The public hearing scheduled for next week on the future use of the North Beacon building officially called Pacific Tower (but universally known as PacMed) has been cancelled. The public hearing had been scheduled for Wedneday, August 7. No reason was given for the cancellation and we don’t yet know if it will be rescheduled.
All posts by Wendi Dunlap
National Night Out is next Tuesday
The 2013 National Night Out Against Crime is only a week away on Tuesday, August 6. Neighbors all over Beacon Hill and the city are holding block parties as part of this crime-prevention and community-building event. This year’s theme is “Celebrating Crime Free Neighborhoods.”
For this night only, neighbors are allowed to close their street to traffic without paying a fee or applying for a permit — only registration is required. Typical activities at Night Out block parties include potlucks, live music, children’s games and activities, and visits from local elected officials and candidates.
Are you holding a Night Out block party on Beacon Hill? Let us know in the comments and we’ll set up a list.
The Seattle Police Department has provided some information about setting up a block party:
- Once you get to the Night Out registration page, you’ll see an icon that says Register Your Event. Click on that link to register your Night Out event. Once you have registered your event, you will get email verification. You can go back in and edit and/or cancel your event later if you need to.
- You can choose to add your event to a map as well. Registering your event won’t automatically put your event on the map. This is a separate step from registering your event and is completely voluntary, though it is on the same web page. Below Register Your Event, you’ll see the icon that says Add To The Map. Enter your event information here if you want your event to show up on the citywide public calendar. It can take approximately 48 hours to populate the map.
- The Night Out invitations available on our website are in pdf and are editable and printable from there.
- If you opt to close your street, please remember that arterials and intersections cannot be closed or blocked. Also, you cannot block off access to your street with something that could not be easily moved in the event that your neighbors or an emergency vehicle need to access your street. You cannot use a vehicle to block off the street. A chair or table with a sign taped to it saying “Street Closed†is good enough.
- We have many requests for Police Officers and Firefighters to visit Night Out events. Officers and Firefighters will make every attempt to get to as many events as they can, but with over 1300 events citywide, be mindful that you may not get a visit.
PacMed PDA to continue discussions with state, private developer
On Monday, the state rejected the 30-year lease the PDA recently proposed, stating that more time was needed to perform due diligence. This morning, the governing council met to discuss the alternate deal on the table by Miami-based homebuilding company Lennar, which would take out a 75-year lease and convert the building to market-rate apartments.
The council voted today to continue discussions with Lennar, and also to meet with the state to determine whether the issues between the two sides can be resolved.
In the state’s plan, Seattle Central Community College would use 85,000 square feet for health-training programs, including a new Bachelor of Nursing degree. Non-profit groups focusing on community health and social services would form an “innovation center” that would take up the remaining floors of the building.
The City Council’s Housing, Human Services, Health and Culture Committee, chaired by Nick Licata, will hold a special public hearing on August 7 at 5 p.m. in Council Chamber at City Hall to discuss the future use of the PacMed tower.
If you want to let the Pacific Hospital Preservation and Development Authority know your thoughts on the current situation, contact Rosemary Aragon, the Executive Director of the PDA at r.aragon@phpda.org or by mail to 1200 12th Ave. S, Quarters 2, Seattle, WA 98144.
College plan for PacMed in trouble; apartments instead?
The public authority that owns the building, the Pacific Hospital Preservation and Development Authority, proposed a 30-year lease that would require the state to provide $250,000 in exchange for 60 more days to conduct due diligence evaluation of the building’s condition. The state would prefer 90 days to conduct its due diligence.
The PDA’s governing council has said that if the state did not agree to this lease by Monday evening, they would turn to “other lease alternatives.” The other lease offer on the table is from Lennar, a Miami-based homebuilder that offers a 75-year lease with $25 million in improvements to create 165 market-rate one- and two- bedroom apartments, a gym, and a dining lounge.
The Seattle Central Community College plan, funded with $20 million approved by the Legislature, would use 85,000 square feet for health-training programs, including a new Bachelor of Nursing degree. Non-profit groups focusing on community health would take up the remaining floors of the building.
Funds from renting the PacMed building are used for the PDA’s mission, which is to “champion effective health care for the vulnerable and disadvantaged in our community.” The PDA plans to meet at 9 a.m. Tuesday, July 30, to discuss their next steps.
Added 11:21 p.m.: If you want to let the Pacific Hospital Preservation and Development Authority know your thoughts on the current situation, contact Rosemary Aragon, the Executive Director of the PDA at r.aragon@phpda.org or by mail to 1200 12th Ave. S, Quarters 2, Seattle, WA 98144. She will forward your letters to the members of the Board.
Beacon Rocks! today from 1-5 p.m.
Along with four hours of local music, other activities will include making and decorating your own hula hoop, and building a paper boat to sail in the wading pools.
Here’s the entertainment schedule:
1:00 p.m. Random Axe – featuring Jack LeNoir and Betty Jean Williamson
1:45 p.m. Slow Bike Race
2:15 p.m. Chava Mirel
3:00 p.m. Splinter Dance Company
3:45 p.m. Haiku Contest
4-4:45 p.m.: Pavel Shepp Trio
Northbound 12th Ave S. closed this weekend in Little Saigon
Heading north on 12th Avenue South this weekend? You’ll need to detour.
First Hill Streetcar project construction will close the northbound lane of 12th Avenue South to through traffic from South King Street to South Jackson Street, starting on Saturday, July 27 at 7 a.m. and continuing until Monday, July 29 at 5 a.m. A detour will be set up here on Beacon Hill, with the diversion starting at 15th Avenue South at South College Street, where traffic will be diverted east, then north on Rainier Avenue South, then west on South Jackson Street to 12th Avenue South.
The intersection of South Jackson Street and 12th Avenue South will remain open to eastbound, westbound, and southbound traffic. Also, 12th Avenue between South King Street and South Jackson Street will remain open to northbound local access traffic, and pedestrian access and access to businesses will be maintained.
UPTUN needs you to sign letter about needed broadband improvements
Here is an appeal from UPTUN’s Robert Kangas, asking neighbors to sign a letter to the Seattle Department of Transportation. To sign the letter, post here with your name (real name, please) and your affiliation — for example, “John Doe (Beacon Hill resident)” or “Jane Doe (Owner, Doe’s Beacon Hill Widgets).”
Hey all, UPTUN’s going to be sending a letter to SDOT to try to force some change to the Director’s Rule that’s effectively blocking new broadband equipment from rolling out in Beacon Hill and the other underserved areas of Seattle. Most of us are stuck with the choice of a cable provider or nothing for high-speed internet. Well, we’re all tired of it. It’s time to take action.
Here’s the letter we’re sending to SDOT / the City of Seattle:
http://www.uptun.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/SDOT-letter-July-2013.pdfWe’re looking to get as many cosigners as possible before we stick copies of this in the mail on Saturday. Will you add your name to the list of supporters of this letter? The more supporters we get, the better the chances of a good, timely outcome. The time to act is now.
Will you put your name down? Will you get your fellow neighbors / nearby business owners to do so, as well? If you’re going to do so, please give me your name and what organization / business or part of the city you belong to. For example: Robert Kangas (UPTUN member) or Robert Kangas
(Beacon Hill resident).
Denise Louie preschool wins $126K grant
Denise Louie Education Center at 3327 Beacon Ave. S. is one of three Seattle preschools who will share $470,000 in funding from the 2011 Families and Education Levy as part of the City of Seattle’s Step Ahead preschool program. (The school also has branches in the International District and Rainier Beach.)
The funding will increase slots at Denise Louie for 20 children to attend part-time, for a total grant of $126,240. Denise Louie was one of nine preschools applying for the funds, which were intended to serve low- and moderate-income families of three- and four-year-old children who live in the attendance areas of Seattle elementary schools that are eligible for Families and Education Levy funding.
Slots are available at Denise Louie and the other Step Ahead preschools for the coming school year. To be eligible, children must be three or four years old by August 31, 2013, must live in Seattle city limits, and their family must meet the income guidelines based on family size. See the web page for more information.
Workshop tonight shows how to go solar
Interested in learning how to make solar energy at your home more affordable? A workshop will run from 6-7:30 p.m. tonight at the Beacon Hill Library (2821 Beacon Ave S.) to provide information about the Solarize Seattle program, which features a group-buy program to provide a streamlined process for residents and small businesses to purchase solar systems for a discounted price.
Workshop attendees will learn how solar works in oft-cloudy Seattle, how it is installed, what tax and production incentives are available to bring the price down, and how low-interest financing can spread out the cost. On June 30, Governor Inslee signed an extension through 2016 of the sales tax exemption on solar systems smaller than 10kW (which a typical residential system would be). The Solarize campaign intends to install over 200 kilowatts of solar energy in central and southeast Seattle by the end of 2013.
Registration for Solarize Seattle: Central/Southeast is open to neighbors who live in the geographic area bordered by the Montlake cut to the north, I-5 to the west, Lake Washington to the east, and the City of Seattle boundary to the south. See the website for more information.
Orca Reading Club welcomes Beacon Hill kids
Neighborhood kids are invited to take part in the Orca Reading Club at the Beacon Hill and Columbia City libraries. All kids are welcome; it’s not limited to Orca students. Books will be provided, and students will work toward prices including books and entries into a raffle for lunch with Mayor McGinn.
Upcoming reading club meetings are scheduled for:
- July 19, 10-11:30 a.m., Beacon Hill Library
- July 30, 6-7:30 p.m., Columbia City Library
- August 16, 10-11:30 a.m., Beacon Hill Library
- August 27, 6-7:30 p.m., Columbia City Library