Capitol Hill Community Council

General goals for next year:
-Successfully implement the 12th Ave Pedestrian Safety project
-Get another neighborhood matching grant
-Continue to build relationships with other neighborhood groups
-Develop an enhanced communication strategy (social media, etc.)
-Get new banners and cards to place around the neighborhood, at council meetings, and at events (include QR code and ask Sound Transit to sponsor)
-Become the “go to” neighborhood group
-Create an annual budget; report on the budget at each meeting
-Throw a fundraiser for ourselves (pie in the face, holiday party)
-Get a 501(c)(3) sponsor for larger grants/donations

Long term goals:
-get a staff person (maybe part time) to assist with admin, promotion, and coordination
-get a permanent home (in new light rail station or 12th Avenue arts building)

Greetings neighbors:

We hope all of you are enjoying the fantastic sunny weather we’ve been having lately and are taking full advantage of the good summer vibe we lucky folk have up here on our hill. The Capitol Hill Community Council (CHCC) wanted to give you a brief update on what we’ve been working on this summer.

Date set for next CHCC general meeting: 6-8pm on Thursday, October 20 at the Cal Anderson Shelter House. Mark your calendars – and note the new time!

12th Avenue Transportation Safety Project: The hiring committee recently selected SvR Design (www.svrdesign.com) as the transportation consultant for the project and a series of public meetings will begin in the months ahead to identify specific problems and brainstorm solutions.

Complete Streetcar Campaign: The committee will soon be meeting with local elected leaders to discuss funding of the feasibility study for extending the streetcar. The committee will continue to seek the support of neighbors for the extension. Seattle City Council members have indicated that if the $60 vehicle licensing fee they recently approved for the November ballot passes that a portion of the funds will be used to finance the streetcar extension feasibility study.

Capitol Hill Champion: Currently the City of Seattle and Sound Transit are negotiating a Development Agreement to govern the Sound Transit properties on Capitol Hill using the recently developed Urban Design Framework as the guidance for property development standards. The Champion is following these negotiations closely and is being regularly briefed and asked for comment. The Development Agreement will become legislation before the City Council, with a public hearing process sometime in early 2012. Sound Transit’s Request for Qualifications/Request for Proposals process will be initiated in the third quarter 2012 (June).

12th Avenue Arts: Capitol Hill Housing recently announced the long awaited approval of the redevelopment of the current police department parking lot near the corner of 12th and Pine. The CHCC has long supported this redevelopment. Follow the URL for more info: www.capitolhillseattle.com/2009/02/17/making-a-better-police-parking-lot-on-12th-ave

Best wishes,
Your CHCC Officers

Capitol Hill Community Council
July General Meeting Minutes
Cal Anderson Shelter House at Cal Anderson Park
July 21, 2011 at 7pm

First up – Pie, Ice Cream and Socializing!

Community Announcements
Sunday, 8/14/11, Second Annual 12th Avenue Neighborhood Festival (on 12th Avenue between Pike and Madison in the Pike/Pine corridor). Festival will include 40 local food vendors and retailers, kids’ activities and entertainment, street music and performances, and more! All food plates $5 and under. Contact Alex Brennan for more info – (206) 204-3832 or abrennan@capitolhillhousing.org.

Three Dollar Bill Outdoor Cinema presents Rock & Roll Fantasy on select Friday nights this summer at Cal Anderson Park. Next up: Xanadu on Friday, 7/29. On Friday, 7/29 only – spend $15 at a Broadway restaurant and/or retailer (bring your receipt to the movie) and receive a free “Bum Box” (sponsored by Sound Transit). Go to http://threedollarbillcinema.org/calendar/rock-roll-fantasy/ for more information.

The HIV/AIDS banner recently placed on the sound wall of the Broadway light rail construction site (near the corner of Denny and Broadway) was defaced within a few days of installation. The Seattle Gay News will be having a fundraiser to purchase a clear plastic protective cover for use in the two future installations. The fundraising goal is $3,500 and the SGN has contributed $1,000 towards this goal. Contact the SGN for further information.

Rhonda Dixon from Sound Transit mentioned that “Brenda”, the tunnel boring machine that will be digging the two light rail tunnels from the Capitol Hill station to downtown, was recently launched from the Broadway construction site and has already dug 81 feet of light rail tunnel. Go Brenda!

It was brought to the attention of the CHCC that the proposed design for the building to be built at the current B&O Espresso site at the corner of East Olive Way and Belmont will significantly block the view towards the west from vantage points further up East Olive Way. Given that East Olive Way is considered a legally protected way by the City of Seattle due to its unique vantage points of the Space Needle, the Olympic Mountains, and Puget Sound and Elliott Bay, the two community members present discussing the issue are preparing to appeal the city’s design decision and land use permit and were seeking CHCC support. The community members, one of whom is an architect, are proposing a stepped design that will maintain the beautiful view. Mike Kent, CHCC Vice-President, proposed a follow-up meeting to discuss the matter in-depth. Look to the CHCC blog for updates.

Parking meters on Capitol Hill now accept payments for all-night parking until 10am the following morning. This is a welcome development and hopefully will cut down on drinking and driving. In addition, two dedicated taxi stands will soon be coming to Capitol Hill, most likely on Pike between 10th and 11th. The taxi stands will operate from 10pm through the night until 6am.

Committee and Campaign Updates
12th Avenue Transportation Safety Project: Next meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, 7/27 at 6pm at the Capitol Hill library branch. Requests for proposals were recently completed and an ad for an urban planner was recently published. Six letters of interest have already been received! Proposals are due by 6pm on 8/8. The goal is to have a consultant hired by the end of August.

Capitol Hill Champion: Continuing work on lobbying Sound Transit for the inclusion of the Urban Design Framework into the TOD site development. Advocating hard for a community member to be included at the table during discussions of TOD. Also seeking input on the pending development agreement to be finalized by Sound Transit.

Complete Streetcar Campaign – Next meeting is scheduled for Thursday, 7/28 at 6pm at Grim’s bar on 11th between Pike and Pine. 8/8 is the end of the bidding period for the general contractor. Once the general contractor is selected, the budget will be finalized. CHCC will advocate for any budget surplus to be dedicated to extending the streetcar. Currently five Sound Transit board members are in favor of extending the streetcar further down Broadway.

Officer Candidate Statements and Elections
Candidates for all officer positions gave brief statements.
A motion was introduced to elect the full slate of officers. The motion was seconded. All officers were unanimously elected by community members in attendance.
The 2011 CHCC officers are:
President: Norma Jean Straw
Vice President: Mike Kent
Treasurer/Secretary: Eric Sanders
At-Large Officers: Michael Archambault, George Bakan, Rachael Brister, Micah Kurth

Meeting adjourned.

July is month for general elections for the Officers of the Coumminty Council. it is also a pie and ice cream social for you to meet the new officers. Please join us on Thursday July 21, at 7pm at the Shelter House at Cal Anderson Park. See you there!!

See the Officers’ Bio here.

Read the full article at Capitol Hill Seattle blog.

http://www.capitolhillseattle.com/2011/07/15/mayor-comes-to-capitol-hill-next-week-after-nightlife-initiative-push

Capitol Hill Community Council
June Meeting Minutes
Cal Anderson Shelter House at Cal Anderson Park

June 16th, 2011 7pm
Open Announcements

June 17, 2011 Fund Raiser for the Dyke March. 8pm at Tommy Gun, 1703 E Olive Way.
June 18, 2011 Police Picnic from 1 to 4 pm, on 12th Ave between Pine and Pike
June 19, 2011 Second Annual Pride Picnic at Volunteer Park from 11am to 4pm.
June 21, 2011 Meet Council Member Conlin at Hi 5 Pie, 6pm to 7pm. This is a special meeting held by the Capitol Hill Community Council.

Committee Updates
12th Avenue Transportation Safety Meeting Update
Thank you everyone for quite the productive meeting last month. We accomplished a great deal, including voting to focus on the portions of 12th Avenue near the intersections of Olive, Howell, Thomas, Harrison, and Republican Streets, and brainstorming numerous possible means for making 12th Avenue safer. At our next meeting, we will be joined by Jim Curtin, a Community Traffic Liaison at the Seattle Department of Transportation, and Allynn Ruth, a Project Manager at the Department of Neighborhoods, both of whom have been assigned to our project. We expect another lively discussion that results in our having a better understanding of how to focus our efforts in order to be most effective in the months ahead. Our next meeting will be Wednesday, June 22nd, from 6pm to 7:30pm, at the Capitol Hill Branch of the Seattle Public Library (425 Harvard Avenue East). As always, please spread the word to your friends and neighbors, and invite them to join us.

TOD Champion
DPD had over 50 comments during open public comment period. We are working hard to get Sound Transit to incorporate the Urban Design Framework into the TOD site development.

Voted on Council Bylaw Changes
1. Article V. a
Reduce number of required annual meetings from 9 to 6.
New language: “There shall be at least six (6) regularly scheduled meetings held per year.”

2. Article VII section 1 Officers
Combine the treasurer and secretary position into one officer position
New language: “The elected officers shall consist of seven (5-7) individuals: President, Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer and one to three (1-3) At Large representatives. The Secretary/Treasurer position can be combined into one position as the council sees fit”.

Official Officer Candidates Announcement
Candidates:
Norma Jean Straw, President (continuing)
Mike Kent, Vice-President (continuing)
Eric Sanders, Secretary/Treasurer
George Bakan, At Large Position (continuing)
Rachel Brister, At Large Position
Micah Kurth , At Large Position

Candidate bios and statements will be posted on our website in the next few days.