MEETING MINUTES Seattle Public Schools Wilson Pacific Elementary Middle Schools July 2013 PROJECT: DATE: PROJECT NO: 2012919.00 FILE NAME: 130625 MA_SPS (Community Mtg 01).Docx SUBJECT: Wilson-Pacific Elementary BEXIV Project Community Meeting Minutes of June 25, 2013 MEETING DATE: 25 June 2013 LOCATION: Wilson Pacific Middle School ATTENDEES: See Attached Sign-in Sheets TIME: 7.30pm COPY TO: ATTACHMENTS: Sign-in Sheets The following represents the architect's understanding of discussions held and decisions reached in the meeting. Anyone with amendments to these minutes should notify the author within five (5) days of the minutes date in order to amend as appropriate. ITEM DISCUSSION 1.1 Agenda: Introductions Presentation Questions and Answers from Written Cards Questions at the Microphone Individual Time with Staff Members 1.2 Introductions: District Staff in Attendance include: Sherry Carr, Seattle School Board Member for District II Lucy Morello, Director of Capital Projects and Planning Eric Becker, Senior Project Manager from Capital Projects and Planning Joe Wolf K-12 Planning Coordinator Kim Whitworth, Northeast Executive Director of Schools ACTION BY mtg01ch20130723.docx Page 1 of 6
Owner s Construction Manager: Sheils Obletz Johnsen Design Team: Mahlum 1.3 1.4 Presentation: See attached for copy of Community Meeting Presentation Questions and Answers from Written Cards 1. Status of renaming campus? Response: At this time, (2) proposals have been received. One for former principal of the American Indian Heritage School and Program Robert Eaglestaff and one from Sharples family. Caspar Winstar Sharples was President of the Seattle School Board in the early 1900 s. When the former Sharples Junior High was renamed Aki Kurose Elementary, the Board promised that family that a future campus (middle school building) would be renamed Sharples. 2. Which has higher priority: Resource Conservation and Sustainability or providing maximum number of spaces for students to learn? Response: We have an education specification with prescribed square footages for each schools program that has to be met. Also Seattle Schools has set some green goals to demonstrate responsibility for environmental stewardship. While our first responsibility is teaching and learning, we also need to reduce long term operating and maintenance costs. 3. In what ways has special education services specific to this site and APP specific to this site influenced early programming and planning? Have the generic education specifications been altered to reflect the specific needs of these two populations? Response: Seattle Schools is still developing the site specific education program for special education and it is forthcoming. The design team has been working with the Lincoln APP teachers. Both final programs will support long term flexibility. 4. The middle school program is vague as to the curriculum/program. Why is the middle school not designated an APP specific program? With the large number of students in the APP elementary program how can you not have an APP specific middle school? Response: This decision will be made beginning this October when a planning principal will be hired. Then we will start visioning for this school s program. 5. Have you coordinated with Washington State or Seattle Department of Transportation regarding traffic/pedestrian safety at Aurora? Do you plan to? When? mtg01ch20130723.docx Page 2 of 6
Response: As part of the Master Use Permit a traffic consultant is hired to do a traffic study of the neighborhood. This process will begin in the next couple of months. 6. Have you contacted Seattle Police Department North Precinct regarding public safety issues with area? Do you plan to? When? Response: They have been contacted but no meeting has been arranged yet. 7. Is 60 cars enough for teachers and visitors? Where will teachers park? (Hamilton alone has 100-ish staff) Response: No, 60 spaces are not enough as we anticipate +120 staff for the school. As part of the Master Use Permit process the project application will propose a number of parking spaces based upon the traffic study and the site area available to serve parking, and if it s less than the code requires, the City will review that in their Departures process. 8. Will bus drop-off/pick-up be on site or on 90 th Street? This is not a safe street for pedestrians either. Kids should be off-street and divided from cars. Response: We don t know the specific locations for buses or cars until the traffic study is complete. There maybe time restrictions on street parking to accommodate bus drop-off/pick-up to have students access from sidewalk away from cars. 9. What will the district do to make 90 th, Wallingford Ave., and 99 safer for pedestrians, cyclists and other vulnerable school commuters? Response: For work off the school site, the traffic study will help us determine what may be necessary. 10. Why is there no construction to building where the fields are currently located? Response: The current design concepts show the fields to remain. 11. How confident is the fall 2017 opening date of the schools? Response: As of today it is reasonable. We may do some early construction work to build a contingency into the schedule. 12. What is your planned traffic route for construction vehicles? During construction where are you planning on having the workers park their personal vehicles and their work vehicles? Response: We will address this with the General Contractor. They are yet to be selected. For urban projects workers are encouraged to carpool. Specific blocks are also designated as prohibited from workers so parking can be distributed throughout the neighborhood. Goal is to limit the impacts to any mtg01ch20130723.docx Page 3 of 6
1-block. 13. Will Wilson Pacific open in a different location before 2017? Will there be staggered openings? Elementary first and then Middle Schools or vice versa. Response: Yes, the new middle school will open in an interim site before fall 2017. Boundary redesign is scheduled to be introduced to the School Board in October 2013 and action by the School Board is scheduled for November 2013. 14. Why can t the fields be relocated to the center of the property and the schools built on either side? One on the fields existing now and the other on the west/stone Ave side. Response: We are continuing to study all options. 1.5 Questions at the Microphone 1. I d like to explain what this area means to us. It is not just the American Indian Heritage High School or the murals. The springs were a healing place. Liq tid (LEEKteed). You will see a lot of activism about day-lighting the springs. When the buildings are destroyed, will this do something heinous to a sacred place? 2. I have never seen outside staff deciding on which questions get asked. They don t know district policy. Those (4) scenarios presented, is that what the design team saw? They all look like Siamese twins. Isn t there a 5th one the design team voted on? Response: No vote has been taken on any scenarios. The School Design Advisory Team has provided comments on various schemes to make them better. 3. This is a yes or no did you draft a design with (2) schools shown on separate sides and fields in the middle? Community would love new fields, existing ones are poor. Response: If we move the buildings to the east end of the site the fields will be off-line for some time. 4. I live on 90th and have an APP student. Please reinvestigate or we will lose parking spaces in the neighborhood. Safety issue for dropping kids off on 90th? Response: As part of our Master Use Permit we will engage a traffic engineer. The Departure process is established by the City of Seattle for public schools that cannot meet the zoning codes. We want to maximize parking without compromising teaching and learning. 5. I live on Stone Ave. and have a little one. How will school boundaries be redrawn? Response: The boundary process is just getting started this fall. The public can engage with the district this summer in that mtg01ch20130723.docx Page 4 of 6
process. 6. I am an elementary APP and middle school APP parent; I would like them housed here together. I like the fields in the middle. Plus I like the idea of opening the creek up. Could NW corner be looped bus drop off for elementary school? Should have two different drop-offs. All APP kids get bused. 7. I also advocate schools on opposite ends of the site. This enables building elementary and middle schools at appropriate scales. This idea of saving the fields is penny wise and pound foolish. 8. I live in the neighborhood. Strangers not part of the community now. Fields used during weekend. Fields need up-grading. Response: The design could preserve the fields on this site but not in the same location. Our goal would not include reducing their size. Day-lighting the creek does require buffers for environmental reasons. The existing fields are grandfathered into that buffer zone. 9. Isn t your first concern academics outcomes? Response: Yes 10. Fields can be built anywhere. Bob Eaglestaff, who died suddenly, was a legacy and an inspiration for our depressed and struggling community. This is about children and he directly influenced young people to finish their education. Eaglestaff had a large impact on the Native American community and he impacted a lot of kids who are alive today. 11. Vi Hlbert said Native people considered serious matters looking back 7 generations and looking forward 7 generations. Why are we giving this matter 30 seconds? 12. I am part of the Save Schools Committee and we are passing out leaflets and have some concerns about the native community being evicted. I would like to be on a list to be informed of any environmental review for this project (Chris Jackins). What is currently scheduled for SEPA and do you expect an EIS? Response: We expect to issue an addendum to the current EIS. 13. Knowledge is divine and out there and within us. It can heal you just like the springs. These are the things I taught my students. I was taught by my grandmother, my father, my mothers to think outside the box. 30% of our students are in special ed; why? I am 87 and won t be around much longer. When the wind blows I will be whispering in your ear. mtg01ch20130723.docx Page 5 of 6
1.6 Individual Time with Staff Members Additional comments and questions should be sent to CAPACITY@seattleschools.org Please visit http://bex.seattleschools.org for more information mtg01ch20130723.docx Page 6 of 6