Alki Community Council announcement:
October 7, 2011
Dear Mayor McGinn and Council President Conlin,
The Alki Community Council (ACC) held a meeting on September 15 to address landslide mitigation. Participants included representatives of many different condo buildings, individual homeowners, and representatives from Seattle Public Utilities and Council member Michael O'Brien's Office. The Council voted to establish a committee to work with the City on this issue.
Based on the committee's findings and recommendations, the ACC respectfully requests the following from the City:
1. Establish a task force comprised of those agencies with responsibilities for surface water and hillside parkland (Seattle Public Utilities, Department of Transportation, Parks and Recreation, and Department of Planning and Development).
2. Charge the Task Force with developing a plan to mitigate the risk of slides on Alki and Harbor Avenues.
The plan to be developed would have three objectives: constructing an effective drainage system that allows surface and subsurface water flows to reach Puget Sound, protecting city property including streets and utilities, and protecting local residents from potential property damage and personal injury.
The Task Force would have at its disposal a number of engineering studies contracted by public agencies and private individuals to use as a basis for developing a plan. It is anticipated that it would be necessary for an arborist to survey the affected hillsides looking for diseased or undermined trees and inadequate or contributing vegetation. Our community feels a sense of urgency. Heavy spring rains resulted in a number of slides that could be precursors to future problems in the upcoming rainy season. For this reason, we would
like to be able to report that the City has appointed such a task force at our upcoming Alki Community Council meeting on October 20.
The ACC will cooperate fully with the Task Force, and has designated Jerry Smith (206-933-8539) as our liaison to work with it.
Tony Fragada
President
