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NORTHGATE BRANCHCOMMUNITY MEETING RECAP
May 8, 2000 7 p.m.-8:30 p.m.
Olympic View Elementary School

About 120 people attended this meeting to discuss possible co-location of the new Northgate library and a Seattle Parks and Recreation community center. The joint meeting between the Seattle Public Library and Seattle Parks and Recreation was an opportunity for the community to talk about the opportunities and challenges of the two agencies sharing a building, sharing a site, siting the buildings close to one another or siting them separately.

Alexandra Harris, the Library's capital program director, began by introducing Library Board members Greg Maffei and Betty Jane Narver; Ray Serebrin, director of neighborhood libraries; David Kunselman, the Library capital projects manager overseeing the Northgate library; and Margaret Anthony, Seattle Parks and Recreation north division director. Also at the meeting were: Jan Ames, the Library's special services director; Francesca Wainwright, branch manager for the Greenwood Library; Bob Hageman, branch manager for the Broadview Library; Stacy Carter, assistant to the Library's capital program director; Katie Gray, Parks Meadowbrook Community Center coordinator; Al Clawson, Parks Northgate Community Center project manager; Kate Kaehny, Parks neighborhood assistance planner; and Woody Wilkinson, a Parks division director.

Alexandra Harris reviewed two previous community meetings about the new Northgate Library, noting Seattle Parks and Recreation representatives attended both meetings. Ms. Harris explained the Library scheduled the May 8 meeting at the request of the community to explore issues of co-location, rather than to discuss specific sites. She added the Seattle Planning Commission held a workshop on Saturday, May 6, to explore creating a town center at Northgate, but the workshop was separate from the co-location meeting. Some community members expressed concern that they thought the May 8 meeting was the public's last chance to comment on siting the Library. Some people also had expected the Seattle Planning Commission's workshop information to be displayed and shared at the meeting.

Next, the parks department's Margaret Anthony, Katie Gray, and Al Clawson presented background on the proposed Northgate Community Center, offered examples of typical community centers, and discussed the siting process. They drew everyone's attention to the comment cards provided.

Ms. Anthony and the Library's Ray Serebrin then discussed a co-location worksheet and explained how the matrix in the worksheet was created, discussed the categories, and explained how the issues have been interpreted. They reviewed the main points of the matrix.

Ms. Harris then opened the meeting for public comment. That discussion yielded the following:

COMMENTS ON MATRIX OR CO-LOCATION POSSIBILITIES

  • Physical connection important (hall, breezeway) to help facilitate integration of facilities
  • Legal challenges should not take away from money used to build building
  • No one at Seattle Planning Commission workshop supported co-location in one building
  • Sites should have good access and multiple approaches
  • Sharing building would be difficult due to the different needs of each facility
  • Buildings should have strong pedestrian transportation link
  • Shared parking is problematic
  • School locations should be considered (should be close)
  • Community should tax itself to get more land
  • Not interested in co-location (Group E at planning workshop)
  • Look at other sites to provide strong pedestrian links to community center
  • Would like 65' height library; mixed-use building
  • Campus (adjacent buildings) -- why not expand?
  • Support co-location of facilities
  • Concerned about parks department process
  • Should consider impact of theater traffic on sites
  • Concerned that campus (adjacent buildings) doesn't allow for playfield in future
  • Prefer "Site C" on community center comment card
  • Outdoor play area, sports important for community center; would like more information about programs
  • Full-service community center needs adjacent properties for green space and additional facilities
  • Should have structured parking with facilities to help open space area (important for urban center)
  • Single building or campus (adjacent buildings) could be plus for playfields, but could be minus for individual sites
  • Support co-location because of access and 11 schools in area
  • Should get as much land/facilities as possible (not small sites)
  • Parks needs to carefully consider sites, not just hitch onto existing process (no on co-location)
  • Should co-locate because community needs amenities, green space, mitigation for density
  • Should site community center now, acquire land now

To wrap up the meeting, Ms. Anthony and Library Board member Greg Maffei reviewed the next steps in the co-location and siting processes.

NEXT STEPS

 

 

Content Modified: Content Modified:25 May 2000

12/30/2005

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