On Tuesday, April 26th, the North Seattle Industrial Association (NSIA) held their monthly meeting at 7:30a at the Car Wash Enterprises (Brown Bear) offices, in Fremont. The NSIA provides a voice for industrial, manufacturing and/or maritime businesses in Ballard, Interbay and Fremont, primarily.
The meeting agenda gave time to City Councilmember Sally Clark (who is, according to NSIA President Eugene Wasserman, up for re-election this year) and Peter Hahn, Director of the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT.)
Both City of Seattle representatives gave serious mention to the budget crisis faced by their departments. They also mentioned, several times, that City Department heads, such as Hahn, were expected to submit mid-year budget cuts of 10% by Friday, April 29th.
In her remarks, Councilmember Clark first stated that, based on past visits, it is “usually more interesting when I hear from you.” She had listened to a brief report on the Shoreline Master Program (SMP) Update draft, given before her remarks, and promised to get an interim update from the Seattle Department of Planning & Development (DPD). The deadline for comments on the 400+ page report were scheduled to end May 31st, Wasserman pointed out, and the Port of Seattle already has drafted a 25 page letter of comments. Wasserman mentioned the need for all comments to actually be incorporated into the Update draft. “I hesitate to put a toe in the water,” said Councilmember Clark, about remarking on the SMP, “until DPD has something for us,” officially, but it “sounds like that will be a while.”
She also talked about the on-going plans to rebuild the Elliot Bay seawall. This matter brought strong opinions forth from NSIA members on the need to maintain freight routes. Warren Ackervick, of Ballard Oil, referenced several times the environmental impact when his trucks sit idling at a series of traffic lights. Councilmember Clark asked if NSIA members buy the idea that surface street traffic will dissipate after the tunnel is completed, and she heard only laughter and a firm no.
When it came time to hear from Hahn, he mentioned the recent formation of a Freight Advisory Board. Before Hahn had arrived at the meeting, Ackervick had mentioned that he’d attended the first meetings and didn’t feel it had gotten off to a good start – although he took the chairperson out for a ride on one of his trucks recently to see situations drivers encounter daily. Hahn mentioned that SDOT had taken “a number of routine projects to [the Freight Advisory Board], and they raised some good concerns,” including a recommendation to increase the turning radius on a major arterial.
Hahn frequently referenced the upcoming budget cuts. “It’s not good. All of us thought 2010 was at the bottom,” he said. But even after these mid-year cuts, he said, “the 2012 budget is crummy.” He then spoke at length about the need to maintain the assets held by SDOT. The amount spent on operations and management, he said, is currently 0.8% of their budget. They’ve been able to build several large projects, and do some improvements, using Bridging The Gap funds, but that money cannot fund maintenance.
Finally, Hahn asked a provocative question to find out the current opinion on the Nickerson road diet, originally opposed, vociferously, by the NSIA. The comments generally agreed that the road now works worse than expected. Business representatives from that area pointed out that traffic backs up on Nickerson for several blocks during Fremont Bridge closures, and Hahn appeared to take notice of this complaint.
This only barely captures all that was said, and explained, during the meeting. To find out more about the NSIA, contact Eugene Wasserman or attend an upcoming meeting, held on fourth Tuesdays. Check the Fremocentrist.com calendar to confirm an upcoming meeting date.