Tag Archives: Department of Neighborhoods

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Fall 2011 NMF Grants Focus on Emergency Preparedness

For any one planning to submit a proposal (or who has already submitted a proposal) for a Dept of Neighborhoods Small and Simple Grant for fall of 2011, the DON will only consider granting funds for Emergency Preparedness activities in conjunction with the SPD Office of Emergency Management. The full text of the DON press release follows:

 Neighborhood Matching Fund to focus on emergency preparedness for fall cycle
New Small and Simple Projects Fund focus and deadline to be announced  

July 15, 2011 (Seattle, WA) – The next cycle of the Small and Simple Projects Fund will have a single focus on
emergency preparedness this fall. Seattle Department of Neighborhoods is partnering with the Office of
Emergency Management to offer this funding opportunity which invests city resources to help community
members connect, organize, and plan for emergency situations with their neighbors. The recent national and
international disasters are vivid reminders that all need to be prepared.

No applications outside of the new emergency preparedness focus will be accepted for the last cycle of the 2011
Small and Simple Projects Fund. The exception is for existing capital projects funded by the Neighborhood
Matching Fund (NMF) that are ready for their next phase of implementation; these projects will be invited to
apply by their NMF project manager.  

Once the new focus is finalized later this fall, information on project types, funding amounts, and the application
process will be available at www.seattle.gov/neighborhoods/nmf/smallandsimple.htm. The deadlines for the
2012 cycles of the Small and Simple Projects Fund will be announced in November.

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Department of Neighborhoods Needs Your Opinion

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The Seattle Dept. of Neighborhoods wants your opinion. The city-wide effort to reduce government spending is underway. Some impacts from budget cutting have already been felt by the DON. Last year, a number of Neighborhood Service Centers were closed, the 13 district coordinators (one for each district) were reduced to 9, attempts were made to close some of the Community Centers, and employee furloughs were instituted. This year additional cuts are required and the Department is asking for some guidance from you, the residents and businesses of Seattle. The survey takes about 10 minutes and is here: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/YQLJ82V

From a DON news release:

Continue reading Department of Neighborhoods Needs Your Opinion →

Crown Hill Center

Crown Hill Center Grant to Repair Roof Moves Forward

At the Ballard District Council meeting on May 11th, a grant to repair the roof of the south wing of the future Crown Hill Center received an excellent rating. This means the grant will move forward to the next round, a city-wide review of all large project neighborhood matching grant applications for this year.  The Department of Neighborhoods administers the Large Project Fund for awards up to $100,000 to foster community members in projects which build community involvement in large projects.

The Ballard District Council review committee headed by Joe Wertz, rated the project at 96 out of 100.

The Crown Hill Center was purchased from the Seattle School District two years ago as the result of a community supported effort to acquire the former Crown Hill School, creating the Crown Hill Center and the soon to be Crown Hill Park. The roof project is one of the most critical at the Center, and will prevent deterioration of other elements of the building. Although this project is called the ‘roof project,’ it actually includes many additional elements:

  • Gardening, digging, planning including the rain garden for the west side to address drainage issues
  • Creating signage for the building
  • Building a fence between the playground and the new park
  • Restoring the south lobby
  • Turning the nook outside of the south lobby into an active space to compliment the park
  • Arts Festival activities (all aspects of)

Catherine Weatbrook recently appealed for pledges of community support for this project. Thanks for all the offers, and we look forward to completing the project with your help.  The actual roof work will be done by a contractor rather than volunteers, so no worries about climbing up there and toiling in the hot sun with roofing tar!

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Bernie Matsuno Appointed Director of Dept. of Neighborhoods

Mayor McGinn appointed Bernie Matsuno as the Director of the Department of Neighborhoods on April 20th. From the news release:

Mayor Mike McGinn announced this morning the appointment of Bernie Matsuno as permanent director of the Department of Neighborhoods. Matsuno had been serving as interim director since February 1. McGinn also announced two additional personnel decisions, including a new permanent director of the Personnel Department.

Matsuno had served as interim director in 2006 under Mayor Greg Nickels before Stella Chao was hired. She also was deputy director of the Department of Neighborhoods in 2007, director of the department’s Community Building Division from 2004 to 2006, and participated in the creation of the Department of Neighborhoods and the Neighborhood Matching Fund in 1988. Most of Matsuno’s public service career has been with Neighborhoods.

“Bernie has great experience in the Department of Neighborhoods from its inception,” said McGinn. “Her experience will help all city departments engage and partner with the public in improving our communities.”

Bernie was appointed interim director in February.  Matsuno replaces Stella Chao who ran the DON for four years under the Nickels and McGinn administrations.