1 job is helping with quality-of-life. 
• Q: Is parking enforcement people under a different department? A: Currently have a different supervisor, yes (this has changed over the years).  Follow-up Q: Can these people also enforce things like missing plates, excessive shading/tinting? A: No, it’s just parking. Follow-up Q: To report parking enforcement issues, what would you recommend.  A: Use the Find-It-Fix-It app. The info goes into a city-wide queue where it’s sent specifically to the area and to the appropriate agency. 
• Comment from an attendee: Good to hear that there are 2 more officers. Calling 911 does make a difference because officer resourcing is all data-driven — call volume helps determine staffing. 
• Comment/Q: My back hurts just looking at you (see the photo above, with Barreto’s “front pack” of gear), how much does that pack weigh? A: Yes, it’s a lot but we get used to it! (30-40 pounds)

Next was a report from treasurer Bridgett Markille, who reported that the group’s finances are strong, due to great support from small businesses and members, despite considerable expenses this past year on marquee events such as the Admiral Music in the Parks (AMP) series, the July 4th parade and the Admiral Funktion block party. She encouraged residents to support those small businesses. 

Next up was an update from communications chair ​Dan Jacobs, who reported that ANA has been graciously gifted a software program called MonkeyPod that will be the group’s new platform for management of financing, communications, donations etc.  The donation is being facilitated by MonkeyPod’s Mike Depew, who lives in the Admiral area and wanted to get involved with what ANA is doing. 

The ANA group then elected officers, and attendees approved the continuation of the 4 existing officers to remain in their positions:

President: Joanie Jacobs 
Vice President: Cheryl Lea
Secretary: Meagan Loftin
Treasurer: Bridgett Markille

Jacobs expressed support for Admiral Church and its staff, saying that the church lets ANA meet there for free, helped host one of the AMP concerts, and has been a great partner. 

She added that ANA needs a team leader to head up the group’s annual 4^th of July parade (WSB coverage here).  Megan Erb led it for about 10 years, but she is stepping down and they need a new leader for this popular local event. Jacobs emphasized that it’s not a “solo effort,” it takes many volunteers, but there does need to be a coordinator in order for the event to keep going. Interested? Contact the group via connecttoadmiral.org.

Jacobs acknowledged the recent unexpected death of WSB co-founder Patrick Sand, calling him “an amazing person; a force for good in our community,” and a great friend. She said that different neighborhood associations have been working on ways to honor his legacy, and ANA has decided that they’ll be starting a “Patrick Sand ANA Advocate Award,” and will accept applications in the near future, with the winner chosen by a group that will include WSB editor/publisher Tracy Record. 

Jacobs then acknowledged the volunteers who helped put together the group’s successful Admiral trick-or-treating event (WSB coverage here), saying that the group received very positive feedback about the event, particularly regarding the ANA-coordinated crossing guards (the first year for that). 

Some upcoming events, which Jacobs and the team talked about:

• Admiral Church Christmas Market (see our calendar listing, and the official event page). Enjoy a “German-style Christmas market.” Saturday, November 23^rd from 10 am-4 pm.  
• ANA’s new Winter Wonderland (see our calendar listing, and other details on ANA website homepage). Saturday, December 14^th from 10 am-2 pm at multiple Admiral locations.

The group closed the meeting with some raffle items, and thanked attendees for coming.

The next general gathering of the Admiral Neighborhood Association will be held in the new year: Tuesday January 14th at 7pm at Admiral Church.