By Jason Grotelueschen
Reporting for West Seattle Blog
The Fauntleroy Community Association board gathered for their October meeting on Tuesday night at the Fauntleroy Schoolhouse, chaired by FCA president Frank Immel. Here are the key topics discussed:
FAUNTLEROY FALL FESTIVAL: The area’s biggest family party of the season is coming up this weekend, Sunday, October 18 from 1-4 pm at 9140 California SW. Find more information at the festival website. As we previewed earlier this month, organizers say there are some logistical changes this year:
The Fauntleroy Fall Festival will be on October 18th this year, with a little bit of a different twist. This year the festival’s primary space will be at the Fauntleroy Church and YMCA. The Fauntleroy Children’s Center will be open for a quiet space for festival goers to move away from the hustle and bustle of the crowd, and will also serve as a diaper-changing room.
All 3 levels of the parking lot will be open and all the fun attractions you have come to love will be on one side of the street. Pumpkin-painting, birdhouse-building, live music, and so much more!
This decision was made for several reasons. One of them was safety- With less going on across the street, we hope there will be less bodies crossing, but our crossing guards will still be there! There is a private event going on at The Hall at Fauntleroy in the afternoon, so the back parking lot will not be available for parking. We highly encourage attendees of the festival to walk or use public transit.
We are looking forward to another wonderful Festival. See you on October 18th!
And some changes to the popular pumpkin hunt as well:
There’s quite a change-up for the Great Pumpkin Search this year. The search will be run from the FCA table at the Fall Festival, and it will begin at the same time as the festival opens, at 1:00. There will be new hiding places, which will be described when Searchers sign in. As in past pumpkin searches, in addition to pumpkins, there will be prizes hidden, the most special one being a beautiful glass pumpkin from Avalon Glassworks.
NEW SAFETY FEATURES AT FAUNTLEROY / WILDWOOD: Board members reviewed and discussed the city’s informational handout (online version here) describing the ongoing construction work happening at Fauntleroy/Wildwood, also tracked and summarized on SDOT’s website, to prepare for the installation of bike lanes and related safety features and parking/loading modifications (recent WSB coverage here and here, and posted on FCA’s website).
As we reported previously, Mayor Katie Wilson signed an executive order earlier this fall that – along with other things – mandated the construction of a protected bicycle lane by the end of 2026 on SW Wildwood Place, which is the street where bicyclist Maridee Bonadea was killed in June near the Fauntleroy ferry dock.
Members of the public are encouraged to send feedback about the project to SDOT at FauntleroyPBL@seattle.gov or via phone at (206) 900-8734. FCA board members said they also planned to share the project handout with impacted local businesses in the area, for awareness.
EARTHQUAKE AND TSUNAMI READINESS: As we mentioned earlier this week, the Great Washington Shakeout drill is coming up today at 10:15am, and preparedness for earthquakes and tsunamis has been a hot topic as of late, with a presentation at the Delridge Library earlier this month and a planned tsunami-prep briefing at tonight’s Alki Community Council meeting at 7pm at Alki UCC (6115 SW Hinds).
The Fauntleroy Community Association will be doing their part as well, hosting a presentation on October 27th from 6-8 pm at the Fauntleroy Schoolhouse called “The Talked About Earthquake and Tsunami – How It Will Affect Our Area and How to Prepare.” For details, check out this PDF info sheet. The featured presenter will be Mac Macdonald, a longtime West Seattleite and emergency response strategist and trainer who specializes in “What If” scenarios and was a guest at last month’s FCA meeting as well. Members of the public and from all neighboring community groups are welcome and encouraged to attend.
BOARD MEMBER RECRUITMENT: As noted at the September FCA meeting, the group is looking for new board members (especially secretary and treasurer). On Tuesday night, two neighbors were in attendance who had expressed interest in potentially joining the board, and they were in attendance to observe and learn. Anyone interested in serving on the board should contact FCA via their website.
OTHER BUSINESS:
- SPD: Community service officer Jamie Heslin stopped by to say hello briefly (due to other time commitments) and answer a few questions, but didn’t have detailed stats to report. Board members thanked her for making an appearance and taking time.
- Project updates next month: There weren’t any representatives from SDOT or Washington State Ferries or Seattle Public Utilities in attendance on Tuesday night, but Immel said that the board is working on getting guests to attend next month’s November FCA meeting to talk more about various projects including the aforementioned bike lane work, culvert projects, ferry dock traffic signal (now planned for 2027) and the Rose Street / Fauntleroy crossing.
- Planters: Board member Susan Lantz-Dey provided updates about the Endolyne-area flower boxes and the budget the group has for them.
- Bylaws: Board members spent the final portion of the meeting on a planned discussion about several sections of the group’s bylaws including voting procedures, proxies, and board nominations.
WHAT’S NEXT: The FCA board meets on second Tuesdays, 6 pm, at historic Fauntleroy Schoolhouse, with the next meeting scheduled for November 10. As mentioned above, the groups plans to have guests present to provide updates on various construction/improvement projects impacting the area.