Projects are under way at the West Point Treatment Plant in Discovery Park that King County says will increase efficiency, improve safety and expand the production and use of renewable energy. The construction activity will be limited to the plant site and should not impact visitor’s use of the park. The plant currently treats about 105 million gallons of wastewater each day. 

Here is a list of projects being carried out through 2015:

Waste-to-Energy Project: A new cogeneration system will convert digester gas into a source of heat and electricity for plant operations. When it begins operating in 2012, it will produce about 23,000 Megawatt-hours of electricity each year, equivalent to the electricity needed to power nearly 2,300 homes.

West Point Disinfection Upgrades: The plant’s disinfection system will go from chlorine gas to sodium hypochlorite, which the county says is a safer and more stable liquid similar to strong household bleach. The project is scheduled to be completed by the end of this year.

Screening Improvements: Design will begin soon on a project to upgrade and replace the screening equipment that filters out trash and other debris during the initial phase of the treatment process.  The project is scheduled for completion in 2015.

West Point Office Annex: Construction will begin next year on a permanent, modular office annex that will replace temporary construction trailers. The new office space will be available by 2012.

Seattle City Councilmember Jean Godden will discuss the city budget crisis and what it means for Magnolia at a meeting sponsored by the Magnolia Community Club.  The general meeting is open to the public and all Magnolia residents are encouraged to attend and ask Councilmember Godden questions. 

The meeting is on Thursday, October 14 from 7:00 – 9:00 p.m. at Catharine Blaine School Cafeteria at 2550 34th Ave West  next to the  Community Center

We’ve learned the Magnolia Community Center has offered to help out with the budget crunch facing several programs at the Queen Anne Community Center.  Under the mayor’s budget proposal, the gym at the Queen Anne facility would be closed in 2011 to make room for the studios of BizKid$, a national public television series for children.  Volunteers and supporters of the Queen Anne center showed up Wednesday at a budget public hearing in Northgate to tell the City Council they want the gym to stay open.

“Yesterday afternoon the phone was ringing off the hook. All kinds of parents and coaches wanted information,” said Pat Barger who serves as a volunteer at the Queen Anne community center.

A sign urging the City Council to keep the Queen Anne gym open

The Queen Anne gym and McClure’s gym are used by 22 youth basketball teams, and Barger isn’t sure how many of those teams can be relocated. The gym is also used for several other programs.  Barger says Magnolia has offered to help.

A crowd lines up to speak at Wednesday night’s budget hearing in Northgate

The Magnolia Community Center will continue to receive full funding and operate normally under the mayor’s proposed budget, but the Environmental Learning Center at Discovery Park is facing funding cuts.

To see more on the mayor’s proposed budget, click here.

The next public hearing on the budget takes place Wednesday, October 13 at South Seattle Community College at 5:30pm. The City Council has also set up a web page where you can submit ideas to balance the budget and vote on other suggestions.

The building in the Magnolia Village at 2410 32nd Ave West that has been empty for many years has been listed for rent.  The posting was placed on craigslist yesterday.  It says the building is available as a ground level multi-use space with 1,750 square feet.   The listing says the building has easy access to public transportation and suggests it could be used as a studio, workshop, gallery, artist workspace,  warehouse, storage or distribution center.   The listing also suggests that the building would be suitable for a gym, yoga studio, retail outlet or an office or restaurant.  The listing says that the owner would accept a short or long term lease.

These two photos are from craigslist.  You can see the whole listing here.

In early September we reported that the owner of the business had been told to clean it up by the city and we took these pictures. 

The letter was posted on the building  telling the owner to remove all graffiti within ten days. 

The effort to get the city involved started in the Magnolia Voice forum and on our facebook page with the following post:  Does it bother anybody in Magnolia besides me that those buildings on 32nd West between McGraw and Ace Hardware are in such horrible condition. Haven’t been open for over 20 years that I know of and now have more graffiti, dead trees, boarded windows,and probably rat infested…can’t we do anything about it? It’s an eye-sore in an otherwise lovely neighborhood. Who owns it and why don’t they either rent it or maintain it to better standards?

A big thanks to Magnolia Voice reader Micah for the tip!

The Seattle City Council is holding a public hearing on the mayor’s proposed budget at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Northgate Community Center Gym, 10510 5th Ave. NE.  Sign-in to speak begins at 5 p.m.

Mayor Mike McGinn presented his proposed 2011-2012 budget Monday afternoon. It includes a number of cuts to make up a $67 million general fund deficit. In our area the Mayor is proposing cuts to the Environmental Learning Center at Discovery Park.   Magnolia Voice will have a full report after the meeting.  The city will hold two more public hearings on the budget:

• At 5:30 p.m., Wed., Oct. 13, The Brockey Center at South Seattle Community College, 6000 16th Ave. SW
• At 5:30 p.m, Tues., Oct. 26, Seattle City Hall, Council Chambers, 2nd floor, 600 4th Ave.

If you can’t make it to a budget hearing, you can share your ideas online and browse through other people’s ideas, or use the online comment form.

Two Magnolia businesses are combining for a ladies night event on Wednesday, 9/29 from 6:30 to 8:30p.m.   Dish it up! and Vixen are holding a class that will teach you about entertaining and beauty at the same time.  Here is the class description:

Ever wanted to know how to give yourself the perfect manicure that lasts for days without chipping AND be a dazzling hostess? Then we have an event for you.   Dish it up! and Vixen team up in Dish’s venue to offer a fun opportunity for you to learn the basics of both! Dish’s master chef and mixologist team with Vixen staff for step by step instructions on how to mix a great cocktail, master a manicure on yourself AND make some great nibbles.

The cost for the class is $70 per person and includes a cocktail to sip while you enjoy the demonstrations, three bottles of OPI nail polish, an assortment of appetizers and recipes to take home. You can call to make your reservation at 206-281-7800.

Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) crews plan to close the right, southbound lane of the Ballard Bridge from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. on Thursday, September 30.  Engineers will perform a bridge inspection during this time.

Most of the property that the Corps of Engineers manages at the Locks and nearby Ship Canal is on the National Historic Registry. The property on the south side of the Locks near the fish ladder is not.

The Corps is in the very initial phases of determining how to manage the property from here on out and possibly how to get it on the National Historic Registry, according to Andrea Takash, Public Affairs Specialist with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

From the Army Corps of Engineers’ website:

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Seattle District is seeking public comments regarding a draft report on an evaluation and management proposal for the Corps’ property on the south side of the Locks near the fish ladder.

The South Entry Landscape report is available on line for review. Please click here. The Corps is accepting comments on the document through Oct. 15. Comments may be sent to southentrycomments@usace.army.mil and should reference the “South Entry Draft Evaluation and Management Proposal Plan” in the subject line.

You can read the report here (.pdf). There is a public open house tonight (9/28) to provide information about the report and answer questions related to proposals. The open house will be held between 6:30 and 8:30 p.m. at the Chittenden Locks Visitor Center. The public is invited to drop in anytime to meet with Corps of Engineers staff.

We grabbed this shot at the Ballard Locks tonight. 

The air is muggy and warm and there is no wind.   Does not really feel like a typical fall Seattle night.  No complaining though, it was 113 at Los Angeles International airport today.

Mayor Mike McGinn is out with his proposed 2011-2012 budget today.  Although several community centers are facing reduced operations, the Magnolia Community Center will continue to receive full funding and operate normally.

However, the Environmental Learning Center at Discovery Park is facing funding cuts.  Parks will continue to provide school-based programs that offer field trip programming for school-aged children to learn about nature and the environment.  ARC will still run the Nature Day Camps and the Nature Preschool (day care) at the Discovery Park ELC. 

To see more on the mayor’s proposed budget, click here.  

The City Council will now dive into the proposed budget.  One of three public hearings will be held this Wednesday (9/29) at 5:30pm at the Northgate Community Center gym at 10510 5th Ave NE.  The Council has also set up a web page where you can submit ideas to balance the budget and vote on other suggestions.  You can find that page here.

Forbes.com has compiled its list of the Top Ten Urban Retirement Spots and Magnolia made the list.  Here is what Forbes has to say about Magnolia:

Sitting northwest of downtown on a peninsula into Puget Sound, hilly Magnolia is dominated by Discovery Park, a former army base. The area has a lively restaurant scene and nice views as well as shopping for day-to-day life. Though well-located, its seeming isolation from the rest of Seattle–access is via bridges, over railroad tracks–keeps housing prices down.

We are not sure that everyone would agree with their assessment of housing prices in Magnolia but it is interesting to see our area make a list like this one.  Other locations to make the list include Montrose (outside Houston) Texas, Cheesman Park (outside Denver) Colorado, Short North (outside Columbus) Ohio and Hudson Heights (outside New York City) New York.

Forbes says that urban retirement is not for everyone but if you’re ready to give up the oversized suburban house and are looking for a good place to retire, consider an urban neighborhood. The inner city can provide affordability, convenience and a stimulating diversity that may not be available in a suburban enclave.

The fall Innisbrook fundraiser at Catharine Blaine is now underway and runs through October 8th.  You can purchase gift wrap, gift bags, ribbons, magazine subscriptions and lots of great holiday gift items through the students of Catharine Blaine.  If interested, please contact your local Blaine student or you can go to www.Innisbrook.com to order on-line or just view the brochure.  Shipping is free if you order through a student and have your items shipped to the school rather than direct to you (the school also makes a higher percentage on gift wrap sales that are shipped to the school).  Any questions, please contact Carolyn Dunn at Carolyn.Dunn@Hotmail.com

A big crowd enjoyed Fatima’s Fall Festival on Saturday night.  An estimated 800 people attended the school’s annual fundraiser on a beautiful evening.

There was a big crowd in the gym.

Principal Susan Burdett enjoyed the evening.

Father Johnson got into the theme.

These sixth graders were waiting in line for the popular cake walk.

Andrea and Natasha won this amazing cake.

John Goodman of Goodman Racing shared his 1966 corvette "French Connection" that he raced in Lemans, France.

Even the big kids had a good time.

Rocking with karaoke.

Thanks to Kym for the great pics!

Wanted to catch up with a couple of notes we received from readers recently:

Anonymous asks:   I’m curious if anyone else heard a helicopter circling overheard Friday night from around 11:30pm. It seemed to be circling the northeast section of Magnolia for at least 15-20 minutes. I can’t imagine they’d send out a helicopter to catch a burglar but who knows.

Brenda had a strange encounter at her house in the area near 24th and Dravus on Thursday:  I happened to be home from work around 2:30 PM.  A man knocked on my door and asked if I was the”hard-working” adult in the home.  He said he was trying to keep from selling narcotics on the streets wanted to talk to someone about how they were able to obtain all the nice things I have. He was not asking for work,  just to visit with someone and two times he asked me what my first job was.  I ended the conversation and he said he was sorry for intruding. I watched him walk away but could not tell if he was going door to door.

Finally Tracy writes in the forum that she wants her chairs back:  HELP! I took two of my patio chairs outside by curb to watch my kids play and enjoy the sun last weekend. I went for a 10 minute walk with them and when I returned the chairs were gone! Maybe someone thought these were left out for garbage? These are two chairs of a set of six and would be difficult to replace. They are brown metal chairs with square blue cushions. If you took these, would you mind returning them or calling me so that I can pick them up? I can be reached at 630.903.9063.