The Seattle Department of Neighborhoods conducting a survey about community outreach and engagement activities and is looking for input from community members. The survey takes between 5 and 15 minutes to complete, depending on your level of community involvement (the more involved you are, the more potential questions there will be).

In line with its mission of civic participation, the department is asking community members for their feedback and ideas on how it can most effectively provide support to the community.

You can fill out the survey here any time between now and June 30 to give your feedback.

On Wednesday Mayor Mike McGinn announced his appointment for a permanent director of the Department of Neighborhoods, Bernie Matsuno, who has been serving as the interim director since February 1.

Most of Matsuno’s career in the public service sector has been within the Department of Neighborhoods. She previously served as interim director under Mayor Greg Nickels in 2006, before Stella Chao was hired, and was also previously the deputy director of the Department of Neighborhoods in 2007, director of the department’s Community Building Division from 2004 to 2006, and participated in the creation of the Department of Neighborhoods and the Neighborhood Matching Fund in 1988.

“Bernie has great experience in the Department of Neighborhoods from its inception,” Mayor McGinn said in a statement released Wednesday. “Her experience will help all city departments engage and partner with the public in improving our communities.”

Matsuno’s salary is going to be $127,950, according to the Mayor’s office, and her appointment is subject to City Council confirmation.

Citywide budget cuts over the last year hit the Department of Neighborhoods, and the community, hard. Back in January these cuts resulted in the closing of the Magnolia and Queen Anne Neighborhood Service Center on Roy, which in addition to providing resources for community members, served as a meeting space for many neighborhood organizations.

Turnout at last night’s monthly Uptown Alliance meeting was high due to concerns from West Mercer Place residents over SDOT’s Mercer West Project.

A group of West Mercer Place residents submitted to the Alliance a letter voicing their opposition to plans for expanding West Mercer Place and West Mercer by one lane. The letter, covering such concerns as freight traffic, pedestrian sidewalks and parking, was addressed to Mayor McGinn, the Seattle City Council, and SDOT. The residents asked that the Alliance to send it as representative of their position. The vote on the motion to adopt the letter was approved.

The original draft of the letter was written by Bob Pennington, who also wrote the letter submitted to the Queen Anne Community Council last week that failed to be adopted, but prompted the council to write letters of their own that incorporated the same issues.

Held in the Uptown Metropolitan Market’s restaurant space, residents voiced their concerns and passed out fliers at the meeting. One issue addressed was the possible reallocating of 15 to 20 feet of land from Lower Kinnear Park to expand into an additional third lane of West Mercer Place, an area that is home to some 24 old-growth trees, according to one opponent, and would require the construction of a concrete retaining wall along the easternmost edge of the park. They also announced a “letter writing rally” (see the event flier here and Facebook event info here) to oppose the West Mercer traffic expansion.

“This Mercer West Place expansion, I don’t believe it’s going to stop there – I think this is a trend that we’re going to see over the next few years and beyond, for the continual aggression of traffic into our neighborhoods,” warned Pennington. “We have to take a stand on it now.”

SDOT Deputy Project Manager for the Mercer West Project Eric O’Brien attended but didn’t speak until the end of the meeting. He passed out a FAQ sheet on the possible changes to West Mercer Place and said he was available to speak to individuals after the meeting adjourned.

The FAQ sheet said they are “looking at the feasibility of several changes to West Mercer Place in the future. We may do a few of these or we may do none of them,” noting that SDOT expects to complete and present its results in March.

Seattle City Councilmember Mike O’Brien, chair of the Seattle Public Utilities and Department of Neighborhoods, was a guest at the meeting and spoke on the restructuring of the Department of Neighborhoods due to the budget cuts. Although O’Brien said the mission of the department is the same, he doesn’t believe that they’ve seen the last of the cuts, and further “refining” is likely.

Photo from the West Mercer Place Facebook Page

“The question is how do we meet the neighborhoods’ goals, the citizens of Seattle’s needs with fewer resources, and I don’t know what the answer is,” O’Brien said.

He also spoke on the concerns of West Mercer and West Mercer Place residents, advising them to stay organized, attend meetings, perform letter or e-mail campaigns, encouraging them to reach out to city council members, and “if you want to get really creative and dress up in customs and stand in the street, that gets our attention too.”

“Folks who live closest to these things have a very important powerful voice, but they’re not the only voice in the city… everyone will be heard,” said O’Brien, adding, “I have some serious concerns with doing much to widen that roadway.”

Also discussed at the meeting:

• Co-President Rick Hooper provided a new construction report regarding four new projects in development for apartment buildings in Uptown under the Multifamily Property Tax Exemption Program. These projects are not yet under construction.
• Co-President John Coney reported that the governor has recommended in her draft budget a 50 percent cut in the Regional Mobility Grant line item, which would have adverse consequences for the Ballard RapidRide line, such as putting future lines at risk.
• Secretary Jean Sundborg discussed the three-day rummage sale the weekend of Feb. 25 held by the Uptown Alliance and FOLKpark to raise money for different projects in Uptown. She also reminded everyone of the Clean and Green event this Saturday beginning 9 a.m. at Counterbalance Park.
• Coney announced there is a town meeting with the mayor Tuesday, March 1 5:30 p.m. at Blaine School in Magnolia.
• It was found that the recently installed lights at Counterbalance Park were not designed for the outdoors. Parks and Recreation has ordered the parts to correct the matter, but the completion of the project is expected to take some time.

The next Uptown Alliance meeting will be Thursday, March 10 at the same location (Metropolitan Market). A report from SDOT on the Mercer West Project, including plans for West Mercer Place, is expected at that time.

At the Queen Anne Community Council‘s monthly meeting last night a lively audience addressed concerns over SDOT’s West Mercer plans for the Mercer Corridor Project.

The redevelopment of West Mercer is part of phase II of the Mercer Corridor Project, and is anticipated to begin in the summer of 2012.

According to the SDOT website, this phase of the project, among other things, will provide freight with a route to and from 15th/Elliott Avenue West by adding a second eastbound lane, and improving key intersections to accommodate large trucks. The plan would also add a sidewalk to the narrow street that borders Lower Kinnear Park. But residents in the West Mercer Place area are concerned that the project will turn the residential street into a commercial truck thoroughfare.

A letter written by Rob Pennington, spokesman of a group of concerned residents in the West Mercer Place neighborhood, was submitted to the council’s transportation committee, intended to be sent to Mayor McGinn and the Seattle City Council as representative of the council’s official position. The primary issues outlined in the letter include the concerns over the truck routes and better conditions for pedestrians, bicyclists and businesses.

From the letter:

Uptown is a destination community, surrounded by a residential neighborhood that should be enhanced for pedestrian, bicycle and transit use with improvements to our North and South traffic flow. As projects proceed with the North Portal of SR 99 and the Mercer East Corridor, we believe that the concerns of West Mercer Street and West Mercer Place residents and businesses merit consideration over stakeholders outside our neighborhood.

The council ultimately voted against adopting the letter as it was written amidst protests from some of the citizens in attendance. Instead, a letter addressing Queen Anne transportation and incorporating Pennington’s West Mercer Place issues will be written and sent from the council.

Here are some of the highlights from the other issues discussed at the meeting:

• Updates from the Department of Neighborhoods from Central Team Neighborhood District Coordinator Christa Dumpys. There have been staff reductions and consolidations with the budget cuts, but Dumpys still remains the contact for Queen Anne and Magnolia. Both the director and deputy director of the Department of Neighborhoods have left, and the interim director starts on Friday. The Queen Anne/Magnolia Neighborhood Service Center has closed, and Dumpys is now working out of the Central Neighborhood Service Center on 23^rd and Jackson, but her phone number and e-mail are still the same.
• Council member Don Harper gave a summary of the Solarize Seattle program. In brief, the program will give tax credits and a bulk rate discount to Queen Anne residents who purchase solar panels for their home. More information can be found at solarizeseattle.org.
• Don Harper also spoke about the current state of the Smith Cove land trade. Certain issues (the inability to have an athletic field within 200 feet of a shoreline, and the Port of Seattle’s disinterested in making changes to the road) regarding the land in Interbay between the west yard and Smith Cove make the land swap unlikely, but Harper is proposing that the council asks the Port of Seattle for 50 more feet of Shoreline Parkway on the West Yard.

Sustainable Queen Anne is hosting its next meeting, focused on practical ideas for sustainability in the home, on Monday, February 7. Here are the details:

“Practical Ideas for Sustainability in your home” with special guest and local sustainibility expert Jacquie Powers. Monday, February 7 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Location: 2501 Westview Dr W (corner of Wheeler). Dinner will be provided.

Remember when we asked community members for suggestions on potential P-Patch sites in the neighborhood back in August? Thanks to funding from the Parks and Green Spaces Levy, the Seattle Department of Neighborhood’s P-Patch Community Gardening Program is planning to build a new P-Patch somewhere in QA.

According to Sustainable Queen Anne, an ideal location would be publicly owned (or easily lease-able for low or no cost), mostly flat and sunny, and approximately 5,000 square-feet in size. From Sustainable QA:

The P-Patch Program’s primary goal with new garden development is to increase community gardening opportunities in Seattle, especially for underserved communities.  At least 15 new or expanded P-Patch Community Gardens will be developed with Levy funds by 2013. Like all P-Patch community gardens city-wide, the new Queen Anne garden will be a public resource that builds and sustains community as it’s imagined, built, and cared for into the future. Community suggestions for a garden site are the first step.

Suggestions for possible sites, or for information on getting involved with this project, contact Laura Raymond at laura.raymond@seattle.gov.

Applications for the first cycle of the Seattle Department of Neighborhoods’ Small and Simple project fund, part of the Neighborhood Matching Fund, are due by 5 p.m. today, Tuesday, January 18.

The Small and Simple Projects Fund provides awards up to $20,000 to support community members in building community relationships around a project. Small and Simple Projects Fund activities may be physical projects as well as less tangible but equally significant educational, cultural, and relationship-strengthening activities. All projects must demonstrate its capacity to build a stronger and healthier community, and must:

• Provide a public benefit and be free and open to all members of the public.
• Emphasize self-help, with project ideas initiated, planned and implemented by the neighbors and community members who will themselves be impacted by the project.
• Demonstrate community match.
• Occur within the Seattle city limits.

Artistic rendering of Lower Kinnear Park encompassing community ideas/input, done by graphic recorder Patti Dobrowolski after a planning meeting in January 2010.

A number of community organizations have been awarded Small and Simple project funding in the past, including Friends of Lower Kinnear Park, which received $15,000 as part of a larger $100,000 Neighborhood Matching Fund award to finance enhancement plans for the park; the Interbay Neighborhood Association, which won a $17,000 award to build two mini-parks; and Queen Anne Murals, which was awarded $15,000 to repaint the mural under the Dexter Avenue N underpass off of Aurora.

Small and Simple project grants are available to neighborhood and community-based groups and organizations, ad-hoc groups, and business organizations (such as chambers of commerce) for projects aimed at building “stronger connections in their neighborhood.” Community groups that do not have a geographic base (racial, ethnic, GLBT, disability, etc.) are also eligible to apply for Small and Simple project funding.

If you miss this deadline, don’t worry, there will be two more grant cycles in 2011. Applications for the next two cycles are due by 5 p.m. on Monday, May 9, and Monday, September 12.

For more information on Small and Simple project funds, how to apply, and application materials, see the Department of Neighborhoods website.

A neighborhood in Queen Anne is one of 19 across the city that has just been awarded free trees.  Community members applied for the Tree Fund, a program by the city’s Department of Neighborhoods, that awards free trees for groups of neighbors from at least five households.  Neighbors in the area of 9th Ave West and West Armour Street will receive their trees later this month.  To learn more about the Tree Fund, click here.

Today is the deadline to apply for free street trees from the Department of Neighborhoods. Interested applicants need a minimum of five households to apply for anywhere from 10 to 40 trees per project. Each participating household can also get a fruit tree for their own yard. Check out the application.

The Tree Fund is a simple way for residents to beautify their neighborhood and help the environment, while connecting with their neighbors…Groups of neighbors from at least five households living on a street or block can request from 10 to 40 trees per project. In addition, every participating household can have a fruit tree for their own yard. Information on how to organize your neighborhood, the selections of trees, as well as the application form, can be found at www.seattle.gov/neighborhoods/nmf/treefund.htm.

For questions or additional information, contact Judy Brown, Seattle Department of Neighborhoods, at 206.684.0714.

Two projects on Queen Anne will receive a big financial boost from the city’s Department of Neighborhoods Matching Fund. The City Council has approved $1.24 million in awards to support neighborhood projects across Seattle. The funding matches privately raised money, donated materials, and volunteer labor. Here’s a look at the Queen Anne winners:

Queen Anne Farmers Market: $33,706 to expand the market with weekly events promoting local food, healthy living, and community.

Friends of Lower Kinnear Park: $100,000 to hire consultants to produce construction plans for enhancements to the park. The community envisions improving entrances to the park, enhancing the park trails, and connecting pedestrian pathways between neighborhoods and the waterfront.

You can see a full list of this year’s winners here.

Do you know a great place for a P-Patch garden on Queen Anne?  If so, the city’s Department of Neighborhoods wants to hear from you.  Queen Anne is one of the neighborhoods that will receive money from the Parks and Green Spaces Levy for the development of new P-Patches. 

A good site is easily leasable at low or no cost, flat and sunny, and at least 5000 square feet.  If you know a perfect location, submit your idea here through the end of August.

Hundreds of Seattle’s youth will gather at the Vera Project at Seattle Center tomorrow for the eighth annual Seattle Youth Town Hall (.pdf), a yearly meeting that brings kids and city officials together to discuss issues that affect today’s youth.

Organized by the Seattle Youth Commission and the Department of Neighborhoods, from noon to 4 p.m. tomorrow youth are invited to come and voice their opinions. Here’s what the schedule looks like:

• 12 to 1 p.m. – Resource Fair with local youth organizations
• 1 to 2:30 p.m. – Q&A with the Mayor McGinn and the Seattle City Council
• 2:30 t0 4 p.m. – Round Table discussions with issue experts

Learn more about the Seattle Youth Commission here.

The Interbay Neighborhood Association has been awarded a $17,000 matching fund Small and Simple grant through the city’s Department of Neighborhoods to fund the construction of two small parks/sitting areas to service local businesses and their patrons.

“The Interbay Neighborhood Association was concerned that there was no place to sit outside for the over 100 employees working north of Dravus Street,” INA Executive Director Bruce Wynn wrote on the INA blog.

The award funds will be used to construct two “mini parks” with sitting areas. One will be located next to the Denali Fitness building on Bertona, between 16th Ave W and 17th Ave W. The other will be next to the Dusty Strings building, located at the north end of 16th Ave W.

Wynn says the INA will be matching the grant money through additional funding from the Burlington Northern railway, the Office of Economic Development, and a number of volunteers, landscape designers and builders whose time can be counted toward the matching amount. If everything goes according to plan, Wynn estimates that the mini parks will be completed in the fall.

“We have hired a landscaper who will oversee the building of the two mini-parks.  We are in the midst of permits now and that takes about 3 months. We hope to begin building by June and have it completed by the end of September,” he wrote in an email to QueenAnneView.

According to Wynn, the project will make Interbay’s business area, which hosts hundreds of employees and customers every day, a more approachable, comfortable and neighborly environment.

“When the parks are completed employees and relax and soak up the rays on a beautiful day in Interbay,” he wrote on the INA blog.

(Photos courtesy of Bruce Wynn and the INA).

In response to budget cuts across the board, many city departments have been required to take ten unpaid furlough days in 2010, including the Department of Planning and Development, the Department of Neighborhoods and the Department of Parks and Recreation. Below are the scheduled furlough dates for each department and what will be affected.

Department of Neighborhoods/Service Centers:

Furlough dates: Tuesday, January 19; Tuesday, February 16; Monday March 15; Monday, April 12; Tuesday, June 1; Tuesday, July 6; Monday, August 9; Tuesday, September 7; Monday, October 11 and Monday, December 27.

Department of Parks and Recreation:

Parks and Rec will be operating two schedules in order to accommodate the needs of its many community centers, pools, learning centers, other facilities and park maintenance schedules. Schedule A will encompass parks grounds and maintenance staff, community center staff (excluding those child care and lane night programs), indoor pools, small craft facilities, environmental learning centers, lifelong recreation, most management and administrative staff, the Amy Lee Tennis Center and the Langston Hughes Performing Arts Center. Schedule B will include the Superintendent’s Office, Planning and Development staff, Magnuson Park staff and Youth Violence Prevention Initiative staff. For more details on these two schedules, see the official press release (.pdf).

Schedule A:                                                   Schedule B:

Fri., Jan. 15                                                   Tue., Jan. 19

Fri., Feb. 12                                                   Tue., Feb. 16

Fri., March 12                                                Mon., March 15

Fri., April 9                                                    Mon., April 12

Fri., May 7                                                     Mon., May 10

Fri., May 28                                                   Tue., June 1

Fri., September 10                                         Mon., September 13

Fri., October 8                                               Mon., October 11

Fri., November 12                                         Monday, Nov. 15

Thu., December 23                                       Mon., December 27

Department of Planning and Development:

Furlough dates: Friday, January 15; Friday, February 12; Friday, March 12; Friday, April 9; Friday, May 28; Friday, July 2; Friday, August 6; Friday, September 3; Friday, October 8; Thursday, December 23.

Planning and Development outlined the reasoning behind their furlough dates – almost all Fridays – here (.pdf). They wrote,

The decision to close instead of remaining open at significantly reduced staffing levels was based on the department’s customer service objectives and in recognition of the range of resources needed to provide its services.

Friends of Lower Kinnear Park (FOLKpark) has been awarded two grants from the city for restoration and development of Lower Kinnear Park in Queen Anne, totally $15,750! The first award, in the amount of $15,000, is part of the Department of Neighborhoods’ Small and Simple Grant, for the hiring of a landscape architect to develop a plan with the community for the enhancement of the park. Although the majority of the funds will be allocated to the landscape architect for a conceptual design for Lower Kinnear Park, FOLKpark will be holding three public meetings in January to gather input from stakeholders.

The second loan was for $750 through the Community Outreach Startup Fund to help launch FOLKpark’s community outreach efforts. This money has gone to basic supplies for the committee’s events and group meetings. Both loans are part of the Department of Neighborhoods’ Matching Funds program.

FOLKpark’s main objectives are:

• Getting more people into Lower Kinnear Park by increasing passive and active uses of the park and strengthening neighborhood connections to and within the park.
• Sustaining Lower Kinnear Park’s natural setting as a unique urban forest offering visitors a retreat from the bustle of the city.
• Telling Lower Kinnear Park’s story and celebrating its significance to Seattle’s history.

FOLKparks has organized volunteers clean-up events in Lower Kinnear Park both in September and October, and they’re just getting started with their community outreach. According to FOLKpark Steering Committee Chair Deborah Frausto, the group will be launching their new website, to better connect the organization with the community it serves, later this week. They meet twice a month – on the first Tuesday and third Thursday – from 6:30 to 8:30 at the Queen Anne Neighborhood Center, located at 160 Roy St.

If you haven’t submitted your ballot for the mail-only election yet, you have to get it post-marked or dropped off at a ballot box by 8 p.m. tomorrow, Tuesday, November 3 to vote.

On election day tomorrow, the six Department of Neighborhoods offices throughout the city that serve as ballot box drop-offs will be holding open houses for the public. The closest open house to Queen Anne is the Neighborhood Service Center in Ballard (located at 5604 22nd Ave NW), where from 4 to 8 p.m. you can drop off your ballot and enjoy refreshments, giveaways, and information on the Department of Neighborhoods and what you can do to get involved with civic activities and services in your neighborhood.

Queen Anne residents can get free trees for their neighborhood, plus get a bonus fruit tree for their own yard, as part of the Seattle Department of Neighborhoods Tree Fund.  Under the Neighborhood Matching Fund program, the Tree Fund provides street trees to organized groups of neighbors who plant the free trees together to beautify their neighborhood.

The free “personal” apple or cherry tree is new this year as a way to increase the tree canopy and provide food for families.  For more information on the Tree Fund and to download an application, visit the city neighborhood website.  The deadline for applications is August 21.