Welcome to University Park booklets are now available! Take some to hand out to new residents.

Noise Ordinance Update - October 4 vote. Some concern about protest clause.

Guest Ed Murray

Last legislative session they had to deal with a split House - Mr. Murray co-chaired the capitol budget committee. More money went into community colleges, important for adults & low income people. Low-income housing support and shelters - including shelters for battered women - got more money as well. Some progress made in increasing teacher salaries. No progress on class size - Washington State has the 3rd largest in the country.

Students living off-campus as an issue

It's not just a UW problem. It's a huge problem in Bellingham, Western, & Wazzu. A solution will not just be UW based. He says UW can be made more responsible. Olympia has to do something statewide; he'll be introducing a bill (draft will be forwarded when available).

Noise ordinance will be important, he has the same problem next door. Enforcement will be important.

Growth. UW student body will be growing for 10- 15 years. Problem will be growing in a way to not shrink inefficiently later - no building buildings just to tear them back down in 10 years.

8000 more students will be added. UW will be asked about plans, will be expected to handle impact - talk about whether it'll be spread across the UW system.

Related issues:
Growth Management Act
Possibility of setting up co-op agreements w/private schools
Space at Sand Point?
Off-campus family-oriented grad-student housing

Commentary about Sound Transit:

The 43rd voted for every tax increase on the ballot in the last several years, EXCEPT for the two to fund the stadia. Transit's fundamental routing problems are due to Capitol Hill - height and slope make big issues.

Northgate phase is wildly important - the question is how & when to make that happen.

Ed notes (in a spirit of full disclosure) that he works part time for UW before commenting on the campus station vs. University Way station.

The planning board is leaning back towards an on-campus-station solution, but the decision is controlled by the UW regents. There's nothing final yet, however. The legislature can dictate a decision to them, but it's a bad idea in general. If they just give the parking lot to Sound Transit, the state legislature WOULD intervene AGAINST the action, because it's a state property giveaway. The state WILL demand compensation of some sort for the property.

Ed calls it "unacceptable" for the transit system to end at 45th. 45th is the MOST CONGESTED SURFACE-STREET INTERSECTION north of San Francisco and west of St. Louis. He's trying to get the state legislature to do more (more funds?) to get past 45th & 15th.

Orlando just dropped out of Federal money mass transit race, which is good, we move up. But if neighborhoods don't get on board, we lose.

Asked about 695. He notes that he can't talk about it without a direct question, because of state law. 695 would cut 40% of Metro's budget, funds for lots of street maintenance, etc. There's a one-year cushion in reserves, then nothing. Says there is a Real Message with tabs, which must be answered.

Q: Would 695 hurt Referendum 49?
A: If 695 passes, Referendum 49's money goes away.

Q: Back to UW & students - Many people working for a long time trying to deal w/UW administration. President has been saying "now we co-operate" but doesn't do it, and even gave Eloy a bad phone number on the air (it was a radio call-in show) when confronted on the issue. UW forms a community relations committee without including any community members, and without even mentioning it to the public.
A: Ed says Bellingham & Western relationships are even worse. 47th district (Western) constituents say the same things as we do, but worse. Also true for Seattle University & Seattle Central.

Ed will come back after the January session with a report. Chances of change at the state level are "good" but not "great."

Q: Where will the additional 8000 expected students live?
A: HEC has made some projections. Lots of branch campus population. Not much more specific though.

Q: How big can you grow without sacrificing quality?
A: Reports say that the undergraduate situation is Not Good. UW colleges are also losing people due to lousy professorial salaries.

Q: Asked about field house.
A: Doesn't know about it, not state-level issue.

Rep Murray says as an aside that UW is the most disliked org at the state capitol. UW has been punished for being leftist, evolutionist, secular, and queer-tolerant. It hasn't been possible to address UW problems, because any attempt to do so turns into a mass attack on the school in general, for the above-mentioned political reasons.

Q: What process will be used to bring pressure on neighborhood relations?
A: There's been a very clear message from several state legislators saying that UW doesn't present its programs & priorities well. A shakeup at UW has already happened in response.

Q: Rep. Murray is asked to look into seeing whether and what money the UW police would need to assist city police, as the city police would like.

More discussion that's more free-form, not in Q&A format:

Dr. McCormick will be told he needs to come to a UPCC meeting.

Details of the aforementioned state-level off-campus student behavior bill are still being researched. There should be a draft in December. "Off campus, not our problem" is "not an acceptable answer."

Q: What about the Monorail?
A: "Not a state issue." He thought he'd see a state-level initiative by now, but hasn't.

Q: How can the UPCC be more effective?
A: Suggestions:
1) Invite elected officials. Have good turnouts, like this turnout which is GREAT. Capitol Hill gets SEVEN to its meetings. Invite Frank Chopp.
2) Approach people without making them feel they're under attack.
3) More talk about researching UW/neighborhood issues.
4) Ability to come together around a plan is very important at the elected-official level.

GREAT QUOTE:
"I'll sort of adopt you... My neighborhood group never meets, so I'll join this one."

A UPCC member stresses that we -like- students. UW doesn't understand that. The building code issues are safety issues - most of these conversions are illegal firetraps. We're trying to keep the neighborhood SAFE for students, as well as for ourselves, and McCormick doesn't get that.

UW Athletic Dept. now actively WANTS to know about student athlete issues, and where the athletes are living.

Rep. Murray thanks UPCC for having him, we move to other business.

MAYORIAL TOUR
Willy meets October 1st with the new head of the DCLU, Bob Laird, about DCLU ignoring complaints and the mass violations of building and zoning codes around here. Hopes to get focus shifted to University Park after the special inspections in Roosevelt are done.

Discussion of the UPCC sign project. I was out talking in the hall with Rep. Murray when this happened so I didn't catch it.