Fremont Neighborhood Council Annual General Meeting – April 27, 2015
Board members present: Stephanie Pure, Elfriede Noble, Norma Jones, Viet Nguyen, Jim Engelhardt, Linda Clifton, Shawn Mulanix, Judie Clarridge.
Stephanie opened the meeting and invited everyone to introduce themselves and share any announcements:
- Stephanie announced that the Neighborhood Expo will be held Friday, May 22 from 4:30 – 7:30 pm at Fremont Studios. It is free and there will be lots of free stuff given away by over 100 local businesses.
- Stephanie also shared that the Fremont Fair will be June 19 – 21, 2015. The Solstice Parade will begin at 3 pm on Saturday, the 20th.
- Judie announced that the Fremont Historical Society will have a display at the Fremont Library in May for National Preservation Month, including photos and information on historic buildings in Fremont and a 7’ long panorama showing Ballad, Fremont, and Lake Union in 1910. Reception on Saturday, May 9.
- Reid Haefer, from Friends of North Lake Union, announced that FONLU is holding a cleanup along N. Northlake Way between Aurora and Gasworks on Saturday, May 16. Meet at noon at Waterway 22, at the foot of Stone Way. Equipment and supplies will be provided.
- Update on Troll’s Knoll: planning continues including the design of the shed for the P Patch.
Keynote Speaker: Update on the Seattle Department of Transportation – Scott Kubly, SDOT Director
Scott was appointed as SDOT Director in July 2014. He had been the Deputy Director of the Chicago Department of Transportation and before that was the Associate Director for the District Department of Transportation in Washington, D.C.
He said modal transportation plans in Seattle are not well integrated. The Bridging the Gap levy ends in 2015. Voters will vote on the new Transportation Levy to Move Seattle in November 2015. Seattle is growing and transportation needs to catch up. New trends: people are getting drivers licenses later in life, choosing to use Uber, etc. rather than owning a car, and are shopping online more.
Move Seattle is a 10-year strategic direction for SDOT with these core values:
– Safety: traffic safety, eliminating fatal crashes
– Affordability: transportation is the 2nd biggest expense for households, need to give people more affordable options
– Interconnectedness: flexibility in the choice of modes. Different modes for different situations. Goal is that 70% of Seattle households are within a 10-minute walk of transit service that comes every 10 minutes (current percentage is 26%)
– Vibrancy: Want streets that are active with social interaction, movement of freight and delivery vehicles
– Innovation: New technologies, materials and processes in all we do. Reaching out to cross section of population.
Levy to Move Seattle: $900M over 10 years to fund basics and build system that meets growing needs.
Questions/Comments:
– Is the city exploring any other way to fund than property taxes? Why does it need to be so much money? Scott said the difference between Bridge the Gap and Move Seattle is a 75% increase.
– Concern about developers paving the portion of unpaved alleys bordering their property but causing runoff to the unpaved portion. Scott asked Leo Griffin for the locations and he would look into it.
– Why aren’t the additional taxes paid by Seattle’s increased population sufficient? Scott said we are behind in maintaining and replacing infrastructure.
– He noted that the Federal government used to pay 90% of large transportation projects. Now we are lucky if they pay 50% which increases the burden on the city.
– To reduce the high number of crashes on Rainier Ave, SDOT is working to slow down traffic.
– Improving walkability is important. Streets need to be designed for all ages and abilities.
– One quarter of the city does not have sidewalks. They are expensive due to drainage costs.
– Lack of street parking is a big issue. Concern about apartment projects that do not provide parking spaces.
Urban Artworks – Kathleen Warren
Kathleen said that funding is still needed for the 4 remaining traffic signal boxes that have not been painted: Fremont and 46th, Leary and 39th, Whitman and 38th, and Winslow and 46th. The cost is $1,000 per box. She suggested contacting businesses or neighbors near these locations. There was a question about the $140 fee the FNC was charged recently. Kathleen said it is an annual permit fee.
2015 Election of Officers and Board:
Stephanie presented the following slate of officers and board members:
President: Stephanie Pure
Vice President: Toby Thaler
Treasurer: Jim Engelhardt
Secretary: Judie Clarridge
Board Members:
Linda Clifton
Matt Gasparich
Norma Jones
Shawn Mulanix
Elfriede Noble
Viet Nguyen
Erik Pihl
MOTION: Linda moved that the slate of officers and board members for 2015 be approved. Norma seconded. The membership approved the motion.
Committee Reports / Other Business:
– Stephanie reported on the changes Metro is proposing to routes that serve Fremont. Metro is looking to align its service with the UW Sound Transit station which is coming online in March 2016. Metro will be sending the changes to the King County Council in the fall. Metro will be invited to send a representative the FNC May meeting.
– Mike O’Brien spoke about Honest Elections Seattle – Initiative 122 which would create a voluntary program for publicly-financed election campaigns and set limits on election campaign contributions. See honestelectionsseattle.org.
– Linda reported on a meeting that she, Toby, Leo, and Jim attended with the architect for the proposed apartment building at 743 N. 35th. Changes include: exterior artwork for the two large walls, more bike storage space, additional 2 bedroom units, working with the library to make the area near the alley safer. There was discussion about FNC’s options: support the departure (for an extra floor) that the owner is requesting, or just not oppose the departure.
– Sarah Weathers announced that Ralph Weathers who represents the FNC on the Lake Union District Council and further represents the LUDC on the City Neighborhood Council is now up for filling the CNC Vice President position for the remainder of 2015.
Treasurer’s Report:
Jim reported the following balances in the FNC’s accounts:
Verity Checking: $ 2,022.21 46th Street Mural: $321.39
Verity Money Market: 56,866.74
Paypal 575.33
Minutes: Linda moved that the March minutes be approved. The motion was seconded and passed.
The meeting was adjourned. The next FNC Board meeting will be Monday, May 18, 2015.