The ECC President’s Report for the Annual Membership Meeting

After the Eastlake Community Council Annual Membership Meeting, Tuesday, September 28, via Zoom, Detra Segar, Council President provided the Eastlake News Blog her speaking notes. Here are the topics she covered:

Major Accomplishments:

Meetings – With caution in mind the board and executive committees met monthly via Zoom. The result was more participation and coordination. It is disappointing that we can’t meet in person, and we all agree that community works best when we are in the same room or at least the same park.  We did manage a few group activities however:

Eastlake clean up – In February residents pitched in block by block to clean up trash. Even with rain it worked well and many bags were hauled off. A frequent find were face masks—they are everywhere!

Fairview Ave. walkway clean-up – In July, Eastlake resident, Harmon Rogers, led a clean-up of the shoreline near the Fairview Bridge for the opening of the rebuilt bridge. The pictures tell the story. So many walk that area. We are looking for some long-term solutions to keep it maintained and enjoyed a walk with Alex Pedersen’s administrative lead, Malik Davis, who also managed to solve a months-long issue with campers.

Fairview Bridge Opening – Board member and board secretary, Steve Dunphy, provided quarterly updates in the Eastlake News on the bridge’s status as it was being planned and rebuilt over the last two years. It was exciting to see so many of you at the bridge opening in July and to see cyclists and walkers once again enjoying the route. We see a couple of traffic issues that we will continue to work on.

Movie Night – This August we once again hosted movie night at Rogers Playfield (it was cancelled last year due to the pandemic). It had exceptional business support thanks to the efforts of board member, J.P. Harlow.  Board member, Allison Preyea handled all movie and park arrangements with her usual efficiency. A suggestion for the future was having a children’s movie early followed by something adults might enjoy….

Board member and membership chair, Peter Haley, was present at both the Fairview Bridge opening and Movie Night to spread the word about joining ECC.

Website – Thanks to ECC member and webmaster, Joe Murphy, our website is working well and evolving.  Joe has also designed our shared documents program which continues to be very helpful.

Eastlake News (hard copy) – We welcomed a new editor, Angela Shier.  Angela has jumped right in and delivered her first two issues. We are happy to have her on the team and thank her for her time and talents. The volunteer delivery team, led by Chris Leman, continues to get the Eastlake News to your doorstep and to local businesses every quarter. A big “Thank You!” to the returning and new people who do this important job. Thanks also to the businesses who continue to support the publication with their advertising.

Eastlake News Blog – Board member Judy Smith has made our blog a great place to go for Eastlake stories, an opportunity for more in-depth coverage of the fascinating people and places in Eastlake.

Facebook – Allison Peryea keeps our postings updated on ECC and Eastlake Social Club Facebook sites as well as being the organizer of events.

New ECC Logo – You might have noticed a new design gracing some of our materials.  Local artist, Karen Berry, worked with the board to come up with a new logo design we hope will become familiar.  It appears on the blog and has been on recent event flyers, and on your membership ballots for the Board of Directors.

Other Accomplishments:

The Colonnade – The city completed resurfacing of the off-leash area and added gates that have springs to make their closing easier. We welcome your feedback.  Besides improving the off-leash area, keeping the Colonnade free of encampments, and providing a safe place for all is the goal.

Police – We continue to participate in the West Precinct Advisory Council.  Of concern are two encampments that persist, and we will continue to monitor and try to resolve the issues. There has also been an increase in property crimes. Reporting crime is necessary, and Eastlake residents have been pretty consistent in doing that. The Seattle Police Department needs as much documentation as possible. The public safety issues will be part of the election Candidate Forum Oct. 5 (see below).

Connections – This year has been one of establishing new connections with city and state departments, other organizations with similar goals, as well as other community councils. These new connections have proven beneficial to the board and the work we do.

Coming up:

Zoom Candidate Forum on Oct. 5 beginning at 6 p.m.

Zoom Meeting with the developers of 78 Lynn Street on Oct. 13

The popular Tree Walk with Arthur Lee Jacobson will take place this year on Oct. 23 at 9:30-11:30.

A park clean-up at Good Turn is scheduled on Oct. 9 from 9-noon. This is in support of a rain garden that will be installed later this year.

Several other park clean-up efforts are in the planning stages.  Notices will be posted on the website and Facebook and will go out to members and friends of Eastlake.

In closing –

Thank you, Allison Peryea and Ben Wildman, retiring board members. Allison is an enthusiastic event planner and has kept us in line with her legal expertise. She has agreed to continue to make sure we are getting together socially. 

Ben Wildman became Treasurer as we began our effort to rework our financial structure and find ways to make paying online easier. It was a heavy lift but we are there. 

Thanks are never quite enough for the endless hours of time that both of you have given to Eastlake. We have benefited as a community from your efforts.

In Oct. and Nov. the board will be setting priorities for next year. We want to hear what you think is important as we set the agenda. 

There is never a shortage of items that could and should be addressed.  We can do more if there are more of us. Consider this a compelling invitation to join us.

It takes an engaged community to accomplish things. Thank you for attending this annual membership meeting. 

Feature photo above: Detra Segar