Pinehurst Seattle

Pinehurst Shelter House Renovation – Update from Lorna

The Pinehurst Playfield and Shelter House is owned by the Seattle Parks Department and is located on 14th Avenue NE between NE 120th and 123rd Streets.

Urban Sparks is sponsoring the renovation of Pinehurst Shelter House. The shelter is located adjacent to Pinehurst Playfield that includes play equipment for young children, a basketball court for teens, and a lower-level baseball diamond. Completed in 2005, a group of Pinehurst residents raised the funds for a complete remodel of the playfield. Since that time the Friends of Pinehurst Shelter House (Shelter Friends) formed for the express purpose of renovating the shelter for a civic center for the Pinehurst Community Council and a community event space. Currently, the highest and only use of the shelter is for a summer teen program sponsored by the Meadowbrook Community Center.

Pelletier+Sharr is the architectural firm hired to design the improvements. The planned improvements include applying a decorative cement treatment to the floors; new lighting and doors; replacing the windows, upgrading the bathrooms, installing a food preparation area and heating system, and installing a gas fireplace. The Shelter Friends plan to install three art projects including an artistic stone or brick treatment to the floor-to-ceiling fireplace, an art project hung from the vaulted ceiling, and an art project on the patio in front of the building. New windows will be installed in the front of the building that will provide a view from the shelter to the playfield.

This is an important opportunity to create a civic center to hold community meetings and serve as event space for our growing community. Our collaborating partners include the Department of Neighborhoods, Parks Department, Pinehurst Community Council, and our fiscal sponsors Urban Sparks and Lake City Chamber of Commerce.

(click on images to enlarge)

The cost of gas is changing exurban property values and the way we live

If it is changing us this much at $4.30 per gallon, what will happen if gas reaches $6 per gallon? $8 per gallon?

This article in today’s NY Times is one of many like it that have been written in recent weeks and months.

A $99K house?

Seattle Great City Initiative has a special 99K Brownbag lunch this Monday June 23rd Cosponsored by Councilmember Sally Clark and Seattle Department of Planning and Development from 12-1:30 in the Bertha Knight Landes Room, First Floor City Hall, 600 4th Ave.

If you can’t make the lunch – check out the design here.

Jackson Park Trail Update

Thank you to everyone who wrote to Council and the levy committee in support of a Jackson Park Trail! And, thank you to Judy who spoke eloquently regarding the project at the June 17th public hearing on the projects being considered for the levy. All of you made a very strong and positive impression of the neighborhood support for a Jackson Park Trail.

Thank you also to King County Councilmember Bob Ferguson who generously wrote in support for Jackson Park Trail. A copy of his e-mail is at the Jackson Park Trail Google Group here.

Where are we now?
The levy committee will be communicating their recommendations in a final report to City Council on Friday, June 27th. We have heard that it is likely that Jackson Park Trail will not be in the final levy package, but that it will be a highly recommended project for the “opportunity fund.” The opportunity fund would be a pool of funding held for projects to apply for after a levy passes.

There is strong support at the Seattle Parks Department and from Parks Superintendent Tim Gallagher for Jackson Park Trail. And, Parks is looking at the possibility of at least partially funding trails at all Seattle Municipal Golf Courses through bonds on golf course revenue. If this does not work out, or if it is not enough to do the project, we will apply for funding through the levy opportunity fund.

Next steps:

We will keep you posted as we learn more about the possibility of funding the trail through golf course bonds.
We will apply for a City of Seattle Department of Neighborhoods Small and Simple Matching Fund grant ($15,000) to fund an initial design phase for a Jackson Park Trail. Public meetings and discussions of what the community would like to see in the park would be key parts to developing a trail design. The earliest that design discussions would start is likely in January/February 2009.

View the Jackson Park Trail Google Group here.

Living LEED at Home

photo NY Times

The NY Times has an article in Sunday’s paper on LEED certified residences –The New Trophy Home, Small and Ecological.

One of the sections in the article that gave me a chuckle was: But if a platinum ranking is a Prada label for some, for others, it is a prickly hair shirt. Try asking buyers used to conspicuous consumption (a 12,000-square-foot house) to embrace conspicuous nonconsumption (say, 2,400 square feet for a small family). My family of four lives in 950 square feet…

6/25 Final Northgate Urban Center Park Planning Meeting

Seattle Parks and Recreation is hosting the last of three workshops for the new Northgate Urban Center Park:

Wednesday, June 25, 2008
from 6:30 to 7:30 PM
Northgate Community Center (10510 5th Ave. NE)

This meeting provides community members with an opportunity to learn about the preferred plan for the Northgate Urban Center Park.

The future park is located at the intersection of 5th Avenue NE and NE 112th Street, which is currently a King County Park and Ride facility.

The Northgate community recommended this site for acquisition in the 1993 Northgate Area Comprehensive Plan. Parks expects to make the final final acquisition in April 2009, and the City is currently seeking funding for development.

Parks has worked with the Northgate community to develop a common vision and design for the future of this park. The first meeting, held on February 20, 2008, focused on creating a vision for the park. Parks then developed that vision into three design concepts presented at the second meeting on April 12, 2008. Parks staff incorporated comments gathered from the second meeting into the preferred plan which includes phasing options. This project will convert 3.73 acres of mostly asphalt to a green urban park. The park will provide open space to serve existing and future residential development in the area. It will provide amenities for low, medium and high intensity uses, creating spaces for contemplation and recreation.

For more information please visit the website or contact Kim Baldwin, project manager at kim.baldwin@seattle.gov or 206-615-0810.

Kickball was really fun…

I wish I had brought a camera! There were lots of kids and some dogs and a good deal of fun had by all.

We want to do it again – This time on a Friday night, June 27th at 7 PM at the north playfield next to Olympic Hills School (13018 20th Ave NE Seattle, WA 98125)

Maybe someone could bring a camera…

If you did not already get a flyer from the Seattle Fire Department – this is what it says:

An arson has occured in this neighborhood. The Seattle Fire Department and Seattle Police Department are actively investigating the crime. Please report any information you believe may be related to arson on the ARSON ALARM HOTLINE at 1-800-55-ARSON. A reward may be provided for information resulting in an arson conviction. Persons providing information may remain anonymous. If you see any suspicious activity taking place, please call 911 immediately.

The Seattle Fire Department urges homeowners to take the following steps.

OUTSIDE

Lock doors and windows of your home and garage.
Clear carport areas of anything that could fuel a fire.
Clean up wastepaper, long grass, weeds, litter, or anything that can burn from around buildings.
Do not allow dumpsters to become overfilled. Arrange for additional dumpsters or take refuse to transfer stations, if required.
Locate dumpsters, recycling bins and yard waste containers at least five feet away from combustible walls and openings of roof eave lines.
Trim shrubbery away from doors and windows to improve visibility.
Leave indoor and outdoor lighting on during hours of darkness. Consider installing devices that automatically turn on outdoor lights when they sense darkness or movement outside the home.

INSIDE

Test your smoke alarms once a month to make sure they will work in a fire.
Plan and practice a home fire drill. Be sure to have a family meeting place.
Obtain an escape ladder for bedrooms located on the second floor. Make sure windows and screens can be opened easily from the inside if needed for escape.

For Additional Information:
Fire Prevention Division
206-386-1450
www.seattle.gov/fire

Pinehurst Fire

The Seattle Times and the Seattle PI both report on an intentionally started fire that damaged two or three homes in the Pinehurst neighborhood early this morning.

The Seattle Times article notes that: In the coming days fire investigators plan to walk through the North Seattle neighborhood and hand out arson-prevention fliers, asking residents to be on the lookout for anything suspicious. Investigators are also asking people in the neighborhood to lock their doors and keep combustible materials away from their homes.

I asked for information but was told that it is unlikely for the Fire Dept to give out many details in a case that is this fresh. If I learn more, I will pass that on.

Pinehurst Baby Boom?

There seems to be a baby boom in Pinehurst. This is very exciting. Many neighbors who attend our meetings and who are involved in the Pinehurst neighborhood are parents of young children.

If anyone is interested in organizing park dates or other ways for young families to meet up, you are welcome to blog at this site or pass on information to be posted.

Pinehurst Seattle

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