Community Club Meeting

When: Wednesday, May 10, 2000
7:30 p.m.

Where: Montlake Community Center
1618 Calhoun Street

Agenda

7:30: Introductory remarks, approval of minutes, and old business.

7:45 Montlake Community Center improvement plans.

8:30 Bylaw changes.

8:45 Montlake Garden Tour.

9:15 New Business.

9:30 Adjournment.

Montlake Garden Tour

By Judith Dibuz

Last month we invited you to volunteer your garden for this year’s tour. Throngs of you wanted to sign up, but the names and telephone numbers of the committee members were omitted from the end of the notice (for which your editor humbly apologizes—ed.).

With this notice we remedy this omission. Tour committee members invite you to call any one of the numbers listed below to discuss sharing the pleasure of your garden with your Montlake neighbors. Or, if you know of a garden you feel we should try to include in the tour, please feel free to call us to make a suggestion.

Sunday, July 9, is the date of the tour. We must ask for your description of your garden by the date of the MCC General Meeting, Wednesday, May 10, to allow time for preparing the tour map, garden list and descriptions for publication in the June issue of the Montlake Flyer.

We look forward to your call!

Lee Jacobson 328-8733

Kari Olson 329-1911

Judith Dibuz 324-0252

Music and Mousse at the Totem Pole To Celebrate Opening Day

The MCC Board has acquired a permit from the Corps of Engineers, allowing us to renew the custom of providing music and dessert on the eve of Opening Day at the totem pole by the Cut. As in the past, music will be by the Seattle Civic Band and the mousse will be by Montlake Mousse, courtesy of Jack Berg. This event was begun in 1992 to mark the 75th anniversary of the opening of the Montlake Cut and continued through 1997, except for 1995. It has been carried out with much near-neighbor support, in particular, by Peter Staten. The music should start around 7:00 PM.

Board Meeting Minutes
March 1, 2000

Submitted by Connie Bain for the Secretary—Vice President Paul Gibson called the meeting to order at 7:40 p.m. at Connie Bain's home. A quorum was present including: Diane Thompson, Jean Leed, Mimi DeBurle, Jeannine Jacobson, Connie Bain. Also present were Roger Leed, Clarissa Easton, Lee Kolb, John Hutchinson, and Johathan Dubman.

The first order of business was approval for President Bruce Balick to send a formal letter inviting new Seattle City Council member Jim Compton to speak at the June MCC meeting. Mr. Compton was the only one of the three new council members to respond to our general invitation to join us at a meeting to promote familiarity and rapport with the community. Paul asked if anyone was interested in representing Montlake as an interface with the Washington Department of Transportation as the plan for 520 develops. Jean Leed volunteered.

Plans for the April General Meeting were discussed. Paul encouraged board members to invite neighbors and others new to the community for a summary of MCC activities and concerns. The board voted to authorize Jonathan to rent a projector to use with a laptop computer for a demonstration of the new MCC website.

Diane Thompson presented information on the Park Department Comprehensive Plan, which outlines projects for the city parks during the next five years. Diane noted that improvements tend to be based on Neighborhood Plans and suggested that we would get more attention if we developed one. Roger objected that the term “Neighborhood Plan” is a misnomer, as existing plans were developed in neighborhoods chosen by the city and Montlake was not among these. The city no longer offers this opportunity. Paul asked Diane to bring a position of the Montlake Playfield Advisory Council to the next general meeting so a motion can be raised for MCC support. The two immediate issues are maintenance of the playfield and replacing the tin building. It was also suggested that a questionnaire be published in the May Flyer to get community input on projects at the playfield.Paul said that the Pro Parks Committee formed by Nick Licata, Ken Bounds and Paul Schell is identifying projects for the next ballot measure. The $200 million alternative budget includes money for Montlake. It is important to Montlake that the larger budget be on the ballot, as the smaller $160 million proposal does not include money for Montlake. The issue was a topic at a Pro Parks meeting April 15 at Miller Playfield.

The board voted to appoint Jonathan Dubman as the official MCC webmaster to help develop policy and content and to supervise the website. Jonathan was asked to draft and email suggested policies to board members for discussion. Ideas for the website include for it to be a central place to list all meetings relevant to Montlake; a listing of businesses in Montlake; replicate newsletter on website; update calendar; and publicize web address wherever possible. One concern is that major information will appear on the website that is not available elsewhere. The feeling of the board is that this will not be a problem as more and more people have access to the internet; but, nevertheless, consideration must be given for those who do not have web access. The board discussed changing the by-laws along lines of the following: “The board meeting will be held monthly as determined and published by the board in the months when there is a general meeting.” Paul offered to write up a by-law amendment to be published in the May Flyer, as is required for changes to the bylaws. Paul suggested that all the board members, especially new members, read the MCC bylaws, which are posted on the website.

Paul and the board expressed gratitude to Jeff Wood for his excellent job as newsletter editor. Jean Leed and the board expressed gratitude to the outgoing board members and officers.

Agenda for May meeting will be: Discussion of plans for playfield; by-law change; garden tour.

Board members suggested reviving the Opening Day eve concert at the Totem Pole on the cut on May 6. Lee Kolb volunteered to help make arrangements. It was also suggested that MCC again participate in the Montlake Playfield Advisory Council picnic in August and that it be publicized in the June newsletter.

Paul Gibson adjourned the meeting at 9:40 p.m.

General Meeting Minutes

April 12, 2000 Submitted by Lee Kolb, acting secretary—The meeting was called to order by President Bruce Balick. He appointed Lee Kolb acting secretary for the meeting, and then asked for reports and announcements.

Liz Bagshaw mentioned that the names of the committee members planning the Montlake Garden Tour had been omitted from the newsletter article, that she could supply them to anyone present who needed them, and that they would be published in the next newsletter.

Ellen Judson reported that the Library Liaison Committee was being utilized by the Seattle Public Library staff as a resource in investigating potential sites, and that Library staff plans a public meeting on site selection on May 31.

Jean Leed will attend a Washington State Department of Transportation meeting of the Seattle representatives to the Trans-Lake Washington Study Group, at which WSDOT will present the proposed Environmental Impact Statement.

President Balick reported that the Club had received no response or acknowledgement to its letter to WSDOT presenting its positions on the Trans-Lake study. He asked for and received, by general agreement, permission to draft a follow-up letter asking for a response.

Ted Choi discussed the status of the Montlake Advisory Council's pursuit of capital funds for the Community Center. He mentioned that an ad-hoc committee of council and community members had established that the first priority was stabilization and improvement of the grounds. A recent revision to the Pro Parks 2000 Citizen's Committee funding recommendation added a second $200M levy plan which included $2.9M for improvements to Montlake, and he encouraged community members to support this version at the public workshops.

The main program of the evening was a review of MCC activities and issues, oriented toward new Montlake residents. It was presented by President Balick using a projected working version of the Club's website prepared by Jonathan Dubman. After a quick tour of the other home page links, President Balick brought up the "Activities and Issues" page and briefly explained the listed issues, at times calling on involved club members to provide more recent details. New information included:

University Village Expansion—Plans for the next phase of expansion are being accelerated in an attempt to avoid having to deal with the details of a new Master Planning ordinance that the Seattle City Council is trying to develop.

University Urban Village—A Superior Court judge recently ruled against the MCC suit contesting the City's failure to address traffic impacts of this plan. A decision on appeal will probably have to be made by the end of May.

There being no contested positions, the annual election was conducted with a single vote for the entire slate of candidates provided by the nominating committee. Those elected were

President: Clarissa Easton

Vice President: Paul Gibson

Secretary: Lee Kolb

Treasurer: Scott Burgett

Trustees (full three year terms); Shane Doran, John Hutchinson, Marty Lindemann

Trustees (final year of uncompleted terms); Jean Leed, Diane Thompson.

Scott Burgett presented the treasurer's report, which showed both an increase in the number of families making contributions and an increase in the financial assets of the club. The report was approved by the members present and will be included as an addendum to the minutes.

It was moved and seconded that the balance ($917) in the MCC Education Fund be donated to the Montlake School Principal's fund. Proponents of the motion argued that the club had stopped soliciting donations to the fund years ago and it was time to distribute the small balance and close the fund. Those opposed felt that the funds should be used in response to a specific request from the school or PTA, rather than as a cash donation. The motion passed.

Incoming president Clarissa Easton presented Bruce Balick with a certificate of appreciation and a bouquet. The meeting was then adjourned.

Announcements

Beautification Committee

By Liz Bagshaw

Beautification activities have been based primarily on individual initiative this past year, except for getting the Garden Tour Committee under way.

Joseph Limacher has continued to maintain and amend the club lot at the SW corner of 24^th and Boyer, putting in considerable time and adding plants at no cost to the club. We are so lucky to have him! Minimal work is being done on the club lot on the SE corner, following an ambitious project to clear out the tall weeds on the parking strip last spring. Fall leaves were raked and blackberry vines cut back by Nathalie Gehrke and Liz Bagshaw. Now some flowers are being planed close to the sidewalk on 24^th in an attempt to keep the weeds back. We badly need someone willing to take on this lot. Any volunteers?

Jim Roe has taken on the task of nourishing the trees on the parking strip at Montlake School. It may not always look beautiful after he has been there, but the trees are happy. Lisa Ray and Jonathan Dubman have done some planting around the trees on Calhoun, and the Girl Scouts planted flowers on the McGraw side as part of the citywide spring clean program.

Liz Bagshaw and Germaine Arsove continue to maintain what they and others began at 19^th and Calhoun—our own “Montlake Garden.” We have had a request from the NW Fisheries facility to help them beautify their grounds, and are working on that. We have numerous traffic circles in Montlake that are being maintained by nearby neighbors. We don’t know them to publicly thank them.

There is much that could be done—like plant exchanges; should be done—like litter pickup or working on overgrown street ends. I have been remiss this year in not contacting new people, but recruiting and organizing gets tiring. What really makes things happen is individuals with an idea and the willingness to take initiative. We’d love to hear from you! Call Liz Bagshaw at 325-7291.

NEDC Meeting Report

By Paul Gibson

NEDC business of interest to Montlake included discussion and acceptance of a memorandum of understanding to be signed with the Seahawks regarding their contribution to a small park development just north of the Burke/Gilman Trail where it passes north of University Village. The Seahawks are planning to contribute $80,000 to the project in recognition of the disruption that their football games will inevitably cause to the surrounding neighborhoods. The money will be used to leverage other funding needed to complete the park and improve the adjacent street and sewer facilities. It is felt that the proximity to the trail, which is used by folks from all over, has the effect of spreading the benefits beyond the immediate neighbors.

It was announced that the newly proposed ordinance governing master plan requirements for commercial developments such as U Village is available on the DCLU web site at www.ci.seattle.wa.us/dclu/ under DCLU News. There will be a public hearing on this legislation on May 3rd at 5:30 before the City Council committee on Landlord, Tenant and Land Use, at the Council Chambers, 11th floor of the Municipal Building.

The NEDC is composed of representatives from the MCC, Portage Bay/Roanoke C.C. and various organizations (mostly community councils) located north of the canal to NE 95th Street and between I-5 and Lake Washington. It is one of 12 District Councils that send representatives to the City Neighborhood Council. Responsibilities of the CNC include review and recommendations regarding City budget issues including especially the Neighborhood Matching Fund and the Neighborhood Street Fund. The NEDC frequently airs issues of concern to individual member organizations such as traffic, land use, and legislative proposals, and may adopt positions of support. Questions? Call 323 - 1851.

CUCAC Meeting Report

By Ken Fales

The agenda for the April 11, 2000 meeting of the City University Community Advisory Committee (CUCAC) included a number of issues of immediate concern to residents of Montlake.

An "Ambulatory Care Pavilion", situated east of the University Hospital, is in the preliminary design phase. It is a large, low building, about three floors high, connected to the hospital with a bridge. As this structure occupies all of the existing S-10 parking lot, parking will be included in a three-story underground garage. The top of the building will be about 20 feet above Montlake Boulevard. We are told that shrubbery and trees will hide it! Wait and see.

Another, more visible, building on Montlake Boulevard is the addition to the Intramural Gymnasium (IMA). We reported on this building a few months ago. A final design is getting closer and the architects are showing a schematic design for a building about 160 feet long in front of the existing IMA, 50 feet high and set back from the curb 105 feet. As usual, CUCAC members are continuing to hold the UW architects and planners to the fire. Construction is scheduled for Spring 2001. No extra traffic will be generated.