White Center Now: The blog about White Center

From the King County Sheriff’s Office – a long-awaited program has launched:

The Sheriff’s Office has launched online reporting for a variety of crimes, suspicious circumstances, and traffic complaints.

The service is available to citizens living in unincorporated King County, as well as the 12 communities that contract for police services from the Sheriff’s Office. That’s over 500,000 people.

However, citizens who still want “human contact” can do so by telephoning the Sheriff’s Office Communications Center at (206) 296-3311. A deputy will come to the door if preferred.

➢ All emergencies must still be reported to 9-1-1!

“This new reporting system was developed for the convenience of folks who may not want to call in or wait for a deputy”, said Sheriff Sue Rahr. “It just gives citizens another option”, she added. Due to budget cutbacks, wait times for deputies in unincorporated King County have increased for incidents that are not emergent, Rahr said.

In addition, the new program allows crime victims to print a copy of their report which can be sent to their insurance company, if needed.

Some of the many crimes that can be reported through the Sheriff’s Office web site include vandalism, car prowls, thefts from vehicles or yards, identity theft, nuisance phone calls, as well as thefts of mail and bicycles. Burglaries and car thefts still require a visit from a deputy, but follow-up information after the initial report can be sent via the new system.

Reports of abandoned vehicles, suspicious activity, narcotic activity, and chronic traffic problems such as neighborhood speeding can be reported using the on-line system.

The link to view the complete list of what can be reported and other criteria is at www.ReportToSheriff.org.

On-line reporting and resource information is also available in Cambodian, Chinese, Russian, Spanish, and Vietnamese. By calling the Sheriff’s Communication Center, callers can be linked with a live translator for other languages.

Sent by Barbara Dobkin of the North Highline Unincorporated Area Council:

If you have ever thought of serving on the North Highline Unincorporated Area Council now is good time, as we are accepting applications for six open positions. Elections will be held on Thursday, May 19 at the North Highline Fire Station, 112 Street, White Center, 98146.

Residents of the North Highline Unincorporated Area who are interested in serving the community through the council must submit a completed application postmarked by April 12. Applications can be downloaded from our website www.northhighlineuac.org. Please mail applications to:

North Highline Unincorporated Area Council
ATTN: Barbara Dobkin
PO Box 66900
Burien, WA 98166.

There are a total of four districts positions:
Dist 1
Dist 2
Dist 3
Dist 4

To run for a district position you must reside within the district you are running in (See District Areas below).

There are two open At Large Positions.

The At-Large positions are available to any resident of North Highline, a business owner or an employee of a non-profit organization within the boundaries of North Highline.

Each position is a two year term with requirements to attend one meeting per month.

Meetings are held at 7pm on the 1st Thursday of the month at the North Highline Fire District headquarters (1243 SW 112 Street).

District One. All precincts lying easterly of State Route 509

District Two. All unincorporated area bordered on the north by the City of Seattle, on the south by the City of Burien, on the east by State Route 509 and on the west by 4th Avenue SW.

District Three. All unincorporated area bordered on the north by the City of Seattle, on the south by the City of Burien, on the east by 4th Avenue SW and on the west by 16th Avenue SW.

District Four: All unincorporated area bordered on the north and west by the City of Seattle, on the south by the City of Burien, and on the east by 16th Avenue SW

For additional information please refer to the candidate application, the NHUAC website, or contact: Barbara Dobkin at bdobkin@northhighlineuac.org

(Map of potential annexation area – click for larger version, from City of Seattle)
For those following the latest turn along the road to White Center/North Highline being annexed eventually by someone – staying unincorporated is not a long-term option, and no one is currently campaigning to make the area a city all its own – Friday afternoon is the next pivot point. The Seattle City Council’s Regional Development and Sustainability Committee, chaired by Council President Richard Conlin, will likely decide on that day whether to continue down the road toward an annexation vote for the area this fall. The committee agenda is now out and the resolution that will be considered is here. If you can’t get to Friday’s meeting in person, you can watch it live online (2 pm) at seattlechannel.org (or, if you have access to the Seattle cable system, channel 21).

From Shana at WestSide Baby in White Center:

We wanted to remind you that our monthly After-Hours event is this Thursday evening, March 17th, from 7-9pm. Please grab a friend and join us on St. Patrick’s Day for an adult evening of sorting donations, having fun and making a difference in the community!

Space will be limited to 20 people so please RSVP to shana@westsidebaby.org if you will be attending. Parking is available in front of our Operations Center located at 10027-14th Ave SW.

That young patron at 3.14 Bakery is just one of the customers who helped it set records Monday – on unofficial “Pi(e) Day” — the photo is from an anonymous reader; news about the recordsetting day comes from WCN contributor Deanie Schwarz, who had reported earlier in the day that 3.14 was selling “pie pops” for $1 a … pop.

From Barbara:

Sweet young approximately 30 lb brown and white dog found on 4th avenue near 102nd in White Center on Sunday March 13 – pink collar but no tags – dog was brought to 24 hour vet – VCA Five Corners in Burien off 1st avenue (206.242.8338)- no chip – they kept the dog overnight and will have King County Animal Control pick it up – If this is your dog – call the Vet – the dog may still be there – or contact King County Animal Control in Kent.

From the Facebook invite for this upcoming event to help the Youth Media Institute keep working with local young people:

For over five years, Youth Media Institute has been utilizing media justice education and social justice conversations to empower youth in the White Center and South West Seattle neighborhoods. We plan on continuing our work for 55 more years. But to do that, we’ll need your help.

Drop by our first ever Silent Auction right in the world famous White Center neighborhood. You get to bid on fun items, meet the folks behind the sce…nes at YMI, have a fabulous time, and perhaps most importantly be a part of empowering the next generation of social justice media makers.

Auction items include: Ecuadorean painting, locally made ceramics, massage and acupuncture services, Papua New Guinea folk art, an antique typewriter, a three-minute promotional video for your favorite nonprofit produced by YMI, and much, much more.

Support White Center/West Seattle youth making a difference in our community.

Special thanks to Sibelle Nguyen and the Dubsea crew for ensuring that 100% of all proceeds go directly to YMI programming.

Dubsea, we hope you know, is at 9910 8th Avenue SW.

One week from today, the Seattle City Council’s Regional Development and Sustainability Committee takes up North Highline annexation again – with a decision to be made on whether to keep proceeding toward a November election in which residents of the remaining unincorporated area would be asked if they want to become part of Seattle. Today, the White Center Community Development Association – whose executive director Aileen Balahadia helped guide Seattle’s mayor on a WC walking tour two weeks ago – sent the council a letter, and published it on the WCCDA website. Read it in its entirety here. One excerpt:

We now need a municipal partner to fully achieve our vision of a vibrant commercial district connected to safe, residential communities. Whatever city embraces us will be able to tap that already existing blueprint and the human capital and resident leadership ready to carry it out.

In recent discussions, Seattle leaders had indicated that even if a vote is taken this fall, the actual annexation would likely not kick in any earlier than 2013.

(WCN file photo of Hicks Lake)
Neighbors led by Dick Thurnau have worked a long time to try to get the county to do something about Hicks Lake water quality. Now there’s word a plan’s in the works – and a meeting is set. Here’s the county announcement:

King County is developing a plan to help improve water quality in White Center’s Hicks Lake so that people and pets are safe from potentially harmful algae blooms in the small lake.

The King County Water and Land Resources Division has set a public meeting for March 22 at the White Center Library to share information on a scheduled treatment of aluminum sulfate in Hicks Lake. The meeting is set for 6:30-8 p.m. at the White Center Library, 11220 16th Ave. SW, Seattle.

The Washington State Department of Ecology has identified Hicks Lake as having “impaired” water quality because of excessively high phosphorus concentrations, which promote frequent algae blooms in the lake.

These algae blooms have produced biotoxins that are potentially harmful to people and pets that come into contact with the water. As a result of the algae blooms, warning signs have been posted along the Hicks Lake shoreline during the recreational season to alert people of the potential danger of contact with the water.

To address this ongoing water quality problem, King County has received a permit to treat the lake in May with aluminum sulfate to lower phosphorus concentrations in the water and “cap” the phosphorus-rich sediments. A similar action was taken at Hicks Lake in 2005.

More information about lake stewardship in King County is available at http://www.kingcounty.gov/environment/wlr/sections-programs/science-section/lake-stewardship-program.aspx./blockquote>

(9:39 AM UPDATE: Added link to full text of “lose-lose” handout mentioned below)

We routinely cover the 34th District Democrats‘ meetings, since they are this area’s largest political group and you never know what news might break when that many local leaders and activists gather. Wednesday night, news broke out again; outside The Hall at Fauntleroy, the group’s usual meeting spot, a cluster of people holding NO SEATTLE ANNEXATION signs stood greeting people as they arrived. It was dark and rainy and our photo didn’t turn out well, but the main point of their presence was to make themselves known to Seattle City Council President Richard Conlin, who heads the committee that will decide soon whether to send Seattle annexation to the North Highline ballot. Conlin was at the meeting to talk about the council’s priorities, but was questioned about annexation by both Ivan Weiss of Vashon and Liz Giba of White Center. In the video above, Weiss is concluding his question off-camera – he had begun by listing the range of potential costs of annexation to the Seattle budget – and Giba is seen asking hers, about the future of the White Center and Boulevard Park county library branches, on-camera. Conlin repeatedly said he thinks North Highline should have the right to choose, which seemed to signal he will advocate strongly for going ahead with an election this fall, and also offered that he believes White Center is part of the Seattle community, so should be able to vote on whether to actually become part of Seattle. Meantime, the Seattle-annexation opponents were handing out a flyer headed “Seattle Annexation of North Highline: A Lose-Lose Resolution,” with one side devoted to why they believe it’s a bad idea for Seattle and the other to why they believe it would have negative effects on North Highline – they’ve promised to get us an electronic copy so we can share it with you here.

ADDED 9:39 AM: Here’s the complete flyer.

For the second year in a row, the West Seattle Chamber of Commerce is giving its Westsider of the Year award to someone whose organization is actually based in White Center: Last year it was Nancy Woodland of WestSide Baby; this year, as just announced this afternoon, it’s Rick Jump of the White Center Food Bank. He’ll be honored at a breakfast event on April 6th; here’s the full story of the WSCC’s announcement today.

From Audrey at the White Center Food Bank:

Want to garden in White Center? Applications are now available for 16 raised beds at the White Center Heights Park Community Garden. The garden is in its 4th season and is located at 102nd SW and SW 7th. You can use an organic raised bed to grow your own food or flowers. There is no cost to use the bed. Gardeners will be picked by a lottery process. To get an application, contact Audrey at the White Center Food Bank (audrey@whitecenterfoodbank.org or (206) 762-2848 or stop by 10829 8th Ave SW). Applications must be returned by March 30 and those who will be able to garden will be notified within two weeks. The White Center Food Bank is working to get donations of organic compost, seeds and starts for use by the gardeners.

(Crossposted from partner site WSB)
It’s “the pizza that made White Center famous,” and Proletariat Pizza confirms it’s about to venture into delivery (as hinted Tuesday on their Facebook page). WCN/West Seattle Blog contributor Deanie Schwarz talked to Proletariat’s Stefanie Albaeck, who says they’re starting simple – a customized bicycle now being built in Georgetown will enable home delivery in the 9622 16th SW pizzeria’s immediate area. After that, Proletariat expects to expand to delivery by car, to a much wider area (no boundaries set yet, though eventually they would hope to cover much of White Center, West Seattle, and Burien). Right now, they’re strategizing the logistics of this expansion. It’s already been a half-year since Proletariat celebrated its one-year anniversary – here’s the story Deanie wrote last fall.

(Photos by Deanie Schwarz for WCN)
Another sign of change in White Center – the former Heng Heng Supermarket space now is under new ownership, WCN contributor Deanie Schwarz learned. She reports that grandson Vichet Khiev is in the top photo, “who along with his grocer grandparents, Sarin Un and Maly Mao, quietly opened up Phnom Khiev Market on March 1st, but the vibrant signage went up Tuesday. Vichet’s uncle, Paul Lee, is the designer and artist for the south/facing marquee. In Cambodian/Khmer, ‘phnom’ means mountain and ‘khiev’ means ‘blue’.”

2:27 PM: We are currently covering an appearance by Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn in the Westwood neighborhood, on behalf of partner site West Seattle Blog, and the annexation issue came up, with a question by Mat McBride, who is chair of the Delridge District Council in eastern West Seattle. The mayor said, “I’m torn … it’s a very difficult issue to deal with.” He says he’s still leaning toward it being difficult for Seattle to afford; McBride said he thinks it would seem “a bargain” a few years down the line.

A man in the room during this community Q&A, identifying himself as a Seattle firefighter who works at Station 37 (southernmost station) and formerly worked for the North Highline Fire District, says that annexation would have one benefit for the Arbor Heights area, which he says would be more accessible from the current NH station. (We have been recording video of this meeting and will add the clip of this exchange here later – we’re putting up the entire Q&A session on WSB.) Again, in case you lost track, the next scheduled city of Seattle discussion on potential annexation is the Regional Development and Sustainability Committee meeting on March 18.

ADDED 5:19 PM: Video of the entire exchange is now atop this story.

From WCN contributor Deanie Schwarz at last night’s North Highline Unincorporated Area Council meeting:

ANNEXATION
Last on the agenda, but top of many minds – NHUAC voted unanimously to immediately draft a letter to each Seattle City Council member reaffirming NHUAC’s previous position to support the annexation of Area Y to the city of Burien.

BURIEN CITY MANAGER’S REPORT
Mike Martin, Burien City Manager, usually updates NHUAC at its meetings. Annexation was one of his topics: Martin said that the Burien Council is obligated to honor the Memorandum of Understanding with Seattle and therefore will not be taking a position regarding any Boundary Review Board process that might be triggered if Seattle council members vote in the next month to keep the process going. However, he told NHUAC that there are still internal conversations being held within their city hall and that NHUAC and citizens of “Area Y” should not let Burien’s official silence belie the fact that “we are intensely interested.”

Other highlights: Martin recently returned from a trip to Washington, D.C. regarding the Block Grants for 2011. Martin says that he’s never, in 15 years of such trips to D.C., seen the state of confusion regarding the status of Block Grants, which he says have been put into “an 11th hour” jeopardy. These funds may impact work on Puget Sound Park, he notes. He will update the Council as the outcomes of those grant funds becomes known.

Martin also mentioned that Burien is currently in the midst of a Police Status study to evaluate whether the city will continue to contract with outside law enforcement agencies or begin a process to develop the city’s own police department. The study also includes data collection on the feasibility of a new police station, in the event a new department were to be founded.

KING COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE
There were no solid or significant trends to observe over the past few months; however, the KCSO rep did note that auto thefts have gone down from 29 to 11 after a particularly active period a few months ago.

There also was a bit of good news regarding the staffing numbers for deputies in King County. The recent annexation in the Kirkland/Juanita area may allow for reallocation for some officers to the North Highline area, though such a determination is neither confirmed nor finalized.

KING COUNTY LIBRARY SYSTEM
The King County Library System (KCLS) Director, Bill Ptacek, and Jennifer Wiseman, Project Manager/Public Services, addressed the gathering with the most extensive presentation and discussion of the evening.

In 2004, King County voters approved a bond to fund library improvements throughout the entire county service area, as well as build new libraries. While Burien’s library was completed in 2009, funds were also allocated for a new White Center library from the same bond. Also, the housing development at Greenbridge in White Center also recently incorporated a new, though smaller, library.

A North Highline Library Needs Assessment Study is currently being conducted via phone; an online questionnaire went live on March 1 at www.kcls.org/survey. The survey is open to the entire public, does not require a King County Library user number and can be responded to in English or Spanish. The deadline for responses is March 30. The KCLS Board will be considering the results of the survey at its April meeting, when they determine whether to improve the existing libraries or build a new facility.

They also talked about a draft Library Service Area Analysis – you can read the 30-page report online here: The report contains the following Trends & Conclusions of KCLS (page 22):

Key Trends & Conclusions

Usage Trends

Use of the Greenbridge, White Center and Boulevard Park libraries is concentrated to patrons in the immediate neighborhood.
The Burien Library is a destination library that draws people from throughout the area, including South King County and Seattle.
All of the libraries in the area studied, excluding the Kent Library, exceed the System cost per circulated item.
The Southcenter, Burien, Des Moines and Kent libraries are the most effective based on cost per visitor.
The White Center Library draws the greatest number of patrons from Seattle.

Geographic Considerations

There is a high concentration of schools located near the White Center and Burien libraries compared to Boulevard Park Library.
There are three Seattle Public Library (SPL) branches within close proximity to the libraries in the “Highline/Des Moines/SeaTac” FAZ group.
In the event that the remaining unincorporated area is annexed to Seattle, the Seattle Public Library (SPL) has indicated a strong interest in maintaining library services at the Greenbridge Library.
␣ With limited public transportation routes, and only two points at which to cross underneath it, State Route 509 presents a geographical divide in the North Highline community.
␣ Five schools are located in the remaining unincorporated area of North Highline.

Demographic Trends
␣ Growth trends during the past decade are inconsistent with growth projections for the “Highline/Des Moines/SeaTac” FAZ group.
␣ FAZ growth projections of 3.7% to 16.6% in the North Highline area are less significant than King County projections of 19.5% by the year 2020.
␣ The Boulevard Park, White Center and SeaTac FAZs are very similar socio-economically.
␣ The “Highline/Des Moines/SeaTac” FAZ group is considerably more diverse than King County.
␣ There is a significant percentage of population with limited access to vehicles in the area studied.
␣ A significant proportion of the population in the area studied is unemployed.

Library Distribution Conclusions
␣ After accounting for potential growth in the area, the square feet per 1,000 of population in the northern portion of the “Highline/Des Moines/SeaTac” FAZ group is notably higher than the System average, while it is significantly below the System average in the southern portion of the FAZ group.
␣ Determination of the distribution of library facilities and their respective service areas should be made with consideration to topography challenges (including natural and manmade barriers).

Ptacek explained to the gathering, including some members of the White Center Library Guild who together voiced their various concerns regarding the potential combining of the Boulevard Park and White Center libraries, that the goal of the KCLS is to have an equitable distribution of library resources available to the greatest numbers of users.

The KCLS Library Service Area Analysis Policy is described below, taken from their Public Services Manual PDF for the same, dated 2/10:

PURPOSE

The King County Library System (KCLS) maintains and operates library facilities in a prudent and fiscally sound manner and is continually looking for ways to meet public needs while effectively managing public resources. This policy outlines the process for analyzing the distribution of library resources within a particular area to ensure that public resources are applied for the best possible public benefit.

STATEMENT OF POLICY
Declining funding, population shifts, building obsolescence or other reasons may require the Board of Trustees to consider closing and consolidating library facilities. When considering action to alter the distribution of library services, the following will occur:
· The Library Director will keep the Board of Trustees informed of situations that may warrant an analysis of the library service area.
· KCLS staff will conduct a Library Service Area Analysis on an as needed basis, or as part of a regularly scheduled community study.
· Citizen input will be considered through one or more public meetings and/or other methods of collecting input in advance of a final decision by the Board of Trustees.
· Public notice of no less than thirty (30) calendar days will be given prior to a final decision by the Board of Trustees.

Goals

The Library Service Area Analysis process is used to:
· Measure how effectively a redistribution of library resources would meet community need.
· Assess the best configuration of staff and resources to enable the library cluster to provide more programs and services to the community.
· Determine whether operational efficiencies may be gained by consolidating two smaller libraries into a single, comparably sized or larger facility.
· Investigate how the current allocation of library resources compares to the rest of the Library System to ensure an equitable distribution across King County.

Metrics

During a Library Service Area Analysis, the following data will be collected and analyzed (if available):
· Library usage, including traffic, circulation and computer usage
· Library operational and staffing costs
· Socio-economic demographics
· Per capita measures
· Cross-use with other library jurisdictions
· Address of patrons frequenting the facility or facilities
· Size or scale of service in cluster model
· Local transportation routes, especially transit
· Area traffic patterns
· Population centers and growth forecasts
· Proximity to schools and daycares
· Proximity to senior living facilities
· Development in the area, including types of zoning
· City documentation (from similar area studies)
· Local area needs assessments (conducted by other agencies or jurisdictions)

Desired Outcomes

Based on the results of a Library Service Area Analysis, KCLS staff may recommend redistribution of library resources. Such recommendations will be made after considering the extent to which an alteration achieves the following outcomes:
· Results in increased offerings of library programs and services
· Results in increased library use
· More effectively meets community need for library resources
· Provides the community with more sustainable, lower-cost facilities
· Creates operational efficiencies
· Minimizes duplication between two library institutions in the same geographic area
· Optimizes the regional provision of library services
· Positions KCLS for new service opportunities and a greater role in building community
· Provides equitable distribution of library resources across the Library System

DEFINITIONS (if applicable) ·
Redistribution of Library Resources: May include closing or consolidating a library, adding a facility, developing services outside the facility, or reducing the size of or expanding a library.

NHUAC meets on the first Thursday of the month, 7 pm, North Highline Fire District HQ.

From the White Center Community Development Association:

WC BUSINESS DISTRICT SMALL BUSINESS FINANCING SEMINAR!

Time: Next Monday March 7, 6-7:30PM
Place: Chase Bank – 1616 SW 100th Street Seattle 98146

Our presenters are: StartZone & Express Credit Union, Community Development Capital and Shorebank Cascadia Enterprise.

Our guests are: UW’s Business School, Chase Bank, Key Bank, BECU and Bank of America.

Are you:

* A start up business (0-6 months)?

* A business under 2 years in operation, not yet bankable?

* An established business, in operation greater than 2 years, but facing new challenges such as growth and restructuring debt?

Do you need money for:

* Equipment and Inventory?

* Working Capital?

* Commercial or Mixed-Use Real Estate? Funds can be used to purchase, renovate, refinance, or build commercial or mixed-use real estate projects.

* Franchises? Funds can be used for the start-up, or purchase of an existing franchise

* Contract Financing? Loans are available to businesses that contract to provide goods or services. Funds can be used for payroll or to purchase equipment or supplies needed to complete or partially complete a contract.

* Cash Flow Restructuring? These loans, available to existing businesses only, help restructure debt to manageable levels that will provide the business with internal capacity to expand

* Energy efficiency loan? Funds can be used toward energy-efficient construction to help save utility bills.

If your business or business idea has a need for any of the above, you need to save a date on your calendar to attend the White Center Business District Small Business Financing Seminar on March 7 from 6-7:30 pm. We have an All-Star line-up of non-profit lenders, business education centers and traditional lenders to present to you:

* Lending process: type of capitals that fit your needs, underwriting process, materials needed for application, turn-around time, etc.

* Education opportunity: classes on writing a business plan, marketing, financing available through local business assistance center and schools.

In the Seattle area, at least, it seemed like King County Executive Dow Constantine‘s State of the County address on Monday got a little overshadowed by all the Alaskan Way Viaduct/Tunnel hoopla. So we asked the county if they’d make it available to embed, so we could post it here. They did put it on YouTube, and here it is, in case you’d like to watch. (He mentioned the tunnel too, as well as the South Park Bridge, buses, and a lot more.)

(Added 5:39 pm – video of the full council meeting – public comment starts at 2:30, annexation discussion starts at 42:30)
3:07 PM: The Seattle City Council‘s Regional Development and Sustainability Committee has just started its meeting, with North Highline annexation on the agenda. You can watch live at seattlechannel.org (or Channel 21 if you are on the Seattle cable system). The meeting is beginning with public comment; Peggy Weiss is speaking first. She notes that she has been speaking for years about how wonderful White Center is, and she says “It’s even more wonderful now,” listing businesses and development. “White Center is a huge benefit to the city of Seattle … I think we offer the city of Seattle as much as we stand to gain. … Let’s please get this done; let’s put annexation on the ballot in November.”

Brad Truesdell of Malo’s Auto Body is speaking second, in favor of Seattle annexation, as is Weiss. He told the councilmembers that Roxbury makes no sense as a boundary – it’s artificially dividing what is one community.

Speaking third, Lois Schiffer, saying she thinks the “rich depth of services” offered by Seattle, even in financial crunch times, would benefit White Center. “It has been a long, long journey and we are ready for it to come toward the end,” she adds.

Fourth is Gill Loring, saying he’s lived in the area for 13 years, and talking about his involvement in myriad community groups and improvement efforts. He says he feels North Highline would be better served by being part of Burien, “being a large part of a smaller city, rather than a small part of a big city.”

Fifth up is Karen Veloria, who says she has lived in the White Center area for 15 years and is now technically within Burien boundaries, but still favors Seattle annexing what remains. (The speaker after her is commenting on an unrelated subject – the comment period before council committee meetings can be used for any item on the day’s agenda.)

2:20 PM: Kathi Wheeler is next to speak, in an “I (Heart) White Center” t-shirt with a “We (Heart) Seattle” sign. She is speaking emotionally in favor of “Dub-C” joining the city of Seattle, noting she lives there and has a business in South Park but sees no extra burden from the latter.”The city of Seattle needs our strength, and our drive, and our ambition … because we’re awesome. I would like to ask the city of Seattle to join in growing our global village – we’re well worth it.” She is the final person signed up for public comment on the topic – but after another unrelated speaker, Liz Giba2:46 PM: Now on to the annexation-related item. Council President Richard Conlin notes that the question is not whether Seattle will annex NH but whether Seattle will seek an election to ask NH residents if they want to be annexed. He notes there is a fairly tight deadline for them to get the wheels in motion for an election this fall. He says they are deciding whether to take the issue first to the Boundary Review Board, while noting that if they do that, it’s a “fairly strong” signal that they would be intending to pursue an election. Conlin reveals the mayor’s office did send out some official notifications to neighboring cities in the past week or so, which is part of the mandated process. Now council staffer Christa Valles is reviewing the report that estimates what annexation might cost Seattle. “The primary issue is going to be … whether you think this is affordable,” she reiterates.

2:56 PM: Much of this is ground trod during last week’s full-council briefing, which we also covered, in terms of “high end” and “low end” potential costs for the city. Valles notes that the $5 million sales-tax credit from the state is not a sure thing forever, but once the city decides to proceed down the road of annexation, it would be hard to turn back. She also notes that the “low-end” estimates “would provide a comparable level of service to the area, compared to what Seattle is getting … some Seattle residents may feel the level of services they are getting is insufficient, and therefore it might be so for North Highline,” but she wanted to note it would be the comparable level. She also reveals that some departments aren’t agreeing with the “low-end” estimates – such as Seattle Municipal Court, which apparently has sent a letter saying they take issue with the “low-end” estimate of what handling North Highline might cost them.

3:10 PM: The participating councilmembers, by the way, are Conlin, who chairs the committee, plus Councilmembers Mike O’Brien and Jean Godden. Valles, meantime, notes that one big question is whether the two cardrooms in the potential annexation area would be grandfathered in, or not. She says she has “heard from several councilmembers that they are not comfortable with allowing the cardrooms to continue.” Upon followup questioning, she says those were conversations she had had “over the years,” not recently. Regarding some one-time expenditures like buying new police vehicles, Conlin asks if there might be a potential way to get the cars that King County Sheriff’s Office would theoretically be not needing if the area were annexed; council staffer Doug Carey says they didn’t get much info from KCSO regarding potential cuts in their ranks if they didn’t have to cover the rest of NH. She also says Steve Cox Memorial Park is not included in potential Seattle Parks operations costs because they’re assuming it might stay part of the King County regional system, but they won’t know for sure until and unless they make “interlocal agreements … on how these things will work out.” She says many departments don’t have much of a “swing” between the high-end and low-end estimates – except “core” departments Fire, Police, and Transportation. For Fire, for example, Valle says, the North Highline station would have to be retrofitted for “gender separation” among other things; that alone, she said, would cost more than $1 million. Carey then noted that on the long term, SFD might want to relocate the station rather than spend a lot of money on it, given that it’s on the far south end of what would be the new city limits; a new station, he said, would cost $13 million.

3:24 PM: On to SPD’s potential costs – Valle says the high-end proposal would be 66 full-time employees, low-end 53 full-time employees (FT equivalent) – 7 of them civilians, 46 sworn officers. Valle says that’s a higher level of service than NH currently gets through the county. Kenny Pittman says right now he understands there may be as few as 2 to 3 deputies in the unincorporated North Highline area; Seattle would have at least 5 or 6, council staff says. Valle notes that 31 miles of arterial would be added to Seattle if it annexed the remaining NH area. “You can’t put it away and assume that it’s not adding more pressure to our backlog of maintenance,” she notes. (Again, this is the report they are reviewing.)

3:34 PM: O’Brien asks how annexation would affect levies. Pittman says it would mean that the amount levied on city residents would drop a bit since the capped levy amount would be spread among more residents. Conlin points out some levies are structured differently and might not have those results. It is then stated that North Highline property tax rates would apparently go down. Would Seattle city services be reduced to existing residents? Depends on how the council and mayor fill the budget gap, is the reply. Councilmember O’Brien says “I’ve been down to White Center a few times and it would be a really good fit for Seattle,” while also acknowledging the big question is where the extra money would come from. And Conlin concludes, “We’ve got two weeks to figure out” what to do next. The committee meets again March 18th.

Cross-posted from partner site West Seattle Blog – it’s the annual announcement of the two-month period when food-bank donations can count for more than face value, because of the Feinstein Challenge! Here’s the joint announcement from the White Center and West Seattle Food Banks:

The White Center Food Bank and West Seattle Food Bank are seeing a record number of families come to their doors for assistance. During March and April your donations to help neighbors in need can go farther.

For the 14th consecutive year, Allan Shawn Feinstein will divide $1,000,000 among hunger relief agencies nationwide through his Feinstein Challenge. All donations made between March 1 and April 30th, 2011, and that are specifically designated “Feinstein Challenge,” will count towards the challenge total and help these agencies receive a larger percentage of the million dollars.

For the White Center Food Bank, donations may be mailed to 10829 8th Avenue SW, Seattle, WA 98146. To make a donation online or for information about the White Center Food Bank’s programs benefited by the $1 Million Challenge, visit www.whitecenterfoodbank.org or contact Rick Jump at (206) 762-2848, or e-mail rick@whitecenterfoodbank.org.

For the West Seattle Food Bank, donations may be mailed to 3419 SW Morgan, Seattle, WA 98126. To make a donation online or for information about the West Seattle Food Bank’s programs benefited by the $1 Million Challenge, visit www.westseattlefoodbank.org or contact Fran Yeatts at (206) 932-9023, or e-mail fran@westseattlefoodbank.org.

For information about the Feinstein Foundation and the $1 Million Challenge, visit www.feinsteinfoundation.org

As the need for our services continues to increase significantly, your donations are now more important than ever.