Community Input & Outreach

The City is committed to giving residents every opportunity to give their input about the Seattle Municipal Jail project, which it recognizes might be as unpopular as it is necessary. Public outreach is ongoing, and as the public forums draw to a close, the City will continue to offer to meet with neighborhoods and groups, including with communities of color, speakers of other languages, seniors, and others. Following is a summary of outreach activities:

• The City has added a section to its Web site: http://www.seattle.gov/municipaljail/, where it provides information about the project and solicits feedback and questions. If you wish to be notified by email when the Web site is updated, click here.
• Responses to frequently asked questions (FAQ) are available online.
• City personnel are available to the news media, including ethnic media and neighborhood blogs, for interviews and updates. If you are a member of the media and wish to receive updates on the project, click here.
• City representatives are available to attend community and neighborhood meetings to share information and respond to questions. If you wish to invite a City representative to your meeting, click here. Questions from community meetings are posted below. Frequently asked questions from those meetings are incorporated into the online FAQs.
  • Notes from May 15, 2008, Haller Lake meeting
  • Notes from May 19, 2008, Highland Park Action Committee meeting
  • Notes from May 27, 2008, Manufacturing Industrial Council meeting
  • Notes from June 9, 2008, Queen Anne/Magnolia Planning Council meeting
  • Notes from June 10, 2008, South Park Neighborhood Association meeting
  • Notes from June 16, 2008, Queen Anne Planning Council Meeting
  • Notes from June 17, 2008, Magnolia Community Club Meeting
  • Notes from July 8, 2008, Interbay Neighborhood Association Meeting
  • Notes from September 11, 2008, Magnolia Community Club Meeting
• Materials have been translated into some of the most frequently spoken languages in the City. City representatives are available to attend neighborhood meetings and provide interpretation services on request; to request interpretation services, click here.
• The SEPA (State Environmental Policy Act) process provides opportunities for community input. Scoping meetings will be held in fall 2008. To be notified of project updates, including meeting dates and locations, click here.
• The City Council will conduct its own intensive review of jail options and conduct public hearings before making a decision in second quarter of 2009. To be notified of project updates, including meeting dates and locations, click here.
• The City interviewed a cross-section of 50 neighborhood and community leaders. Those initial one-on-one sessions helped the City identify a range of issues and concerns.
• In June and July 2008, the City held a series of public forums focused on each site under consideration:
  
  • Translated Materials for Public Forums
  • Feedback from June 26, 2008, Public Forum
  • Feedback from July 12, 2008, Public Forum
  • Feedback from the July 26, 2008, Public Forum
  • Feedback from the July 30, 2008, Public Forum