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Salmon return at Carkeek, Neighbors have expert guide for viewing

Enjoying a leisurely Saturday morning following Thanksgiving, 11 Crown Hill residents walked to Carkeek Park to check out the annual chum salmon return to Piper’s Creek.  Doug Gresham, a wetlands ecologist and CH resident, provided expert commentary on the life cycle of salmon and the restoration project in Piper’s Creek.

Salmon Walk
Salmon Walk

Continue reading Salmon return at Carkeek, Neighbors have expert guide for viewing

Books….donate, trade, buy

The book store closest to Crown Hill that we know of will be the new Couth Buzzard that will open soon on Greenwood Avenue at 84th Street.  The owners invite you to drop off books you want to donate or those you want to offer for a credit.  Starting October 5, Gerry and Theo will be ready to take materials. Their tentative opening date for the new location is November 1.  If you were a customer/trader at the former Couth Buzzard, there’s good news that they still have their record of $$$ credits you might have accumulated from trading in used books.

Couth Buzzard was displaced from their former location in the Kens Market building at 73rd and Greenwood when Kens Market began its expansion.

Crown Hill Park – update on design

At the Crown Hill Neighborhood Association Annual Meeting on May 9, 2009 Parks Department representative Donald Harris told neighborhood residents that we can expect the planning and design process for the Crown Hill Park to recommence at the end of 2009 or beginning of 2010. At this time Parks will meet with the community and revisit the plans that were put on hold over three years ago. The design process normally takes about a year, but because of the work that has already been completed, Harris estimates the timeline will be reduced to eight or nine months. Therefore, in the fall of 2010, at the same time the Fire Department vacates the property, the actual development of the park will begin.Some residents hoped that development could start sooner on areas of the park that are not being used by the Fire Department. Unfortunately, Harris explained, his Department does not have the design and engineering resources to focus on multiple projects simultaneously, and those resources are now fully occupied with economic stimulus projects. A 2010 start date would still place Crown Hill at the front end of projects funded by the six-year Parks and Green Spaces levy of 2008.

As for the chain link fence currently dividing the property, Catherine Weatbrook from the Crown Hill Project/Small Faces emphasized that the fence was a temporary measure without which Small Faces would not have been allowed to remain open. Small Faces intends to discuss options for a nicer looking, permanent fence with neighborhood residents, including where gates will be placed.

Neighborhood Association Annual Meeting Wrap-up

Approximately 40 Crown Hill Neighbors came to our community meeting, on Saturday, May 9th, 2009. Announcements included:

  • In the long awaited first step toward official groundbreaking on the Crown Hill Park, Seattle Parks and Recreation Department has acquired the southernmost parcel of the former Crown Hill School Site. This parcel is approximately half of the site.
  • The Seattle Fire Department is leasing a portion of the piece now acquired by the Parks Department. This portion is in the ball field south of the two large poplar trees. The Fire Department has erected a pair of temporary buildings and a large tent garage which will be used to house Engine #35 and its crew while the fire station at 8729 15th Ave NW is rebuilt. This should not interfere with use of the ball fields.
  • The Crown Hill Project is moving rapidly toward closing the sale of the northern piece of the Crown Hill School Site. The appeal of the law suit against the sale of the Crown Hill and John Allen (Phinney) school sites was formally withdrawn by the instigator removing one obstacle from the purchase of the remaining portion of the site from the Seattle School District.
  • Crown Hill Neighborhood Association applied for and received 501(c)3 non-profit status from the IRS. This means contributions and memberships are now tax deductible.

It was exciting to see new people and old friends in attendance. There was a healthy representation of the next generation of Crown Hill residents with eight children.

We elected three members to the Board of Directors:

Continuing directors: