The Ravenna-Bryant Community Association and the Laurelhurst Community Club will jointly host a candidates' forum on October 20, 1997, beginning at 7:30 p.m. in the Ravenna Eckstein Community Center. The following candidates have accepted our invitation to come and answer questions about what they will do if elected: King County Executive candidate Suzette Cooke, and a stand-in for Ron Sims; Mayoral candidates Paul Schell and Charlie Chong; City Council candidates Sherry Harris and Richard Conlin (Position 2), Thomas Goldstein and Peter Steinbrueck (Position 3), Nick Licata and Aaron Ostrom (Position 6) and Richard McIver (Position 8).

Candidates for County Executive will speak at 7:30 p.m., candidates for Mayor at 8:00, and candidates for City Council at 8:30. The meeting will adjourn between 9:30 and 10:00 p.m.

Our neighborhood faces some big issues. The Legislature has directed the University of Washington to grow by almost 10,000 students in the next six years. This will place incredible strain on housing, parking and street use in the surrounding neighborhoods.

This past summer RBCA and twelve other community groups met with the University to re-negotiate the City-University-Community Advisory Council (CUCAC) agreement. In it the University and surrounding community groups established a framework in which we can try to resolve some of the inevitable conflicts which will arise as the University's need for growth pushes it into the surrounding neighborhoods. That agreement is now being sent to the City, which must decide whether to join it or to force the neighborhoods and the University to work only through the Major Institutions Code. The Code is much less appealing to the neighborhoods, which would prefer to sit directly at the table with the University. Will the new mayor and city council members recommend signing the new agreement?

This past session the Legislature also authorized funds for a study of traffic crossing Lake Washington. While the outline of the study is still nebulous it seems clear the options are to either reduce the demand for roads by improving mass transit and making it too expensive to drive, or to force a widened freeway onto a neighborhood that doesn't want it. The City has not yet allocated money for staff in its transportation department to work on this issue. How knowledgeable are the candidates about this issue? Are they willing to commit City resources to make sure this study is not dominated by other cities?

Some reports are in on the proposal to daylight Ravenna Creek. King County, through the strong efforts of Councilwoman Cynthia Sullivan, has committed several million dollars to the project. The City must now agree to maintain the creek if it is daylighted. The county must decide if there is support for any of the three suggested routes and if the dollars can be found to make it happen. Will the candidates support the creek? Will they put money on the table?

These and many other issues face our neighborhood in the very near future. Come ask questions and hear what the candidates have to say. The meeting room will open at 7:30. Lucky early arrivals can help set up chairs and meet neighbors. Laurelhurst has promised to bring cookies and Ravenna-Bryant will fire up the community center coffeepot. We'll see you there.

Ravenna Urban Village residents, business owners, and property owners have been working hard to define what is most important to our community, how to make it a better place to live, and how to absorb the growth that is happening even now.

RUV is one of the three "urban villages" that make up the University Community Urban Center (UCUC). RUV is bounded (roughly) by 22nd NE on the West, NE 55th, 26th NE, NE Blakeley, and NE Union Bay Place on the North and East, and NE 45th on the South. The area includes Ravenna Springs, the Ravenna Woods, UW Student Housing, and the University Village.

We have held four big workshops so far, each preceded by major outreach efforts to businesses, residents, and property owners. The response has been very good, and participants have produced excellent ideas for improving the neighborhood. These ideas include specific proposals for acquiring and preserving open space, new P-patches, traffic and transportation improvements, pedestrian safety enhancements, new transit routes, parking improvements, and building design and zoning policies.

At the most recent meeting, held on September 15, the collected ideas were presented in survey form, discussed, then given priority ratings. Using this information we now must produce a plan which the neighborhood will ratify, which integrates with the UCUC plan, and is written in a language that can also be ratified by the City Council.

UCUC will host a Community Planning Open House on October 21, from 7:00 to 9:30 p.m, at the University Branch Library, at NE 50th and Roosevelt NE. RUV will have a display there showing what we have done so far.

For more information, call Kit O'Neill, at 524-6192, or Pete Fiddler, at 525-2012.

Representatives of the Ravenna-Bryant Community and the Seattle Police Department's Crime Prevention Division will host a meeting open to Ravenna-Bryant residents and business owners. The Crime Prevention Division wants to work with people who are interested in forming a neighborhood committee to work on crime and public safety concerns in our area. Block watch captains are encouraged to attend. The meeting will be on Wednesday, October 15, at 7:30 p.m., at the Ravenna Eckstein Community Center, 6535 Ravenna Ave. N.E. Call Diane Horswill (Seattle Police Department) at 684-7711 for more information.

The Washington State Department of Transportation has begun a study of travel across Lake Washington (by expanding the 520 bridge), or around it (by building a new highway through Lake City). It is being coordinated by the Office of Urban Mobility in Seattle (phone 464-5878).

The RBCA board needs interested residents to join us in representing our community during this important process. Please call Al Rasmussen, at 525-9147, for more information.

The engineering feasibility study that has been in process in some form for nearly three years is now complete. Daylighting Ravenna Creek is feasible-but expensive. The Ravenna Creek Alliance is seeking time and a partnership with the City of Seattle and Metropolitan King County to use the currently allocated three million dollars as matching funds to raise the remaining funding necessary.

The preferred route for the creek is no longer through the University Village. The proposal is for it to flow South along the Burke-Gilman Trail as the Trail heads toward the UW campus, then under the 45th Street viaduct.

A public hearing is being held on October 9, approximately when this newsletter goes to press. The hearing represents the final stage of the feasibility study, and provides an opportunity for the community to testify.

Meetings involving both the wastewater (former Metro) and the surface water (former Surface Water Management) sections of the County Department of Natural Resources, and the Ravenna Creek Alliance are in process now. A meeting of the Ravenna Creek Alliance with the Parks and the Utilities Committees of the City Council is scheduled for the end of October.

So after several years of suspended animation as far as the community was concerned, things are starting to happen! For detailed, up-to-the-minute information, see the Ravenna Creek Alliance web site at http://weber.u.washington.edu/~ravenna.

The Department of Neighborhoods' Youth Working in Communities Fund provides money for young people to plan and implement projects in their neighborhood or school. The fund gives young people the opportunity to be valued and respected as contributors to the betterment of the community.

The fund accepts applications for a maximum of one thousand dollars for each youth-led project. Young people are encouraged to use their skills, talents, leadership, and work ethic to develop a group project that can make a difference.

Project applications awarded from the Youth Fund must propose to do at least one of the following:

• physically improve a community or school,
• solve a problem, or
• empower youth through organizing, education, or information.

Assistance in planning a project and submitting an application is available on request.

To request an application, call 684-0464. Garry Owens is available to answer questions or give assistance at 684-0718.

The RBCA is working on ways to share important news more quickly, improve communication in our neighborhood, and add to our sense of community. Here is what we are doing:

Web page

Ravenna-Bryant now has a home on the web, at http://www.scn.org/neighbors/rbca (using space provided by the Seattle Community Network). So far the home page includes an event calendar, copies of recent newsletters, links to interesting sites, and, of course, a plea for contributions and help with newsletter delivery. If you know of any relevant or interesting web pages we should link to (maybe your own?) please call Pete Fiddler, at 525-2012, or send e-mail to rbca@scn.org.

E-mail news distribution list

We are compiling an e-mail distribution list for Ravenna-Bryant community members, through which we will broadcast time-critical community news. If you would like your e-mail address added to the list, please send it to us at rbca@scn.org. (You can resign at any time, and information about you will not be shared with any other organization.)

Other ideas?

We are also looking for ways for all Ravenna-Bryant community members to share information electronically with their neighbors. One idea is to set up a service exchange system on the web. If you have any ideas on improving neighborhood communication by electronic (or any other) means, we would like to hear from you. Call Beth Williams, at (425) 957-5152, or send e-mail to rbca@scn.org.

Free e-mail

The Seattle Community Network (SCN) offers free e-mail accounts. You can get a brochure that tells how to apply at any Seattle Public Library branch, or see SCN's home page, at http://www.scn.org. Then, also free, you can use terminals at the library to send and receive e-mail.

Free e-mail classes

The library offers free e-mail introduction classes. Sign up for a class at the downtown library by calling the Seattle Public Library Quick Information Center at 386-4636, or sign up for a class at the NE Branch library (at NE 68th and 35th NE) by calling Beth Williams, at (425) 957-5152.

The Sand Point Environmental Stewardship Committee and the Seattle Adopt-a-Park Program are sponsoring a native species planting party at Magnuson Park. Volunteer work parties throughout the spring and summer have been preparing the area for planting. Now the fun begins. Meet on Saturday, November 1, 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., West of Kite Hill at Magnuson Park. For more information, please call Catherine at 320-0794.

RBCA and its members work hard on issues important to you. We want new contributing members, and need volunteers to distribute the newsletter and work on projects. Annual dues are only $10.00. Your dues allow us to continue distributing this newsletter and keep you informed. Return this form with your dues to: Ravenna-Bryant Community Association, Ravenna Eckstein Community Center, 6535 Ravenna Ave. NE, Seattle, WA 98115. You will receive the newsletter and other special mailings, and know that you've made a contribution to help your community.

NAME ______________________________________ E-MAIL ________________________

ADDRESS _________________________________________ PHONE ___________________

AREAS OF INTEREST OR CONCERN  _____________________________________________

Ravenna Eckstein Community Center
6535 Ravenna Avenue NE
Seattle, WA 98115

FALL PUBLIC MEETING & CANDIDATES' FORUM -- MONDAY, OCTOBER 20, 7:30 p.m.