Neighborhood Plan Status Report Meeting — in person!

(preamble: YES I did encourage you to submit your thoughts online, and YES, many of us did do so, but the City has relented and offered us an in-person make-up session, to make up for the very slim attendance at the earlier meetings. The City is promoting the meeting for the Central Area, which includes Madison-Miller, but will bring left-over handouts for the nearby areas: Capitol Hill, Pike-Pine, 12th Avenue. Should be a good chance to discuss ideas of joint interest.

BTW: note that after the meeting we can all retire to the nearby Bottleneck Lounge to celebrate their expansion and continue the discussion.)

Miller Community Center, 330 19th Ave. E 98112, 6 - 8 PM, Thursday, September 3rd.
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Please join members of the Seattle Planning Commission and the Neighborhood Planning Advisory Committee on for an important community meeting.
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These two citizen groups want to hear your thoughts. Come and tell us how the Central Area, Pike/Pine and Capitol Hill has changed since the creation of their Neighborhood Plans. Your comments and input at this meeting will help the City of Seattle complete a status report that will look at how well your neighborhood plan is achieving its goals and strategies.
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This meeting will provide an opportunity to learn about your neighborhood plan, the projects that have been implemented, and growth and changes that have occurred since your plan was written in the late 90's. We will explore issues such as growth, transportation, housing, economic development , basic utilities, neighborhood character, open space and parks, public services, public safety, and other issues.
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It would also be helpful to know your Neighborhood Plan and to bring it with you, so you can reference to them when needed. So, here are the links to your Neighborhood Plans:

Madison-Miller Neighborhood Plan:

http://millerparkseattle.blogspot.com/2007/05/neighborhood-plans-miller-plan-now.html
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Central Area:
http://www.seattle.gov/neighborhoods/npi/plans/central/
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Pike/Pine:
http://www.seattle.gov/neighborhoods/npi/plans/ppine/
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Capitol Hill:
http://www.seattle.gov/neighborhoods/npi/plans/CAPHILL/
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You can review draft status reports on-line at:
http://www.seattle.gov/dpd/Planning/Neighborhood_Planning/StatusReports/default.asp
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The follow up series of meetings, tentatively scheduled for late October, will be an opportunity to review the final status report.

Thursday: Bottleneck Lounge Expansion Celebration

(click to expand to legible size)

Shopping & amenities map

A couple of sets of visitors, in different parts of Capitol Hill, inspired me to make this Google map. I invite you to add to it. I think you'll need to be signed in to your Google account to edit/add to the map.

View Capitol Hill attractions and amenities in a larger map

Assorted Notes

Time to vote

Chance to provide feedback on neighborhood plans.

Need a low-interest home repair loan?

Have a lovely summer,

Andrew

School Board Candidate Forum: July 20th

Central District neighbor running for School Board

(Disclosure: I'm helping to run a candidate evening [July 27, 6 - 9 PM @ Mt. Zion], at which Joanna and the other candidates for District Director #5 will appear. Other candidates: I'll happily post your info here!)

Joanna Cullen is a longtime Central Area resident and her daughter and mine were class mates at Garfield (I recall them completing, late, a school project together). Joanna is now running for School Board and would like to tell you about her upcoming Friday July 10th kickoff event:

Joanna Cullen For Seattle Schools
Join us for the Friday, July 10th Kickoff
Join family, friends and supporters of Joanna.

Enjoy some great home cooking and conversation.

5:30 PM to 7:30 PM
1710 29th Avenue
Seattle, WA 98122
Hosted by Rickie Malone

For more information:
Email: jfoxcullen@voteforjoanna.com
Phone: 206-329-8514
voteforjoanna.com

Donations will be accepted.
If you can't attend donations may be mailed to:
Joanna Cullen for Seattle Schools
Director Position #5
P.O. Box 22255
Seattle, WA 98122

City Council Districts Charter Amendment Petition

(I'm doggedly neutral on this, but wanted to pass on the information for you to decide. Here's their website and here's Councilmember Burgess's view on the idea)


A friend is currently working to give citizens of Seattle representation by district at our City Council.You might consider signing the attached petition to: Give Seattle voters a chance to vote on changing the structure of our City Council by adding your signature to the DISTRICTS NOW Charter Amendment. Your signature helps put this Charter Amendment on the November 2009 ballot.

The goal of this Charter Amendment is to change our City Council from 9 all at-large Council positions to 5 districted and 4 at-large positions. Everyone will still get to vote for 5 of the 9 City Council positions – their district representative and the 4 at-large positions.

Some of the reasons Seattle voters have been supporting this Amendment are:

• To give a stronger voice to neighborhoods.
• To strengthen our ability to hold our elected Councilmembers accountable with our vote.
• Enables the districted positions to do grassroots campaigning within their community to get to know the local issues.
• 90% of all U.S. cities (population of 350,000+) have either all districts or a hybrid with a majority of districted positions.
• Only 5 of the 52 largest U.S. cities have all at-large Councils, with Detroit being the largest at-large city in the Nation.
• Seattle’s Council structure was put into place in 1910 and no longer serves a city that has more than doubled in size.
• Save a tree – 5 candidates won’t be mailing or dropping pamphlets throughout the entire city.

If you haven’t already signed the DISTRICTS NOW Charter Amendment, you could take just a few minutes to download, print both pages (on regular 8.5” x 11” paper), staple together, sign and mail to the address at the bottom of the petition. Call the sponsor, Action Seattle, if you have any questions at: 206.774.9146. The deadline to submit signatures has been extended to July 7th.

Three neighborhood events on Thursday

• Capitol Hill Community Council Elections will be held at the Cal Anderson Park Shelter House on Thursday, June 25th. The polls will be open from 7-9pm.
  
  This year, the Council is expanding its leadership committee to seven positions: President, Vice-President, Treasurer, Secretary and three "At-Large" representative positions. All candidates will make presentations at the meeting, to guide you in your voting. The positions of chair and vice-chair have two candidates each.
  
  View candidate profiles here:
  
  http://www.capitolhillcommunitycouncil.org/forum/t-155020/chcc-elections-2009
  
  
  
• East Precinct Crime Prevention Coalition
  Thursday, June 25, 2009, 6:30-8:00pm
  Seattle Vocational Institute, room 102-103
  2120 S. Jackson St, (free parking available in SVI parking lot, even if they forget to take the no parking sign down)
  
  Topics: Big Brothers Big Sisters of Puget Sound, Community Concerns & Precinct Updates
  
  
• SEATTLE COMMUNITY COUNCIL FEDERATION
  NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency), Pacific Marine Center on Lake Union
  1801 Fairview Avenue East
  http://seattlefederation.blogspot.com/
  Thursday, June 25, 2009, 7 - 9 PM
  
  AGENDA: Can Seattle Afford to Renew the Housing Levy?
  8:00 Round Robin
  1. Neighborhood Planning Advisory Committee—Status Report: How well are the City’s 24 neighborhood plans responding to issues such as growth, transportation, housing, economic development, open space, public safety and other issues?
  2. Multi-Family Code Update
  3. Other issues/projects
  
  NOAA is a federal facility on high security alert, so attendees must enter by the security gate and may need to present photo ID. If you haven't attended a recent Federation meeting, please send your name, contact information, and address to rickbarrett@gmail.com to be added to the entry list. No e-mail? Call 206-365-1267. The building is ADA compliant, with ample parking in front.
  

Friday: last day for Meany Middle School

Friday is the last day of Meany Middle School (1 hour early dismissal).

There were disturbances during their graduation on Tuesday:

"2 arrested at Seattle middle-school graduation melee", http://tinyurl.com/knnd8j

and other goings on yesterday:

(via Police scanner) "2:26PM - 21st Ave E and E Thomas Ave - Fight Disturbance - Group of girls heading to 28th and Jackson to finish a fight that started at their graduation ceremony last night" http://tinyurl.com/nwgx3w

You might want to be on the lookout for some exuberant behavior from the students when the school closes (1 hour early, 1:15 PM) on Friday.

Miller Playfield improvements: letter from Parks Superintendent

(in reply to my letter to him. My reply is below. Your comments are, of course, most welcome)

June 15, 2009

Andrew Taylor
Miller Park Neighborhood Association
Vice-President, Miller Advisory Council
andrew_taylor@mac.com

Dear Mr. Taylor,

Thanks very much for writing in with your suggestions.

1) Free time on the field for pickup games

We considered the possibility of setting certain times for drop-in play, but after discussion decided against it. The problem is that organizations would travel to the fields to use the open fields for (free) practice. Field demand always exceeds supply. What is proving to work well at Loyal Heights, and what we can do for Miller, is to post online the scheduled field times. That gives would-be drop-in players some sense of what times are available but is not so standard that organizations can count on it for practice times.

2) Encourage teams to use off-street parking

When we issue field permits, we provide teams with information on parking, and we’ll certainly do that at Miller Playfield.

Also, as part of the playfield renovation project if funds allow, we’ll install two pedestrian lights between the play area and the lower parking lot to make access safer at night.

We will also install a kiosk adjacent to the playfield, and we’ll use that to post a sign encouraging field users to use the lower parking lot instead of street parking or the upper (community center) parking lot. We can supply the map you generously offer to the teams and ask that they encourage use of the lower lot. It was also requested at the public meeting that additional lighting be added in the area of the outdoor accessed restroom. Here again we’ll do that if project funds allow.

Of course enforcement is always a problem. SPD’s Parking Enforcement steps in only when laws are being broken and, then, only when an officer is available.

3) Equip the outdoor bathrooms at Miller Community Center with automatic locks, to allow their use by players after evening games

If we can install automatic locks on the outdoor accessed restrooms at a reasonable cost that can be absorbed by the field project, we’ll do that. Staff have started researching that option. (The best systems require laptops, software, power.) It will take time for us to research work out a good plan.

In the meantime, starting June 15, we have contracted with Northwest Security to start locking the restrooms at night. Miller Community Center staff will open them weekday mornings, and Grounds Maintenance Crew staff weekend mornings.

Again, thank you for your good suggestions. We look forward to Miller’s new and improved playfield getting a lot of use when it’s ready for play at the end of August.

Sincerely,
Timothy Gallagher
Superintendent, Seattle Parks and Recreation

cc:
Larry Campbell, Parks Security, Seattle Parks and Recreation
Dennis Cook, Athletics Office, Seattle Parks and Recreation
Jeremy Doane, Miller Community Center, Seattle Parks and Recreation
Ted Holden, Miller Playfield Project, Seattle Parks and Recreation
Katie Mitchell, Facilities Maintenance, Seattle Parks and Recreation
Paul Wilkinson, Facilities Maintenance, Seattle Parks and Recreation
Christopher Williams, Deputy Superintendent, Seattle Parks and Recreation

Many thanks for your prompt and very informative reply to my suggestions.

Several of your items are contingent on there being sufficient funds in the field renovation project to allow their completion. I gather that the bids for the field renovation work were, due to the recession, significantly lower than anticipated. I presume that these extra funds are being used elsewhere, but would hope that they could be tapped to fund the improvements we have discussed.

In my previous letter I mentioned signage: the lower Miller parking lot is not obvious from the main roads (19th, 23rd, John). i suggest that directional signs be installed at appropriate intersections to guide field users to the parking lot. This should cost very little, and will be of great utility: the field users I've talked to have often been totally ignorant of the existence of the parking lot. The routes noted on my map would be appropriate places for signs.

Thanks again,

Andrew Taylor