MINUTES

FREMONT NEIGHBORHOOD COUNCIL MEETING

September 27, 2004

BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT: Benjamin Grossman, Pete Hanning, Julia DeBroux, Alan Younker, Norma Jones, April Thanos, Vafa Ghazi, Toby Thaler, Matt Stevenson, Chip Nevins, George Heideman.

GENERAL ANNOUNCEMENTS: Board member introductions. There will be a Neighborhood Business District meeting on September 29^th from 7:00 to 9:00 pm at City Hall. We have received information concerning the graffiti tags in the neighborhood, but reliability of the information is unknown. There will be a transfer station meeting on October 4^th. The first RPZ meeting will take place at 7:00 pm on October 13^th at the Fremont Community Church. A second meeting will take place at 7:00 pm on November 10^th. October 2^nd is the last day to register to vote.

TREASURER’S REPORT: April Thanos provided the following information for inclusion in the minutes:

$ 450.94 Checking

$ 215.96 Savings

$29,478.74 CD1

$31,079.53 MM

Total assets: $61,225.17

CHHIP disbursements ;

$ 5,100.00

$ 5,183.50

$ 6,883.00

$ 7,616.00

$ 3,534.82

Total $ 28,317.32

MINUTES: The June 2004 minutes were approved as corrected.

COMMITTEE REPORTS:

LAND USE: There was a Fremont/Wallingford meeting earlier tonight. The proposed guidelines and changes are probably okay with the neighborhood. Businesses in the area may have more objections regarding the design guidelines. There has not been any outreach thus far.

FNC received a response from Suzie Burke regarding the Fremont Dock property. The letter said they will let the FNC know when they have a tenant and know what the use will be.

GUERILLA GARDENING: There is no date or plan to hold a fall Guerilla Gardening event. The next event will be in the spring.

PARKS & OPEN SPACE: Chip Nevins reported that there was a good turn out at the Ernst Park dedication on September 12^th. He said that the park name is not inappropriate, but the process for choosing the name was inappropriate. Chip will contact the City about the process. The City has tried to acquire the property next to the park for the last ten years. Motion and second to have Chip write a letter to the City to encourage acquisition of the property. Passed.

The second Ross Shelter House meeting will be held on September 28^th from 7:00- 9:00 pm. There is a Ross descendant who lives in Wallingford.

The crosswalk at third NW has been removed in conjunction with the Leary Project. The City says this is standard policy, but the fact that there was no notification in six months of meetings is a concern for the neighbors.

On the Fred Meyer mitigation, a traffic circle on 45^th is in place, but other projects have not been done. Fred Meyer thinks they have fulfilled their responsibility, but there has not been any action. Motion and second to write a letter to the City regarding the lack of action by Fred Meyer.

COMMUNICATIONS: Alan Younker reported that Julia DeBroux, Chip Nevins, and Matt Stevenson have provided articles for the newsletter. Toby Thaler will send information. We may want to include information on affordable housing, public safety, and a reminder to vote.

AFFORDABLE HOUSING: The design review meeting had good neighborhood participation. Most thought the report was reasonable. The design has been refined and the waivers are minimal. CHHIP had a meeting with the city, who no longer has workforce affordable housing as a high priority. The City wants more consideration of disability development. They might consider changing the plan to affordable condos. The financial commitment from the FNC is uncertain if they change to condos. CHHIP is committed to ensuring no financial loss to the FNC. The other possibility is to consider lower income housing which might qualify for more city funding. An option for ‘lease to own’ could be explored. An Affordable Housing committee meeting was tentatively set for October 14^th

LIQUOR RELATED ISSUES: Vafa Ghazi met with Marko without concrete results. King County non-profits have mediation at no charge when there are two parties (there is a charge when there are more than two parties). We might be able to use this service to get an agreement among bar owners regarding actions to mitigate the situation and get off-duty police officers in Fremont. There was an article in the Seattle Times about Fremont being ‘party central’ in Seattle. The FNC may want Benjamin Grossman to send a letter to the Times. The Chamber of Commerce position is to show more concern about businesses in the area as a whole. There was a big response to the Chamber meeting. There has been an upturn in break-ins to businesses in the area in the last two years. They are looking at making a Seattle Police Community office in Fremont. The ‘Great Neighbor Agreement’ is being reworked and circulated.

OLD BUSINESS:

Bicycle Board and Bridge Approach-Matt Stevenson reported that there was a victory on the Fremont Bridge concerns. There will be better access and lanes on the bridge going south. There will also be improvements going north. Disruption planning is in progress. There is concern about routes on 34^th west of Fremont. Richard Conlin is involved in the Bicycle Collaborative. Chip Nevins and Matt are on the committee for NW Seattle. Concerns should be communicated to Matt or Chip.

RPZ- Julia DeBroux reported the meeting dates are October 13^th and November 10^th. They currently have 37 people who want to be involved in the design committee selection. The City recommends a smaller group. They are going to ask some people to step down. The committee works by consensus.

Traffic Calming-Julia DeBroux reported that a timeline extension was negotiated due to the unconventional design of the traffic calming, and the pledge conditions were accepted. Motion and second that the FNC accept the pledge conditions for the $10,000 grant toward traffic calming. Passed.

Zoo-They want to move the garage to the North end of the zoo.

NEW BUSINESS: Vicki from the Coop Fremont Mapping Project reported that they are looking at sustainable neighborhoods. They are going to the City for funding of a survey of businesses in the neighborhood to find locally owned and sustainable business. Fremont is the model for this activity, which has not been introduced in other neighborhoods to date. A sustainable business could be sustainable socially, environmentally, or in other ways.

Meeting adjourned.