Join us at the Cut!
Annual MCC
"Night Before Opening Day"
The Montlake Community
Club will host its annual Pre-Opening Day neighborhood get-together this
Friday, May 4. Last year’s event was declared a rousing success by all who
attended. The Seattle Civic Orchestra will once again provide the musical
entertainment, between 6:30 and 7:30 pm. Refreshments will be available.
The celebration begins at 6:00pm and runs to 8:00pm on the deck
overlooking the Montlake Cut, just off Shelby Street.
Bring the family, take
a stroll along the canal, watch the boats, enjoy the spring, meet your
neighbors—and be glad you live in Montlake!
Introducing: The Montlake Forum
Discuss Montlake
Issues and Interests Online
Montlake Community Club Webmaster, Jonathan Dubman unveiled a new easy
way to participate in discussions of Montlake issues and interests at the April
meeting of the Montlake Community Club. The Montlake Forum, an electronic
bulletin board for the community, is the latest feature added to the Montlake
Community Club website.
Accessible from the montlake.net
home page, the Forum can be read by anyone who visits the site. To contribute
to the site, you must join the discussion group.
There
are two ways to join. If you wish to receive all Forum messages by email, you
may simply email your request for a free subscription to montlakeforum-subscribe@yahoogroups.
com. If you prefer to keep track of Forum activity by visiting the site
each time you wish to read a message, you can enter the site via a Yahoo!
account. If
you don’t already have a Yahoo! Account, you can sign up for one free of charge
by visiting groups.yahoo.com/group/montlakeforum/join. Once
you are a Forum member, you can post messages to the Forum by emailing montlakeforum@
yahoogroups.com.
Any one who
lives, works, or takes an interest in the Montlake community is welcome to join
in on the discussions. We hope the Forum will give residents who find it
difficult to attend MCC meetings regularly a way to keep abreast of community
activities and to express their ideas to community.
The
Forum is governed by bylaws and policies of the Montlake Community Club, which
are published on the website. The Forum includes safeguards to protect the
privacy and personal information of participants. Full instructions on your
message delivery options and sign up procedures are available on the website.
Visit the Forum today
and join the conversation—or start one!
President’s Corner
Please join us at the May
general meeting when we host the declared candidates for the office of Mayor of
the City of Seattle. As of this writing, Mayor Schell has yet to confirm, but
we are hopeful that he will take this opportunity to address the community. We
intend the meeting to be a chance to get an early idea of the candidates' ideas
and for us to offer Montlake perspectives to them.
Wow! We’re wired now. Check
out our new Montlake Forum by clicking on montlake.net and following
the link to the neighborhood's electronic "back fence," where you can
share opinions with others on a secure mailing list. Sincere thanks to our
indefatigable webmaster, Jonathan Dubman, who designed and implemented the
system.
And don’t miss the annual
"Night Before Opening Day," hosted by the Montlake Community Club. On
the tree-lined banks of the Montlake Cut, at the deck off Shelby Street, the
date is Friday evening, May 4. Please come for refreshments and lively music by
the Seattle Civic Orchestra from 6:30 to 7:30pm. It's a neighborhood family
affair!
--Clarissa Easton
Board Meeting Minutes
April 4, 2001 The Board of Trustees of the Montlake Community Club
convened at 7:35pm at the Montlake Community Center, with president Clarissa
Easton presiding. Members Burgett, Dubman, Doran, Jacobson, Leed, Kolb, and
Thompson were present. Board candidate Don Argus and Beautification Committee
Chair Mimi DeBurle also attended.
Treasurer
Scott Burgett distributed advance copies of annual treasurer's report for
review prior to presentation at the upcoming annual meeting. The board
discussed the desirability of increasing number of contributing households for
representational, rather than financial, reasons. It was noted that the
residual balance in the Tot Lot Fund had been incorporated into general funds,
and that only the Beautification Fund remains from the days when donations in
excess of dues were earmarked. Question: Board members raised the
questions of inviting contributions more frequently, and/or permitting them to
be earmarked for special projects. No action was taken.
Beautification Committee Chair Mimi DeBurle reported that a tree service had
estimated a price of $710 to remove three large dead trees from one of the
club-owned lots. The service also recommended pruning two large alders, for an
estimated $635, and a stand of firs, estimated at $875. The board, on a motion
by Jean Leed, approved the expenditure of up to $2500 for tree
maintenance on the property, and suggested that the Beautification Committee
get one or two more opinions and estimates from reputable tree service
companies before proceeding. Ms. DeBurle also reported that she had obtained an
estimate for landscape plants at the small vacant triangle at 23rd
and Newton, and was proceeding with preparation of a grant proposal. She noted
that volunteer work had ceased because work performed before the grant was
awarded could not be used as a matching community contribution.
President Easton introduced for discussion the question
"Who speaks for Montlake" with regard to the Trans-Lake Study.
She provided copies of an e-mail posted earlier in the day from Amy Grotefendt,
Public Involvement Manager for the Trans-Lake Washington Project Team, which
asked essentially that question, along with copies of responses posted by some
of the addressees. The question was discussed at some length, with no
agreement. It was acknowledged that Jean Leed represents the Montlake
neighborhood on the Trans-Lake Advisory Committee, that Paul Gibson and other
appointees represent the Montlake Community Club's agreed positions at the
Northeast District Council and the other organizations to which it belongs, and
that the club president is the proper interface for any other group or
individual. Action: There was no agreement on how to represent
Montlake Community Club positions regarding neighborhood opinion, but it was
understood that they are separate issues. Jonathan Dubman volunteered,
with general support, to try to develop a timely survey of neighborhood
opinion which would effectively obtain data from beyond the relative small
percentage of residents regularly involved in club meetings.
Trans-Lake Study: Jean Leed invited comments on a draft letter to City of
Seattle representatives on the Trans-Lake Washington Executive Committee
containing recommendations by Seattle neighborhood representatives on the
Advisory Committee regarding the proposed multi-modal alternatives. In essence,
the Advisory Committee group asked that the executive committee members take an
approach consistent with the city's adopted position on SR-520; i.e., no
addition of general-purpose capacity. The draft had been sent to board members
via email prior to the meeting. Action: Board members who expressed
opinions were in agreement with its composition.
Leadership Retreat Grant: Ms. Leed also provided for signature a finished copy
of the proposal she had prepared to request grant funding for a leadership
retreat. She indicated that she thought there was a good chance of the
receiving the grant. No decision was made on the question of proceeding with
the retreat if the grant was not approved.
Library Siting:
After indicating that she felt that the Seattle Library Board now favored the
site at the northwest corner of 24th and McGraw for the new library,
President Easton raised the question of whether the board felt it
necessary or appropriate to restate the club resolution regarding siting on
residential property in another letter. Action: No one present spoke
in favor of repeating the position, which had been communicated by letter and
verbally at the recent public meeting.
Candidate Meetings: The president mentioned that County Council member Greg Nickels, a
declared candidate for Seattle mayor, has requested an opportunity to appear at
the May general meeting. Question: She asked for board opinion on
candidate presentations at club meetings. The board was generally favorable
to candidate appearances. Action: President Easton indicated that she
would invite the other mayoral candidates if Mr. Nickels request was
accepted.
Pre-Opening Day Concert: Lee Kolb suggested that the club decide if the
pre-opening day band concert would be sponsored again this year, so that the
required permit could be obtained and arrangements for the band made. After
some discussion of the concert's history, his motion "that the
club plan to conduct the event this year" was seconded and passed.
Montlake Discussion Forum: Jonathan Dubman reported that the discussion forum
feature on the club website would be functional within a week, and asked that
board members explore it and send him their opinions. He also reported that,
while attending a Link Light Rail Project Review Committee meeting, he learned
that the proposed alternative route via the Montlake Flyer stop and under the ship
canal was under consideration, although he thought it unlikely to be seriously
pursued.
The meeting was adjourned at 9:30pm.
General Meeting Minutes
April 11, 2001
The Montlake Community Club
convened its Annual Business Meeting at 7:38pm at the Montlake Community
Center, with president Clarissa Easton presiding. She began by thanking Mimi
DeBurle for organizing the gardeners’ plant exchange preceding the meeting.
Treasurer’s Report: Scott Burgett distributed copies of the treasurer's report to all present.
In discussing its content, he mentioned that the number of donors to the annual
appeal was 205 this year, down from 230 in 1999-2000. The average donation was
about the same, at slightly over $30. As a result, total income, at $10,210,
was down, but expenses were reduced even more and year-end assets were up about
$800 from a year earlier, to $26,958. These assets were held in an
interest-bearing checking account (about $7,000) and in two annually-renewed
12-month certificates of deposit (CDs). He reported that the Education and Tot
Lot funds had been closed and the only remaining earmarked fund was the
Beautification Fund, which had a balance of $4,892. The balance of the club
assets were in the unrestricted category. He also mentioned that an adjustment
needed to be made in the Expenses section to identify $350 of "General
Expenses" as "Dues and Contributions".
Question:
Mr. Burgett was asked why the club divided its assets between two banks, and
why the terms of the CD’s were not longer. He responded that the decisions
had been made prior to his term as treasurer and the board had not reconsidered
them in the past two years. Action: President Easton indicated that the
board would discuss them prior to the next renewal for the CDs.
A motion by Lee Kolb to accept the report of
the treasurer for the records was seconded and passed.
Salmon Friendly Gardening: The agenda was altered at this point in the meeting
to allow the evening's program to be presented. Kit Harris, a Master Gardener
with the King County Extension Service, moderated the slide show, "Salmon
Friendly Gardening". In summary, she said that Salmon-friendly gardening
is important because:
·
To survive and reproduce
in their fresh-water habitat, salmon need clean, oxygen-rich water, gravel
spawning beds, places to rest and hide, food, and dependable water levels.
·
In a natural areas in
the region, about 15% of the rain and snowfall becomes run-off, with the
balance absorbed or evaporating. Urbanization, which now extends to the Cascade
foothills, increases the run-off to between 55 and 70%.
·
Greatly increased
run-off produces undependable water levels, scours away natural refuges, silts
the water and the gravel beds, and washes whatever is on the surface of
buildings, gardens, and pavement into the streams, lakes, and estuaries.
Salmon-friendly gardening helps in two ways. It
reduces the volume of runoff, and it reduces the amount of unfriendly material
the run-off carries. Ms. Harris provided some salmon-friendly gardening tips;
·
Apply
water slowly and at the time of day when it is most effective. Drip irrigation
systems are efficient. Lawns should be watered early in the morning, and slowly
enough to permit the water to be absorbed.
·
Find
substitutes for lawn, which has both high water and high chemical needs.
·
Use
permeable surfaces such as pavers or gravel in place of asphalt or poured
concrete in driveways and walkways.
·
Use
compost in the soil and mulch on the surface, not only retain moisture, but to
accelerate the decomposition of fertilizers and pollutants.
·
Avoid
broadcast pesticide and herbicide treatments; if chemicals are used, attack the
problem directly. Ms. Harris especially condemned “weed and feed” fertilizers
for their unnecessary herbicide component.
·
If
you are fortunate enough to live on the edge of a lake or stream, use
deep-rooted hardy plants along the water's edge to limit erosion and the need
for chemical assistance, which will certainly end up in the water.
Concurrent with the program, the audience was asked to
complete and return a survey form on gardening practices.
Election of Officers: The secretary read the list of candidates supplied by
the nominating committee, reported that there had been no additional
nominations, and moved that the unopposed slate of candidates be elected by acclamation.
This motion was seconded and passed, resulting in the election of the
following:
President Clarissa
Easton
Vice-president Jonathan
Dubman
Secretary Robert
Newhouse
Treasurer Moira
Conner
Trustee (3-yr term)
Scott Coughlan, Don Argus, Neil Weschler
Trustee (through April 2002) Heidi Powell and Andy Jessup
President Easton announced that the club had received the route and date of
the annual Nordstrom run, and would make them known via the newsletter. She
also announced that the Seattle Civic Band had been obtained for the
"Opening Day Eve" concert at the east end of the Montlake Cut,
and that refreshments would be served from about 6 to 8pm, with the music
starting at 6:30.
Library Siting:
Ellen Judson reported that the Library Board had moved its decision on the
site of the new Montlake Library to its meeting on May 7, so there was
still time to register opinions. She suggested contacting the board via its Web
site, through any board member, or through project manager Sue Partridge. Ms.
Judson also mentioned that the Library Board had arranged the purchased the
duplex on the northwest corner of 24th Ave E and E McGraw St. The
property had been offered for sale and was part of one of the five sites under
consideration.
Montlake Forum:
Jonathan Dubman announced that a Montlake Forum had just been established on
the Internet, using the service of ‘Yahoo Forums’. Access is available via the
community club Web site, montlake.net. If you actively
participate in discussions via the forum, your email address is available only
to other forum members, and if you follow the discussions without
participating, your address is not disclosed at all. Mr. Dubman expressed the
hope that participation would grow to a level that justified separate forums
for different topics.
Beautification Grant: Mimi DeBurle reported that she is preparing the
proposal for a neighborhood grant to improve the public triangle at 23rd
Ave. E and E Newton.
The meeting was adjourned at 9:20 p.m.
Candidate’s Statements
Editor’s note: We were unable to run the statement for Moira Connor, candidate for
MCC Treasurer, in last month’s issue, an omission, which we herewith remedy.
Welcome Moira, and thanks!
Office of Treasurer
Moira
Connor: My
husband Terry and I are both systems analysts and our careers have frequently
necessitated moving and/or travel. In 1990 we moved from Vancouver to Victoria,
British Columbia, and in early 1994 we moved to Seattle. Luckily, I was working
for a client in Seattle and had an opportunity to really checkout various
neighborhoods before we made the final decision to move. Only Capitol Hill and
Montlake met all our criteria. Wonderful older character homes, well-kept
streets, close to downtown and all the amenities it has to offer, close to
freeways and most importantly—a feeling of “neighborhood”.
We’ve
lived on Royal Court East since August of 1994 and have never regretted the
decision to purchase a home here. Our neighbors are wonderful and there is a
real sense of belonging to a community. I’m interested in serving on the MCC to
help ensure that the inevitable growth/change doesn’t adversely change this
sense of community. Both Terry and I believe in volunteering and for the past
few years Terry has delivered The Montlake Flyer in our area. Looking
forward to meeting and working with the rest of the council.
Announcements and Notices
Friends of Interlaken Park
Tree Tour and
Workparty Calendar
Don't miss our special spring event! Tree Tour
of Interlaken Park with local tree scholar Arthur Lee Jacobson: Saturday, May
19 from 11:00am to 12:30pm.
As the days grow longer, trees and plants grow
actively. These are crucial months for watering and mulching. Join FIP this
spring for weeding, mulching, tree watering, and clematis and blackberry
removal.
Saturday, May 19 from 9 to 11am: Help
prepare restoration zones for planting. We will dig out roots of ivy, clematis
and blackberry from selected areas. Bring work gloves, drinking water, shovels,
and hand pruners. Meet at 19th E & E Galer.
Saturday, June 16 from 9 to 11am: Water
young trees planted last fall. Continue root and weed removal work. Bring work
gloves and drinking water. Meet at 19th East and East Galer.
No work parties in July and August. Have a great
summer!
Friends
of Interlaken Park is a community group working to steward the park's urban
forest. Contact: Cynthia Putnam at 329-9972 or cmputnam@aol.com
or visit the website at pscs.org/~swittman/foi.htm.
Trans-Lake Project Wants Your Input
Time grows short!
The Trans-Lake Washing
Project is poised to decide what alternatives should be included in the
environmental impact study that will commence in July of this year. May and
June are crucial months for the community to shape these alternatives.
Stay
informed
about the Trans-Lake Washington Project decision points and events by signing
up for the mailing list. To sign up, email translake@wsdot.wa.gov,
phone 206-448-6611 or visit our website at wsdot.wa/translake.
Montlake Community Center
CPR training
offered
Montlake
Community Center is offering a CPR training and refresher course on Wednesday,
May 2, at 10:45am in the gym. It's free and all neighbors are invited. Please
call the office (684-4736) so they can know how many people to expect.
Puget Sound Symphony Orchestra
Special Organ
Concert
The Puget Sound Symphony Orchestra (psso.org),
whose concerts are usually held at MOHAI, is offering a special organ concert
Friday, May 18, at 7:30pm at University Presbyterian Church. The program
features works by French composers:
·
Introduction
and Allegro for Harp,
Ravel (Alexis Odell soloist)
·
Carmen
Suites #1 & #2,
Bizet
·
Symphony
#3 "Organ,"
Saint-Saens
Organist
JoAnn Stremler will play the spectacular UPC Reuter Organ, one of the finest in
the Pacific Northwest (visit reuterorgan.com/recent2196.htm).
Tickets are $6 for all ages. Phone:(206) 524-7300
Committee Reports
Trans-Lake Washington Study Analysis Continues
At its April 17 meeting, the TLW Study reviewed
options for Traffic Demand Management (ways to encourage use of modes of travel
beside single-occupancy vehicles). The list is extensive and will be evaluated
more fully before the July decision date on what to include in the
Environmental Impact Study.
The eight potential combinations of roadway and
transit options on SR520 presented at the last meeting were discussed further.
Some members felt all eight should move forward for evaluation. Others
(including myself) urged that the three combinations that include 8 traffic
lanes be dropped from consideration. All comments will be forwarded to the
Executive Committee, which will make the ultimate decisions.
The frequency of meetings is increasing, with
three all-day sessions for all committees planned for late May and early June.
We are aware of similar ongoing studies for I-90 and I-405, and will keep these
coordinated in our thinking, as decisions on one corridor inevitably affect
decisions on the others.
CUCAC Meeting Report
The City University
Community Advisory Committee (CUCAC) met Tuesday, April 10, 2001 at the South
Campus Center (HUB). Recreational sports facilities in the East Campus area,
currently slated for renovation, occupy most of the committee’s agenda. Of
greatest concern are night-lighting and height of fencing at the Golf Driving
Range at the corner of 45th Ave and Montlake Blvd. Many are bothered
by the aesthetics of mesh fencing and light poles, ranging from 60 to 100 feet
high, even though new or existing trees may partially screen the view. CUCAC is
still not convinced that this stuff is necessary.
A new project just up
the street on 25th Ave is on the design table. CUCAC was treated to
an extensive review of early plans for a student (sophomore, junior and senior)
housing project located between Office Depot and Silver Cloud Inn. It will
include about 140 apartment units arranged in eight townhouse-like buildings on
the 2.8-acre site. The building will be about five stories tall with parking
under the buildings. The 400-person population is expected to walk or bike to
campus. The plans are still too preliminary for a formal CUCAC position.
The Committee voted to
request that the Seattle City Council authorize full participation for CUCAC in
the ongoing City University Area Transportation Plan project managed by the
City’s Strategic Planning Office. We want to ensure that the Plan is responsive
to CUCAC’s concerns for the University Campus Plan and its companion
Transportation Management Plan (when these plans are finally complete and
approved).
About the week of April 23, the University
expects to start site work for its new Surgery Pavilion at the east end of
University Hospital. Actual construction will start this summer on the
three-story building (with three levels of parking below), which will use all
of an existing open parking lot. The April 12, 2001 issue of University Week
assures us that this will be an attractive addition and will not block the view
corridor of Rainier Vista and the adjoining neighborhood!
Letters to the Editor
Editor,
Is widening SR520 imminent, or is it a bad dream
that vanishes after morning coffee? The design effort might look like a bad
dream but isn’t: the designers are burning real money. On the other hand,
apparently, the results of the design effort hold no hint of a way to move
forward cooperatively. To me, the changes proposed so far for Montlake are
simply discouraging.
Forget, as the Project seemingly has, the
analysis of potential impacts of a higher capacity SR520 on congestion along
Montlake Blvd and I-5. Forget the Club’s resolutions and letters dating back to
1993—which have been sent several times to the Project to no particular effect.
And forget the many reports and analyses done for earlier efforts to widen
SR520 that show that SR520 already exceeds federal standards for noise and
pollution. Even forget, apparently as both the Project and the City have, the
City Council Resolution of 1997 that sets clear limits on what changes to SR520
are considered agreeable to the City. Erase all of this. Just look at the
present.
Many Montlakers attended the Cross-Lake
Transportation public forum at MOHAI in early March for our first look at the
ideas for the western two miles of SR520—the part in Seattle. There were many
ideas, some inconsistent with each other. What struck me is the one-block-long
lid proposed immediately east of Montlake Blvd. In one plan the architect
claimed to reunite Montlake, but six institutional buildings and their parking
lots dotted the top of the lid. Not much sensitivity to a neighborhood that
considers itself residential! The good news is that another drawing shows a new
street-level FLYER station on top of the lid, so that users of Metro don't have
to risk asphyxiation and deafness when catching the bus.
As for the promised mitigation of noise and
pollution—if any one saw something effective please let the rest of us know.
Our noise comes from a two-mile stretch of SR520 (between I-5 and the western
high rise). For most of us, including our neighbors in Roanoke and Laurelhurst,
one small lid will do far less than an aspirin when the widened SR520 ascends
the decibel and stink ladder.
At the top level, the Project rates an A for
keeping us informed. Jeff Peacock and the leadership have been frequent
visitors to our meetings, and they’ve impressed me by their understanding of
what we’ve said. But down in the trenches, where the pen hits the paper,
they’re generating output without input, or so it seems. It isn’t too soon for
the Project to listen carefully, but soon it will be too late. The EIS process
is scheduled to start this summer. Once the EIS appears we’re reacting to a
fixed set of designs. I want to hope that there’s something worth considering,
but my hope doesn’t spring eternal.
Peter Staten found an article in the Eastside
Journal in which project manager, Jeff Peacock (who also wrote last month’s
article on SR520 for the Flyer) is quoted as saying, “The costs are
definitely higher, but the scope of improvements is larger too.” More
specifically, the cost estimates for an 8-lane freeway have ballooned to $6B,
and the design and budget are still fluid. Add that to the $7B estimate for
improving I-405, and another billion to resurface I-5, and the money starts to
add up in a state that doesn't even have the funds to support schools, mental
health, and basic maintenance.
I never imagined that Tim Eyeman as a hero, but now I wonder. Can and will there be a “new and better” SR520? Should all of the sound and fury of widening SR520 keep us awake at night? Its too soon to tell, but my sleepless moments are devoted to other more pressing dragons.
—Bruce Balick
Montlake Neighbors,
Over the past year, my wife,
Kathie, has been a temporary corporate expatriate in London and I've been
traveling between our flat in London and our home in Montlake. We’ve learned
what continuously cold, windy, rainy weather really is (lesson: never criticize
the banana belt climate of Seattle!).
We deeply appreciate our new
relationships with dozens of welcoming British people and with the many people
from places around the globe who either visit London or have made London their
home. It makes one aware of how exciting and culturally rich a city can be when
it embraces and encourages people from many backgrounds.
As a Montlake resident and
MCC member, being in London and returning regularly to Seattle, occasions many
observations. We Montlake residents sometimes get agitated and impatient over
traffic problems and the conflicts over 520 and Montlake Boulevard planning.
London is a city where about two million people must move in and out each
workday. Four to five million people move about the city daily. In the UK,
some58 million people live in a land about the size of the state of Oregon.
Over the past year, the
truly amazing English railroad systems have seemingly fallen apart due to
neglect, poor operators and crashes claiming dozens of lives. The roads, often
designed for 16th century cart traffic, make tedious daily journeys,
adding two to three hours to a commute. If one part of either system fails,
near chaos occurs. The wonderful and world-famous London Tube has shut down
twice in the last three months in shows of labor union strength.
The lesson for my wife and
me when we return to Seattle is to catch our breath, relax and deal with our
truly minor traffic problems with a more mature perspective. We in Montlake
don’t need to shout at each other or walk out of MCC meetings if our wishes
don’t prevail. My wife and I appreciate our government for listening, for
encouraging lots of input and for trying to accommodate differing views in the
effort to get to the right solution.
The UK has been facing a seemingly
endless series of challenges. More rain has fallen this year than in any
previous year in 300 years of recording. Homes, businesses and farms in many
communities have been flooded several times in the past six months. The
foot-and-mouth epidemic has devastated whole rural communities, first by
killing more than a million animals, then by killing the tourist economy, which
has cost some $6B to date. The political system here seems to dither and
discuss instead of actually doing anything for months on end.
When we return to Seattle,
we see our community differently. The streets seem cleaner, our neighborhoods
appear vibrant and people dialog vigorously, but then work together for change.
What appeared before as a plodding turtle’s pace of solution-making seems
lightning quick now. What seemed to be massive problems seem more manageable.
Going away for a time and coming back is always
good for us. When my wife and I return permanently in August, we will
appreciate each and every little problem we face in Montlake and in
Seattle.
--Marty Lindemann