Fremont Neighborhood Council – May 19, 2014
Board members present: Toby Thaler, Shawn Mulanix, Norma Jones, Linda Clifton, Matt Gasparich, Jim Engelhardt, Stephanie Pure, Judie Clarridge.
Because Stephanie had a work event that delayed her arrival, Toby opened the meeting and invited everyone to introduce themselves and share any announcements:
- The City Council is accepting applications for 3 new members to serve for 2 year terms on the Bicycle Advisory Board. This is an important position that involves working on the Bicycle Master Plan. The Board meets on the first Wednesday of each month from 6 to 8 pm. The application deadline is June 6th.
- Linda announced that there will be an Open House regarding the Westlake Avenue North Cycle Track on Wednesday, May 21st, from 5:30 to 8:00 pm at the Fremont Studios, 155 N. 35th.
- Kirby Lindsay announced that there will be a birthday party for Suzie Burke at History House on Sunday, June 1st from 2 to 5 pm.
- Jessica Vets reported on an all-ages Concert Series, a new feature of the 2014 Fremont Fair. Groups will perform Friday and Saturday evenings on a stage located on N. 35th, west of Evanston. There will be a charge for admission.
Patrick Place Apartments Update – Beruktawit Giday, Project Manager
The 71-unit building is located at 4152 Aurora Avenue, between Motor and N. 42nd. It is one of 40 housing projects of Catholic Community Services in the state. Patrick Place features independent living apartments for people who have recently been homeless. Potential residents are referred by shelters and social service organizations and must pass a background check. The building is staffed 24 hours a day. Beruke reported that the building is fully occupied with 75 residents (including some couples). They hold regular House Meetings. They are forming a Residents Council to work on community building within the building: working as a group, what it means to be a good neighbor and a good citizen, etc. One of the residents accompanied Beruke and talked about the despair that can accompany homelessness. He said that residents are working on developing trust in one another and building relationships.
The Plan for Protecting Seattle’s Waterway – Ed Mirabella, Seattle Public Utilities
Ed provided an update on SPU’s City-wide Long-term Control Plan for preventing sewage overflow into local waterways in order to meet Federal EPA requirements. Sewage overflows into the Ship Canal currently about 50 times a year in Fremont and Ballard when storm water from heavy rains causes the combined sewage/storm water pipes to exceed capacity. SPU is developing an integrated plan alternative that integrates sewage overflow reduction projects with storm water control projects to achieve a greater environmental benefit. The public comment period begins May 29th. There will be an open house / public hearing on Tuesday, June 24, at 6 pm at the Lake Washington Rowing Club,910 N. Northlake Way.
Old Business:
- Transfer Station Mitigation Funds: Toby reminded the Board that $30,000 in the settlement agreement with the City regarding the North Transfer Station must be spent by the end of 2014. The plaintiffs were the FNC and a group of neighbors who live close to the Transfer Station site. It must be spent on public space. It was suggested that the neighbors be invited to the June FNC meeting to discuss possible uses for the money.
New Business:
- Linda presented her proposal to request a Small Sparks Grant for a one-day clean up and community building event that would include: scrubbing the 46th Street Mural, cleaning the Bridge Way Mural, doing litter control on Fremont Avenue, and celebrating the completion of those three projects. The celebration would be held at the end of the day at Patrick Place. Linda has not priced out the cost; the limit of Small Sparks Grants is $1,000. The applying organization would be the FNC. It was the consensus of the Board that this was a good idea and that Linda should proceed to request the grant.
- Traffic Signal Boxes: It was reported that there is graffiti on the boxes at 36th and Phinney and at 40th andFremont. Matt will email Urban Artworks and request that the graffiti be painted over. There was also discussion about inviting the Community Police Team point-of-contact for Fremont (Loren Street) to an upcoming meeting to discuss tagging.
Committee Reports:
LAND USE AND TRANSPORTATION: Toby reported on the proposed 35 unit, single room occupancy, apartment project at3639 Linden Avenue N. The developer purchased two residences on 30’ wide lots. The apartment building would be over 40 feet tall in a neighborhood of small homes. The project would include no on-site parking and only 9 spots for bikes. Neighbors are very concerned about the scale of the project, added pressure on already limited on street parking, Metro service near this location that is already inadequate, etc. There will be no Design Review Board process for this project. The comment period ends in 10 days.
Motion: Norma moved that Toby draft comments on this project to be reviewed online by the Board and submitted on behalf of the FNC. The motion was seconded and passed.
Stephanie suggested inviting a representative from the City’s Department of Planning and Development to the next Board meeting to discuss residential developments inFremont. There was discussion about issues such as “aPodments” like the project onLinden, “L” zoning, small lot development, height limits (an issue being discussed by City Council tonight), etc.
Minutes: Stephanie moved that the minutes of the Annual General Meeting in April be approved as presented. The motion was seconded and passed.
Treasurer’s Report: Stephanie reported the FNC’s financial figures as shown below. She is working on getting access to the Pay Pal account.
BECU Checking: $2,392.43
BECU Money Market: $56,191.16
BECU Savings: 0
Pay Pal: TBD
The meeting was adjourned.
The next meeting will be Monday, June 23, 2014.