White Center Now: The blog about White Center

By Jason Grotelueschen
Reporting for White Center Now

Neighbors and local officials gathered on Thursday night for the December meeting of the North Highline Unincorporated Area Council (NHUAC) group, at North Highline Fire District headquarters, to discuss community issues and share information impacting White Center and the surrounding area.

The meeting was the group’s final gathering of 2024, and was facilitated by NHUAC president Liz Giba and vice-president Barbara Dobkin, who were joined by other HNUAC board members as well as special guests and a group of attendees.  Meeting recap is below:

First up were updates from the King County Sheriff’s Office, who this month were represented by Community Service Officer (CSO) Nate Hammock, who has a “storefront” office at Steve Cox Memorial Park:

Hammock described himself as the “civilian counterpart” to the storefront deputy position, which is currently vacant due to the departure of Sgt. Glen Brannon a few months ago. He said that as CSO he is able to represent the sheriff’s office and be a local presence, to assist other officers and to answer residents’ questions (they’re welcome to come to his office at Steve Cox, he is typically there from 12-4 pm during most weekdays, and he is often out-and-about in a county CSO van). He said he isn’t a commissioned armed officer and there are limitations to what he can do, but he always does what he can to help. He said KCSO will be opening up the deputy position for hiring in January 2025, and will hopefully fill the position quickly.  He encouraged meeting attendees to contact county officials to weigh in regarding the urgency to fill the position. He reiterated “I am not 911” and encouraged attendees to always call 911 for emergencies. He said that he gets frequent questions about odd things that people notice in the neighborhood, such as suspicious activities and unattended children and issues with parked/abandoned vehicles and nuisance properties, and if he can’t help directly then he always tries to direct people to the right resources.

NHUAC’s Giba asked if Hammock’s duties might include using a decibel meter to monitor noise issues related to music from Tim’s Tavern (a frequent NHUAC topic at past meetings that WCN has covered). Hammock said that he hasn’t been actively doing that, and that most officers wouldn’t be properly trained on how to use it. A meeting attendee said that he had recently walked into Tim’s after noticing some particularly loud music, and he talked to staff, who apologized and expressed concern that they would be able to remain open for business. At that point in the Thursday meeting, External Relations Director David Daw from King County Local Services offered to jump in and provide an overall update regarding Tim’s, with information current as of that afternoon:

Daw confirmed what he had initially reported in NHUAC’s November meeting, namely that Tim’s is “out of compliance” and “can’t operate the way they’re operating now” with outdoor music (which isn’t allowed in this area) and an “unpermitted structure” that had been built. Daw said that Tim’s will receive a “cease and desist” letter from the county early in the coming week (the letter should be available online after it’s sent, since it’s a public document), and at that point Tim’s will have 30 days if they decide to appeal. If the appeal fails, then they face a significant penalty/fine each time they get caught violating the rules. If Tim’s still doesn’t comply, then they’ll receive a notice to close. Daw said “we have an active case now” and it’s being monitored — there are two pieces to it, the outdoor music and the unpermitted structure, and Tim’s would need to deal with both issues (which Daw said are likely very costly, and from what he has heard, could likely lead to Tim’s needing to close). Meeting attendees asked: What to do in the meantime if we hear loud music at Tim’s?  Daw said to call 911, even though that may seem excessive, but that’s the best way to ensure that the issues are still logged and recorded.

Attendees thanked Daw for the update, and at that point it was back to Hammock for the rest of his updates: He said one of his favorite parts of his CSO job is getting to do community events, such as “Shop with a Cop” which took place at Fred Meyer in Burien this weekend, with 80 kids expected to participate including students from three Highline elementary schools.  Hammond also mentioned that he was able to get King County engineers to evaluate the traffic conditions at 8^th Ave and 100^th (behind White Center Heights) “after spending about 2 years parked out there” monitoring the situation. “Once we get a storefront officer, I will have them help enforce things there” (he reiterated that he isn’t able to tag cars because he is not a commissioned officer). He said that the limitations of his CSO position are often frustrating, because “we can’t arrest, detain or do reports – we do the little things” but that he certainly does what he can, and looks forward to having a full-time storefront deputy to work with again. He said he has been able to help block the roads while officers respond to events (such as fires and shootings). He said that he and his CSO colleagues (he has one in Burien, for example) take pride in being able to assist commissioned officers in unique ways — during an incident in which a child was distressed and officers were trying to calm them, he some stuffed animals in the car that he was able to give to the child. He reiterated that although he’s always happy to help, residents should call 911 if they experience emergencies or see anything suspicious.

Attendees of the meeting asked about some instances of small encampments in the area (such as one on 17th), and squatters on properties, and Hammock and Daw (as well as Community Liaison Bong Santo Domingo from Local Services, who was also in attendance) and questions and discussed follow-ups as they could. They mentioned that they often refer individuals to the Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion (LEAD) program to help them get services.

What about graffiti (a few attendees asked, including Dobkin who noted that “it’s gotten so much worse.” Hammock asked if it’s gang-related, and attendees said that it’s sometimes hard to know, which Hammock and Dobkin agreed with.  Hammond said he was recently talking to a business owner who wished that there was a sanctioned space for true graffiti artists and muralists to do their work, because that would likely deter others from doing unsightly and unwanted grafitti. Daw said that there is some budget to support biz the White Center business core, and that they’re encouraging businesses to use funding to support artists.  Daw said that if you see graffiti on public property then you can call Local Services (but “unfortunately King Co doesn’t have a graffiti ordinance”), but if it’s on private property then the county can’t touch it.

Dobkin asked: Without a current deputy, who is actually working and covering the area? Hammock said it depends on the day, and that he knows the officers who typically work in the area, but that staffing is definitely an issue (there was a recent day, for example, when the Burien area had only 2 cars working, when they usually have 6) but that officers do the best they can.

Neighbor Max asked about some recurring issues in his area (21st Ave, west side of the hill where it slopes down, between 100^th and 106^th) because there aren’t a lot of houses thus there is a fair amount of illegal activity (tires slashed, windows broken, some gunfire). Hammock asked if the incidents had all been called in, and the answer was “some, not all.” Hammock encouraged residents to always call if they see something, and to do it in a timely fashion (not like the person who recently asked Hammock if he could help with a stolen car — from two years ago!) Dobkin added that when you call 911 you should let them know that you’re calling from unincorporated King County so your call is routed properly (different 911 system than Seattle).

And what about litter, garbage, needles and dumped materials? Daw said that Local Services works with a local conservation corps that is trained in cleaning up “sharps” such as syringes and needles as well as general cleanup like garbage and graffiti, and that they typically work in White Center a minimum of 3 days per week. The best number to call for garbage cleanup is 206-477-8100 (24/7, and you’ll be given an incident number), and Daw said if it’s in the right-of-way then it’s a safety issue and will typically be dealt with right away.  If you have garbage we can do it in right of way because it’s a safety issue.  Another neighbor thanked Local Services for helping to clean up downtown White Center. Daw noted that the cleanup team does great work in the area as well as Skyway, Vashon, Falls City and other areas.

Dobkin asked Hammock if he was out-and-about talking to local businesses.  Hammock said “not at the moment, without a storefront deputy” as a partner. He used to do it frequently, and plans to do it again when a deputy is hired. Giba asked for confirmation of when that hiring would occur — Hammock said the job will likely post in January 2025 and then the position will hopefully get filled quickly. Community members will likely be asked to help with the hiring process, as they have been in the past (the deputy is part of King County Sheriff’s Office, which reports to the King County Executive). Hammock said that the position hadn’t been filled recently in part because the schedule requirements for the position were changed from flexible hours to a more fixed schedule, which caused at least one candidate to drop out of consideration. Hammock encouraged residents to contact the sheriff’s office and county leadership to encourage them to hire quickly.

Another attendee asked if the county sheriff (Patricia Cole-Tindall, appointed in May 2022) might come visit the NHUAC group at a future meeting. Hammock said he would ask Manny Apostol, a community engagement specialist with the sheriff’s office who is largely responsible for scheduling public events like that.

Another attendee asked: What to do about houses that have been vacant for many years, some of which have squatters abusing the property (there are some problem properties in the White Center area)? Hammock said that without the approval of the actual property owner, officers can’t do much. He did remind attendees that, if asked, officers can do a “house check” 1-3 times per week if people know they will be away from their homes for a period of time, and officers can also help with “security surveys” on properties to make suggestions. Hammock said that in many cases, his advice is for the owner to tear down questionable structures and sell the land, but of course it’s up to the property owner to actually decide to do that.

Daw apologized that representatives from King County’s Department of Roads (which is part of Local Services) couldn’t attend the meeting as planned, but he said they committed to have 1-2 people attend at NHUAC’s next meeting in February to give a presentation of all roads projects in 2025 and answer any questions. Daw passed out cards from the roads team containing their 24/7 “Road Helpline” which residents can call with any concerns about roads, traffic lights and signs in unincorporated King County:  206-477-8100 or 1-800-527-6237.  Daw said that to contact his Local Services department, the contacts are 206-477-3800 or AskLocalServices@kingcounty.gov.

Dobkin asked for an update on the White Center properties where businesses were burned — are there new business interested? Daw said that yes, there are some local businesses wanting to move in, and the property owners are hoping to be ready by early spring, and draw interest from the current community. “We are helping them with permitting and funding,” Daw said, noting that the spaces are still quite affordable (which was one of the conditions of the rebuild). Dobkin asked about the “old Club E building,” the status is uncertain but the owner is from California.  What about the former Bartell Drugs building, which has now has a lot of grafitti on it? The answer: The building was sold about a month ago, but future plans aren’t certain yet.

NHAUC’s Pat Price asked about kiosks (for wayfinding and community announcements). Daw said the design is being worked on, it’s part of a larger White Center beautification project, not forgotten and still in the budget. He added that the conservation corps makes sure the kiosks are maintained. Daw said that with the newly-passed budget he’s excited that of the $11 million in awards given, it includes a little more than $3 million for the White Center area (see our prior coverage here) including $350k for the White Center business district. Pat Price said that she received an invitation for an event on Wednesday December 18 (King County Executive Dow Constantine will be in attendance) at White Center Heights school from 5-7 pm, as a celebration of the budgetary award winners.

NEXT MEETING: NHUAC won’t have a meeting in January, but will reconvene in February (on the 6th). Several officers noted that hopefully there will be some news at that time regarding the hiring process for a new storefront deputy. The group typically meets monthly on the first Thursday of the month, and plans to continue meeting in-person at the North Highline Fire Station in White Center (1243 SW 112th St.)

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