ACC General Meeting, Thursday @ 7 p.m.
ACC mtg. Nov. 17 @ 7 p.m.
Join ACC council members and residents as we discuss local issues and hear updates from our Landslide Committee, Metro Transit route changes and reports on numerous local projects. Meetings are free and open to everyone. Doors open at 6:45 p.m. Please join us!
Seattle Neighborhoods Actively Prepare (SNAP) Class, Nov. 3
From City of Seattle:
Seattle Neighborhoods Actively Prepare (SNAP) is offered at various libraries throughout the City to help residents and neighborhoods become better prepared for disasters. This interactive and informative program teaches simple steps that don’t take a lot of time or money. You’ll learn that preparedness can be fun and empowering!
| Location: | Southwest Branch Library, 9010 35th Ave SW, Seattle, WA 98126-3821 |
Department/Organization:Emergency Management
Sponsoring Organization:Emergency Management
Neighborhoods:Roxhill/Westwood/White Center, West of Seattle
Audience:Adults
Event Contact: Denise Smith, 233-5076
Event Contact Email:snap@seattle.gov
Alki Community Council: Landslide prevention, community-center cuts, Art Fair’s future
From West Seattle Blog: 10/23
Three major items from this past Thursday night’s Alki Community Council meeting: (WSB photo of November 2009 slide behind Alki Avenue building) LANDSLIDE COMMITTEE UPDATE: Jerry Smith told the ACC that Mayor McGinn‘s office has acknowledged the letter sent by the council’s Landslide Committee, asking to form a “joint task force” to help tackle the recurring slide problem. (We reported on the request, and an accompanying petition drive, here.) They expect to hear from Council President Richard Conlin once he’s back from traveling. Smith emphasized that they know nothing can be done to stop slides, but they are hoping to find ways to reduce the threat – such as “drains at the bottom of hillsides.” The committee also is interested in a city vegetation survey they found out about (the city owns much of the land on the slopes behind Alki Avenue residential parcels); Smith pointed out that the trees on the Harbor Avenue slope now are not “natural vegetation,” describing them as “basically weeds” that “fall over when the ground gets wet” and “don’t hold the soil.” They expect this to be a “very, very long-term project,” but are encouraged by the acknowledgment. ACC vice president Randie Stone, leading the meeting, noted that her famous “flower houses” on Alki had been hit by slides this year, back in March. Property owners are not “asking for money,” the ACC summarized – they just want to “be vigilant and proactive so we can minimize the damage.”
Alki Community Center
ALKI COMMUNITY CENTER: Kathy Nyland from City Councilmember Sally Bagshaw‘s office – she chairs the council’s Parks Committee – presented a quick summary of what was being proposed for the center in this year’s budget. Last year, it was reclassified as a “limited-use” community center, and Nyland acknowledged many lessons were learned, and plans were changed. This time around, community centers are being classified at certain levels of staffing and services, and Alki CC would be a “2b,” with about 25 drop-in hours a week. What hours will those be? Your chance for input is at a meeting coming up at Alki CC next month, Nyland reminded those who are interested (7 pm November 9th at the center). She also fielded what is a common complaint for supporters of centers that are losing hours – a complaint about problems with the usage-tracking done earlier this year, playing into some of the budget decisions. Nyland acknowledged it was not the best of processes, but better, she said, than the many previous years in which usage wasn’t tracked at all – a revelation that had many shaking their heads. (P.S. In addition to the upcoming Alki CC meeting, there’s also a major public hearing this week on the overall budget – Wednesday night downtown, details here.)
Art at Alki Beach
(WSB photo from Alki Art Fair this past July) ALKI ART FAIR’S FUTURE: This year, you might recall, the city’s staffing and hours cuts at Alki Community Center meant a dramatic change for the annual Alki Art Fair – at one point even raising a question of whether the festival would happen at all. Volunteers joined forces and made it happen – and it not only “happened,” it succeeded in a big way, with more than 20,000 visitors, more than 60 arts/crafts vendors, and about three dozen musical acts. The city waived about $8,000 worth of fees, and the festival finished in the black, but they’re expecting to have to pay those fees outright this year, so they’ll need to raise money via more sponsorships (WSB was one of this year’s sponsors). Mike Galvin – who’s been a participating artist since 2004 – told the ACC they’re also going to form a 501(c)3 nonprofit to operate the event, which will be back to the 4th weekend in July for 2012 (this year it was on the 3rd). And they have a new mission statement declaring the fair to be “West Seattle’s premier summer art showcase.” Galvin said the new efforts should help the festival continue to grow. Alki Community Council meets the third Thursday of each month at Alki UCC Church (on Hinds between 61st and 62nd); it’s online at AlkiNews.com. Board membership will be on the November agenda (11/17), and two new trustees are needed.
Alki Council General Meeting, Thursday, Oct. 20 @ 7 p.m.
ACC mtg. Oct. 20 @ 7 p.m.
Join neighbors and resident for an evening filled with community news and updates. Further discussion on our landslide mitigation efforts;local coverage about our efforts can be read at the following news sites:
10/18 KOMO News:
We’ll also hear from Kathy Nyland from Councilmember Sally Bagshaw’s office who will provide an update on the changes at local city community centers.
Liz Ogden will provide an update on the upcoming Families and Education bill and Fred Madrid will discuss the 2012 Alki Art Fair.
Meetings begin at 7 p.m. at the UCC Church and everyone is welcome.
Community Preparedness Summit 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. Saturday September 24th
Emergency Preparedness mtg., Sept. 24
DATE: Saturday, September 24th
TIME: 9:00 a.m. – Noon Orientation 8:30-9 a.m. (for those not familiar with Emergency Communications Hubs)
LOCATION: Seattle Office of Emergency Management 105 5th Ave S. (Corner of 5th Ave S. and S Washington)
Parking available in nearby pay lots and street meters. Carpooling encouraged, bring a friend!
TOPICS: Lessons learned from recent earthquakes around the world How Social Media is being used following disasters RSVP: SNAP@seattle.gov
Visit the web site for more information: http://www.seattle.gov/emergency/prepare/neighborhood/
Landslide mitigation headlines upcoming ACC general mtg., Thursday @ 7 p.m.
ACC mtg. Sept. 15 @ 7 p.m.
Join friends and neighbors for our monthly general meeting on Thursday evening at 7 p.m. at the UCC Church.
The main topic for our meeting will be landslide mitigation.
Evening agenda includes:
Guest speakers on landslide mitigation: Esther Handy, lead staffer for Councilmember O’Brien and a representative from Seattle Public Utilities.
Cheryl Eastberg will join us as a guest speaker and provide an update on the Bronson Street development and we’ll have Cindy Barker provide an update on the footlocker at the Alki ballfield for emergency preparedness.
Meetings are free and we encourage you to join us for a very informative evening.
Candlelight vigil at plaza, Sept. 11 @ 7 p.m.
From WSB
9-11 Memorial at Alki Statue on Sunday @ 7 p.m.
With the 10th anniversary of 9/11 just a few days away, the West Seattle spot that became a regional touchstone is ready for candlelight-vigil visitors on Sunday night. David Hutchinson shares a new photo of the Alki Statue of Liberty, with this update:
The Alki Community Council would like to thank Seattle Parks & Recreation for completing the fall maintenance of the Alki Statue of Liberty Plaza in time for this weekend’s 9/11 10th anniversary memorial. This afternoon, Tiffany Hedrick, of the Office of Arts & Cultural Affairs, completed cleaning and waxing the statue and hung the flag provided by the SW Seattle Historical Society.
As previously noted, the Southwest Seattle Historical Society/Log House Museum is hosting a candlelight vigil at the plaza starting at 7 pm Sunday night. Our partners at the Seattle Times have just published a preview, noting that the museum plans to bring to the plaza, just for the occasion, some of what it collected from the hundreds of tribute/memorial items left there in the days/nights after the attack. Several other tribute/memorial/remembrance events are planned in West Seattle/White Center; we have just added two more to the list (see it here, and please let us know if you have something to add – thank you).
