Photo by Jason.by Betty Jean Williamson, Beacon Hill Music
As many of you may know, ROCKiT space, our community space for music and art, has been operating at a deficit for some time. A recent family emergency has pushed director Jessie McKenna to the breaking point; she simply can not continue to volunteer six days a week to keep ROCKiT space open, and continue to lose money on top of it.
A number of folks have stepped forward to volunteer during the month of December to keep the doors open while Jessie is not available. The lease ends January 23, 2011. The property is listed for lease on craigslist. The landlord is willing to consider working with the community to keep ROCKiT space (or something like it) in place, even if that means a co-op of a number of tenants. Contact me at bjwlmp@msn.com if you are willing to commit financial support or want to volunteer during December.
ROCKiT space supporters will meet on Sunday, December 5, at 10:00 am at ROCKiT space, 3315 Beacon Avenue South. Please join us for more info and planning. Bring your ideas and your calendars!
Two ROCKiT events have sufficient support to continue either on site or re-located to other Beacon Hill locations:
Open Mic: Beacon Hill Music will take over facilitating the event. We will continue on the first and third Fridays in December at ROCKiT space. I am currently negotiating with the Garden Club for use of their Headquarters house; other options for re-location are Jefferson Community Center or local restaurants.
Tots Jam: Suzanne Sumi is committed to keeping the music happening for the little ones every Wednesday morning from 9:00 to 10:00 am at ROCKiT for the next four weeks. She will discuss the situation with the parents and let me know what level of support they can muster. We feel the most likely relocation site is El Centro, if they have space available in that time frame.
We also agree that, what ever happens, we want to help with expenses at ROCKiT so that Jessie and Marty are not left holding the tab for the whole neighborhood. To that end we will seek funding sources and partners to develop a larger co-operative network to manage and support ROCKiT ongoing; if that support is lacking, we will donate these proceeds to ROCKiT to cover closing costs and hopefully keep these generous folks out of debt.
To that end we propose a few benefit events:
Open Mics will have a $5 suggested donation on December 4 and 18.
Robert Hinrix is working on a benefit concert at ROCKiT space, TBA in late December.
Rebecca Smithers will ask the Franklin High School Jazz Band to consider a joint fundraiser— they play at ROCKiT space, TBA. We charge admission and proceeds are split between ROCKiT and the Jazz Band.
Other suggestions for the space have included:
Shared office space for local non-profits.
A co-operative natural food store/coffee house/music venue or any part(s) of that.
I will be coordinating any volunteers who want to come in and open ROCKiT space for community use or do any cleaning, maintenance or organizing to stay or move ROCKiT out as the case may be.
Please send me any details of how and when you want to help.
Please share this letter with folks you know care about ROCKiT space and might want to help.
Neighbors in the area of 17th Avenue South and South Walker Street on North Beacon Hill were awakened late Thursday night by the sudden sound of metal grinding on metal followed by the long honk of a car horn.
Not knowing if something had fallen out of the sky nearby, one neighbor at the top of the stairway looked around the house in the dark, saw nothing, and went back to bed.
It wasn’t till daylight that the point of impact and projectile were discovered. A dark green Ford Explorer took a wild ride down the Walker Street Stairs, from the cul-de-sac near 16th Avenue, down to 17th Avenue and across into the cul-de-sac above the stairway to 18th Avenue.
Along the way the SUV broke some railing, bottomed out at the midway landing, then annihilated the steel guardrail and neighborhood bulletin board at the bottom. The impact was enough to rip the guardrail out of the ground, break up the concrete sidewalk it was anchored into, and send a chunk of concrete clear across 17th Avenue to the east. The SUV bounced onto the planting strip, went up the sidewalk (missing parked cars) and stopped when it hit a neighbor’s tree.
Injuries to the driver appear to be minor, as she was seen being helped away by friends with a van, who also pushed the Explorer out of a driveway and to the side of the road. Whether the damaged SUV will be towed by the owner or the city as an abandoned vehicle remains to be seen.
Neighbors recalled that a similar incident happened about ten years ago, but the car was smaller.
(All photos by David Gackenbach.)
Damage to the sidewalk, bulletin board, and stairway.The SUV left quite a mark.The guardrail and sidewalk were ripped out.
Last night a man fell down at 14th Avenue South and South College Street and it took an hour and a half for medical personnel to arrive. I witnessed a small part of this sad event during an evening jog (which occurs more rarely than it should). Around 7:15 pm, I passed by a man lying on his back half in the grass and half on the sidewalk. Embarrassingly, I ran past without stopping since it looked like a few other folks were within a couple of yards and, I rationalized, must be helping the downed man. I continued running a half block before guilt and a smallish tinge of good Samaritan ethic overcame me. Back near the fallen man were two men sitting on a wall paralleling the sidewalk (perhaps waiting for the bus—is there even a bus stop there?—or more likely keeping an eye on the fallen man), they replied to my query that the police had been called but no one had come. A woman standing much closer to the fallen man told me she had called 911 but no one had shown yet. I looked at the man on the ground who appeared incoherent and noticed the cane and bottle of prescription drugs lying next to him.
I called 911 and was happily shocked to be connected to an operator after only a few rings. The operator acknowledged that emergency services had been notified but were backed up (he said the police were very busy) and the fire department had been sent.
I hung up and reported the news to the folks nearby. The man sitting five yards away on the wall replied, “y’all shouldn’t have voted down those taxes last night, now we’ll never get any help.” (I may have actually inserted the ‘y’all’ since I’m in the minority of Seattleites using that gender neutral contraction, but that was the gist of it.) I’m not sure if by “y’all” he was referring to voters in general (and presumably he didn’t vote), or perhaps he meant Seattle voters (and thereby he was visiting from out-of-town or out-of-state), or he meant white people (and I don’t feel up to presuming the level of disenfranchisement he must have felt with our government if that was the group he was putting me into). Of course, I let him know that I too was sickened over the shortsighted and fiscally irresponsible outcome from Tuesday’s election.
A fire truck and four staff did arrive shortly thereafter. The man sitting on the wall stood up and waved them over and told the personnel that he had seen the man fall and watched a few people try to help him back to his feet unsuccessfully. He added that it had happened an hour and a half ago and the fallen man was complaining of being cold; he had watched over the fallen man because this wasn’t the safest neighborhood. The fallen man reeked strongly of alcohol, and I couldn’t actually discern anything he said, but he did mumble a few times while I was there.
Fallen, drunken individuals are not uncommon on Beacon Hill. I’ve previously encountered one before who was far more vocal (loudly so) and sitting in her own urine. After determining that she had no idea where she lived, I called 911 only to be told that they couldn’t do anything unless the woman wanted help, which she didn’t (my call set off a serious of loud and angry protestations from her that I feared would wake up the neighborhood at 3:00 am). However, the sitting man’s accusation that Washington’s poor decisions on the recent initiatives would further contribute to slower response times for our emergency services seemed to ring true for me. None of the initiatives actually concerned funding Seattle city emergency services (although 1107 has been predicted to raise $272.3 million for state government and $58.2 million for local governments through June 2013, and 1098 would have reduced state property and B&O taxes while raising around a billion more dollars for education and healthcare through an income tax on the wealthy), but money in the government is money that can be spent on all sorts of programs and services that benefit us all.
It’s achingly apparent to me that the man sitting on the wall nearby had it right. Perhaps I’m just feeling as disenfranchised as his accusation may indicate he feels, but I ask myself, will I ever stop to help someone if I know it’ll take over an hour for help to arrive? What if it takes five hours? Will people in Seattle become as heartless as those in New York city where more than 20 people walk past a man bleeding to death without helping?
I don’t want to be the type of person that walks past people in need, but, to be honest, I do it all the time. I’ve given money to people begging on the street, and I’ve given money to people that weren’t begging but looked to need it all the same. I’ve also ignored people that looked like they needed money and those that begged for it. I don’t know who needs it the most and I’m not sure it isn’t going to buy drugs. I’d rather my money went to a well-organized institution that would make our communities safer and healthier. I’d rather everyone in the community pay as they can for those services. For me, that institution is our government. It’s too bad the majority of Washingtonians don’t agree.
Photo by Rupert Ganzer via Creative Commons.by Stephan Blanford
Seattle’s school kids are facing a serious threat to their education and need your Yes vote on the school levy this November.
The State of Washington has cut over $32 million from Seattle’s public schools since 2008. As if that weren’t bad enough, the state is now facing a $4.5 billion shortfall. Olympia has signaled that even more cuts are on the way, and school districts are bracing for the worst. Our schools now face a $32.8 million budget shortfall for the 2011-12 school year with more to come.
To help make up for some of these cuts, state legislators changed the law so school districts could ask local voters for help during these difficult economic times. Our public schools are asking voters to approve a three-year, $48.2 million property tax measure this November that will make up for just some of the cuts our schools have suffered.
Voters should approve Proposition 1, the Seattle School Levy. The measure will provide roughly $6 million to purchase textbooks and basic classroom materials, $17 million to support teachers in the classroom, and over $25 million to reduce the number and severity of cuts to educational programs and services.
At 12 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value, the owner of a $400,000 home would pay just $48 per year to support our kids. That’s a small price to pay over the next three years to support our kids in this time of crisis, when they need our help the most.
The community is solidly behind this levy. The Beacon Hill International School PTA board voted unanimously to support the levy. Mayor Mike McGinn, County Executive Dow Constantine, the 34th, 36th, 46th and 47th District Democrats, Seattle Metro and King County Democrats, the teachers’ and principals’ associations, business groups, PTAs, the Seattle City Council, community organizations, and many other individuals and groups have endorsed the measure. They give their support because they know schools need our help.
I am shocked that there are opponents to this levy who say that because “this levy is only 3% of the budget; it won’t hurt kids.†Don’t be misled. That 3% represents nearly $50 million that our schools desperately need.
Opponents also point to an audit of the school district and say that the district needs to fix their accounting first. Schools First, the standing citizens’ group that works to pass school levies, closely monitors the fiscal health of the district. They are confident that all the audit findings are being addressed.
Our kids need us to vote YES on Proposition 1, the Seattle School Levy. Seattle’s 47,000 public school students are counting on us. This year’s ballot is filled with many issues and candidates. I encourage everyone to turn the ballot over and vote for the School Levy first—even though it’s last on the ballot!
Stephan Blanford is the Legislative Chair of the Beacon Hill International School PTA.
Do you have an opinion? We welcome opinion articles on topics related to Beacon Hill. Please email us your ideas.
This poster from the Beacon Hill Festival in June was covered with stickers that Beacon Hill neighbors used to vote on projects to prioritize in our neighborhood plan update. Photo by Wendi.by Frederica Merrell
The Department of Planning and Development (DPD) has introduced legislation to the City Council for adoption of our neighborhood plan update in Councilperson Mike O’Brien’s committee next Tuesday, September 28. You can download the Action Plan PDF file here. In the past week, they have finally put in all the details that people have been asking to see. Don’t blink, you will miss it!
DPD actions are phased as: o for on-going, p for planning, u for underway, or d for done. There are lots of blanks where they don’t know which phase we are in. I have to wonder why we are getting “done” projects in our action matrix for a ten-year plan for the future? I guess we need a little padding in a few spots! Here is my educated review of the Action Plan:
Goals #1, 2, and 3. DPD has put a lot of emphasis on developing low-income housing. DPD again claims to be developing an urban design framework for us, but I still don’t know what that means. Clearly zoning and land use is DPD’s main interest and expertise area. (It doesn’t hurt that every development project that gets permitted puts money in the department coffers.)
All the actions under the first three goals (housing and commercial district development) are on-going or planned. There is one interesting exception: Resolving litter issues in the town center is listed as done! I am not sure how that has manifested in our town center, exactly.
There are no housing goals, nor is there acknowledgement of the huge amount of multi-family housing going in at the north end of the hill. Rating: OK but incomplete for rest of neighborhood and maybe a little inaccurate on the litter front.
It starts to get weird under Goal 4: Parks and Open Space. They have only two policies: Preserve and support El Centro, and Seek Small Pocket Parks. There is emphasis on the El Centro Civic Gathering Space, an indoor facility, I believe (see Goal 6). The only actions with a planning designation are El Centro’s civic gathering space, El Centro’s children’s play area and an urban design framework element for Jose Rizal Park. In spite of the fact that eight different proposals for open space were submitted to the Parks Opportunity Fund this year, the only one acknowledged by DPD is the El Centro Children’s Play Area project. What about the other five: Lewis Park, North Beacon Central Park, Walker Street, 12th Street View Spot, and the Gatehouse project at Jefferson Park?
DPD pads this section with completed or almost completed projects. Beacon Hill Playground project is listed three times and is already underway, probably to be finished before the end of the year. Under Jefferson Park Master Plan, a small number of projects are underway or done. Why is “recommission the South Reservoir” in there as an action? It was completed over a year ago! Continue reading Analysis: Neighborhood action plan still lacks clarity→
Jefferson Park Gatehouse a few years ago. Photo courtesy of Mark Holland and Mira Latoszek.By Mark Holland and Mira Latoszek
The gatehouse at Jefferson Park is in imminent danger of destruction. After twelve years of neighborhood planning with the gatehouse in multiple versions of the Jefferson Park plan, Seattle Public Utilities (SPU) and the Seattle Parks Department (DPR), suddenly announced they decided to “demolish the gatehouse,” just months before the grand opening. What happened?
This story is a textbook example of the worst result that can occur when SPU and Parks fail to work together.
Falling through the cracks of bureaucracy
In 2002, just after the first year-long Project Advisory Team (PAT) meetings ended, SPU began a demolition permit for the old reservoirs. Unknown to the PAT or the community, the gatehouse was part of that permit because SPU thought there might be a possibility it would need to be removed along with the reservoirs. At the same time, SPU submitted a draft landmark nomination for the gatehouse to the landmarks board in preparation for the possible demolition.
Meanwhile, the neighborhood and city continued planning Jefferson Park. In 2005-2006, there was another year long PAT. The 2006 plan shows the gatehouse restored as restrooms with a “gatehouse plaza” in front. The plan also called for the removal of the obscuring trees on the west side. Parks still has not removed those trees, making it nearly impossible to see the building. The community, the ProParks levy oversight committee, the board of Park commissioners, the mayor and the city council all reviewed and approved the 2006 plan. This is the plan Seattle voters gave fifteen million dollars to plan and build through two parks levies.
As construction began, Parks determined it would be impractical to convert the gatehouse into restrooms. As a result, the budget for the gatehouse went elsewhere. SPU avoided demolition. When SPU asked Parks if they wanted the gatehouse, Parks responded, “As stated at the meeting, Parks is not interested in taking over the building and utilizing it for any purpose.†(6/15/2009)
This left SPU with a dilemma. The gatehouse served Seattle’s water system from 1910 up until 2007 when it was decommissioned. SPU says that it cannot spend public money on the gatehouse because it is no longer a functioning part of Seattle’s’ water system. SPU insists Parks’ decision to abandon the gatehouse leaves SPU with no alternative but demolition. Parks, on the other hand, claims to have no money left out of the fifteen million they were given to save and maintain this tiny building with a century of Beacon Hill and Jefferson Park history in its walls.
Gatehouse history
The year is 1910. Seattle is reveling in an amazing feat of engineering known as the Cedar River Watershed and Pipeline, ending at the reservoirs in Jefferson Park. The gatehouse controlled the flow of the reservoirs to the city. The man behind the drive that got the job done was Reginald Heber Thomson, chief engineer for the city of Seattle. He overcame tremendous physical and political barriers to accomplish what many before him tried and failed: to build Seattle a safe, clean, and secure drinking water supply. Finally, Seattle would be a modern city and would no longer have to drink the “turbid waters of Lake Washington” (“Shaper of Seattle: Reginald Heber Thompson’s Pacific Northwest,” William H. Wilson 2009).
Historical research shows the name of Mr. Thomson appears on the final drawing for the gatehouse (Landscape Inventory of Jefferson Park, Historical Research Associates [HRA] 2001). The draft landmark nomination submitted by SPU (SPU/Sheridan Associates) in 2002 also notes that the name of R.H. Thomson is on the final drawings for the gatehouse. The recent landmark nomination from SPU makes no mention of Mr. Thomson’s name. They simply state it was designed by “Seattle Water Department staff”. The construction drawing in the SPU nomination does not show his name.
At the same time, a revolution in landscape design and urban planning known as the “Beautiful Cities Movement” had reached its peak with Daniel Burnham’s epic “Plan of Chicago,” released in 1909. Cities all over the world were clamoring to plan their own beautiful cities, inspired by the vision put forth in Chicago. Seattle hired the Olmsted brothers design firm to plan Seattle’s park system. The preliminary plan for Jefferson Park was done in 1912. John C. Olmsted surveyed the site in 1903 in preparation for the 1912 planning. He remarked on the extraordinary views and prepared for a design that would incorporate the reservoirs into the overall park plan. Most of the plan was never realized; only the 18-hole golf course and the gatehouse remain from this earliest period in the development of Jefferson Park. The views remain as spectacular as ever.
Gatehouse future
The elimination of the restroom conversion idea left the gatehouse without a function. Parks toyed with the idea of turning it into a maintenance shed, but that would require cutting a giant hole in the side for the installation of a roll up door. They simply had no better ideas and decided to abandon it instead.
“The Jefferson Park Gatehouse and History Plaza” is a project under review by the ProParks levy oversight committee’s “Opportunity Fund” program. This project idea proposes to use the gatehouse as a history display plaza and water resource education facility. This will be a complement to the water resource education theme of the soon to be built beacon mountain playground. the project is up against many other creative ideas competing for limited funds. there is no guarantee the history plaza idea will make it now, but that does not mean it could not be funded by other means at a later date.
The money
SPU released three different options with cost estimates for the gatehouse.
Repair, Secure, and Maintain: $232,000. This will restore the building to a condition safe for use by the public.
Mothball: $124,300. This will make the building safe, though not suitable for active use-just basic repairs.
Deconstruction: $177,665. This is SPU and Parks’ preferred option. It will wipe out all traces of the gatehouse and the history it represents, except for a couple of the antique valves Parks says they will display on a concrete pad where the gatehouse once stood, as an “artifact” of the reservoirs.
As the estimates show, the cost to save this building in the short term by mothballing it is the cheapest route. It costs less to save the gatehouse than it does to destroy it.
How to save the gatehouse
This building does not deserve to die because of a lack of interest or concern on the part of the city employees we depend upon to implement Seattle’s neighborhood plans. The Jefferson Park gatehouse and the history it continues to represent belongs to the people of Seattle and Beacon Hill. It represents a direct connection to the past that shows Seattle once planned a great Olmsted Park for Beacon Hill. It took one hundred years to get us there, but now that vision has finally arrived, and Beacon Hill is going to get that “beautiful cities” park planned so long ago. Let’s not begin the next 100 years of history at Jefferson Park by erasing the only element left that links us to the last 100 years.
It is not necessary to landmark the gatehouse in order to save it. SPU and DPR need the landmarks board to declare the gatehouse ineligible for landmark status to begin deconstruction. It is absolutely necessary that Beacon Hill speak out now in support of the gatehouse in order to save it.
Here’s what everyone can do:
Contact SPU (ray.hoffman@seattle.gov) and ask them to stop the demolition plans and withdraw the permit, regardless of the decision made by the landmarks board.
Contact the Seattle Parks Department (christopher.williams@seattle.gov) and ask them to stick to the plan, accept responsibility for the gatehouse, and cut down the trees as planned so everyone can see the building.
Contact Mayor McGinn (mike.mcginn@seattle.gov) and ask him to save the gatehouse and tell SPU and Parks to stick to the neighborhood plan.
Contact the Landmarks Preservation Board (beth.chave@seattle.gov) and tell them you want to see the gatehouse landmarked and preserved.
Attend and testify at the Landmarks Preservation Board meeting on Wednesday, September 1, at 3:30 pm in the Seattle Municipal Tower, 700 Fifth Avenue, 40th floor, room 4060.
Contact the Levy Oversight committee (susan.golub@seattle.gov) and ask them to fund the restoration of the gatehouse via the Opportunity fund .
The vision we see emerging at Jefferson Park is the direct result of Beacon Hill residents’ unwavering support for their neighborhood plan. The gatehouse is key to that vision. For the first time in 100 years, Beacon Hill can see a future with an Olmsted Park, the way it was meant to be. If you ever wrote or called in support of Jefferson Park in the past, now is the time to do so again. If you never got involved before, now is your chance to make a difference.
There is only one Jefferson Park Gatehouse. Now is the time to save it and the history it represents – for the next 100 years.
Photo by Wendi.A couple of weeks ago we noted that the owners of the Beacon Pub applied to change the location of their liquor license from the current location at 3057 Beacon Avenue South to 5609 Rainier Avenue South, near Rainier and Orcas.
We recently talked to Kris Coty and Laurie Lusko, who run the pub, and they confirmed that they are moving the business to Hillman City, where it will reopen as the nautical-themed “Orcas Landing.” (Lusko’s Hillman City goal is “to make Columbia City jealous,” she told Seattle Met.) They expect the last day in business on Beacon Avenue to be in October or November. Basically, they say, they lost their lease because the landlord situation changed recently with the death of the building’s owner, and the current landlord is not interested in having a pub in that space.
In the last few days on the hill, some people worked on neighborhood issues, and some had fun at the Beacon Hill Festival, while only a few blocks away, others slept in the park. Photos in this post are by Jason unless otherwise noted. Meeting with neighbors, discussing development... (City Councilperson Sally Bagshaw, at the North Beacon Hill Council meeting on Thursday night. Photo by Wendi.)Proudly displaying pottery at the Beacon Hill Festival...Perusing plants at the Festival...Cooking meat at the Festival... ...and sleeping on the grass in Stevens Place (Triangle) Park.
I live on 14th and South Hinds Street, an area right by the freeway exit. People often drive very fast on this almost one-lane neighborhood street, in order to cut down to the freeway (thus bypassing 15th and therefore saving seconds of time). Since we don’t have sidewalks, and the road has two curves, it is very dangerous—poor visibility, and literally nowhere for pedestrians to go.
When even this shortcut takes too long, they also often bypass even 14th/South Hinds Street, and instead cut at high speeds through my alley. This is even worse, since it’s very narrow and abuts right next to all property—and of course, no alley sidewalks as well.
A few days ago, I was walking in the alley to my house (I take the alley due to lack of street sidewalks) when a man, smoking and driving a silver Lexus SUV, sped towards me up the alley from the freeway. Please keep in mind that I am very obviously pregnant, which makes me slower than normal. Regardless, apparently this short pregnant pedestrian didn’t move out of “his” way fast enough, so, barely stopping, he rolled his window down and shouted “this road is for cars.” No sir, it is not. It is an alley. It is for property access. There are actual roads to the left and right of this alley. This kind of thing is, unfortunately, common.
I feel this is very unsafe but don’t know what to do. My dream would involve a speedbump or two in the alley to prevent speeding impolite people shaving off fractions of a second of their drive by taking the alley instead of a road, and sidewalks on the curved stretch of South Hinds Street.
A neighbor at the Beacon Hill Festival, thinking about how to prioritize Neighborhood Plan ideas. Photo by Jason.(By Frederica Merrell, with some added text by Wendi.)
138 people voted on a Neighborhood Plan Update actions and strategies survey at the Beacon Hill Festival on Saturday. If you couldn’t attend the festival, have no fear—click this link to take the survey online. (This is a different survey than the one we posted about several weeks ago.)
The purpose of this survey is to ask North Beacon Hill neighbors and non-residents to rate their support for elements of our 2011 Neighborhood Plan update. In the survey, you are asked to indicate your level of support or agreement for various strategies to be included in the plan. (Some examples of the strategies that are included in the survey: “Create affordable rental and home ownership housing targets for the Beacon Hill Urban Village and periodically evaluate progress,” and “Create the Town Center campus on Beacon Avenue between McClellan and 15th, by calming and redirecting traffic flow, extending the festival street, and creating bus/bike lanes and activated alleys.”) The proposed plan update will be edited based on your input. Questions or comments? Send them to nbhcplan@gmail.com.
This plan update is proposed by neighborhood volunteers, with ideas that come from neighborhood groups and individuals. It incorporates the work done by the Seattle Department of Planning and Development (DPD) in 2009 and the comments they collected. Look for future reports on the survey results here on the Beacon Hill Blog.
Our neighborhood plan
The 1999 North Beacon Hill Neighborhood Plan has been a highly successful document because neighbors and City of Seattle departments implemented significant improvements for our community over the ten-year planning period. It was built on the shoulders of the 1993 North Beacon Hill Action Plan, our first neighborhood plan and one of the first residential neighborhood plans in the City. The 1993 Action Plan was supported by extensive study of housing trends, demographics, and conditions in the North Beacon Hill neighborhood. Continue reading Your opinions wanted for Neighborhood Plan Update survey→
