The First Hill Improvement Association

Working Together to Make Seattle's First Neighborhood Seattle's BEST Neighborhood

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Meeting Highlights

March 2013 Meeting

The next meeting of the First Hill Improvement Association is Tuesday, March 12 at 6 p.m. and it will feature two topics:

A representative from the Seattle Department of Neighborhoods will speak to us about the First Hill community plan.

Susan McLaughlin from Seattle Department of Transportation will speak to us about ways to green our streets and the city’s previous experience with similar projects.

The meeting will take place at Virginia Mason’s Lindeman Pavillion, Conference Rooms C&D. The street address is 1201 Terry Avenue. You enter the building on the second floor, due to the hill, and take the elevator or stairs down to the first floor. There is parking in the garage in this building also. Mention the First Hill Improvement Association at the parking booth and pay only $5 for parking.  

FHIA is now on Twitter:  https://twitter.com/1stHillSeattle
February 2013 Meeting
IMPORTANT NOTE: This month's First Hill Improvement Association meeting on Tuesday, February 12 at 6 p.m. will be held at Skyline, the retirement community on First Hill.  The address is 725 9th Ave, Seattle, WA 98104. The meeting will be held in Skyline's Mt. Baker North room on the fourth level f on Tuesday, February 12, at 6 p.m.  When you enter the main entrance on 9th, you'll be in the lobby with signs pointing down a flight to the fourth level. The Mt. baker room is to your left and down to the end of the corridor. Again, no meeting will be held at Virginia Mason this month. 

Our guests in February will include:

Alecta:  We will welcome a representative from Alecta.  The developer is proceeding with several projects on First Hill, including one at 800 Columbia.  Another project of interest to First Hill is their 1321 Seneca building.  

Seattle Department of Transportation:  An SDOT representative will be on hand to discuss parking on First Hill.  

Green Group:  We'll hear from representatives from a group of residents seeking to make First Hill more environmentally friendly.  

All are welcome to attend.  

January Meeting

The next meeting of the First Hill Improvement Association is Tuesday, January 8 at 6 p.m. and it will feature two topics:

First, The Honorable Joe McDermott, King County Councilmember for District 8. Since re-districting in 2010, much of First Hill has been added to Councilmember McDermott’s district.  We’re glad to welcome Councilmember McDermott to this month’s meeting so residents can hear from him about upcoming issues facing the council and voice any concerns they may have. Please keep in mind that King County and the City of Seattle have separate jurisdictions.  Apartment development on First Hill, for example, is governed by the city.  Additionally, though King County oversees some park land, the discussion of a First Hill park is also a city issue.  Here is a list from their website of the issues the King County Council deals with:

Criminal justice system of prosecutors and public defenders, District and Superior Courts, juvenile detention and adult jails;

• King County Sheriff’s Office, which directly serves residents of unincorporated areas and contracts with many cities to provide police protection;
• Public health and human services;
• Metro Transit bus service and county roads;
• Wastewater treatment and solid waste management;
• Regional parks, open space and trails; and
• Elections
• Records and licensing.

Find out more about Councilmember McDermott by visiting his website here.

Second, Eugene Wasserman from Seattle Districts Now will speak with us about the effort to institute a “7-2” council system, where the Seattle City Council would elect 7 members from districts and 2 members at-large.  Currently, all members are elected “at large”, meaning city-wide.  The group is attempting to place a measure on the ballot in 2013 to change the city charter to reflect this plan.  Read this Seattle Times article about their plan and visit their website to find out more.

The meeting will take place at Virginia Mason’s Lindeman Pavillion, Conference Rooms C&D. The street address is 1201 Terry Avenue. You enter the building on the second floor, due to the hill, and take the elevator or stairs down to the first floor. There is parking in the garage in this building also. Mention the First Hill Improvement Association at the parking booth and pay only $5 for parking. 

FHIA is now on Twitter:  https://twitter.com/1stHillSeattle
December Meeting Cancellation

The December meeting of the First Hill Improvement Association, scheduled for Tuesday, December 11 is cancelled.  We will return to Virginia Mason's Lindeman Pavilion, Conference Rooms C&D for our January 8th, 2013 meeting at 6 p.m.  At that time, we will also have elections for our executive board.  If you are interested in serving on the board, or have a nomination, please contact Mike Hatchett at mike.hatchett@polyclinic.com The current board line up is below, along with a description of each role.  It would be great to have some participation in the secretary and treasurer roles especially as we begin the new year!  Until January, Happy Holidays! 

President: Mike Hatchett
Vice-President/Government Liaison: Jim Erickson
Vice-President/Resident Chair: Jo Ann Coombs 
Treasurer: Vacant
Secretary: Vacant
Land Use Chair: Martha Barkman
Major Institution Chair: Ted Klainer
Business Chair: Vacant
Neighborhood Plan Chair: Vacant

6.3 Responsibilities of the President—The president shall act as chief executive officer of the Association; shall appoint subject to the approval of the Board, the secretary of the Association, shall preside over all meetings of the board and membership; shall have general and active management over the affairs of the association; and shall see that all orders and resolutions of the board are carried out. 

6.4 Responsibilities of the Government Liaison—The government liaison shall carry the rank of first vice-president and shall preside in the event of the absence of the president.  This person will attend various meetings of local law enforcement and other government functions.  They will also monitor legislation potentially impacting the First Hill neighborhood. 

6.5 Responsibilities of the resident chair—The resident chair shall carry the rank of second vice-president and shall preside in the event of the absence of both the president and the first vice-president.  This person will advocate for residents of the First Hill neighborhood and monitor developments that may be of interest to the Association.  The person elected to this position must reside in the First Hill neighborhood. 

6.6 Responsibilities of the treasurer—The treasurer shall have custody of all Association funds and securities and shall keep complete and accurate records of all finances of the Association.  The treasurer shall prepare billings once annually and shall make a finance report once per year to the board and the general membership of the Association at the March meeting. 

6.7 Responsibilities of the secretary—The secretary shall be appointed by the president and approved by a majority vote of the Board of Trustees.  This person shall record all minutes of each meeting and preserve that record in good order.  In addition, this person shall generate and receive all notices and nominations as set forth in these bylaws. 

6.8 Responsibilities of the land use chair—The land use chair shall monitor and update the Association on various construction and building developments in the First Hill neighborhood. 

6.9  Responsibilities of the major institution chair—This person shall monitor and update the Association on developments with the major institutions in the First Hill neighborhood.  This individual shall be a representative of a major institution in the First Hill neighborhood (as defined by the Seattle Municipal Code 23.84A.025 ). 

6.10 Responsibilities of the neighborhood plan chair—This person shall monitor and update the Association on developments with the First Hill neighborhood plan.  They shall also represent the Association at meetings of various Seattle neighborhoods and at meetings involving the plan.  This person must either reside or work in the First Hill neighborhood.   

6.11 Responsibilities of the business chair—This person shall monitor and update the Association on business developments in the First Hill neighborhood.  This person must either be employed by or own a business in the First Hill neighborhood.

The next meeting of the First Hill Improvement Association is Tuesday, November 13 at 6 p.m. and it will feature these topics:

  • What are some steps that we can take to encourage First Hill retail activities?
  • How should we organize our FHIA Board for 2013?
  • Topics for future meetings?
  • Round robin of recent neighborhood news.

Different location this month!

The November 13, 2012 meeting will be on the Fourth Level of the Hospital in the Correa B Meeting Room. Enter the Virginia Mason Hospital Main entrance on 925 Seneca Street (Cross Street Terry).  Turn right at the admissions desk, go down the hall past the chapel and gift shop and turn left into the Cafeteria. The room is in the rear of the cafeteria behind the cash registers.

Parking is available in the Lindeman Garage at an event rate of $5.  

https://www.virginiamason.org/workfiles/directory/CampusDirectory.pdf

Everyone is welcome!

October Meeting

The next meeting of the First Hill Improvement Association is Tuesday, October 9 at 6 p.m. and it will feature three topics:

  1. Tom Eanes, with the Seattle Housing Authority, will provide an update on how the $10.3 million Choice Neighborhoods grant from HUD, paired with 60 new Housing Choice Vouchers, is beginning the transformation of the Yesler neighborhood.

http://www.seattlehousing.org/redevelopment/yesler-terrace/ChoiceNeighborhoods/index.html

  1. We have a goal of repairing 12 sidewalks on Madison Street between I-5 and Broadway. This month, SDOT will discuss the “best practice” for dealing with 38 trees at these repair sites. Our speakers will be Liz Ellis who is in charge of Sidewalk Repair and Roy Francis from Urban Forestry.
  2. Carrie Ferrence will explore the possibility of establishing a grocery store here on First Hill. Carrie is the CEO and co-founder of StockBox, a new company that specializes in neighborhood sized grocery stores.     http://stockboxgrocers.com/

The meeting will take place at Virginia Mason’s Lindeman Pavillion, Conference Rooms C&D. The street address is 1201 Terry Avenue. You enter the building on the second floor, due to the hill, and take the elevator or stairs down to the first floor. There is parking in the garage in this building also.

September Meeting

The next meeting of the First Hill Improvement Association, Tuesday, September 11 6 p.m., will feature the following speakers:

Jim Napolitano from the King County Major Projects Office and a rep. from the Sabey Corporation will speak about the continuing Harborview Hall project.  An overview of the issue is available here.   

There will also be discussion of the ongoing sidewalk repair issue on First Hill.

The meeting will take place at Virginia Mason’s Lindeman Pavillion, Conference Rooms C&D.  The street address is 1201 Terry Avenue.  You enter the building on the second floor, due to the hill, and take the elevator or stairs down to the first floor.  There is parking in the garage in this building also.

The First Hill Improvement Association will not be meeting in August. Our next meeting will be on Tuesday, September 11th, at 6:00pm, in Virginia Mason’s Lindeman Pavilion, on Level 1, in Conference Room C and D.

This is a time of major change on First Hill and we are doing our best to be a positive influence on those changes:

  • We thank Coppins Well at 1000 Minor Avenue for returning our communities’ restored First Hill Clock Tower on Madison near Minor.
  • We are working with the Seattle Department of Transportation to seek funding so that up to twelve sidewalk locations on Madison Street can be repaired.
  • We are working with the Seattle Parks Department and the property owner (Alecta) to create a new public open space at the NE corner of Columbia and 8th.
  • We meet monthly with the East and West Precincts to improve public safety on FH.
  • Several of our FHIA members also serve as volunteers on the Citizen Advisory Committee that is helping to prepare Virginia Mason’s next Master Plan. This plan includes a redevelopment of the 1200 block on the north side of Madison between Boren and Terry.
  • Developers continue to use our monthly meetings to update the public on design changes to six active projects on First Hill.
  • We are following the construction of the First Hill Streetcar as it creates new stations in First Hill.
  • We are making public comments in the discussions where King County Executive Dow Constantine is considering changes to the plans for Harborview Hall.
  • We are encouraging the City Council Yesler Terrace Committee to discuss the need to make the zoning code more attractive for a future Grocery Store in the redeveloped Yesler Terrace.