Sent: Friday, September 29, 2017 1:08 PM
To: Collins, Julie
Cc: Gallagher, Clare; Halse, Katie; del Fierro, Sally; Wessels, Ralph; St. Louis, Stephen; Duffner, Bob; Maney, Chipper; Lyttle, Lance; Munden, Heather
Subject: Hillgrove Cemetery Update for Commissioners
Julie – Below is an update on the recent conversations Port staff and Commissioner Felleman had with members of the community about Hillgrove Cemetery and based on that conversation, the planned next steps. Would you please share with Mike and the Commission Office? Marco
Background on Hillgrove Cemetery – Hillgrove Cemetery, off of S. 200th Street in the City of SeaTac, is surrounded on three sides by a Port-owned site (P-5) where the Port will soon begin removal and replanting work on as part of the Flight Corridor Safety Program. P-5, along with P-4, are the last pieces of Port-owned property where removal and replanting will occur. Most over-height conifers on Port property are located within the two sites, and both are also adjacent to residential properties. Last year, the Port Commission called for more community engagement before determining the removal and replanting approach for the two sites. Using input submitted at a June 5 community workshop and through an online open house, the Port developed a preferred approach for sites P-4 and P-5 that reflects the community’s feedback. That work will begin shortly. Port Public Affairs has taken a number of steps to inform neighbors and interested parties about the impending work.
Hillgrove Cemetery is an older cemetery that has been plagued by vandalism and a lack of maintenance over the years. Grave-markers have been damaged, parts of the fence are missing and many of the plantings are overgrown. The Board of Trustees who manage the site meet very infrequently and who actually serves on the board and who has the ability to make decisions on behalf of the cemetery has also not been fully determined. Once the plan was for Sites P-4 and P-5 were finalized, Port staff began reaching out to contacts on the cemetery board in late June in an effort to brief them about the work to occur around the cemetery. Though repeated efforts were made by Port staff, Port staff had little success connecting with the board.
Recent Developments – At Tuesday’s Commission meeting, members of the cemetery board and their supporters provided testimony claiming that the Port had marked trees on the cemetery’s property with the intention of removing them. In response, immediately after Tuesday’s Commission meeting, a member of the project team (Heather Munden) met with a member of the Cemetery Board (Rick Johnson) at the cemetery’s property and they walked the site together confirming that no trees have been marked for removal on the cemetery’s property. Rick Johnson agreed with that assessment.
No work will be conducted on the cemetery site and all other non-Port owned sites until an environmental assessment is complete and contact has been established with the property’s owners or custodians. Work on the cemetery site is projected to occur in 2019 at the earliest.
On Wednesday, based on a request made by Commissioner Felleman, the Commissioner, Lance Lyttle and Port staff received a tour of the Hillgrove Cemetery after the Highline Forum. Rick Johnson, who serves on the Cemetery board, gave the tour and SeaTac Councilmember Peter Kwan and some members of Puget Sound Quiet Skies joined the tour.
In exchange for the eventual removal of obstructions on the cemetery property, Commissioner Felleman led a discussion about what the Port might be able to offer to the cemetery to mitigate for the removal of the trees on their property.
Possible Hillgrove Cemetery Mitigation Measures:
- New fence for the three sides that border Port property
- General maintenance of site – trim grass and trees and help with repair of headstones
- Plantings to account for those that are removed
- Invasive species removal
- Vegetation buffer around the perimeter (note: current replanting for P-5 includes a vegetation buffer)
- Assist with demarcation of plots
- Help the cemetery with becoming a non-profit
- Development of a long-term maintenance plan for the site
- Assist with archiving/capturing the cemetery’s written history
- Repurpose fallen trees for other uses
Planned Next Steps:
- Port staff will begin an internal discussion to understand what proposed measures listed above are permissible under the Port’s statutory authority and if permissible, where the funding could come from.
- Port staff are working with Rick Johnson to try to schedule a meeting between the Port and representatives from the cemetery board to discuss more fully what’s possible. Though a number of possible measures were discussed on Wednesday, only one member of the cemetery board took part. A more thorough discussion with a greater representation of the board is necessary.
Commissioner Creighton also expressed interest in a tour of the cemetery. 10/3 is the tentative date for that tour.
Marco Milanese
Community Relations Manager
Port of Seattle
Seattle-Tacoma International Airport
PO Box 68727
Seattle, WA 98168
P: 206-787-7734
C: 206-225-6081
E: milanese.m@portseattle.org
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