The meeting was called to order at 7:05 PM.

Attending: Jeannie Hale, Don Torrie, Stan Sorscher, Maggie Weissman, Mark Trumbauer, Shaun Whitcomb, Jim Romano, John Burge, Kate Lloyd, Barb Ragee, Jennifer Biely, Mark Holden, Dermot Noonan

Excused: John Clark, Mimi Levin, Bonnie Zinn, Joe Herrin, Shahina Piyarali, Susan Torrance

GUESTS: Wendy Long, Paul Atwater, Susan Rucker, Art and June Butler, John Dotson, Ken Hughes, Tom Golding, Karen Ho

Paul Atwater spoke on behalf of Fire Fighters in support of the Fire Facilities and Emergency Response Levy. He described 50 years of deferred investment in infrastructure. About half our fire stations have safety issues such as earthquake deficiencies toxic gases, or clean-up. Stations should also be upgraded to accommodate increases in women fire fighter. The levy would also provide shared training facilities in South Park. This levy is separate from the operating funds requested in the Medic 1 levy.

Changes to the Agenda: The Sand Point housing report will be deferred until August.

Minutes: Motion by Holden, seconded by Ragee: Approve the June 9 meeting minutes. Motion passed unanimously. Motion by Lloyd, seconded by Weissman: Approve the minutes from the special June 26 th meeting. Motion passed unanimously.

Garbage/Recycle Service: Clyde Westrom emailed on 7/02/03 to report that for the past two or three months, every Wednesday, at 4:00 a.m. Emerald City Disposal (Rabanco) comes and picks up garbage from the Coffee Crew business at 3600 NE 45th. The beeping from the truck backing up and the banging from the metal garbage can wakes up everyone for quite some distance. Westrom was put in touch with Paul Klemond who has also worked on the problem. Klemond provided Westrom with the names and phone numbers of contact people at Rabanco and Waste Management, Inc. and instructed Westrom to get the truck number painted on the side of the truck and then make the phone calls. Westrom agreed to do this.

Email Network: Sally Revere and Dolores Petra emailed on 6/23/03 to thank LCC for last month’s email message to the neighborhood. Petra volunteered to do research on issues for LCC and expressed interest in the cell tower issue.

UW Lease Lid: Dan Evans emailed on 6/23/03 in response to LCC request that he work with us to develop a compromise on the lease lid issue. He responded that he thought the lease lid was an abomination and unnecessary. He emailed again on 6/27/03 suggesting that LCC work voluntarily with the UW on items of direct interest to the neighborhood now that the Council has passed the lease lid legislation. Hale responded that LCC has worked cooperatively with the UW on many issues--funding for The Ave improvements, the University Area Transportation Study, support for early implementation funds for the neighborhood plan, just to name a few. She added that the trustees see these issues, as well as the lease lid and master plan, of direct interest to our community because of traffic and transportation issues and other concerns. In her message to Evans, Hale stated that the City recognized this years ago in designating Laurelhurst within the primary and secondary impact zones and affording Laurelhurst a seat on the City University Community Advisory Committee.

Mail Delivery Problems: On 7/08/03 Sorscher emailed about a mail delivery mishap. Sorscher spoke to Mr. Lin at the University Post office and learned that mail for several blocks of the Town of Yesler was delivered to the wrong addresses or left in a heap. Mr. Lin explained that this time of year, vacations and other scheduling problems result in "casual" or temporary letter carriers who get confused or have trouble learning the routes.

Cornelian Cherry Trees at CUH: Tom Hinckley, Director of the Center for Urban Horticulture forwarded the comments he received on the proposal to remove the Cornelian cherry trees at CUH. The comments are included in the agenda packets.

Batting Cage: Art and June Butler gave the Board their perspective on the process used regarding the batting cage at Laurelhurst playfield. Considerable influence came from people outside the neighborhood, and limited opportunity was available to nearby residents. The Butlers and Susan Rucker expressed objections to the repetitive pinging noise from batting. Organizationally, the LCC Board provided some community liaison to the Advisory Council. (Each community has an Advisory Council.) Jennifer Biely joined our Advisory Council. The Council reports to the Parks Department. We looked at similar installations in other neighborhoods, and talked to many neighbors near the park. Notice for the meetings was handled by the Parks Department. Certainly, we could always do better in communications, and part of that solution is for neighbors with strong feelings are always welcomed and encouraged to participate directly.

Dues Update/Treasurer’s Report: Mimi Levin could not attend tonight’s meeting and will provide her report next month. Levin reports that to date, 786 neighbors have paid their dues and that we have $38,498.74 in the bank. Attorney Peter Eglick noted on his last billing that approximately 30 hours have been provided at no charge due his firm’s commitment in issues related to the UW and protection of our community.

Other:

LCC Roster: An updated LCC roster was distributed to reflect the two new trustees that were elected at the 2003 annual neighborhood meeting.

Bylaws: Piyarali has agreed to continue chairing the LCC bylaws committee. Levin has suggested a bylaw amendment to change LCC’s fiscal year to coincide with LCC’s annual neighborhood meeting. If trustees have other suggestions for bylaw changes or would like to serve on the committee, they should contact Piyarali.

ANNOUNCEMENTS (See NEDC announcement handout in the member organization packet.)

Absent: Clark, Zinn, Levin and Herrin could not attend tonight’s meeting due to conflicts. Torrance is on leave of absence. Piyarali will also be on leave of absence for two months due to traveling.

Thank You! Thanks to Kate Lloyd for assisting in distribution of this month’s trustee packets and to Don Torrie for coordinating that effort.

Market Vote: The vote on changes to the Pike Street Market charter will be on Wednesday, July 16th, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. near the Soundview Cafe in the Market Arcade, near the "Flying Fish" Market and the Pig. If people can't find Soundview, just ask any Merchant or Security person and they will direct people. There will probably be signs posted. This is one hour of FREE PARKING at the Pike Place Market Garage (the covered one, not the open air one aka PC1 North) but only one hour, if you go over one hour you pay for all of it. Voters should have ID [e.g. driver's license, etc.] for membership verification [we use both the registration cards and a computer printout], receive a ballot and vote.

Save the Date: LCC, Ravenna-Bryant Community Association, the Northeast District Council and other community groups are planning a candidates night on Thursday, October 2nd at Eckstein Middle School. Each group has been asked to provide a rep on the planning committee.

Crime Prevention: Pat Wright submitted a written report. Police would like to make the U District more “family friendly.” In practice, this involves enforcing civility laws, better communication between police and street kids merchants and city agencies. A block watch “Night Out” event is scheduled for August 5^th. Police hope the Block Watch Program can be coordinated with SDART – Seattle Disaster Aid and Response Team. Diane Horswill reported that car thefts, car prowls and residential burglaries are up in North Seattle, but not in Laurelhurst. No major incidents were reported at the Park

Initiative 77: Initiative 77, the espresso tax, will appear on the Primary Election ballot in September. The initiative calls for a 10 cent tax on espresso beverages to pay for childcare programs. The tax would not apply to drip coffee and other non-espresso drinks or to businesses with less than $50,000 in annual gross revenues. The Greater Seattle Chamber of Commerce opposes the initiative for many reasons, including the lack of a relationship between the tax and the programs it would fund and the impact upon small businesses. The City Council discussed putting an alternative measure on the ballot, but instead chose to just refer the initiative to the electorate. The Families and Education Levy currently provides about $1.5M per year for childcare and early childhood education services and will be considered for renewal by the voters in 2004.

Weissman and Ragee expressed practical concerns about tracking and auditing the tax owed. Motion by Weissman, seconded by Rage: The LCC Board opposes the espresso tax for administrative reasons; the levy makes no sense and would have a negative effect on restaurants and small businesses. The motion passed unanimously.

Annual Neighborhood Meeting Wrap-Up: Approximately 75 neighbors attended this year’s annual neighborhood meeting. The event featured the paintings of Dr. T.F. Chen, well-known artist, on display. King County Council Chair Cynthia Sullivan addressed neighbors about the West Nile Virus and how to control mosquitoes to avoid spread of the virus. Representatives from Children’s Hospital unveiled new expansion plans. Tom Hinckley, Director of the Center for Urban Horticulture Director, provided an update on plans to rebuild Merrill Hall. Karl Weyrauch updated neighbors about the Sidewalk Safety Program.

Neighbors elected two new trustees to the board—Joe Herrin and Dermott Noonan and reelected Newman, Lloyd, Ragee and Sorscher. LCC honored retiring trustees Cahill, Colley and Weyrauch with framed certificates and flowers. Great Harvest Bread Company provided delicious cookies. Board members all played a role in contributing to the success of the event.

CUCAC Report: Holden, Zinn and Hale attended the June 10 CUCAC meeting with Torrance. CUCAC passed a motion opposing elimination of the UW lease lid and supporting the Licata/McIver compromise and a housing quality assurance amendment. All CUCAC neighborhood representatives supported the motion except the rep from Ravenna-Bryant abstained—despite the position of his group supporting the compromise and the fact that he had received a copy of the RBCA letter prior to the meeting.

Levy Action: The sense of the Board was to defer taking a position on the Fire Fighters Levy, until next month. The City Council should clarify some of the details of the levy by then.

The meeting was adjourned at 8:50 PM.

Minutes by Stan Sorscher