Minutes of Board Meeting
September 17, 2008
NSCC Green Room (College Center Building)

Directors Present: Liz Kearns, Jerry Owens, Debra Willendorf, Kay Mesirow, and Ellen Beck.

Board Representatives Present: Bruce Kieser (Director, Facilities and Plant Operations for North Seattle Community College), Ken Thompson (North Precinct Representative), and Kathleen Braden (List Serve).

Visitors: Bob Ferguson (King County Councilmember for District One), Jean Wirch, John Mark, Chris and Olivia Bloomquist, Doug Wick, Kathy Package, Joe and Lauren Linscheid, Diane Ross and Herman Ross.

Board Member Liz Kearns called the meeting to order at 7:05 p.m. She announced the annual Halloween in the Park would take place from 4:30 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. at Licton Springs Park on October 31st. She also noted that the community-produced historical booklet and wetlands brochure were available on the table.

Minutes:

We had introductions around the tables.

There was no Treasurer’s Report, but Treasurer Debra Willendorf reported that the Secretary of State had been paid.

NEW BUSINESS:

Bob Ferguson
Bob Ferguson, King County Councilmember, spoke to us and answered questions. Bob lives in Maple Leaf with his wife Colleen and their young twins, Jack and Kate. He is a Seattle native, having grown up on Queen Anne.

Bob explained that the King County Council consists of nine members and he represents District One (from Green Lake to Woodinville). He talked about the business of the Council: Metro Transit, elections, criminal justice, regional issues (i.e., emergency services), as well as representing people living in unincorporated King County. The King County Council has a budget of $700 million, and 70 percent of those monies are dedicated to justice and public safety needs. They are presently working on the 2009 budget, and the projected shortfall is approximately $90 million. The Council has adopted public safety, health and quality of life for King County residents as its top priorities.

He talked about Metro and taking the bus to work each day. He said that ridership is up on the buses, but costs are also rising in large part due to the cost of fuel. Because of a significant shortfall, a fare increase of $.50 is being looked at. The Council will also go to the Legislature for other funding methods because of having exhausted the sales tax venue (whereby they can increase revenues by one tenth of one cent at a time).

Elections 2009 was the next topic discussed. Bob told us that by 2009 we could be set up for voting by mail exclusively. He stressed that it will be much better to have one system, instead of two, although he knows that some people (including his mother) prefer to go to their polling place. The plan for 2009 is to have all mail voting, but have regional voting centers where people can turn in their ballots. Because of the current financial situation, the regional voting centers have been scaled back to three locations. They would each be open for five to seven days.

Bob noted that King County has maintained the highest bond rating available for many years. They must balance their budget. King County is the 13th largest county in the country and is larger than some states!

Next, the new jail question was covered. Bob said that there is a need for cities to have their own jails, since the contract with the County to house misdemeanor jail population in the King County Jail downtown is expiring in 2014 (extended from 2012). He said, however, that the County will be involved with the new jail for the cities. He said that discussions were ongoing.

The Kent Regional Justice Center is a part of the County judicial system. It is King County’s general jurisdiction trial court. If you are summoned for jury duty, you may be asked to serve at the Regional Justice Center.

Bob talked about the Ten Year Plan and the Committee to End Homelessness in King County. He told us this is an initiative very close to his heart and something that the County is heavily involved in. Over the course of a year, it is estimated that over 24,000 people will experience an episode of homelessness. The homeless include men, women and children. People are homeless for a variety of reasons, including mental illness and chemical dependence. Many of the homeless are veterans. It is important to find ways to help the homeless and the County is involved in this.

Bob answered many questions and urged people to contact him with their questions and concerns. His phone number is 206.296.1001.

OLD BUSINESS:

North Seattle Community College
Bruce Kieser updated us on what is happening at the College. He told us that the Green Belt Trail has 15 markers at points of interest. He urged people to walk the Green Belt Trail. Dogs are not allowed.

The College is doing a paving repair project in the parking lot north of the library building. They are also cutting out the berm and making the area handicap accessible.

They are also cleaning up the area by the kitchen and will be building a screen. This is near the polling place.

Bruce told us the City will be restriping College Way for pedestrian safety. One lane each way will be turned into a bike lane (and also to provide some future parking on the east side of the median). Taking away one lane each direction will reduce the lanes of traffic and thus make it safer for pedestrians crossing College Way.

The strategy on the additional parking is that this will help to discourage parking in the neighborhood. However, they also don’t want to attract cars so the new parking will be priced to be higher than on-campus parking and time limits will perhaps also be imposed. NSCC is under City regulations and must charge for parking.

Open Forum
Because of a mailing by Bob Ferguson announcing tonight’s meeting, neighbors new to LSCC were present. A discussion followed on what the Council did in the neighborhood, as well as what could be done to get the word out about our neighborhood.

Discussion was also had about zoning, construction, and transportation.

Our next meeting is Wednesday, October 15, 2008.

The meeting adjourned at 8:55 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Kay Mesirow for

Ellen M. Beck, Secretary