by Jack Mayne

Seattle City Council President Richard Conlin says financing for a new South Park Bridge is 75 percent complete thanks to money promised from the Seattle City Council and other public resources.

“In mid-June all nine members of the (Seattle) City Council have signed a letter to King County Executive Dow Constantine pledging $15 million towards replacing the South Park Bridge,” Conlin wrote in his newsletter. “This was the first concrete pledge towards meeting . . . Constantine’s goal of funding the replacement. The King County Council quickly added $30 million in county funds, and the State, Port, and Puget Sound Regional Council have added another $52 million in pledges.

“Together, these pledges make up almost 75 percent of the $130.8 million estimated cost of the project,” he said. “Given the favorable contracting environment, it is quite possible that the county will be able to go out to bid if the federal government can be persuaded to add $20 to $30 million.”

The bridge was closed on June 30 because the 80-year old bridge was damaged beyond repair during the 2001 Nisqually earthquake. Because the bridge spans a navigable waterway, it must be left open until it is removed so that shipping from upstream on the Duwamish River can move to and from Elliott Bay. Drivers from Burien and White Center and beyond must either use First Avenue South or another route into Seattle.

Attempts to get money from federal financial stimulus programs have so far failed.

Conlin says he is proud the Seattle City Council was the first to make a “concrete commitment” for money to replace the bridge. In addition, the councilmember says Seattle has “sponsored action” by the Puget Sound Regional Council for an additional $9 million “from out share of a possible future federal jobs bill, and the City has spent nearly $1 million in support of King County’s environmental review and design of the replacement bridge.”

He said the Council is “also promising to not submit or support any competing applications” future federal stimulus grants.

The Seattle City Council President says the City does not have an identifiable source for the $15 million it has pledged, and he suggests it could come from a voter approved bond issue known as Bridging The Gap, a fund used for special project including filling Seattle’s plethora of potholes, a fund already used by a mayor and Council grasping for money to fill a huge budget gap.

“There will always be competing priorities, but we are making this commitment because the South Park community needs our help and support,” Conlin says. “The South Park Bridge also plays a critical role in freight mobility and economic vitality for the city and region. The Council believes that Seattle must not only ensure the economic health of Seattle and our neighborhoods, but play a positive role in ensuring regional prosperity.”

The bridge is on a County island and is County property. The City has indicated an interest in annexing the unincorporated area, but only after the County replaces the bridge.

The Seattle Times is reporting that Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn and the City Council have decided to delay an annexation of the White Center area until at least 2011 because paying for services there would be so expensive.

According to the Times:

Annexing the area, part of the North Highline annexation area, could cost Seattle $12.6 million a year more than it would generate in new taxes, plus $8.7 million in one-time costs, according to a preliminary analysis by the city Budget Office. The area has about 20,000 residents.

With the city facing a $50 million shortfall in its general fund, the mayor decided to withdraw his earlier recommendation and campaign promise that residents of that area vote this fall on whether they want to join Seattle.

An analysis was presented Friday (March 19) to the council’s Regional Development and Sustainability Committee, and reports are that council members said the presentation was the first real cost estimate they had seen.

We’ll see how the City of Burien responds to this news. Keep in mind that Burien’s annexation of southern North Highline goes into effect April 1st.

Read the Times full story here.

Our friends at the White Center Community Development Association alert us to an upcoming educational business seminar on small business tax, funding and financing on Monday, March 15th from 6pm – 8pm at Chase Bank (1616 SW 100th Street).

Here are the details:

WHAT: Educational seminar on small business tax, funding and financing.

WHEN: Monday, March 15th from 6pm – 8pm.

WHERE: Chase Bank Meeting Room, located at 1616 SW 100th Street in White Center.

INFO: From a flier:

Do you own or think of owning a business in White Center? Do you have business tax-related questions?

Are you interested in finding out about funding/financing sources to start/operate your business?

Would you like to pick the brain of an expert in business development and a couple of CPAs?

You are invited to: AN EDUCATION SEMINAR ON SMALL BUSINESS TAX, FUNDING & FINANCING

Presented: Cornerstone Funding Company

Location:    Chase Bank – Meeting Room

Address:    1616 SW 100th Street

Date & Time: Monday, March 15 6pm – 8pm

RSVP is required by emailing Nhan Nguyen at nhan@wccda.org or call 206.694.1082 Ext. 166.

The Highline School Board voted unanimously Wednesday night (Mar. 3rd) to move ahead with a federal grant application that would require major changes at White Center’s Cascade Middle School, as well as SeaTac’s Chinook Middle School.

Cascade Middle School is located at 11212 10th Avenue SW in White Center.

Here are more details from a press release sent to us:

The grant opportunity is part of new federal regulations that identify high-poverty schools with large numbers of struggling students. In order to get the funds, districts must agree to restructure the schools by next fall.

Last week, a team of 45 people, including teachers, central office staff, parents, and community partners, gathered for a two-day summit to begin formulating a restructuring plan. Sarah Weir of the White Center Community Development Association, one of the community partners to participate on the planning team, said she left the summit “feeling really optimistic about the passion and commitment of the people who serve our kids.”

“We recognize the need for school reform. We believe all students are capable of reaching their dreams, and we’re excited about the possibilities these changes will mean for our students,” said Chinook teacher Amber Larson. She emphasized that “school staff, central office leaders, the school board, and parents all hold responsibility and need to work together to make changes.”

Theresa Carlson, Cascade teacher and vice-president of the Highline Education Association, agreed, “We need to start climbing this mountain and taking some risks. We are all in this together.”

The school board endorsed the planning team’s outline and directed the district to submit the federal grant application on Friday. Elements of the plan include:

• Increasing accountability of the school board, central office administrators, and parents, as well as teachers; and giving a senior administrator authority to make bold decisions to support the schools.
• Increasing involvement of parents and community organizations in the schools through two-way communication, bi-lingual staff, parent advisory teams, and other means.
• Developing new ways of evaluating staff and providing meaningful incentives for staff and administrators.
• Rethinking the way school is delivered, such as trying innovative ways of structuring the school day.
• Use strategies that have been successful in other high-poverty, highly diverse schools, such as adjusting schools schedules to provide more learning time.
• Setting ambitious goals for student improvement and expecting all students to become prepared for post-high school education and the workplace.

The planning team also calls for the school district to support the restructuring plans through policy, technical assistance, commitment from the school board, and creation of a plan to sustain the changes beyond the life of the three-year grant.

Superintendent John Welch told the school board the plan “builds on the great work that is already happening at Chinook and Cascade.”

The federal accountability program requires school districts to choose one of four restructuring models:

• Closure: Close the school and send students to other schools in the district. The school board ruled out this option for Chinook and Cascade because other middle schools do not have room to accommodate all students.
• Restart: Open the school under a third party education management organization. This option was also rejected since charter schools are not allowed in Washington and the state has not issued a list of approved third parties.
• Turnaround: replace principal and at least 50% of staff. This option was also eliminated.
• Transformation: Replace the principal, reform the instructional model, develop teacher evaluations with student growth as a factor, increase community engagement, and extend learning time.

The school board decided last week to use the “transformation” model at both schools.

Highline Superintendent Welch acknowledges that the four federal models take a narrow approach to improving student achievement.

“The models imply that sole responsibility for getting middle school students to grade level is with the middle school teachers and principals,” said Welch. “We know there are other issues that need to be addressed—in elementary schools, in our system as a whole, and in the community. Still, this is an opportunity to gain some resources we haven’t had before to tackle issues at the middle school level.”

The school district expects to know by March 26 if the funds will be granted. The money could start flowing to the schools by April. If that happens, teachers would start professional development this summer. There could also be summer programs for incoming 7th graders. The schools would open in September with the changes in place.

According to the White Center Community Development Association, funding is available for facade improvements in Downtown White Center.

Local businesses based in the “downtown” area of the Dub-C can get up to $10,000 to re-design or improve their storefronts, and/or up to $2,500 for new signage or awnings for their business.

The program aims to:

• Beautify Downtown White Center
• Strengthen our local businesses
• Increase public safety
• Build pride in our community

The WCCDA announcement continues:

The White Center Façade Grant program is designed to improve the appearance of the business district by encouraging property and/or business owners to make physical improvements in their storefronts. The White Center CDA will offer a grant to help offset the costs of the improvements. In some cases, the grant may pay for the majority of the work. This program will take place from February 2010 – July 2010. The program is administered by the White Center CDA.

Program Goals
:

• Stimulate economic activity and increase business viability through good design visible to customers, neighboring merchants and residents.
• Renew or improve the exterior of businesses in a manner that recaptures the integrity of the buildings’ design and character.
• Enhance the shoppers’ experience of the commercial district.
• Improve neighborhood safety.
• Encourage investment in the neighborhood.

Eligible projects include: 
Non structural building improvements such as new signs, new awnings, painting, replacement of doors and windows, new lighting or lighting improvements, removal of bars on storefront windows.

For more information, download the Application by clicking here (PDF file).

Our friends at White Center for the Arts (WCFTA) tell us that they’re trying to develop a local Art Gallery/Coffee House that could be used as a “home” of sorts for our community’s culture and arts.

WCFTA will be celebrating its one-year anniversary on Feb. 20th, and over its short lifespan has provided monthly art walks, after-school art programs, galleries for local artists and much more.

They’re looking for donations, starting at just $10 and continuing up to whatever you can give – here’s a link to their website where you can safely and securely donate online. Some employers will even match your gift donations.

And here’s an email sent out by WCFTA Chair Shelli Park:

Dear Lovers of Art in White Center,

White Center for the Arts (WCFTA) believes that the White Center community’s rich tapestry of culture and local arts should be shared with everyone. Our work to establish a permanent home for the arts in the neighborhood is off to a great start! In the past six months we:

• Established an after-school art program in the local Highline District Middle and High School
• Established the Third Saturday Art Walk, exhibiting more than 25 local artists in 9 months time.
• Are hosting Community Artists Meetings to open the lines of communication
• Established a working relationship with local, county, and state arts organizations and continue to identify and foster new partnerships within the community to create a web of services and support for artists and youth.
• Partnered with the YWCA at Greenbridge to showcase local artists in the lobby on a quarterly basis, and are working with Youth Media Institute and the Highline School District to implement non-violent extracurricular creative youth activities in the schools and in the White Center Downtown Business District.

But we have more work to do, and we are in urgent need of your support so that we can create the anchor of our vision and visiability, DREAM Community Gallery.  We are asking for a small donation of $10.00 from 100 people, a $15.00 donation from 55 people, and 10 $100.00 donations.  You will be supporting the entire White Center Cultural Community, helping to give visibility to local artists in all media, ages, and neighborhoods. A gift right now will assure that WCFTA can continue on our mission to be a catalyst for the coming together of the arts and cultural community of White Center.  The time has come for a permanent home for the arts in White Center. Our current projects are:

DREAM, a Community Gallery sustained by an in-house Coffee House, providing un-juried exhibition space for local artists and performers, and providing a safe gathering place, and empowering activities, for youth

Development of our arts education programming

Collection of oral histories and artifacts for a permanent local history collection

Facilitating cross medium and cross cultural collaborations, and continuing to bring positive business to White Center through the Art Walk

We appreciate gifts of any amount, and in return WCFTA is working hard to promote art and culture in the daily life of White Center residents. We are to receive a $5,000 grant. We need more to open our Community Gallery by February 20th, the first anniversary of White Center for the Arts.  We have scheduled two dance performances, a musician, and two artists for the evening of February 20th, and they are counting on your gift to help make this happen.  When combined with the work of our dedicated volunteers, established, emerging, and students artists, the community as a whole will benefit from seeing our mission to bring art, and the celebration of culture and heritage to all of White Center and its neighbors, succeed.

To give a tax deductible donation, visit our website: www.whitecenterforthearts.org.

Sincerely,
Shelli Park
Chair, White Center for the Arts

P.S. You may be fortunate enough to have an employer that will match your gift. This is a great opportunity to give maximum impact with your gift to White Center for the Arts.

Federal, state, and King County officials will meet Friday morning at 10:30am next to the crumbling South Park Bridge to mark the final step in the pre-construction planning to replace the 78-year-old span over the Duwamish River.

In September, King County submitted an application for a Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grant to the U.S. Department of Transportation. The county and its project partners are requesting $99 million toward the replacement cost of the bridge. The grants will be awarded early next year.

According to a press release:

“…representatives from King County, the Federal Highway Administration, and the Washington State Department of Transportation will sign off on the final environmental review and talk about what’s next for the project.”

Right there next to the bridge.

Rain or shine.

Supposedly.

Here are the details if you want to go monitor ‘em:

WHAT: A bunch of officials doing a photo op next to the South Park Bridge

WHEN: Friday, Dec. 18th at 10:30 a.m.

WHERE: Southwest side of the South Park Bridge, 14th Avenue South & South Orr Street, Seattle

We recently received an update on the status of White Center’s Evergreen Pool from the folks at Whitewater Aquatics, and the most current info we have is that Whitewater made a presentation to the Highline School Board last week.

The basics from their Powerpoint presentation (download link here):

• Whitewater needs more funding to re-open the pool in March 2010.
• If Whitewater can reach agreement with the Highline School District (HSD) to manage the pool, it will be opened to all members of the community for swim lessons, senior exercise, family swims and swim teams.
• If Whitewater does not take over operation of Evergreen Pool, the mothballed facility will revert to HSD in March 2010 presumably still closed and in need of repairs. The funds committed by King County to repair and re-open the pool could be lost.
• Whitewater has privately raised $50,000 to fund our operating costs as we open and re-establish operations.

Here are the details from their presentation we received via email from Julie Dow:

Ed Marrs presented the attached to The Highline School Board this week, on behalf of the parents of Whitewater Swim Club and our efforts to save Evergreen Pool . We’re in our “11-th hour” but, yet, remain optimistic. The county is trying to help, but time is ticking. The school board is deciding. We need to get the pool open by March to succeed with our plan, we’ve raised quite a bit of money privately, we need to move quickly.

HISTORY OF EVERGREEN POOL

• Evergreen Pool was one of the many area pools funded by “Forward Thrust” bonds.
• Ownership of the pool reverts to HSD from King County in March 201o.
• King County closed the pool September 1, 2009, but has approved budgeted funds for needed repairs and contingency.
• The pool and surrounding ball fields were “excluded” from the annexation area of Burien, the city choosing instead to allow these resources to revert to The Highline School District.
• Whitewater Swim Club (established in 2002) has been working for nearly a year to form and fund a not-for-profit llc, WWAM to manage the pool.
• Due to re-organization of County Execs office, the county has decided not to work on a lease of only 3 months, instead asking WWAM to work directly with HSD.

WHO IS WHITEWATER AQUATICS MANAGEMENT LLC?

• We are a non-profit group formed by leaders of our community for the sole purpose of operating Evergreen Pool in a private-public partnership. Our detailed business plan is attached to this summary.
• We have privately raised $50,000 to fund our operating costs as we open and re-establish operations.
• We have worked extensively over the last year to secure community support, $300,000 in funding from King County and to build a coalition that will re-open this valuable community resource. We seek to open the pool to meet immediate community needs and to be part of a long term solution for this asset.
• We manage a separate entity, Whitewater Swim Club, a not-for-profit swim club which is governed by a parent board of directors and professionally managed. We are sanctioned by USA Swimming and have over 70 youths age 7-21 on our team. Several of our swimmers compete on Highline High and Mt. Rainier High Swim Teams. The swim club will pay for its pool time to the LLC which manages the pool.

WHAT ARE HSD’s OPTIONS?

• If WWAM can reach agreement with HSD to manage the pool, the pool will be opened to all members of the community for swim lessons, senior exercise, family swims and swim teams.
• If WWAM does not take over operation of Evergreen Pool, the mothballed facility will revert to HSD in March 2010 presumably still closed and in need of repairs. The funds committed by King County to repair and re-open the pool could be lost.

WHY EVERGREEN MATTERS

• A positive youth activity.
• An economically challenged neighborhood, White Center, needs good alternatives.
• A “no cut” sport that is inclusive to all, from the disabled to the competitive.
• We are surrounded by water. The death rate from drowning is nearly twice the national average in low income areas.
• Creating life long fitness and activity habits and impacting child obesity rates.

WHAT WILL EVERGREEN OFFER W/WWAM AS MANAGER?

• Community and Family Swim time
• Senior Citizen Water Exercise and Social Programs
• Lifeguard Training
• Swimming Lessons for Children, including free or low cost lessons for low income families
• Competitive Swim Club for youth ages seven to twenty one, including athletes from Highline Schools
• Training for tri athletes and adult competitors
• Water Safety Instruction for boating and general safety
• Scuba Certification Training
• Adult Exercise and Swim Lessons

WWAM IS ASKING HSD FOR:

• Ten year “lease” at $1.00 per year.
• No financial support from the district.
• A contact person with HSD who is empowered to work with WWAM toward mutual goals.
• An agreement in place in the near term. To meet the income requirements of a solid business plan, the pool must be open for the “busy” spring lesson season, not later than March 1, 2010.
• Assistance in involving municipalities to provide a long term plan for the pool and area needs.
• Hold capital contingency funds provided by the county in a reserve to be used as needed.

A COMMUNITY OF SUPPORTERS

• Dow Constantine
• North Highline Area Unincorporated Council
• 34th District Democrats

PREVIOUS COVERAGE:

• Burien City Council Reacts To County’s Desire To Sell Puget Sound Park
• Update On Status Of Evergreen Pool From Whitewater Aquatics
• PHOTOS & SOUNDS: Scenes From Monday Night’s Rally To Save Evergreen Pool
• Want To Save Evergreen Pool? Rally Tonight From 5-7pm
• King County “Mothballing” 39 Parks, More Than A Third Of Which Are In The Area

Here’s an opportunity for all you budding artists, cultural, heritage and other groups in the Dub-C seeking funding for projects in these lean times:

4Culture, the cultural services agency for King County, will be holding a FREE workshop on Thursday, Feb. 12th on project funding for artists, heritage specialists, art groups, arts organizations and heritage organizations.

Applications for project support will be available in early 2009.

Potential applicants are encouraged to attend this free workshop to learn tips on how to get funding.

Staff members Heather Dwyer, Doreen Mitchum and Eric Taylor will answer questions about upcoming funding opportunities and share their tips on how to put together a successful application.

Everyone interested in arts and heritage is invited to attend.

WHAT: FREE workshop on obtaining project funding from 4Culture

WHEN: Thursday, Feb. 12th from 5:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.

WHERE: Meeting Room, Greenbridge Library, 9720 Eighth Avenue SW, White Center (map below)

INFO: According to their website:

4Culture is the cultural services agency for King County, Washington providing programs, financial support and services in the arts, public art, heritage and historic preservation for all residents and visitors in King County.

4Culture is a new model for public support of cultural programs. It combines the resources of the public sector with the flexibility of a non-profit. Through the integration of four program areas, 4Culture stimulates cultural activity and enhances the assets that distinguish our communities as vibrant, unique, and authentic.

4Culture is a tax-exempt public corporation, with a fifteen member Board of Directors, who are nominated by the King County Executive and confirmed by the Metropolitan King County Council.

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