LICTON SPRINGS COMMUNITY COUNCIL
Minutes of Community Meeting, October 17, 2012
NSCC Campus OCE&E Building, Room 230
Directors Present: Jerry Owens, Tom Meyer, Melanie Davies, and Ellen Beck.
Board Representatives Present: Ken Thompson (Liaison to North Precinct) and Kathleen Braden (List Serve).
Visitors: Jean Wirch, Margaret Bartley, Stu Ling, and Eric Johnston.
Vice President Jerry Owens called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m.
We did informal introductions as people arrived.
Minutes. The July 18, 2012 and September 19, 2012 minutes were approved as presented.
Treasurer’s Report. The September 30, 2012 Verity Credit Union Statement of Account was e mailed to directors on October 4, 2012. LSCC has a total of $5,501.98.
NEW BUSINESS.
Licton Springs P-Patch. The Proposal for Landscape Architectural Services from LA Studios for completing construction documents was discussed. LA Studios has included a “Fixed Fee Proposal” totaling $5,100.00, noting that the total fee was reduced by 15% in an effort to make their proposal more workable for the Steering Committee and the community.
Licton Springs Next Door. Stu Ling made a presentation and invited all to join Licton Springs Next Door. He said it was a private neighborhood organization for everyone living within the Licton Springs neighborhood, with borders roughly approximating our official borders. You can go to https://lictonsprings.nextdoor.com/join to get the instructions on how to join (which consists of proving you live within the borders). The company owning the website is a for-profit San Francisco company. Anyone who has joined can seek neighborhood folks with similar interests by forming “groups.” Stu is interested in the aggressive raccoons in the neighborhood and has formed a “raccoons” group. Liz Kearns has joined and Stu created a “recipe” group that Liz was interest in. Whatever your interest, you can form a group and see if others will join in your concerns, i.e., “crime and safety,” “cycling.”
Licton Springs Book Exchange. The first Community Book Exchange held at Licton Springs Park September 29, 2012. The intent of the book exchange was to “build community” and we were very happy with the success we had. We also earned $38.00.
OLD BUSINESS.
Blanchet Lights and Loudspeakers. Tom Meyer commented about the Blanchet lights and loudspeakers. A complaint was filed on September 9th with the City charging that “Blanchet’s stadium appears not to conform to stipulations in its last permit issued in 2006, and appears to be in violation of Seattle’s noise regulations.” The complaint asks the City to investigate. Jerry said that he hears play-by-play in his house with the windows closed. He can also hear the crowd noise. Everything is amplified.
Eric Johnston arrived to fill us in. He said that Blanchet is now planning on 70 foot towers of light and enhanced sound system. He noted also the parking problems associated with game nights. He said it was very troublesome that what Blanchet was applying for had changed over time. Initially it was five to six night games. Now, it is games six days a week. The school claims that the lights will be partially shielded. The school every early on was granted a determination of non-significance in regards to environmental impact, but then their overall project changed.
Eric feels there is a lot of interest and concern about what is happening, but doesn’t feel enough will get done. He worries that the trend is for high schools to have lit fields and he is concerned that other communities will be similarly impacted, while this project could be setting precedence.
Kathleen Braden asked if there had been any focus on the night birds at Green Lake and the impact of the night lighting on them. It was suggested that Sierra Club and other similar groups need to receive outreach.
Eric said there is substantial impact from the proposed changes at Blanchet. There are reflected sounds and crowd noises. Violations already exist.
The Green Lake Neighborhood Council is inviting DPD and Blanchet representatives to their November meeting. Also, a few neighbors were interviewed by King 5 on September 25th. The President of BBHS also was included and he was very friendly. Eric wasn’t sure when the interview was aired.
Eric feels certain that there have been engineering and lighting since BBHS made their plan and BBHS is not using state of the art lights. Multiple lower lights would be less impactful. Amplifying the sound is huge as is the impact on night skies. He said that with the loss of Memorial Stadium, the City needs another stadium and wonders if perhaps this could be at Seattle Center (Key Arena).
OLD BUSINESS.
North District Council. Tom reported on the September 26th meeting of the Northwest District Council (at the Greenwood Senior Center). Nick Licata was the featured speaker. He spoke about the cannabis ordinance on our fall ballot. It would allow for collective gardening. The City Council is seeking to close all loopholes and prevent the aggregation of gardens.
Detective James Manning from the North Precinct will come for a “Conversation in Your Living Room.” The number to call is 206.423.9952.
Jerry noted that Terrie Johnston will come to your home and do an assessment.
Also, the North Precinct now owns a video camera stored in Ballard, that we can arrange to borrow and use to videotape community events.
Our next meeting is Wednesday, November 21, 2012.
The meeting adjourned at 8:35 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Ellen M. Beck, Secretary