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Attendance
total: 60-70 Dina Johnson: Temporary Chair HOT TOPIC: PROPOSED NEW JAIL SITE Two representatives from the city came to discuss the new proposed City jail sites, two of which are around Highland Park.
The other two possible sites are Interbay (the foot of Magnolia) and on Aurora Ave across from the Evergreen Washelli Cemetery, near the Haller Lake Community. The representatives (left) were Doug Cary, City Dept. of Finance Director and a also member of the Public Safety Team, and Cynthia Scheiderer, Public Affairs Outreach. We
were told that the city needs a new jail to house the misdemeanors that
the city has to deal with. In the past and by state law, King County
has taken on the burden of housing inmates with the City paying King
County to take care of the inmates. King County is saying that they
will not have enough room to continue to do this by the year 2015. The
city is now burdened with trying to come up with a solution, and the
solution is to build a jail. This is "the least favorite issue"
before the Mayor this year, they said.
One resident loudly announced: We will stop you! That was startling, yet no one was heard to disagree. Carolyn Stauffer announced that she had written a detailed letter to City officials and departments, protesting the Highland Park jail proposals. Several residents announced willingness to print and distribute fliers announcing opposition to the proposal. Several others volunteered to design such a flyer. After the city reps departed, we decided to hold a SPECIAL MEETING in 2 weeks to address the jail issue: Monday, June 2nd. See the City Jail Proposal Community Response page for information and ongoing organizing efforts. A writer from the West Seattle Blog introduced herself - (applause) - and announced that she would post a report and keep up with the issue. Please speak to everyone you come in contact with about this important issue. If you're on a walk in the neighborhood and come across a stranger, ask them if they know about the jail. It's amazing how many people don't know what's going on in their own backyard. OTHER COMMUNITY EVENTS
"By
the way, if you know someone who's thinking about Real Estate and could
use my services, please give me a call with their name and number. I'll
be happy to follow up with them."
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