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LICTON SPRINGS COMMUNITY COUNCIL
Minutes of Board Meeting: Directors Present: Liz Kearns, Yvonne Pilling Zoretic, Bert Bradley, JJ Avinger-Jacques, Debra Willendorf, Wanda Fullner, and Ellen Beck. Board Representatives PresentKen Thompson (North Precinct Representative) and Wally Fosmore (North Seattle Community College Representative). Visitors: Jack Mackie (Citizens Against the Monorail), Cleve Stockmeyer (Monorail NOW!), David Quiring (Aurora Merchants), Jean Wirch, Chris Christakos, Don Svetich, and Shannon Snider. President Liz Kearns called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m., welcoming everyone and thanking them for joining us. We then went around the table and everyone introduced themselves. Minutes: Minutes from the September 18, 2002 meeting were approved as presented. Treasurer's Report: Treasurer Debra Willendorf gave the Treasurer's Report. There is a bank balance of $3,415.26, but an available balance of $1,115.26. It was noted that we have budgeted $125.00 for Halloween in the Park. JJ Avinger-Jacques said that she had gotten donations from Costco and Larry's Market and thank you letters needed to be sent to them. JJ thought that, perhaps, we would not need to use the budgeted monies. We will have donation boxes at the Park during the Halloween event. We will, perhaps, have children from the Phinney neighborhood coming to Licton Springs Park. Discussion followed. It was suggested that we have a sign-in sheet so we could find out who was attending our event. Wanda Fullner suggested that we have a sign at the cider location that would say "Cider is Free - Donations Appreciated." Liz mentioned that our web person, Julia Christensen, is moving to Oregon and we need to find someone else to help us on the website. Liz said that Julia would help us after moving, if necessary. Debra mentioned that we will be getting a donation from Cynthia Sullivan, to support our Newsletter. Pilling's Pond Committee Update. Wanda announced an important meeting of the Pilling's Pond Committee to take place at 6:30 p.m. Monday, October 21, 2002, at her home. Wanda explained important new developments in the effort to preserve Pilling's Pond for the community. Wanda briefly described the efforts of the Committee over the past two years since the passing of Chuck Pilling. She said the initial focus on a conservation easement had now become a purchase transaction. Roger Turner has done the initial appraisal of the pond property and valued it at $175,000.00. Conditions precedent include: (1) the house lot being separated from the pond property and zoned single family in perpetuity; (2) receipt of a satisfactory title report; (3) satisfactory review of drainage; (4) completion of a formal appraisal to confirm the purchase price; (5) the sale being contingent upon obtaining insurance; (6) the sale being contingent on a lease agreement concerning bird breeding; (7) the sale being contingent on purchaser's ability to find a long-term owner; (8) the pond property being segregated by seller; and (9) the sale being subject to the feasibility of fundraising with a reasonable time frame (good faith efforts to raise funds are to be used, but if unsuccessful, the monies raised will be refunded). Wanda said that the plan is to form a nonprofit organization to own the pond property in the interim period (before sale to the long-term owner). She said that the members of the nonprofit organization are likely to include: someone from the LSCC Board, two Pilling family members, one member coming from the educational field, one from North Seattle Community College, and one community representative. Wanda stressed that prompt action was necessary by the Board and she hoped to get our approval that evening. Discussion followed and it was decided that as many Board members as able would attend the Pilling's Pond Committee meeting the following Monday at Wanda's house, to get information from the attorney who is drawing up the purchase and sale document. NEW BUSINESS: SR 99 Study - Aurora Merchants. Dave Quiring, President of the Aurora Merchants, spoke to the group. He has lived and worked in the community for 57 years. He said that the Aurora Merchants provide the second largest tax revenue to the City (excluding downtown Seattle). The 525 businesses account for over $20 Million in sales tax to the City. The Aurora Merchants are against the proposals put forth by the SR 99 Study Group. They strongly object to the establishment of a BAT (Business Access Transit) in the curbside lanes of Aurora. Mr. Quiring said that if parking and access are further restricted, at least 115 businesses will be negatively affected. He said that 100 will fail or relocate, employees will be laid off, storefronts will be closed, prostitutes and drug users and dealers will move in, and neighborhood streets will be inundated with traffic trying to reach the Aurora businesses. Mr. Quiring gave us a handout entitled "Let's Keep Aurora Friendly for Residents and Businesses" that outlined the consequences of losing two-way left-turn lanes, and if on-street parking on Aurora disappears. Mr. Quiring urged us to look closer at what the SR Study gave us. Cleve Stockmeyer said that WSDOT was influenced by our representatives, so we should contact them, not WSDOT directly. Rise Above It All Organization. Cleveland Stockmeyer spoke on behalf of the Rise Above It All Organization and the advantages of building a monorail. He said the monorail (1) would not get stuck in traffic; (2) gives citizens an alternative way to travel; (3) does not add to traffic; (4) will be built in segments and the first vote is on the Green Line; and (5) is environmentally friendly, quiet, and non-polluting. Mr. Stockmeyer said that cities with subways or monorails have found that they work well. Also, he said that Metro has given assurances that Metro will not decrease the number of buses in the City if bus riders transfer to the monorail. Questions and discussion period followed. Citizens Against the Monorail. Jack Mackie spoke on behalf of Citizens Against the Monorail. That group questions what problems the monorail will solve. They want transportation addressed from a regional standpoint and remind us that I-5, Aurora, and the Viaduct need funding. Mr. Mackie said that 82 percent of the monorail riders would come from buses and that the monorail would duplicate an existing system. He said we would be paying the 1.4 percent vehicle excise tax for 30 to 40 years. He said that the FTA requires that a system be regional, so federal funds would not be forthcoming for the monorail system. He said that the vehicle excise tax is the biggest tax the City has seen and he questioned whether we should be spending money on a monorail system when schools and education, libraries and parks, social services, and the Viaduct all needed greater funding. Also, the monorail would have a negative impact on neighborhoods and streets. Questions and discussion followed. Rebuttal Statement. Mr. Stockmeyer said that the monorail group was certain they would be able to get federal funding. He also said that the monorail was quiet - it runs on rubber tires - and is quieter than a bus. He said that there was a cap on borrowing. November Meeting. Liz said that Colleen Brown, of the Parks Department, would be at our next meeting to talk about the Licton Springs comfort station. OLD BUSINESS: Website - News Group. Bert Bradley gave more information about the electronic bulletin board/news group. He explained how the system worked for Greenwood, which has one monitored group and one unmonitored group. Bert said that Greenwood began with 50 subscribers initially, and has 215 subscribers now. He went over the information in his Draft Proposal for Licton Springs Email List Servers. Discussion followed. Mural Project. JJ Avinger-Jacques informed us that the airing of Evening Magazine's segment on Andrew Morrison and our community mural project will be aired Tuesday, October 22, 2002, at 7:00 p.m., Channel 5. Arts Organization. Liz said that Edie Whitsett is working on getting the up the Arts Council up and going again in preparation for upcoming neighborhood art projects. These include art projects in Mineral Springs Park, flag making for community events, and the next mural at Wilson-Pacific School. There will be a meeting at Edie's home on November 5, 2002 at 7:00 p.m. Licton Springs Park. Liz reported that the $30,000.00 grant for the amphibian ponds at Licton Springs Park will be signed by Doris Burns, secretary of the Seattle Community Council Federation. Liz said that she would have copies of the grant at our next meeting. Wilson-Pacific School. Liz reported that Steve Brown has told her that current budget problems do not change anything with regards to Wilson. The statement by Superintendent Olchefske in the papers that the District is looking at selling surplus properties in the north end of the City, refer to sites that have not been used for years. Mr. Brown said that all discussions concerning Wilson have related to how to use the school. He said that the TOPS Alternative School, currently at Seward School in the Eastlake community, could possibly move to Wilson. Wally Fosmore said that the College had had a conversation last Friday with a District representative about possibly leasing some space one year from now. Fourteen classrooms from Arts and Sciences program need to find alternative space. Wally said that Wilson-Pacific was not their first choice. He said that they might arrange to use space at Wilson-Pacific for storage. NSCC Portables. Wally told us that the Vice President for Business is organizing a walking tour within the next week or week and a half to begin talking about placement of the four portables that will be used for a year to provide space for laboratory functions. He said that there are three possible sites, including the south perimeter of the campus. Clean-Out Vaults. Wally told us that the work to install two additional clean-out vaults near the Meridian roadbed (on College property) would take place the third or fourth week of October. Alternative Sidewalks. Liz said that the Northwest District Council had announced that 100th Street has a Number One Priority Ranking to receive alternative sidewalks. Liz has been in connection with SPU concerning this ranking. Don Svetich. Liz asked if Mr. Svetich minded being on the agenda for November's meeting, since there was so much to cover at this month's meeting. This was okay with Mr. Svetich. The meeting was adjourned at 8:55 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
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