LICTON SPRINGS COMMUNITY COUNCIL

Directors Present: Jan Brucker, Tom Meyer, Kay Mesirow, Melanie Davies, and Ellen Beck.

President Brown. President Brown was invited to this evening’s meeting, but the invitation was not confirmed, and so he didn’t join us. Jan wanted to talk to him about College expansion plans. Also, the College’s Master Plan requires a community person be involved, and we no longer have a regular attendee from the College coming to our meetings. It’s time to renew that. President Brown will be sent another invitation.

Artist Jury Meeting re: City Light. Melanie Davies went to the first meeting. She reported it was fun. There was a roster of 38 established artists, a lot of whom have done works before. Melanie loved some of them, but others she didn’t care for at all. She said she and others on the jury were instructed not to look at the art as if it could be on the City Light site, but look at each artist’s esthetic.

The art pieces are going to be outside. There will be new artworks for two sites and the budget for the projects is $110,000.00. The present art will not be removed. Artists will come up their own piece. Their work doesn’t have to be quirky like the present art. What was really fun for Melanie was getting up and talking about Licton Springs, showing pictures of Pillings Pond and other things in our neighborhood. She also provided the SEPA checklist which provides a lot of information and a link to the Wilson Pacific information, and our handouts. The jury looked at the slides provided by the artists and first narrowed the group to eight artists, and then down to down to the top four who will be asked to come in to be interviewed on December 8^th. They came up with a list of questions to ask the artists and the artists can bring their own materials and present themselves. The artists have full freedom to come up with the piece of art. Several of the artists are quite well known and fantastic, so it is not known if they would have time or be interested in participating. If any of the top four declines, then artists will be selected from the top eight, etc.

Book About the Denny Family. Kay Mesirow told that she had followed up on the link that Kathleen Braden sent about books about the Denny family. The book she checked out was from 1966 and has obviously been well read. She was quickly excited. Tom Meyer said that he had also put in a hold one of the books.

Tent City 3 Offshoot in Licton Springs Park. As we learned following our October meeting, the Tent City 3 Offshoot moved out of Licton Springs Park the evening of our meeting. It’s our understanding that this group has now moved to North Park.

We continued a discussion about housing the homeless. A City plan to address this issue is ten years overdue. Jan spoke about the Seattle Neighborhood Coalition meeting on November 8^th, which addressed the homeless issues and what can be/is being done. The consensus of all speakers was that there isn’t anything truly being done in Seattle.

One speaker from Olympia talked about a community group that built Quixote Village,¹ which is a model for supportive housing for chronically homeless adults in Olympia, Washington. There are 30 small individual cabins that have heat and electricity, half baths and front porches and surround a community building that contains a full kitchen and living room, laundry and bathing facilities, offices, and a meeting room. We were told the formerly homeless helped by painting their cabins. They house permanently 30 people. The Olympia gentleman was a strong advocate for private initiative to get projects like this going, take it into your own hands. Don’t wait for government because it’s unlikely to happen.

Quixote Village has a 40-year lease of some very poor land from Thurston County, close to the industrial area, fairly swampy, but enough dry land to build the Village. They are not far from a grocery store and bus lines. This is senior housing, as opposed to families with children, which would be a different thing altogether.

The problem of homelessness in Seattle will continually plague us if it is not properly addressed. Jan suggested that perhaps we would want to put this on the table to think about as a possible work plan for next year. She thought it was well worth it. Since we are a 501(c)(3), we are in a position to raise funds, hold funds, etc. Discussion followed. We’d need to do a lot of research and we’d need to widen the discussion and get a bigger group involved.

Proposed Transmission Line in Residential Area. Melanie provided updated information Sarah Benki-Nugent had forwarded to everyone on her e-mail list letting them know that State Representatives Jessyn Farrell, Gerry Pollet, and David Frockt were being supportive of her positions to get the transmissions lines off 115^th and onto I-5.

Jessyn Farrell reported to Sarah that Sound Transit is willing to “explore moving the towers if we can get past two significant issues that are impeding the towers from going in I-5 right-of-way.” The issues included sign-off from the Federal Highway Administration and if that happens then the discussion would move to WSDOT.

The latest e-mail was from Tim Burgess. He stated that WSDOT is not going to do this.

Melanie Davies stated her support of LSCC sending a letter indicating our support saying we would like to have the City and Council continue to pursue having these lines located along I-5.

Tom told us that WSDOT regularly does transverse lines, but longitudinal lines are difficult, though not impossible. Longitudinal lines are not their standard way to operate and they don’t like to do them. He reminded us that we already have lines in our neighborhood. Melanie stated that, yes, we have them, but on a main thoroughfare, Meridian, not a totally residential street with houses.

In the spirit of helping out, Jan suggested we could simply forward the November 15^th e-mail to Council Member Burgess and the people cc’d and state that this is an important issue and LSCC Board supports and suggests that the City and Council continue to look for a solution to continue having the transmission lines on the west side of I-5 upon the edge of their right-of-way. She said that she would do the e-mail if Melanie would forward the Burgess e-mail to her.

At the last District Council meeting, Tom spoke with the new Haller Lake representative, who indicated that Haller Lake is not really rallying around this issue. He said that he considered this a very small and vocal group. And there are transmission lines all over the city and it’s not that much of a deal. There’s lots of precedence for this.

The Haller Lake representative also said he was sternly opposed to the pedestrian bridge. It takes a huge amount of money and can’t be justified because people can just walk over the 92^nd overpass. (Tom indicated that he has had the same conversation with Faye Garneau.)

Halloween in the Park. Melanie reported the event was very successful. It was well attended and the weather totally cooperated – no rain. It was wonderful. She estimated there were 250 kids, and then also their parents, so over 500 people! She again thanked Jan for lending her the mushroom costume that Jan had made for Lauren years ago, and which Lauren designed. Melanie told us about a two year old who came up to her and said with wonder, “Oh, you’re a mushroom!”

We received the following donations: $100.00 from Fred Meyer; $50.00 from QFC; $50.00 from Costco; organic apple juice from PCC; and $140.00 in donations at the event. Melanie spent $65.00. Also she did give some money back to a longtime Friend of the Forest who was going to donate candy and who doesn’t have a lot of money. Melanie said she would send thank you’s and pictures to those who supported us.

We are totally in the black! We actually made some money! Melanie added that she had organic apple juice from the event and anyone wanting some for the holidays, should come by and pick up some from her.

Tom suggested that maybe we could get a small sparks grant for the event, but it was pointed out that as long as we can do it independently, we will because there is so much work and paperwork with a grant.

The musicians played the extra hour. They sat on the brick wall and played, which is near to the play equipment where many kids were playing.

Tom questioned what the geothermal test well consisted of and wondered what the Honor Circle and the Interpretive Display Panels were.

Discussion followed about solar panels, new installations of solar panels on driveways, freeways, etc., and new homes built in the neighborhood.

Green Ways. Jan asked if meetings were still taking place. She was interested and would like to know about the meetings. Melanie will send her information.

1 While a private nonprofit corporation started the Village, it ended up getting support from the State of Washington Housing Trust Fund, Community Development Block Grants, and grants from The Medina Foundation, The Boeing Employees Community Fund, and other groups.