I. Special Presentation Speaker: Christopher Williams, Acting Superintendent Seattle Parks. Superintendent Williams has been with Parks Dept for 20 years. Park land makes up 10% of Seattle’s land mass. There are 438 parks: 25% of residents live within 50 feet of a park, 13,000 homes are adjacent to parks, and 50% of Seattle’s trees are in parks. The department’s budget is $120 million. Volunteers contribute $350 million worth of labor in the parks. Parks continues to acquire property to make new parks, building a legacy for future generations.
Citizen perception of safety in parks is important. Safety principles include: Maintenance – clean and tidy parks are seen as safer; Positive activity – having play areas, things to do; Enforcement of rules – there are 68 rules on parks in RCW, and there is a code of conduct (see seattleparks.gov) that Parks Personnel enforce; Design – good lines of sight, trimmed shrubs, few places to hide
Citizen role in parks safety is to be vigilant: call 9-1-1 or non-emergency police number if you see bad behavior in a park.
II. Precinct Update: Lt. Ron Rasmussen provided an update on the recent spate of occupied residential burglaries. In late February to early March there have been numerous (13 as of March 7th) home invasions/burglaries while the residents, homeowners and children, are at home. All have been in the north end of Seattle; most have been in the middle of the night. Often a vehicle, as well as IPOD’s, IPHONE’s, jewelry, plasma TV’s, purses, wallets, checkbooks, laptops, car keys, etc. have been taken. Significant SPD resources have dedicated to this issue. To date, in ALL 13 cases, there has been no sign of forced entry. Access has been through unlocked doors and windows.
SPD’s advice is to BE WATCHFULL! If you see ANYTHING suspicious do not hesitate to CALL 9-1-1