LICTON SPRINGS COMMUNITY COUNCIL
Minutes of Community Meeting, October 16, 2013
NSCC Campus OCE&E Building, Room 142B1
Directors Present: Tom Meyer, Kay Mesirow, and Ellen Beck.
Board Representatives Present: Ken Thompson (Liaison to North Precinct).
Visitors: Jean Wirch, Bob Wagner (Wagner Architects), Debbie Boodell (Senior Project Manager for City Light), Rick Greenquist, Leslie Greenquist, Laura Gramer, and Brendan Gramer.
Director Tom Meyer called the meeting to order at 7:10 p.m.
Minutes. The September 18, 2013 minutes were approved as presented.
NEW BUSINESS.
City Light. Debbie Boodell, Senior Project Manager for City Light, was first on the agenda. She is heading up a project at the City Light facility in Licton Springs. This is not so much an expansion, but a remodel to allow more space for the programs there, and an elimination of congestion. So they are remodeling an existing building, building a new smaller building and creating an expanded parking area to accommodate all parking. They are saving the existing madrona trees and most street trees, except where they interfere with visibility. They are planting 22 additional street trees and planting screens.
They plan to award the contract in the first quarter of next year and to have the project completed by the end of 2014.
The architect of the existing building, which is being remodeled, was the same architect that designed the Kingdome. That building will have 18,000 square feet. The new smaller building will be 6,000 square feet.
This project means that the overflow parking for Oak Tree Theatre will be gone.
Needle Exchange. Leslie Greenquist told the history of the needle exchange proposal. The first notice in the neighborhood was a reader board message on the wall (facing North 90th) of the coffee shop located at the corner of North 90th and Aurora Avenue North. Their statement was against the needle exchange.
Leslie has been investigating needle exchanges and has found that there is no licensing, no legislation regarding them. So there is nothing that the police can do. The police can only arrest someone if they have committed a crime.
The needle exchange is being planned for the Aurora Commons by the Awake Church. They plan to have it available two hours once a week. The Awake Church had indicated they planned to engage the community, but so far there has been evidence of that.
Leslie has contacted Michael Hanrahan, the director of the needle exchange program at King County CDC (Center for Disease Control). The CDC operates three exchanges: downtown, Capitol Hill, and a mobile service that presently includes our neighborhood. The CDC’s staff includes social workers to guide people into treatment, if possible. He is familiar with the Aurora Commons’ plans, but they have not asked guidance from the CDC.
Laura and Brendan Gramer both spoke against a needle exchange happening so close to Wilson Pacific School, which is being redeveloped into an elementary and middle school. People who use intravenous drugs are not the most responsible people and there is an extreme danger of needles being left in areas traveled by kids. Our neighborhood has an increasing number of young children and a needle exchange is not conducive to parents feeling their children are in as safe area as they want them to be. Needles can spread Hepatitis C, which is very serious.
Leslie has contacted Nick Licata and the CDC, but asked for suggestions on who else she could contact. Discussion followed. It was suggested that she contact the Aurora Merchant Association and Tom volunteered to e-mail her contact information for Faye Garneau, President of the Aurora Merchant Association. There was also a discussion concerning GAIN and what parts of GAIN were still active.
OLD BUSINESS.
Halloween in the Park. This year Halloween is on a Thursday. It is from 4:30 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. Melanie Davies, Liz, and Jean Wu, from the Waldorf School are working on Halloween.
North Precinct. Ken Thompson reported that it will be four years getting the North Precinct to their new location at North 130th and Aurora Avenue North.
Construction Permits. Tom reported that at North 97th and Woodlawn one building is being demolished and four new homes built. This is north of the Park.
Our next meeting is Wednesday, November 20, 2013.
The meeting adjourned at 8:35 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Ellen M. Beck, Secretary
1 We could not meet in our normal space because there was no electricity in that room.