In their first meeting as a non-profit community organization instead of a King County government extension (the county ended contracts with unincorporated area councils at the end of 2011), the North Highline Unincorporated Area Council met on Jan. 5 to discuss the Public Health Center’s move to Greenbridge, library consolidation and crime updates.

Public Health Center move
David Reyes, area manager for the Public Health Center in White Center discussed plans to move from their current location at 10821 8th Ave S.W. to Greenbridge. The new location consists of two storefronts just south of DubSea Coffee at 9910 8th Ave S.W. and Reyes said, in an ideal situation, the move will be completed by mid-June of this year.

Reyes said 34 to 35 employees (two-thirds of the workforce) will move to the new location and nearly all services currently offered at the current location will also transfer. The home nurse program will still be available to area residents, he said, but the staff will no longer operate out of the new location.

Reyes said the Greenbridge move will result in a more modern medical facility and allow for more natural light in an “environmentally appropriate and sound space.”

The move leaves a blank slate for the building sitting next to the White Center Food Bank, and the property will revert back to King County Dept. of Parks and Natural Resources ownership.

Katy Terry with the parks department said they hope to lease the building out to medical and/or non-profit groups that will provide a benefit to the community and be complimentary to the food bank. She said later in 2012 the parks department will start outreach to find a suitable fit. Anyone interested in the space can contact them.

Annexation
While the Burien City Council congregates at city hall to induct new and old councilmembers, Martin said he will miss that meeting to attend the Washington State Boundary Review Board public meeting on Monday, Jan. 9, 7 p.m. at Cascade Middle School. The board will review Burien’s proposed boundary of North Highline annexation and the public is encouraged to attend and voice their opinions.

“We don’t expect there to be any surprises, we expect this to be very straightforward,” Martin said. “We are confident of a positive outcome.”
Burien is moving forward with plans to annex the remainder of unincorporated North Highline, although the process could be halted if the State nixes tax credits for cities that annex. The tax credit is critical to the economic feasibility of annexation, Martin has said.

Library consolidation
With the King County Library Board delaying their decision on consolidating the White Center and Boulevard Park libraries into one library near S.W. 128th St. in Burien, Martin said an ad-hoc group including NHUAC president Barbara Dobkin and himself has been formed to discuss “what, in a perfect world, the libraries would look like going into the future. Whether they should consolidate or not, whether Boulevard Park needs to stay open or not…."

Martin said a few generally agreed upon themes have emerged, including the fact “that the Boulevard Park library is a unique facility and it serves a function that is greater than it being a library. It is a gathering spot, it is iconic in that it is the sole representative of government there …”

Additionally, Martin said the group is considering new locations for the White Center library, also considered important beyond its library function for the community. Martin and Dobkin both mentioned the possibility of moving it closer to the White Center business district, a move Martin considers a potentially “transformative economic engine” with an estimated 35,000 Seattleites visiting the White Center library annually. If the library is closer to White Center businesses, Martin said, they should see an uptick in business.

Crime report for North Highline
Storefront Deputy BJ Myers addressed the council with his monthly crime update and said during the month of December crime rates were generally down in the business center around 16th Ave S.W.

“It could just be a fluke … but I hope it’s an indication of something happening, moving in the right direction,” he said.

Myers said King County Metro Police have helped out patrolling bus stops in White Center recently and commended former storefront deputy Jeff Hancock for his recent work in the area. Hancock is back patrolling in White Center.

“He is very active and making his presence known, so I imagine a lot of what we are seeing in that downtown area (regarding crime rate drops) is partly due to him being back.”

Discussing the Seattle Roll Bakery murder earlier this month, Myers said, “I was really pleased that by the time I came to work that day our major crimes detectives had already sorted through the lies that they were initially told at that shooting scene, figured out who the suspect was and what actually happened, went out and arrested him by the time I got to work.”

“In talking with people in the community I think there was an understanding that it was a crime that could have happened anywhere. It was people that had a disagreement with each other … and it just happened to go down in our neighborhood.”

Additional notes
- The NHUAC voted unanimously to postpone May elections for the council until they know more about whether or not the area will be annexed by Burien.
- Richard Miller, member of the NHUAC and chair of the West Seattle Crime Prevention Council, has been speaking with King County Sheriff’s leaders about holding quarterly crime discussions for North Highline, separate from the NHUAC meetings. They have a tentative date set for 7 p.m. on February 9th.
- The board continued discussions on how to move forward as a group without funding and contracts with King County.
- Pat Price relayed information on free Red Cross emergency preparedness classes taking place next week at the Salvation Army in White Center. Free admission, free dinner and free childcare will be provided. Meetings for residents will be held on Monday and Tuesday from 5 to 7 p.m. Business owners will have classes on Wednesday and Thursday at the same time, and the week will culminate with a community mixer on Friday, Jan. 13 from 3:30 to 5 p.m.
- Barbara Dobkin said NHUAC will start planting their flower beds at 100th and 16th Ave very soon and the council is discussing options for purchasing the flag for a flag pole going up at Steve Cox Memorial Park.

The North Highline Unincorporated Area Council meets at 7 p.m. on the first Thursday of each month at the North Highline Fire District building (1243 S.W. 112th St.)