White Center Now: The blog about White Center

The North Highline Unincorporated Area Council has four positions to fill, and the filing period is open for just three days – this Monday through Wednesday. The districts are described on the NHUAC website’s home page, which is also where you’ll find a link to the filing form. Election Day for NHUAC is May 20th.

Still a few notes to take care of from last Thursday night’s North Highline Unincorporated Area Council meeting. First – King County Sheriff’s Captain Carl Cole’s briefing on area crime, including a recap of the busted-up burglary that drew regional media to the area (including helicopters) last Tuesday.

The biggest point from Captain Cole: “The crime rate in White Center the last few years has gone down dramatically.” This point has been made before, but hearing it again had new meaning for some of the people most closely involved in the issue of potential northern North Highline annexation, as claims of WC crime woes have come up at recent public hearings. One success cited by the captain – “The gang unit has saturated the area on Friday and Saturday nights.” For March overall, he said, most of the crime in the unincorporated area was gang-related, but it was an “excellent month” overall.

Also, he noted that White Center storefront Deputy Jeff Hancock is back on patrol for a few months because of some staffing challenges – including the annexation that took effect the day of the NHUAC meeting: “As of today, seven deputies are now Burien police officers,” he noted. He says KCSO is reorganizing its precincts this summer to deal with challenges; when that takes effect July 1st, he says, Deputy Hancock (and the two other KCSO storefront officers who also have been moved temporarily to patrol) will be back to his regular role.

Now, on to the recap of the Tuesday burglary arrests – we’ll do our best to transcribe the story as the captain told it, quite energetically at that: Read the rest of this entry »

What outgoing North Highline Unincorporated Area Council president Greg Duff told us in that short interview before Thursday night’s meeting is close to what he said as the meeting ended: He recalled being inspired by the late Barb Peters (NHUAC member who died five months ago). The new Burien resident reminded his about-to-be-ex-councilmates, “The love you put into this community will change this community.” He was given a hearty round of applause before he brought the meeting-ending gavel down hard – one last time.

And the group itself is changing, now that the unincorporated area itself has shrunk, losing up to 16,000 people (during the meeting, Burien City Manager Mike Martin said early Census results indicated that might be the more accurate tally than the previous 14,000-person estimate for what is now “North Burien”).

Christine Waldman will take over as president – though she is not planning to run for re-election, so it will be a short tenure. Doug Harrell was elected vice president. And Patrick Mosley was elected to the council as a member-at-large.

Ron Johnson reminded his fellow councilmembers, and the audience, that they have several applications for upcoming elections but still need more – the deadline is next Monday (April 5) and there’s plenty of information (and application links) on the NHUAC home page.

Duff and outgoing council member Ray Helms (who also is now a Burien resident) got a surprise during the meeting – Linda Robson, representing King County Councilmember Jan Drago, presented the two with certificates honoring their service as “invaluable.” It was clearly a surprise to Duff when one of the councilmembers told him at the meeting’s start that Robson would be an addition to the agenda; he hesitated a bit while repeating the announcement, and someone joked, “You’ve been in Burien too long.”

More to come from the Thursday night meeting in our upcoming report/s.

A momentous meeting, on “annexation day” – we published the agenda back on Monday.

April 1st will be a momentous meeting for the North Highline Unincorporated Area Council; the unincorporated area shrinks that day, with the North Highline South annexation taking effect. And with that, NHUAC president Greg Duff will preside one last time, as the annexation makes him a Burien resident. Here’s the agenda he sent:

7:00 p.m. Call to order

Flag salute

Roll call

Approval of agenda

Approval of minutes

7:10 p.m. Public announcements

7:15 p.m. Update from Mike Martin, Burien City Manager

7:25 p.m. Major Jim Graddon, KCSO

Captain Carl Cole, KCSO

Captain Patrick Butschli, KCSO

7:45 p.m. Chief Mike Marrs, Burien Fire Chief

8:00 p.m. Update sent in by Deputy Jeff Hancock, KCSO

8:05 p.m. Public Comment – 3 minutes individuals

5 minutes groups

8:20 p.m. Treasurers Report

8:25 p.m. Committee Reports

1. Governance

2. Arts and Parks

3. Public Safety

4. Housing and Human Services

5. Public Outreach

6. Transportation

7. Steve Cox Memorial

8:35 p.m. Old business

8:45p.m. New Business

As always, NHUAC meets at North Highline Fire District HQ.

The North Highline Unincorporated Area itself is about to get smaller … but it’ll still have a NH Unincorporated Area Council, and elections are about to happen in two stages – positions that become open when the Burien annexationon of south North Highline takes effect next month, and positions up for the “regular” election in May. Information about all of the above is available on the NHUAC home page – go here.

We arrived at the North Highline Unincorporated Area Council meeting late after covering the West Seattle crash involving a police officer – and walked right into that standing-room-only crowd. First one we’ve seen in the year-plus we’ve been regularly covering NHUAC.

No surprise, of course, given that the prospect of Seattle annexing northern North Highline annexation figured prominently on the agenda. 20 people spoke in the public-comment section – and by one tally announced at the meeting, 14 were pro-Seattle, 6 were pro-Burien.

Among the pro-Seattle speakers was Mark Ufkes, who brought literature to answer critics’ questions about the White Center Homeowners Association that he leads – as well as fellow Seattle supporters filling most of the seats.

King County (and former Seattle City) Councilmember Jan Drago was on the agenda too, speaking about the South Park Bridge (more on that later) as well as about annexation – on which, she said, she’d been misquoted; she contends she told Seattle City Council President Richard Conlin she would not oppose annexation, not that she supported it.

But the guest who drew the most interest was Kenny Pittman, the point person in the Seattle mayor’s office regarding potential northern North Highline annexation. He had briefly canceled his appearance earlier in the week; NHUAC president Greg Duff says he convinced Pittman to come after all. He showed up at 8:50 pm – luckily the meeting was running past the projected agenda times, which had him on at 8:25 (the meeting didn’t end until 9:45). But he had answers for most of the questions lobbed at him.

One question: What about Evergreen Pool, which has now been closed for almost half a year? If Seattle annexes northern North Highline, Pittman says, the budget would be drawn up to include full operation of Evergreen just like any city of Seattle pool. (The nearest one is Southwest Pool, in West Seattle’s Westwood neighborhood.)

Speaking of budgets, though – that seems to be the sticking point that has the prospect of an annexation vote looking a little hazier than it did when we broke the story January 27th that Mayor Mike McGinn was moving forward.

The next Seattle City Council discussion of prospective annexation won’t happen until a financial analysis is done, Pittman said – and he didn’t offer a firm deadline for when that financial analysis is to be complete. It’s definitely meant the process is not moving along at the clip previously discussed, which at one point was going to have the council take it up next Monday – March 8th – for a vote indicating potential interest in, well, a (northern North Highline voters) vote. Instead, the issue is still in the jurisdiction of the Regional Sustainability and Development Committee that Conlin chairs, and its next meeting isn’t until March 16th. (You can watch for its agendas here.)

Meantime, Pittman promised there would be information-laden community meetings and other outreach before a vote, and that northern North Highline residents will know, for example, the potential differences in tax rates that they’d be deciding between.

As for other possible effects, here are toplines from what else Pittman said:
*The North Highline fire station would not close – at least in the first decade or so; he didn’t rule out a longterm strategy change if the city someday decided a different station in a different location would make more sense.
*Highline Public Schools would continue to run the northern North Highline schools they run now.
*King County Housing Authority would continue to manage Greenbridge – it would NOT become part of the Seattle Housing Authority.
*Sewer districts in the area would be “franchised”; Water District 20 would be contracted with, the other water district would be folded into Seattle Public Utilities, which would then employ its three staffers.

But, it seemed clear, this discussion would all be moot if the forthcoming financial analysis suggested it wouldn’t make sense for Seattle to pursue annexation. And – “I don’t know what the breaking point is,” Pittman acknowledged.

“Could we just not be annexed by anyone, ever?” one attendee asked at one point during the night.

No one had a set-in-stone answer for that, either.

Thursday night’s North Highline Unincorporated Area Council meeting has Kenny Pittman, annexation point person for the Seattle Mayor’s office, back on the agenda, according to NHUAC president Greg Duff. Meeting’s at the usual time and place – 7 pm Thursday, North Highline Fire District HQ, 1243 SW 112th (map). In other annexation-discussion news, West Seattle’s Southwest District Council is scheduled to hear from guests on the topic at next month’s meeting, 7 pm 4/7 at South Seattle Community College, according to an announcement at the end of the group’s gathering tonight.

Update: Kenny Pittman will be at the meeting after all.

From North Highline Unincorporated Area Council president Greg Duff, the official agenda for Thursday night’s meeting. He says Kenny Pittman, Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn‘s point person on the potential northern North Highline annexation vote, asked to postpone his appearance till next month:

7:00 p.m. Call to order
Flag salute
Roll call
Approval of agenda
Approval of minutes

7:05 p.m. Public announcements
7:10 p.m. Public comment – 3 minutes for individuals
5 minutes for groups

7:15 p.m. Update from Deputy Jeff Hancock, KCSO
Report from KCSO Gang Unit

7:45 p.m. Update from Mike Martin, Burien City Manager
7:55 p.m. Jan Drago, King County Council
8:25 p.m. Treasurers Report
8:30 p.m. Committee Reports

1. Governance

2. Arts and Parks

3. Public Safety

4. Housing and Human Services

5. Public Outreach

6. Transportation

7. Steve Cox Memorial

8:40 p.m. Old business
8:50 p.m. New Business

King County Council staff confirms that our area’s newly appointed County Councilmember Jan Drago, previously on the Seattle City Council, is going to be at this Thursday’s North Highline Unincorporated Area Council meeting. Though the agenda’s not online as of this writing, NHUAC leadership also had said that Kenny Pittman, point person for the Seattle annexation-election proposal on Mayor Mike McGinn‘s staff, would be there as well. NHUAC meets at 7 pm Thursday, North Highline Fire District HQ.

From Thursday night’s meeting of the North Highline Unincorporated Area Council, held as usual in the North Highline Fire District headquarters on SW 112th – The meeting included discussions of both the impending Burien annexation of North Highline South (NHS), and the possible Seattle-annexation vote in what we suppose we can call North Highline North (NHN).

BURIEN ANNEXATION UPDATE: Burien City Manager Mike Martin took centerstage to provide updates to NHUAC – first, what’ll be happening before the scheduled April 1st date for NHS. During “the last three weeks of March,” Martin said, there’ll be a survey in the area, including door-to-door canvassing, to make sure residents know what’s ahead. City finance managers will be presenting an “annexation budget” soon. Burien leaders plan to “sit down with the community and talk zoning” soon, since obviously moving into a new jurisdiction means different standards and different jurisdictions. Martin also said Burien is pursuing money in the “second round of (federal) stimulus” to repave “most of the streets in the annexation area”; that could cost up to $5 million, he said, but it’s a “shovel-ready” project, so they are hopeful they’ll get the grant: “It would radically change many of the roads up here almost instantly.”

He also said the King County Sheriff’s Office is “doing some reorganization to meet the needs of the annexation,” but overall vowed to keep a promise made during the public forums that preceded the annexation vote – “This is going to be seamless … the level of service up here will be equal to or better than it was before,” with policing services likely featuring “the same people driving the same vehicles, just with new decals on them.”

Not so seamless, he said, is the transition for the parks, following the kerfuffle over Puget Sound Park, plus some transition issues, he said, involving the new county administration. And he noted that for the first time in years, Burien is hiring a fulltime city attorney. (Side note, Martin was not the only Burien leader present at the NHUAC meeting; City Councilmember Kathy Keene was there too.)

SEATTLE ANNEXATION? Martin spoke to this a bit before finishing his NHUAC briefing: “Just buckle up … this is going to be one of those times when rumors fly.” He alluded to being a bit mystified as to how this suddenly emerged on a Seattle front burner, with a move under way to have an election in the north section of North Highline as soon as this November, since his perception from previous conversations was that it “wasn’t really high on Mayor McGinn’s agenda. … But I think the (Seattle) council for whatever reason wants to take a shot at it, and we’ll see where it goes.”

Later in the meeting, NHUAC members discussed the new twist during the “new business” section — a more formal briefing/discussion is planned at the March 4 meeting, when the point person for the Seattle mayor’s office, Kenny Pittman, will attend the North Highline meeting. A considerable amount of semi-heated discussion centered over what NHUAC could officially say/do to remind the Seattle government that it’s on record as recommending the entire North Highline area become part of Burien; the contents of a letter reportedly sent to Seattle a few years back was the topic of intense discussion between members Russell Pritchard and Heidi Johnson, until some research could be finalized, and it was determined that it wouldn’t be a violation of NHUAC’s contract for them to remind Seattle that after community surveying and research, they had recommended the Burien alignment, so a letter to that effect will go out. (While Pritchard wanted to be sure the message was sent in the strongest possible terms, Johnson reminded her fellow councilmembers that they are required to stay away from whatever could be construed as political advocacy.)

ELECTIONS: It was noted along the way that the day the annexation is to take effect, April 1st, is a meeting day for NHUAC; part of its membership, including president Greg Duff, lives in the area to be annexed. The public vote for councilmembers will be coming up in the third week of May, and an official announcement will go out soon.

HICKS LAKE NAME CHANGE? Dick Thurnau from Friends of Hicks Lake briefed NHUAC about efforts to change the lake’s name back to its original name, Hicklins Lake, in honor of Leonard Hicklin and family, who settled in the area in the 1880s. They have a hearing before the Washington State Board on Geographic Names in Olympia on May 21st and Thurnau would like to receive e-mails supporting the name change – you can write to him at:

hdthurnau@juno.com

The sooner the better!

*A few more items were on last night’s agenda – we’ll write about those a bit later.

7 pm, North Highline Fire District headquarters. We published the agenda a few days ago; you also can see it on the NHUAC website. This’ll be the group’s first meeting since the news that Seattle plans to pursue an annexation vote this fall, and that’s part of tonight’s agenda, though the Seattle city rep working on the plan isn’t scheduled to appear before the council till next month.

The North Highline Unincorporated Area Council has its regular monthly meeting this Thursday – 7 pm, North Highline Fire District HQ – first meeting since the announcement that Seattle’s new Mayor Mike McGinn wants White Center to vote on annexation this November. (We’ll learn more about that during a Seattle City Council briefing tomorrow morning.) Here’s the agenda, provided by NHUAC president Greg Duff:

AGENDA

February 4, 2010

7:00 p.m. Call to order

Flag salute
Roll call
Approval of agenda
Approval of minutes

7:10 p.m. Public announcements

7:15 p.m. Public comment – 3 minutes for individuals
5 minutes for groups

7:25 p.m. Update from Deputy Jeff Hancock, KCSO

7:35 p.m. Update from Mike Martin, Burien City Manager

7:45 p.m. Code Enforcement Al Tijerina Q and A

8:15 p.m. Treasurers Report

8:20 p.m. Committee Reports

1. Governance
2. Arts and Parks
3. Public Safety
4. Housing and Human Services
5. Public Outreach
6. Transportation
7. Steve Cox Memorial

8:35 p.m. Old business

8:45p.m. New Business
1. Discussion on White Center/Boulevard Park Libraries
2. Discussion on Feb. 10 meeting with Dow Constantine
3. Discussion on Seattle’s annexation announcement

Notes from last night’s North Highline Unincorporated Area Council meeting:

At left, that’s North Highline Fire Chief Scott LaVielle, who briefed the group on his impending retirement in late February. He talked about the several steps taken to close the budget gaps that the fire district was faced with. He introduced North Highline Fire Commissioner Rob Spreier (with him in the photo), saying he will take over most of the high-level management work after he leaves. Other items:

CRIME: King County Sheriff’s Deputy Jeff Hancock told the NHUAC it’s been a rougher month than the area’s seen in a while: 1 rape; 1 aggravated assault on a 19 month old girl; 2 stabbings; 6 robberies, all mini-marts or gas stations in the area, and one person robbed at gunpoint after being pulled into a car outside a grocery store;13 vehicle thefts, 14 drug arrests, 29 warrant arrests.

CODE ENFORCEMENT: A complicated discussion that took a lot of time without many conclusions – commercial activities on an industrial-zoned property along Myers Way that has nearby residents wondering if King County codes were being followed; the agency represented at the meeting said that it didn’t have jurisdiction and offered the residents some suggestions on where else they might take their concerns.

NORTH HIGHLINE ANNEXATION DELAY: Burien City Manager Mike Martin and two Burien City Council members attended the meeting; Martin said the official annexation date has been delayed until April 1st because of the Puget Sound Park wrangling (see our report from earlier this week); he says several other things still need to happen for the annexation to be finalized. Regarding the park’s future, Martin told NHUAC, whatever happens to the park has to happen because the people of the city of Burien want it. If they want a library there, then that could happen, but he said a decision would not be forced on them. He also said he wanted to dispel the notion that Burien just wants the park in order to sell it.

REMEMBERING CHERISSE LUXA: In the public-comment period Liz Giba mentioned the community activist who lost her cancer fight last month would be remembered during a memorial gathering at Mick Kelly’s Irish Pub on January 27th, 7 pm, with a “semi-formal presentation” around 7:45.

The North Highline Unincorporated Area Council meets the first Thursday of each month, 7 pm, North Highline Fire District HQ.

After a semi-slow holiday season, the regular schedule of meetings resumes in the coming week. On Thursday, the North Highline Unincorporated Area Council‘s monthly meeting, and the agenda’s now online:

7:00 p.m. Call to Order

Flag Salute
Roll Call
Approval of Agenda
Approval of Minutes

Corresponding Secretary’s Report

Treasure’s Report

Public Announcement – Council

Public

Public Comment: 3 minutes for individuals
5 minutes for group reps

Jeff Hancock Crime Report 5 minutes
Mike Martin Burien Update 5 minutes

Director of King County Code Enforcement and Prosecuting Attorneys Office 20 minutes + questions

Veterans and Human Services Levy 10 minutes + questions

Committee Reports:

Arts and Parks
Public Outreach
Governance
Housing and Public Health
Transportation
Public Safety
Old Business
New Business

NHUAC meets at North Highline Fire District HQ, 1243 SW 112th (map).

NHUAC meets this Thursday (December 3rd), 7 pm, North Highline Fire District HQ as always. The agenda’s not online yet but you’ll find it here when it is.

Thanks to Liz for calling our attention to the sad news: Barb Peters of the North Highline Unincorporated Area Council and North Highline Fire District board lost her battle with cancer this week. There’s a tribute to her on the NHFD site; see it here. From the published obituary that Liz forwarded:

In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent in Barbara’s name to: North Highline Fire District Aid Car Fund, 1243 Southwest 112th Street, Seattle, WA 98146. In her memory, Barbara asked to please spend time with a child that is close to you. That time spent and your love for that child will be with Barbara forever. A graveside service will be held at 1:30 PM on Monday, November 2nd at Riverton Crest Cemetery, 3400 S.140th, Tukwila 98168 with a reception following at Rainier Golf and Country Club, 11133 Des Moines Memorial Dr. S.

You can read Ms. Peters’ full obituary here. She was 72 years old.

Given that White Center, Boulevard Park and surrounding areas are governed directly by King County, the choice of King County Executive should be taken very seriously.  The two candidates are Susan Hutchison and Dow Constantine.  Constantine is a fixture of West Seattle and White Center politics, so he is a known commodity.  Not so, Susan Hutchison, who hails from the East Side of the County.  Candidate Hutchison has run a “feel good” campaign, emphasizing her position to “bring people together.”  Her website’s issues page contains four short paragraphs, with the following priorities:

Jobs & the Economy:

Susan will help give small businesses the tools they need to create jobs…

Improve Transportation:

Susan will quickly implement simple changes to encourage transit ridership…

Budget Reform:

Susan will identify waste and restructure the budget to ensure our tax dollars are being spent effectively.

Protect Our Environment.

Susan will forge partnerships between environmental, labor and business groups as we work toward our common goal…

That’s it folks, Susan Hutchison’s platform for managing one of the biggest governmental entities in the country. In her defense, it might be said that she is offering as much detail as the two lightweights who are currently vying to be Seattle’s next mayor.  But then, that’s not much of a complement.

I will forthrightly state that I do not like Ms. Hutchison’s right-wing politics and that on that basis alone, she should be disqualified for the position.  Seattle and King County residents are a tolerant, liberal community.  To have a George Bush conservative speaking for us, just does not sit well.  But what about her competence?

Ms. Hutchison has never held public office.  She has never had to struggle with the political realities of governing a complex political entity whose ambits include not only roads and sewers but social services, neighborhoods and law enforcement.  It is difficult to see how her experience on the board of the Seattle Symphony prepared her, in the slightest way, for such a weighty role.

I often disagreed with former King County Executive, Ron Sims, but I found him thoughtful, intelligent and most importantly, quite knowledgeable on any issue relating to his role as Executive of the very large and expansive King County.  On the issue of affordable housing, we know nothing as to where Hutchison stands?  Does she support the Greenbridge and High Point housing/community developments?  If so, on what basis?  If not, why not?  Where does she stand on the issue of incorporation which raises the hackles of so many of White Center’s residents?

And what of her experience dealing with communities of color or economically distressed areas?  How does her “bringing people together” chirp really address the many challenges that White Center faces?  The fact is, nothing in her background begins to give her a serious understanding of White Center or similar communities.  There is no on-the-job training for such issues.  And Ms. Hutchison has given no indication that she even remotely cares about such issues.  In the end, Hutchison is what she was in her prior role as newscaster, a pretty face with a vacuous resume.

One note from the early going at the North Highline Unincorporated Area Council meeting (which is still under way as of this writing at 8:25 pm):

–There’s a county-sponsored recycling event at Evergreen High School Saturday, Sept. 13, 9 am-3 pm. See the details here.

Reminder that the North Highline Unincorporated Area Council meets tonight — first meeting since North Highline South annexation to Burien passed, first meeting since Evergreen Pool closed, and other hot topics on the agenda too – see it here. (Also follow the link on the NHUAC name in this story to see updates on their website – lots of topically updated news including items by president Greg Duff and WhiteWater Aquatics’ Ed Marrs following up on the Evergreen Pool rally earlier this week.) Tonight’s meeting is at 7 pm, North Highline Fire District HQ.