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All Montlake Community Meeting, Tues, July 26

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Logo Design Concept 3Right now, Please! Add to your calendars: Tuesday, July 26 (6:30 p.m.) at the Montlake Community Center for a Community Meeting about the Montlake Business District Development Project. Montlake Community Club leaders will introduce our KPG consultants to explain the project. They’ll answer your questions, and hear and record your ideas on changes you’d like to see in the Middle of Montlake—the Center of the Universe. Come early to the Tudor Building at the Community Center (1618 E. Calhoun) so you can enjoy the music of Montlake’s own Mother Pluckers Ukulele Band. Then join your neighbors in learning and contributing ideas to this development project.

With all that’s happening in and around Montlake these days, we need to be an active influence on what gets done to our community. This one-year planning project, funded by a grant from the Seattle Department of Neighborhoods, brings us the help of KPG consultants, Paul Fuesel and Liz Gibson. They offer skills, knowledge, and years of experience in urban design, landscape architecture, public involvement and town visioning. (Visit the KPG website, kpg.com, for a look at some of their terrific local projects.)

Montlake’s Business District Development planning can have a significant effect on the upcoming SDOT Phase 3 reconstruction of 24th Ave. E. The project also may help in coordination of the Seattle Neighborhoods Greenways project as well as current and upcoming phases of WSDOT 520 Bridge construction Those are all reasons why we need to get together to clarify opportunities and contribute our ideas to Montlake’s Business District Development Project. WE neighbors have a role to play. Come and join us at the All Montlake Community Meeting, Tuesday, July 26, 6:30 p.m., Tudor Building, Montlake Community Center, 1618 E. Calhoun St.

Your Montlake Community Club Board, working for you.

MCC BOARD HAS BUSY NIGHT: NEW MEMBERS & KPG CONSULTANT

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IMG_2330A packed agenda for your Montlake Community Club Board last Tuesday night (June 14), but the Board was up to it. President Bryan Haworth offered our Community’s thanks to the Board members completing their terms: LeAna Alvarado-Smith, Tomitha Blake, Kathy Laughman. He announced that Kathy Laughman, though retiring from the Board, has agreed to be Project Lead on the City funded initiative to create an improvement plan for Montlake’s business district. Haworth then gave election results and welcomed the five new Board members: Darcy LaBelle, Rohit Manokaran, John O’Neil, Tyler Blitz and Carol Cordy. Congratulations to these five new community members who’ve stepped forward to serve their Montlake neighbors. (Their photos and bios will appear soon on the Montlake website.)

Special guest, Paul Fuesel of Studio KPG kicked off conversation with the Board and guests about our Business District Improvement Project and the work KPG will be doing as the contracted consultants. Paul described how this project, funded by the Seattle Department of Neighborhoods, will result in a plan crafted by KPG in collaboration with the MCC project team and designed specifically for our neighborhood. It will take advantage of what they’ve learned from changes that worked well in other locations in Seattle as well as surrounding communities.

The Project’s Functional Goals: Revitalization of the Business District to support Existing Restaurants and Service Businesses, Increase of Outdoor Seating; Pedestrian Safety, Accessibility & Street Crossings; Street Diet Traffic Calming on 24th; Safe Routes to School Children across 24th; Wider Sidewalks where feasible; Street Tree Replacement; Signal at E. Lynn Street; Friendlier Bus Stops.

The Project Aesthetic Goals: “Place Making”, so that the business district is “a place people want to spend time;” District Identity & Branding; Bike and Pedestrian Wayfinding (bike routes to/from Arboretum and the U-District; Support Historic Character; Public Art Integration; Connect ‘isolated section’ between Montlake Bridge & Business district; Enhance Montlake Boulevard Market at 520 “Look & Feel”; Enhance 22nd Ave E. Greenway Connections “Look & Feel.”

Fuesel responded to questions from the Board members and talked about next steps in the planning process. Up first will be outreach to the community. To that end, the Board agreed to schedule a Community Meeting inviting all Montlakers for an informative session, with opportunities for comments, questions, and input of ideas. That meeting is scheduled for July 26, with location to be determined. Be assured that you’ll get more details and reminders of this meeting as the date near.

Several other special guests were given time to present information or request action on other issues. Scott Forbes, former MCC Board member, explained that he was now a candidate for State Representative for the 43rd District. Allan Seidenverg and Ann Rudd asked the Board to offer a letter of support for the ARCH. It would use a highway ramp piece to be placed in the Arboretum as a concrete memorial structure reminding us of the courage of local citizens who led a successful campaign to stop the construction of the R.H.Thompson freeway in the early 60’s. Lyle Bicknell, Seattle’s Montlake liaison to the WSDOT 520 construction project, reported on progress of the construction effort through Montlake and highlighted positive changes to the design stimulated by earlier community input. He talked of the timeliness of our planning project in relation to the 520 work and the near-future Phase 3 City construction efforts along the 23rd/24th Avenue corridor.

Your truly, Nathalie Gehrke, was recognized for her agreement to serve as the community reporter for the coming year’s business district improvement planning initiative. Watch for my reports as things progress. I’ll try to keep them lively.

*You can get all the details of the evening’s agenda by visiting the Community Club Meeting Minutes at Montlake.netIMG_2299IMG_2303

Join Us At The June MCC Board Meeting

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Your Montlake Community Club Board meets June 14, at 7:00 pm in the Boyer Children’s Clinic Conference Room (1850 Boyer Ave. East). The agenda includes two important items: Results of the recent MCC election with introduction of new board members; and Presentation by Paul Fuesel of Studio KPG about ideas for working with our community and businesses on the Seattle Department of Neighborhoods funded Business District Development Plan. You are all invited to attend this and any other monthly MCC Board meeting. To claim a good seat, come early to the lower level of the Boyer Clinic (Enter through the parking garage door on Howe Street).

Community Leaders Meet with City Reps for Project Start Up

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IMG_2214 Thursday, May 19th found four intrepid Montlakers “Ubering” downtown to City Hall’s 4th floor for a high potential encounter of the third kind. The Montlake Community Club (MCC) Board members were heading for a first-time meeting with City department staff members who’ll provide support for Montlake’s exciting new business district improvement project.

Some Back Story. You first heard about this successful MCC proposal for Department of Neighborhood funds in the hand-delivered January 2016 issue of the Montlake Flyer. Remember that the one-year $25,000 grant will support the creation of a plan to re-imagine the business core—both Downtown (E.Boston to East McGraw) and Uptown (Hwy 520/bridge area)– and its connection to the neighborhood. That plan is the first step in creating a future Montlake that honors its history, while offering a vibrant, welcoming place to live and do business today.

Now Back to the Meeting. Karen Selander, our Department of Neighborhoods Project Manager, opened the May 19 meeting with introductions all around. At the table were, of course, those four intrepids, your MCC Board members who make up the project working team: Kathy Laughman (Project Lead), Bryan Haworth (MCC President), Juan Lopez (MCC Business Community Rep) and Bob DeLay (MCC V.P.). Also at the table, were project consultants from Studio KPG, Paul Fuesel and Elizabeth (Liz) Gibson. Joining to offer assistance on behalf of the City were: Jim Curtin, Community Traffic Safety Coordinator, SDOT; Erin Doherty, Landmarks Preservation Board Coordinator; Lyle Bicknell, Principal Urban Designer, Office of Planning & Development; and Michelle Marx, Urban Design & Complete Streets Strategic Advisor, SDOT.

KPG’s Paul Fuesel guided a lively exchange about challenges, hopes, and potential ideas for Montlake. Everyone recognized the timeliness of the MCC planning project to feed into the Greenways Construction for the 23rd /24th Ave corridor. (Montlake area construction on 24th is part of Phase 3.) The MCC Reps recounted the struggles of our businesses and neighbors facing increased high speed traffic and accidents on 24th; the challenges for old and young pedestrians crossing 24th Avenue while dodging the traffic and stumbling along deteriorating sidewalks; the continuing parking issues for residents and businesses.

Kathy Laughman and Bryan Haworth described some of the enhancements that seem desirable for Montlake. They mentioned wider sidewalks with trees appropriate to the location; clearly and attractively designated pedestrian crossings; traffic calming changes to the street to reduce the raceway driving mentality; beautification with public art and plantings, attractive signage; and preservation of the historical feel. Kathy Laughman noted, “We want Montlake to be recognized as a place, a real neighborhood where people live and work.”

The City Reps responded to the MCC team with expressions of understanding about the current struggles, and appreciation for the future envisioned. Lyle Bicknell commented on “lots of moving parts and changes” because of UW development plans, the new Link rail station, and continuing Highway 520 construction. The City reps nodded with interest at the improvement ideas the MCC team had in mind. Jim Curtin of SDOT pointed out immediately that the Greenway project was finding early phase success with similar elements. Consultant, Paul Fuesel showed how other neighborhoods in the City and beyond had used those approaches. Bryan Haworth of MCC added, “We don’t need to reinvent the wheel. We just want to roll it into our neighborhood.” The collected City reps were optimistic that a workable plan could be developed, and affirmed their readiness to work with the team to contribute to the success.

Next steps in the project include plenty of communication between the MCC project team and the City representatives through various channels including monthly reporting. Also early on the calendar will be “Robust Outreach” to the Montlake community–but, of course! So, here is what you can expect:

  • You’ll be invited to Community meeting(s) in July/ August, planned jointly by the MCC team, KPG consultants, and Greenways project leads.
  • You’ll get update articles like this one in the Montlake Flyer and Forum, and possibly some hand-delivered flyers too.
  • And, you can always get information by contacting the MCC Project Lead, Kathy Laughman (kathleenlaughman@gmail.com) or the MCC Board President, Bryan Haworth (president@montlake.net).IMG_2212

Montlake Unabridged Retrospective 2015

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From late May to September’s end, the artists, musicians, and writers of Montlake offered our community their creative gifts. Sixteen artists, 6 musical acts, and 5 writers entertained us in downtown Montlake. Their artworks, performances, and presentations appeared in our Montlake Library and businesses (Café Lago, Edward Jones Investments, FUEL, Glam & Tonics Aveda, Mr. Johnson’s Antiques, the Montlake Bicycle Shop, and Traveler Montlake.) The events were generously supported by other businesses (Coven, the Montlake Boulevard Market, and Mont’s Market). All this was underwritten by your Montlake Community Club (MCC) and planned by its Arts & Culture committee. Count yourself lucky if you had the opportunity to enjoy any of these art shows, musical performances, or evenings with writers across the four months. Please, let your MCC Board know your thoughts.

Email the Montlake Community Club Board

Enjoy the retrospective slideshow below, composed of photos taken by Jonathan Phillips, the official Montlake Unabridged photographer.

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Travel Book Tips From Audrey: A Hit

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IMG_1129Audrey Weitkamp brought her trove of travel memory books and her useful tips for self-publishing to a Montlake Library audience Monday evening, Sept 28. A successful free-lance author and long-time Montlake resident, Audrey talked about how she turned her writing knowledge toward authoring accounts of travels to all parts of the globe with husband, Bill Weitkamp. Her audience appreciated seeing examples of her travel books, from the earliest using glued-in photos by Bill and simple Word-based documents, to the most recent taking advantage of on-line publishing programs (and Bill’s continuing photographic skills). Audrey offered her listeners encouragement to give memory book creation a try, whether for travel accounts or important special occasions, or family histories. Let’s see how many of them follow her example and show off their products to family and friends in the coming years. Or maybe they’ll share them here on the Flyer–beginning with Audrey.

Montlakers were welcomed to the evening program by Yvonne Nguyen Werner, Montlake Community Club Board Member, and Kathyrn Jennings, Montlake Librarian, representing the two sponsoring organizations. This engaging program concluded the summer 2015 Montlake Unabridged writer series, and was photographed by Jonathan Phillips. (See selected photos in the slideshow below.)

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Reap The Yard Sale Bounty–Saturday!

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Good Folk, Hear Ye! Yea, Listen up!
Come Ye to the Annual Autumnal All-MONTLAKE YARD SALE!
Saturday, October 3, 9 to 3
Doubt Not! Over 80 neighborhood locations,

Click for 2015 Item Summary Sheet & Map by Zones

Click for 2015 Item Summary Sheet & Map by Zones

Draw forth your wallet–Draw on your shopping shoes–Steer forth your truck– Bring well-muscled friends. Join the throngs seeking fantastic bargains along the tree-lined streets of Montlake.

Ye shall find big booty (furniture, canoes, dorm fridge, kiln) and little treasures(comics, jewelry, tchotchkes, CDs, DVDs); electronics (big screen TVs, laptops-ancients and newbies) and antiques (wall clock; cradle, tea set) sports equipment (bicycles, skis, scuba gear, snowboard) & leisure gear (lawn chairs and rockers); artwork (noteworthy and obscure), books (very old & quite new; scandalous &/or educational) and yard tools (lawnmowers, and practical stuff); kids toys (American Girl Dolls, jigsaw puzzles, games ) & grandma’s collectible (silver, crystal & linens).

Verily, it’s going to be a “Munificent Potpourri!”

Whilst Ye shop for great bargains, stop off for a deli lunch at the Montlake Boulevard Market or picnic supplies at Mont’s Market. Take a latte or tea break at FUEL. Visit Mr. Johnson’s Antiques and the Montlake Bicycle Shop. Stay after the sale ends for dinner at Café Lago or a burger and brew at the Traveler Montlake. Peruse the beauty bounty found at Glam & Tonics and Coven. We love our Montlake businesses and thee will too.

Final Yard Sale Ad**BEWARE YE, The devilish WSDOT single-lane closures on the 520 Westbound Exit to Montlake & intermittently on single lanes of Montlake Boulevard between East Roanoke and the Montlake Bridge. Verily, Ye can still get to the great booty at the Shelby & Hamlin Streets’ 9 bountiful yard sale sites.

Be Ye early or Be Ye Late, Be in Montlake– It’s a Date!

An Evening With Travelogue Author, Audrey Weitkamp

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20150604_144623Monday, September 28 (6:30 -8:00 p.m.) at the Montlake Library, free-lance author Audrey Weitkamp will share her expertise in creating travel memory books. She’ll tell us how to combine text, photos, and drawings to produce and self-publish professional-looking books. Not into travel? You can use the same ideas to create mementos for other occasions. Audrey will display a number of her own books and answer our questions about her works.

Audrey Weitkamp and her husband Bill have lived in the Montlake neighborhood for more than fifty years and raised their four children here. Audrey taught in both the Seattle Public Schools and the Seattle Hebrew Academy and tutored at the Valley School. She began her professional writing career by authoring an article for Learning, a teachers’ magazine, based on her family’s experience during a year’s residence in Zurich, Switzerland. She continued her career as a free-lance writer for magazines, often writing about her and Bill’s foreign travels and using his photographs for illustrations.

When Bill’s parents, once avid travelers, became house-bound, Audrey began self-publishing travel accounts combining her writing and Bill’s photos for their enjoyment. She claims her first travel account, describing their month-long bicycle trip in Japan, was decidedly amateurish-looking. The text was formatted with Microsoft Word, the photos were glued in afterwards, and the book was bound by Kinko. Now she uses an on-line publisher and is pleased that the books look so professional–and she’ll tell you how to do it.

Join Audrey Weitkamp and your neighbors on the 28th for the last in the 2015 Writers series of Montlake Unabridged, co-sponsored by the Montlake Library and your Montlake Community Club.

Barbara Sand Art Print Open House & Show

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IMG_0450Barbara Bishop-Sand’s art show at Glam & Tonics/Aveda Salon (September 16-30th) rounds out this year’s Montlake Unabridged arts events. An open house with wine and appetizers Saturday, Sept 26 from 6 to 8 p.m. will give Montlake neighbors (yes, you!) an excellent opportunity to appreciate (and purchase) Barbara’s wood-block prints and copper-plate etchings. If the open house doesn’t fit into your schedule, be sure to stop in for a viewing whenever the salon is open.

Through experimentation, Barbara Sand has found many ways to use additional media –chine colle, pen and ink, collage, and photo processes– to layer on and interact with the platforms afforded by her prints and etchings. She thinks of the resulting art pieces as “somewhat representational, but infused with an element of abstraction.” When you view her one-of-a-kind and limited set prints, you will recognize immediately that such creative, precision work has little in common with mass-produced, reproduction printing. Even Barbara finds surprises as each print comes to life. As she explains her work, you learn that it takes inspiration (She recommends walks in the Arboretum, living in far-flung parts of the world, and collecting photos and pictures). And it takes thoughtful consideration, deep knowledge of the processes, patience, and joy in the physicality of the work.

Barbara Sand is an accomplished performing pianist, active member of the Mother Plucker’s Ukulele Band, and retired school and private practice psychologist. She fits her artistic efforts into a busy life of consulting, classical and jazz musical performances, travel, visits with grandchildren, and a host of other activities. You be sure to fit in a look at her art prints by the end of September. Photos below by Jonathan Phillips show some of the prints you will see at Glam & Tonics Aveda.

This show is the closing art event of 2015 Montlake Unabridged, sponsored by your Montlake Community Club.

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Bluster Blows Busker Band — To Fuel

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IMG_0301Hot, sunny and dry ALL summer, but Saturday afternoon (Aug. 29): No such luck! Big Winds Blew in from El Nino. Turned out fine anyway. The WMS Junior Fiddlers wisely gave up the idea of entertaining on Montlake’s blustery Downtown street corner and set up to perform in our cozy, dry neighborhood FUEL Coffee shop instead. Sounded Great!

The seven young string band musicians from Washington Middle School played two polished and well-practiced sets of old-time fiddle songs, favorites from an earlier era, and a tango-like toe-tapper that had some at the tables looking for a dance floor. Three fiddlers (Tatiana Linden, Alyssa Tou, and Binh Vo), one violist (Isabelle Randolph Wang), one mandolin player (Rylee Jo Bundesmann), and two bassists (Nina Zito and Matthew Lord) brought rounds of applause from the audience. Sure, a number of them were groupie parents, but lots of other folks at the tables and waiting in line for warming coffee drinks were equally appreciative.

Enjoy the afternoon event “in retrospect” through the slide show below, with photos by Jonathan Phillips. This event was sponsored by your Montlake Community Club, and was the closer of our Montlake Unabridged 2015 music events. You can still see Montlake artists’ works at Glam & Tonic Aveda and at Edward Jones Investments through September.

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