Council Meeting Minutes September 2021

LICTON SPRINGS COMMUNITY COUNCIL

Meeting Date/Time: September 15, 6:30 P.M.

These meeting minutes were approved at the October 2021 meeting.

Attendance Notes

• Directors Present: Melanie Davies, Mike Cuadra, Liz Kearns, Bekah Gautrowski, Bob Blade, Lindsey Webb, Kathleen Braden
• General Members Present: Dianne Trani, Mary Katka, Martha Ware, Johnna Reitz, Jamie Waldock, Moses, Allan

Welcome

• Melanie started the meeting and welcomed everyone at 6:35.
• Attendees introduced themselves.

Hearing from Neighbors & Visitors

• Melanie asked for topics of discussion from attendees. Martha said she was interested in hearing more about plans for Halloween in the neighborhood. Moses was interested in learning more about the council.

Approval of Minutes & Treasurer's Report

• The minutes and Treasurer’s Report were approved.

Organization for Afghan Refugee Resettlement

• Kathleen requested this agenda item but by the time of the meeting, World Relief was no longer putting together resettlement kits.

Discussion about Halloween Event

• There was a discussion on how to move forward with a Halloween event this year given the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Melanie gave a history of the event, which has been a trick-or-treat event in Licton Springs Park with “stations” where volunteers hand out candy and cider to attendees. There have also been musicians in the past.
• Bob suggested that we make a call on whether to hold the event a week ahead of time. However, Melanie said she would need more time to organize volunteers.
• The group discussed alternative locations or confining it to one half of the park, given that there are people living in the park currently. Kathleen noted the charm of the event has been in its being spread across the whole park. Alternative potential locations were at one of the two schools on 90th, Mineral Springs Park, North Seattle College, or on the new pedestrian bridge. Lindsey will reach out to relevant contacts about the two latter locations. Residents near Mineral Springs Park pointed out the difficulty with parking in that area and historically holding meetings at Cascadia Elementary has been challenging.
• Bekah suggested a house decorating contest and house-to-house trick-or-treating with an associated map that could be distributed to residents. The event could include a prize. Melanie moved to give Bekah the go-ahead to start planning that, regardless of whether there is an in-person event. Bob seconded and the motion passed.

Response to Fire in Licton Springs Park

• Liz relayed information to the group about the fire. It happened on Saturday, September 4th. Residents across the street from the park were awoken at 4:30am, hearing glass breaking. The restroom was fully engulfed in flames. No one was hurt. No one had information about who was responsible for the fire. Seattle Parks has said informally that the structure will need to be taken down and will cost $150k to replace. Liz has not been able to get any official information however. The department has brought in two porta-potties.
• There was a discussion of statements/letters about the fire from LSCC to volunteers and other interested parties. Kathleen suggested that Liz express condolences to volunteers and that LSCC express sadness and concern to the Native American communities who just celebrated the historic status of the park. Kathleen also wanted to reiterate questions to Councilmember Juarez about plans to investigate and rebuild. She said she would reach out to UNEA as well as the landmarks board to find out whether the park’s historic landmark status will impact where it fits in the queue of parks projects to be completed. She noted that whoever burned the restroom facility also violated the city ordinance on destruction of places of historical/cultural significance.
• Kathleen will draft a letter to Councilmember Juarez’ office inquiring about any investigation. Mike suggested that the council should be thinking about going to the Park Oversight Committee and be in contact with the park commissioners (longer-term). Mike said he would talk to his contacts in constructions at the Parks department about who to talk to there.
• Liz asked about tribal involvement in getting the structure rebuilt. Bekah said this should be the City’s responsibility and the City has not given us tools to fix problems in the park. Kathleen took photos and sent them to the Seattle Times, but thus far there hasn’t been media coverage.

Pillings Pond

• Liz contacted the owner of the Pillings Pond property and the adjacent house to find more about what’s going on there currently. They are looking for someone to rent the house. This would be at a reduced rate, but the renters are also responsible for feeding the ducks in the morning and evening. The person next door and a few other people are volunteering while the owner looks for new renters.

By-Laws Committee

• Bekah will send a by-laws related email by the end of the month. Board members should look through the discussion questions. She expects the by-laws review/revision process to be complete by the end of the year.

LSCC History

• Melanie and Mary gave a summary of the history of the Licton Springs Community Council for new attendees. LSCC’s main goals include making neighborhood resident voices heard and trying to connect people to information on issues they care about that are relevant to the neighborhood.

Minutes by Lindsey Webb, Secretary

Next meeting: October 20

Licton Springs Community Council Monthly Treasurer Report

09/15/2021 through 10/20/2021

NOTES:

• Ending balance includes $10.00 held in PayPal account.
• We received an email from Fred Meyer on 4/8/2020 of a $0.44 donation but this has not reached our Verity account and will not until it reaches $25.00