March HPAC Meeting Agenda

HPAC meeting tomorrow night, 3/27. Agenda includes:

  • Nickelsville: in light of this weekend’s events. We’ve surveyed you in the past to make sure we’re representing our neighborhood accurately, we’d like to get a sense how you feel about it at this point, almost 8 months after our last survey.
  • A presentation with a preview of the raingarden designed for HPIC- we need your input!
  • We MIGHT also be having some wildlife experts join us to speak about living with wildlife in the city- I know there were folks concerned with coyotes- now’s your chance to speak with a professional about them. (but I haven’t gotten confirmation on their attendance yet, sorry!)
See you at HPIC (Highland Park Improvement Club) on 12th and Holden:  meeting at 7pm or at 6:45 to help set up.
In lieu of a potluck this month, we will be serving some dessert treats at the meeting.

Seattle Mayor Candidates Forum

There will be a forum for the 8 announced candidates for Seattle Mayor on April 29 from 6:30 until 8:30 PM. It is being sponsored by the 11th, 34th and 37th Legislative District Democratic Party organizations, and will be at South Seattle Community College, Georgetown Campus. If  there are questions for submittal, there will be a post on their website soon.

Want to See More Street Trees in Highland Park?

Thanks to the voter-supported Bridging the Gap initiative, SDOT is planting over 800 street trees per year, and they are interested in finding neighborhoods where they can plant about 100 trees within (about) a 4 to 5-square block area…. see this website for more information or call 684-TREE (8733) if your section of Highland Park is interested in “growing solutions” by planting trees.

Raingarden Workshop at South Seattle Community College

Stewardship Partners, WSU Extension and the 12,000 Rain Gardens Campaign are hosting 4 more rain garden workshops this spring.  We’re excited that one will be in our neighborhood!  April 11th at the South Seattle Community College, from 6- 8:30 pm.

The workshop will cover the basics of urban runoff, rain garden design, plant selection, maintenance and local incentive programs. It is free and open to the public. RSVPs are much appreciated. Content is geared for home and landowners who are considering a rain garden as a way to improve their landscape, reduce flooding on their property or improve the environment in a meaningful way, but the material will be relevant to anyone wishing to learn more about these amazing, beautiful, and hard working gardens. Hope to see you there!

For more info: www.12000raingardens.org and click on the “Events” tab.

Contacting City Council Members for Food Lifeline

We heard from Food Lifeline at our last meeting, and they promised to send us some information about contacting members of city council to encourage them to move forward on their plans for a new Hunger Relief Solution Center.  Here it is! They have identified the site at the bottom of Highland Park Drive that currently hosts Nickelsville, and are actively working with Nickelsville and the city to find a relocation spot for them. The site would allow Food Lifeline to consolidate and expand operations to secure more food, deliver it to more people, operate even more efficiently, and work toward ending hunger in our community. The major parcels of the land that are needed are currently owned by the City of Seattle and the State of Washington. Work with the state is moving along well, but they need some help in convincing members of the City Council that the new building would be an ideal way to use that land.
That’s where you come in. Political leaders really do listen to their constituents. Speak up on their behalf to help move their vision forward. Please contact city council:

The City of Seattle’s Department of Transportation currently owns part of the site where Food Lifeline hopes to build the new building. The site is not currently being used, nor are there immediate plans for its use.
You can help by sending an email to the City Council membersTim Burgess, Sally Clark, Richard Conlin, Nick Licata and Tom Rasmussen. Let them know why you support Food Lifeline and its critical role in our community. Then, be succinct, passionate and direct in covering these points:

  • Food Lifeline needs a new building to increase its capacity to feed hungry children, families and seniors in Seattle
  • An identified site on West Marginal Way is an ideal location
  • The site should be declared surplus and transferred to Food Lifeline so it can serve thousands more hungry people for years to come
  • Ask them specifically for their support and to move quickly in taking action

Time is of the essence. They must move forward to acquire the land within the next few weeks to keep the building plans on schedule! Your investment in the campaign will build a new, consolidated 150,000-square foot Hunger Relief Solution Center where solutions to hunger are real and tangible, executed expertly and efficiently, and focused on ensuring that none of our neighbors goes hungry.

Some Helpful Links to help you help Highland Park

Because the city doesn’t know about our issues, or allocate resources, unless YOU TELL THEM:

Police Non Emergency Number: 206-625-5011

Police  Community On-Line Reporting Program for Property Destruction, Identity Theft, Car Prowls, Auto Accessories, Theft of Property (under $500), Narcotics Activity.

On-going Drug Activity:  call narcotics directly at (206) 684-5797 or our community police team at (206) 615-1976 to report ongoing drug activity, ask to file a “Narcotics Activity Report.” Can also be reported online.

Requesting a city Service, like overgrown vegetation/ impassable sidewalks, abandoned cars in the street, damaged sidewalks, graffiti, pothole report, parking enforcement…

Illegal Dumping

Seattle Animal Shelter, dispatch center:  386-7387 ext 7 or request service here. This is to report failure to leash, failure to scoop, injured or dead animals/wildlife, stray pets, dangerous animals, animal cruelty, things like that.

Filing an anonymous complaint, especially for things like junk cars in yards, junk stored outside in residential zones, and vacant properties opened to unauthorized entry.

Spring Clean

Here at HPAC, we try to help you help yourselves and your neighborhood- so we’re passing on this information about Seattle’s Spring Clean, which is held each year in April and May. The  city will supply things like garbage grabbers, gloves, bags, safety vests, and paint/supplies to take care of graffiti. All you have to do is get some neighbors together, pick a date, and sign up. We encourage you to take charge and set something up for your block or that little part of Highland Park that you think could use some love. As we hear specifics of time and place, we’ll publish Spring Clean events happening in Highland Park that other neighbors have set up so you can participate without leading an event. Sign up here, it’s easy- and let us know when/where your event is if you want us to include it here.

Westcrest Park Updates and Volunteer Opportunities

We heard from Rick Nishi of Seattle Parks at our last meeting with a current plan of Westcrest Park / West Seattle Reservoir. See the latest plan here. The Kinetic sculptures created by artist David Boyer will be installed in three locations on the site, represented by the clusters of red dots on the plan. The P-patch is currently under construction and could use more volunteers. There is a work party coming up this Saturday and next (March 2 and 9). Come help dig holes, prepare the ground, and plant for the native plants that will that will line the garden’s borders. 10am to 2pm, come for as long as you can. Contact Rhyan Haynie-Lavelle  •  rhyan.haynie-lavelle@seattle.gov  •  # 206-684-4531 for questions.

Gigabit Squared’s Super-Fast Broadband

As reported in this West Seattle Blog article, if you’re interested in faster internet service, sign up here to request it for West Seattle- No obligation, but areas showing lots of interest could move up the priority list.

Please Join us for the Last Meeting in our Police Series

Tonight, February 13th at 7:00 at HPIC on 12th and Holden, the second meeting focuses on Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design. Please join us to discuss the neighborhood with the police, how we can be more empowered, how we can help ourselves improve our part of the neighborhood, and how we can help the police help us. The presentation will be about 45 minutes, followed by your questions and discussion. Officer Kiehn will stay as long as he needs to in an effort to answer all your questions and speak to your concerns.