Submitted by Dan Keefe
President
Meadowbrook Community Council
Greetings,
Tuesday’s (5/14/13) meeting was attended by again approx. 20 individuals, all voting eligible. I would say that we had a lively meeting with high interest shown in all the topics discussed and presented. The order of occurrence in the agenda was altered to allow reps for SPU, SDOT, and Sandy Motzer to present first and be able to leave at a reasonable hour.
In order of occurrence, this is what transpired:
Presentations
1- Meadowbrook Pond closure to complete dredging/expansion project – Deb Heiden and Greg Stevens of SPU provided a review and update of the various tasks that were completed last year and those that would be worked on this year. Time frame for closure of the pond will be June 3 through September 30th. Suction dredging was completed in 2012 leaving excavation to expand the pond and associated tree/shrub removals, improvement of access and other issues to be completed in 2013. Concern by attendees included control of invasive plants and why permeable materials were not being considered for vac-truck access. The access issues had been debated last year, so we attempted to limit that discussion. Trees removed will be replaced two for one, although new trees will be much smaller in size. Annie’s Trees will be carefully removed and transplanted at a more visible location. Up to date info on progress on the project can be found by clicking here.
2- NE 125th Ave and Sand Point Way Repaving – Art Brochet of SDOT summarized plans and schedule for the repaving project which is also slated to start in early June and run to Oct/November. Art provided a handout with all necessary contact info. The project website is found by clicking here. Safety concerns were voiced by several attendees over the need to occasionally use 110th to 35th as a detour, especially if needed when school is in session, were voiced but not satisfactorily answered. Later, a motion was made and approved to draft an e-mail to a Mr. Chang in the transportation dept to express our concerns. Mike Reinhardt and Lucy Weinberg agreed to work together on the email. Once one is formulated, individuals as well as one from the Council will be sent to Mr Chang.
3- Lake City Emergency Communication Hub (LCECH) – Sandy Motzer provided a concise and interesting discussion of the forming of the LCECH. Maps of the locations of the other Hubs in the city were provided as were instructions on the purpose and functions of an emergency hub. The LCECH is located in the NE corner of the Fred Meyer parking lot. If interested and did not attend the meeting, please email me, and I will forward you the map and Hub description or contact Sandy at sandymotzer@aol.com
Regular Business
1- No new info on the 110th /39-40th sidewalk project was known but it is in the running for approval along with 39 other proposal, but final notification won’t occur until late May. If we are selected, several steps/whoops must be gone through before a final decision is made, then there is scheduling funding, etc. Could be awhile.
2- Aundie Collison stated that compared to the rash of break-ins experienced in Feb/March, crime activity was way down She cautioned that vigilance needs to be maintained in the summer as some break ins can occur when you are outside doing your yard work. She recommended keeping doors locked and keeping the key in one’s pocket.
3- Pam Bowe presented the new “post cards” to be used as a handout to increase awareness of Meadowbrook Community Council and attract more members. She provided an update on the website and future plans to make it a kind of Portal for communication among the various community groups in our area. She is also working on re-establishing our Facebook presence, but we do not know who has the proper code. If worse comes to worse, we will have to “kill” the old site and start over.
4- Regarding the CleanScapes $50K award to the Weds pick-up area. The wheelchair swing idea was withdrawn because the city, although much in favor of the idea, felt it would cost more than the $50K to complete. Also, because there are no swings of this type in the Seattle area they agreed to assign staff to develop specs and cost it. They followed up on this promise and a rec staffer is currently working on it. Several other applicants were briefly discussed one especially that of making improvements to the Meadowbrook Center’s kitchen so that food may be better prepared and/or preserved. This is being proposed by Sue McGann and Lee LaCroix, both members of the Community Garden.
5- New member, John Keating, who is on the Board of North Helpline noted that their annual Empty Bowls fund raising event takes place this Sunday (May 19th) from Noon to 3pm at Nathan Hale HS.
6- I spoke briefly about the SusNE Seattle Tool Library located on NE 80th and 24th nr Unniversity Prep. “Why buy an expensive tool that you may only use once or twice over a protracted period of time, when you can go to a tool library and check it out for a week or two.” Membership cost is by donation and can be started on line but you must pay at the library itself. The Tool Library website is: www.neseattletoollibrary.org.
The meeting was adjourned at 9pm.
All the Best!
Dan Keefe
May 15, 2013
