LICTON SPRINGS COMMUNITY COUNCIL
Minutes of Community Meeting, May 19, 2010,
NSCC Conference Room B2311

Directors Present: Liz Kearns, Jerry Owens, Tom Meyer, Kay Mesirow, and Ellen Beck.

Board Representatives Present: Bruce Kieser (Director, Facilities and Plant Operations for North Seattle Community College) and Ken Thompson (Liaison to North Precinct).

Visitors: Dave Barber (Real Estate Manager, Seattle City Light), Jean Wirch, John Mark, and Hoa Luong.

President Liz Kearns called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. and we had introductions around the table.

Minutes: The April 21, 2010 minutes were approved as presented.

NEW BUSINESS:

Broadview Community Council Meeting
Liz gave highlights of a Broadview Community Council meeting she attended last evening that focused on community safety. This meeting was open to members of other communities. It was attended by Captain Robin Clark of the North Precinct as well as Sergeant Diane Newsom, Community Police Team Lead, and Neil Hansen, Crime Prevention Coordinator/Block Watch. All recommended calling 9-1-1 for public safety concerns/reporting crime taking place.

Community Police Team ("CPT") officers are the ones to contact for noise disturbances, old/abandoned cars, garbage not handled properly, etc. These officers talk to property owners/renters and attempt to resolve disputes/problems. It was advised to call to report problems, instead of using e-mail.

All were urged to attend the North Precinct Picnic, which this year will be July 10, 2010. It is from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Besides lunch, there are free raffle prices, entertainment, tours of the Precinct, informational booths, and the ability to see other policing teams, i.e., the bomb squad, the mounted police, dive team, etc. It is interesting to talk to the special team members and find out more about what they do.

Seattle Night Out is August 3, 2010. In 2009, 700 blocks in the City had block parties.

Events at NSCC
Liz asked Bruce Kieser about events at North Seattle Community College. Bruce advised that we contact the Student Affairs Office. Also, Carol Sommers could be contacted. She is the College’s Public Information Officer. Community members would be interested in knowing about performances and other events happening at North.

North Seattle Community College
Bruce told us the College is involved an update of their Strategic Plan covering the next three years. He said their focus is (1) Student Success; (2) Teaching and Learning; and (3) Community Connection.

The new president of NSCC is Mark Matsui. A discussion followed about the three finalists and the interview process.

Bruce described the latest building that is planned. They are hoping for funding July 1, 2011, and, if funded the building would open in January 2013. It would contain programs for physiology, anatomy, nursing, and AMT.

Fall enrollment is ten to 15% ahead of last year. They believe that next year’s budget will be flat.

Graffiti
Next there was a discussion of graffiti. Dave Barber described places where he had removed graffiti. It was acknowledged that the way to discourage tagging is to immediately remove it. Dave said that the NSCC sign on 92nd and just west of the overpass has graffiti that he cannot remove. Bruce told us graffiti on the campus should be reported to the Security Office (527.3636). The College records the graffiti and then will remove it. He said there was someone in the Security Office from 5:00 a.m. – 5:30 a.m. until 11:00 p.m. There is custodial staff present from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

Kay Mesirow described helping an elderly lady who had fallen, twisting her ankle while walking on College Way. Kay had struggled to help the woman. Bruce confirmed that she could have called the Security Office to help out.

City Light
Dave Barber (a past president of LSCC) works for City Light. He said City Light is interested in buying two buildings in our neighborhood that border Seattle Light between North 100th Street and North 98th Street. These properties are vacant and are owned by the University of Washington. The purchase was approved by the UW Board of Regents last week. The $2.9 million purchase must be approved by the City Council. The buildings and properties were discussed. Dave inquired whether LSCC was in favor of the purchase and that was the case.

Licton Springs Park
A problem at Licton Springs Park was discussed. An apparent homeless couple cooks in the barbecue at the southwest part of the Park. Whatever they cook stinks, and they also erect a tent over the table, staying quite late and sometimes quarreling. It is believed that they sleep at Wilson Pacific.

Liz said that she will contact Kathy Johnson.

OLD BUSINESS:

City Budget Meeting at NSCC
Liz attended the City Budget meeting on Tuesday, May 4, 2010. She said it was a very well-attended meeting. She said that most of the people who spoke were concerned about social programs.

LSCC Annual Election of Directors/Officers
Liz inquired whether anything further needed to be done about our annual election. Ellen Beck confirmed that Liz, Tom Meyer, and Ellen are directors with terms expiring and all had agreed to continue. Also, everyone has agreed to continue in their various offices.

Land Use/Zoning
Tom reported that there was very little activity in our neighborhood. The only thing new was in his e-mail of April 26th regarding the permit application being filed for work on the NSCC campus. This work involved providing "two new Metro King County bus stops and to allow paving and striping of the existing gravel parking lot. Project also includes on-site stormwater infiltration including bioswales. Project site is located in an environmentally critical area."

Northwest District Council
Jerry Owens reported that the NWDC had selected two projects to go to the Citywide Review Board: Vision Greenwood Park and Green Playfield Project. These two projects were described and discussed.

North Precinct
Ken Thompson urged folks to attend the North Precinct picnic. He also noted that crime reports were now online.

Kay mentioned that it is also possible to go online to report abandoned cars, potholes, graffiti, and street lights that are out.

There was discussion about the incident that occurred on Mother’s Day.

Our next meeting is Wednesday, June 16, 2010.

The meeting adjourned at 8:40 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Ellen M. Beck, Secretary