White Center Now: The blog about White Center

(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.

Lots of movement in the restaurant ranks lately; thought we would note the listing discovered for Pho My Loi, south end of the main business district.

2 pm tomorrow is when the Seattle City Council Regional Development and Sustainability Committee takes up the North Highline annexation issue, potentially moving Seattle annexation of White Center (and environs) toward a vote this fall. Here’s the agenda; if you don’t have Seattle Channel on your cable (21), you can watch online from anywhere at seattlechannel.org. (Or go to Seattle City Hall – committee meetings begin with a chance for public comment.)

This Thursday, the elected community council whose members represent White Center and other parts of the remaining unincorporated area will gather for their monthly meeting, and you’re invited – to come listen and/or comment. As always, the NHUAC meeting is at 7 pm at the North Highline Fire District headquarters, 1243 SW 112th. The agenda is on the NHUAC website here, with guests including Jennifer Wiseman from the King County Library System, as well as regular participants such as Burien City Manager Mike Martin and King County Sheriff’s Office Capt. Joseph Hodgson.

(Photo by Deanie Schwarz for WCN)
With the issue of White Center (etc.) annexation before the Seattle City Council right now – a committee takes it up on Tuesday – Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn visited downtown WC this afternoon. With him in this photo, taken in front of Proletariat Pizza, are White Center Chamber of Commerce president Mark Ufkes and White Center Community Development Association executive director Aileen Balahadia; in the background, mayor’s office rep Kenny Pittman, who has long been a point person on the annexation issue. Most recently, as we have reported, McGinn’s stance has been “we can’t afford it”; WCN contributor Deanie Schwarz reports his main comment today was, “Seattle has some big decisions to make.”

Here’s the agenda for Tuesday afternoon’s Seattle Council committee meeting; here’s the briefing document (PDF) which lays out the potential timeline for a council decision on an annexation vote, as well as the potential range of financial effects if Seattle annexed the area.

More of Gabi Campanario‘s “Seattle Sketcher” work from Wednesday in White Center and South Delridge is now up on SeattleTimes.com (WCN partner). Check out the top sketch – that’s WCN contributor Deanie Schwarz in her trademark beret, as she was sending iPhone photos of Gabi to your editor here (including the ones in this story), hanging out with him at Café Rozella (and beyond).

(Also published on partner site WSB – this is big news for both communities!)

Story and photo by Deanie Schwarz
Reporting for White Center Now

The long-closed former Southgate Skate Center in White Center will be a roller-skating rink once more.

After more than three months of negotiations with the owners of what is currently the Southgate Event Center at 9646 17th SW, John Venables of Lakeview Properties and Josh Rhoads of Lynnwood Bowl and Skate confirmed today to WCN/WSB that they have put down deposits and are awaiting the receipt of the keys on Monday, when they plan to sign leasing papers with an option-to-purchase clause.

Rhoads is a 14-year U.S.A World Team competitive artistic skater who currently manages the Lynnwood Bowl and Skate rink. Venables is an apartment-properties owner and manager, as well as a former cargo-ship steward. They intend to return the building (originally called the Southgate Rollerdrome in 1937) back to full use as a competition and training rink and family-oriented entertainment/sports facility with full concessions. It will once again be called the Southgate Roller Rink.

(Photos courtesy Southwest Seattle Historical Society)
From 1937 to 2006, the building housed a roller rink; it was built in 1920 by Hiram Green, a pioneer White Center real estate developer, as a boxing arena. Ownership changed hands in the late 1930s, and the conversion to a family-oriented skating rink included closing off the original 16th SW entrance to avoid the rowdy bar foot traffic of the post-Prohibition era. You can read more of its history in a HistoryLink essay by the late historian Ron Richardson, from which this photo was used when that essay was featured on White Center Now:

In fall 2008, it reopened, briefly, as home to the short-lived White Center Swap Meet, and was renamed Southgate Event Center. But it’s still known best as a rink, and it’s a home to modern-day history as well. In 2002, the Rat City Rollergirls flat-track derby team began their illustrious road to glory on the original Southgate floor, as the women’s derby leagues began their meteoric re-ascent across the country. Eventually, the Rollergirls drew crowds too large for the White Center space and moved on to the Sand Point/Magnuson hangar facility. They’ve moved on since then, too, now staging their bouts at KeyArena before thousands of fans.

But the Rat City Rollergirls do return to White Center for public service work, including the strip of road they have adopted in the downtown business district. One of the organization’s founders, Rahel Cook, is also the co-owner of regionally renowned Zippy’s Giant Burgers, which has recently announced it’s moving from its current location in Highland Park to a new White Center location on 14th Ave. SW., about three blocks from the new rink.

And RCRG may have a presence in the revived rink as well. Rhoades told WSB/WCN that they are in conversation with the board of the Rat City Rollergirls discussing potential projects in the new Southgate Roller Rink, including perhaps demonstrations, but emphasizing junior bouts, and Brat (junior girls) team training and classes. Rhoades himself is an RCRG fan and is looking forward to partnership projects which will bring the Rat City Rollergirls home to White Center through the Junior derby members.

Rhoades and Venables have a team of construction folks to assist them in the refinishing (stripping, sanding and plasticking) of the 70-year old original floor – just under 10,000 square feet – as well as removing walls and relocating some fixtures and structures, with the goal of returning the facility to its full original configuration as a skating rink. They will be pursuing a retro aesthetic with the finish and decorative work. They anticipate the work to begin immediately upon receipt of the keys and are optimistic that they can complete the entire renovation within four weeks.

Since the rink has not had any food handlers license/concession since 2005, they will be submitting new applications for licensing and are uncertain of how long that will take. Initially, the food will be heat-and-serve until the expansion of the stand, but they envision partnerships with local White Center food providers on site.

Perhaps folks will be able to have Proletariat Pizza or Uncle Mike’s Barbeque delivered to the rink, Venables suggests as possibilities. They are interested in cross-promotions with local vendors and look forward to becoming part of the revitalization and preserving this legendary piece of White Center history. Eventually, as well, Venables wants to bring hot dogs to the rink – he envisions doing really good, creative, sausages a dozen different and innovative ways. “Hot dogs are perfect rink food,” he says, even so he’s looking to offer quality.

Once the interior work has been completed, not only will skaters be skating on a completely renovated, competition-standard flat track, they will also be able to rent brand-new roller skates (Golden Horse).

The rink’s hours, considered standard for most skating rinks, will include three-hour Friday and Saturday night sessions, a Saturday afternoon beginners’ class, and a Sunday afternoon session (1:00-4:30) oriented to fun family activities, such as birthday parties. Adult skates will be offered, at a minimum to begin, on Thursday evenings.

A roller-derby-specific skate session will be run on Sunday evenings with faster music to appeal to those who are perhaps more advanced skaters or who are looking to get into the derby scene. At his Lynnwood facility, Rhoades has worked with Seattle Brats Derby (RCR youth derby), Tilted Thunder (a bank-track team) and I-5 Girls, all derby youth teams. He anticipates developing the RCR training program for the Brats here in White Center. He also has experience putting together the bouts from the Lynnwood facility and will be repeating that program at the Southgate facility.

Wondering about prices? Rhoads says about $6.50 for a Saturday 1-4:30 pm session, including skate rental fees; Fridays and Saturdays would be about $7.50. They plan to assign off-duty King County Sheriff’s deputies to work the evening sessions to ensure a “family environment” is preserved for the community. They work with the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office at their Lynnwood facility and have been successful in keeping customers safe and making sure that families have fun. They don’t intend on doing big late-night skates or holiday parties in the beginning, so the rink will close by 10:30 or 11 at night.

Venables mentions that they will be placing pinball and video machines in the facility as well as a black-and-white photo booth. A brand new sound system with roller rink musical standards from the ‘80s and beyond will be installed, and, perhaps most importantly, an iconic disco-ball will be installed mid-ceiling.

Again, they’re hoping to open Southgate within a month – to restart what had been a long history as a place to spin your wheels.

(From Images of America West Seattle, copyright 2010, SWSHS/Log House Museum, pg. 97)

6:04 AM: Holy Family School is closed; Metro has some buses on snow routing (the latest list is here). More info as we get it.

6:44 AM: Kennedy High School in Burien is closed.

8:56 AM: The weather is supposed to improve, though since it’s going to be really cold – teens, potentially – tonight and tomorrow night, the snow that’s here may linger a while.

The Southwest King County Metro routes are now all officially on snow routes – here’s the list and map. Some of those routes go through White Center. More weather-related news as we get it!

Noticed a guy hunched over a sketchpad around South Delridge/White Center today? That’s Gabi Campanario, the Seattle Sketcher, whose work is showcased by the Seattle Times (WCN partner) as well as on his own website. WCN contributor Deanie Schwarz caught up with him by the building that’s home to Café Rozella:

From there, he was heading south into White Center proper. Whatever he comes up with, you’ll see it online this Saturday, Deanie tells us.

THURSDAY UPDATE: Gabi has posted the first of his sketches – this one is from 3.14 Bakery.

(Seattle Channel video added 6:15 pm – this is the entire council briefing; annexation is final portion, starts at about 82:00 in – you can pull the indicator on the playbar to the right to get to that point)
As previewed here, the Seattle City Council just got its briefing on last month’s report about the potential costs of annexing White Center and the rest of “Area Y.” However, no vote was taken and the few questions asked by councilmembers – whose schedule was rushed because a preceding, unrelated presentation took much longer than scheduled – did not tip any hand as to how they might decide on taking an annexation vote. As previously reported, and as reiterated at the meeting by city budget boss Beth Goldberg (we’ll add the full video clip when it becomes available via the Seattle Channel online), Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn does not favor moving ahead with annexation right now “because we just simply, in his mind, can’t afford it at this time.” City Council President Richard Conlin’s Regional Sustainability and Development Committee now will take over the issue for meetings on March 1st and 18th; Conlin pointed out that even if there were a vote this fall and annexation was approved, it wouldn’t take effect before 2013, and could even be scheduled for later implementation. It was also mentioned that (though Seattle’s council never ratified it), Seattle and Burien are continuing to observe the informal agreement that Seattle has dibs on Area Y through this year – after that, it’s up for grabs. We’ll add a few more details shortly; we’re also working with council staff to get all the documents that were presented today.

ADDED 1:04 PM: Here are both documents from today’s meeting:
PowerPoint presentation
Financial tables
Presenters had calculated that the potential $91 million one-time only expenditure mentioned earlier could be reduced to less than half that, if only arterials were addressed in the backlogged North Highline road maintenance that’s been mentioned – the higher number included non-arterials.

Just received, a preview for this Thursday’s White Center/South Delridge Community Safety Coalition meeting:

The White Center-South Delridge Community Safety Coalition Meeting will be this Thursday, February 24th, from 6-8 pm. We will be meeting at the DSHS building located at 9650 15th Ave SW in the lobby on the second floor.

This month, a representative from the King County Council is scheduled to speak.

Everyone is welcome to bring up concerns at the meeting, and please be sure to share this information with your neighbors. We look forward to seeing you on Thursday!

Just in from Nancy:

WRITERS & TELLERS NITE at 2 Venues:

Venue #1:

DubSea Coffee and Cultural Art Projects hold “Open Mike” on Tuesday, February 22nd
5pm to 6pm Youth Writers & Tellers
6pm to 7pm Adult Writers & Tellers

Location: 9910 8th Avenue Southwest (at Greenbridge)
(206) 708-6806

Family-friendly and cozy atmosphere for those who want to share their written work.
Open to all genres! Come down and sign up. Inbetween segments – there will be writing exercises and prompts

Featured at the end of the evening: The Big Fat Liars Club
Participants will utilize the presented artwork in the place; 10 minutes to formulate a story – then present it. Best storyteller is voted on, by the audience. Winner comes back the following month to defend his/her title. Prize for the big fat liar.

Venue #2:

Triangle Pub and Cultural Art Projects hold Open Mike on Tuesday, February 22nd at 8pm
Sign up!!! Open to All Genres!!!

Triangle Pub – 9454 Delridge Way SW & Roxbury (206) 763-0714

Featured at the end of the evening: The Big Fat Liars Club
Participants will utilize the presented artwork in the place; 10 minutes to formulate a story – then present it. Best storyteller is voted on, by the audience. Winner comes back the following month to defend his/her title. Prize for the big fat liar.

Any information, please call: Nancy 795.0833 or email: culturalart@msn.com