Over the last year, Lake City residents have spoken vociferously – both to voice excitement about Lake City’s potential and to express concerns about the neighborhood.
What is an InterDepartmental Task force?
In response to neighborhood advocacy, the Mayor’s office began assembling an interdepartmental task force (or IDT) in December of 2012. This group will look specifically at the Lake City neighborhood. Because IDTs use an interagency approach, they can help facilitate solutions. For example, drainage issues like this one at the corner of 127th and 30th Ave NE require coordination between the Dept of Transportation and SPU to resolve.
This Lake City IDT connects representatives from many city departments so they can work with the community to address concerns. Departments include: Office of Economic Development (OED), Dept. of Planning & Development (DPD), Dept. of Transportation (SDOT), Seattle City Light, Seattle Public Utilities, Seattle Public Library, Public Health, the Office of Housing (OH), Seattle Police Department (SPD) and Human Services.
Neighborhood action teams like this have met with success in other areas of Seattle. In Belltown last year, Mayor McGinn formed an interdepartmental task force to help find ways to make the neighborhood safer and more livable. “Deputy Mayor Smith says actions have ranged from installing brighter, LED bulbs in streetlights to new options for getting drug addicts off the street and into treatment.” (Seattle Mag, March 2012)
A similar public engagement effort occurred in 2011 in Beacon Hill. Led by Deputy Mayor Darryl Smith, a City interdepartmental task force was created to help realize the goal of a usable downtown green space. This was in follow-up to an earlier partnership with the Beacon Alliance of Neighbors focused on clean-up and restoration.
What issues would you like to see addressed in Lake City? Leave a comment and stay tuned for more information as this Lake City IDT gets underway.