When: Wednesday, February 9, 2000
7:30 p.m.

Where: Montlake Community Center
1618 Calhoun Street

7:30 Introductory Remarks.

7:35 Approval of minutes; old business.

7:45 Planning for the new Montlake branch library— Head City Librarian Deborah Jacobs and members of the library staff.

8:15 Consideration of response to Trans-Lake Washington Transportation Study Report.

9:15 New Business

9:30 Adjournment

The first order of business was a hearty welcome to Jeff Wood, the new editor of the Flyer, who was in attendance at the meeting. Jeff has met with outgoing editor Glenn Fleishman and they will be working together on the February issue, with Jeff being on his own after that.

Jeff indicated that he would make no changes in the Flyer until he had gotten his feet wet. He may then look at streamlining the technical aspects of getting it ready for printing.

A discussion ensued as to the costs of printing. Jeff will look into what constitutes the costs and will look at alternatives and then report back to the Board.

Bruce Balick reported that the major agenda items for the January general meeting would be a presentation by Paul Blake of Seattle Public Utilities and a discussion and vote on the resolution printed in the January Flyer concerning the MCC response to the report of the Trans-Lake Study (TLS) Committee.

There was a discussion of the resolution. A general concern was that it, once again portrayed Montlake as a community that always reacts with a resounding NO to any perceived threat while totally ignoring the better aspects of a proposal. The following questions were considered:

• Can we not use the scoping process to persuade the DOT to pay attention to mitigating actions, such as noise abatement, that impact the neighborhood?
• Increases in traffic will not stop, but can we make the best of it?

Bruce agreed to be prepared to discuss an alternative stand at the general meeting.

Paul Gibson reported on the Northeast District Council Meeting (NEDC). They had a discussion of a compensatory project for use of Husky Stadium by the Seahawks for the next two seasons. The Seahawks have a limited budget allocated for this and they don't seem interested in spending it on resolution of traffic problems that are not related to their games.

One of the options was to pay to convert a vacant piece of land near the Burke-Gillman Trail into a small city park. This would be called Blakeley Crescent Park. Paul asked for a "sense of the Board" vote on this and while it was felt that it was a "small potatoes" project, approval was given unanimously.

Bruce Balick reported that the City Council passed the Transportation Management Plan (TMP) as written by the Seahawks. It is not perfect but not all bad. There is some question as to the handling of illegally parked cars during the games. At present, the city is not doing a very good job of policing illegally parked cars during Husky games. One positive note was that the fines for illegal parking will be increased dramatically during games.

Bruce said that he had gotten Seahawks management to agree to talk one-on-one to the Montlake merchants to determine their concerns and problems during games.

The Board approved Ellen Judson and Jack Berg to be on the nominating committee for next year. They were instructed to find a third member. That person should not be on the present board.  There was a discussion of term's of the various Board members. Liz Bagshaw will be consulted on this. We need candidates for the officer positions and for at least three Board positions.

Diane Thompson, also a member of the Montlake Advisory Council, which advises the Park Department on use of the Montlake Community Center, reported that the center was becoming overloaded with programs and usage and it is necessary to make some improvements. They can apply for grants for such things but they need to have specific projects in mind.

The playfield itself, built on fill in a wetland, is continuously sinking and needs some serious buildup. This, of course, is a very large project. In the meantime, there must be additional buildings and the old rusty portable must be replaced.

The Council has funds to hire an architectural firm to run the community input process. There was some discussion of what should be at the Center, including the new Montlake Library. Bruce Balick said that, since it is not clear where the new Montlake Library (already approved by the voters) would go, he would invite a Seattle Public Library spokesperson to address this issue at the February meeting.

Beginning Saturday, February 26, 2000, the Museum of History & Industry will feature a new exhibit called, Let’s Vote!: Political Artifacts from the Collection. The opening coincides with the first-ever Washington State Presidential Primary on February 29 and the exhibit will run through November 12, following the November 7 national election. The ex-hibit features vintage campaign posters and buttons, ballot boxes, and a 1914 ballot box. For information call 324-1126 or visit www.seatlehistory.org.

Each year, local nonprofit environmental group, Cascadia Quest brings 12 young adults, age 18 to 24, from around the world to work as volunteers in the World Conservation Corps program. Visiting volunteers work with local volunteers supporting over 20 regional agencies and municipalities to

The principal topic at the January meeting was the effects of Initiative 695 and pending Tim Eyman initiatives. City budget director Joan Walters reports that I-695 will cost Seattle about 3.7% of its budget, about half of which will be made up with increased sales tax revenues resulting from the strong economy. Another quarter will be met by rescinding a planned increase in Seatrans budget for 2000. Small, primarily residential cities that lack much economic activity are hit much harder. King County will lose about half of the Metro budget ($100M), $12.5M in public safety/criminal justice funds, and $11M in the county/city health budget. Governor Locke's proposed response to I-695 would restore some of these funds. Five cases challenging the constitutionality of I-695 are pending. These cases may be heard as early as March 6th. Expedited review by the Supreme Court is anticipated. Tim Eyman, the force behind I-695 has a new initiative, dubbed the "Traffic Improvement Initiative," which would shift transportation funding away from busses, ferries and other mass transit, transferring it to highway construction. The initiative earmarks 90% of transportation dollars solely for new roads and lanes and road maintenance, in part by taking money from regional transit authority accounts. Laurelhurst requested that this issue be placed on the agenda in the next month or two and that Tim Eyman be invited to brief the group. Copies of the initiative were distributed.

Classified ads are free for Montlake residents, subject to the following restrictions; a) repeated ads may be refused. b) space per family may be restricted to 1.5 column inches per issue. Ads exceeding this length may be shortened by abbreviation or omitted entirely if there is a shortage of space. c) material of questionable taste will not be published. Submissions to Editor, The Montlake Flyer, 4756 U. Vill. Pl. NE #446, Seattle, WA 98105-5021. The March issue deadline is Friday, February 11,2000.

At the January Board meeting President Balick was instructed to draft a neighborhood response to the Trans Lake Washington Transportation Study's report of August. The response is intended to convey a sense of how we will evaluate any proposed changes to SR-520 that might affect Montlake.

The letter of response describes the types of mitigation we feel to be essential (reduced congestion, noise, etc.), and it summarizes our long-standing policies such as no more taking of land for roads, better public transport and use of existing roads, and no more SR-520-related congestion on Montlake arterials. It also identifies those portions of the Trans-Lake Washington Study Report that we find encouraging.

The first draft of a letter to WSDOT officials was discussed at the January general meeting. Attendees felt that the issues and the contents of the letter are sufficiently complex that more consideration of the letter is necessary before it can be approved and sent.

The President was instructed to clarify a few points and to publish a second draft of the letter for community consideration. The second draft of the letter appears elsewhere in the Flyer. Please study it. Our goal is to finalize the letter at February's General Meeting.