Here comes the hybrid

Seattle voters have just under seven weeks to decide whether they prefer a scaled-back tunnel or a new elevated structure to replace the Alaskan Way Viaduct. Having scheduled two advisory measures for a March 13 election, the City Council has reduced the discussion about what to do with the aging, ailing waterfront highway to two options: rebuild it or bury it.

Some won’t like either, says Kelly Evans, manager of the first and best organized alt-Viaduct campaign (the mayor and his staff don’t count). Waterfront For All/Not Another Elevated Viaduct began pulling in tens of thousands of dollars last fall from downtown business interests and engineers. State reports disclose $10,000 contributions to the campaign from the Greater Seattle Chamber of Commerce and the Downtown Seattle Association, as well as smaller amounts from the Mariners, Vulcan, Harbor Properties, and Holland America. In a December bid to sway Gov. Christine Gregoire’s thinking on the elevated structure, Evans’ group spent $40,000.

Now, says Evans, who worked on the No-on-920 and No-on-933 campaigns, Not Another Elevated Viaduct is trying to marshal a host of concerns about another elevated structure. She says the campaign will make common cause with both tunnel supporters and detractors.

“There is a group of folks who don’t want to see anything built. There’s a camp that wants it rebuilt, a camp that wants it retrofitted,” she says. “You’ll see some crossover.”

“There’s a lot of folks who differ on what should replace the Viaduct, but all agree that it should not be another elevated structure.”

One group that has opposed the tunnel option has come out in favor of a rebuild. The No Tunnel Alliance, which held a rally outside the City Council before the City Council’s Fri., Jan. 19 advisory vote, released a statement that day criticizing the hasty process of designing a scaled-back tunnel and stated, “We support the governor’s position in going forward with the rebuild of the Alaskan Way Viaduct.”

The four-lane tunnel idea is not the same design as what’s been vetted by state engineers and presented to the public by the state Department of Transportation, which manages the project, nor by the mayor or City Council. That plan, the six-lane, $4.6 billion tunnel, lacks support from state legislators, who hold the purse strings. The new plan is estimated by the mayor to cost $3.4 billion. The Department of Transportation has committed no more than $2.4 billion for whichever replacement the state decides on.

—Adam Hyla

Service agencies join forces

An alliance has been formalized between the Compass Center and the Family & Adult Service Center (FASC).

On Tues., Jan. 16, the Compass Center’s board of directors confirmed its intention to begin working closely with FASC, starting in the middle of February. Both organizations assist Seattle’s roughly 8,000 homeless and low-income men, women, and children.

The announcement finalized two months of discussion. No jobs will be lost as a result of the partnership.

“We are delighted to welcome FASC clients, staff and supporters to the Compass Center family,” says Rick Freidhoff, Compass Center executive director. “Our separate organizations have a similar goal: providing services and programs that promote the dignity of each person and lead individuals from homelessness to independence.”

The Compass Center was founded in 1920 by a Swedish couple, Otto and Alva Karlstrom, who established it as a chapel, soup kitchen, reading room, employment agency, and language school. Today, it operates13 locations in Puget Sound. About 40 percent of its clientele are veterans.

FASC, which serves around 40,000 people a year, was founded in 1966 by Dr. Mineo Katagiri, a United Church of Christ minister, and Rube Label, a local business owner. In addition to providing meals, showers, laundry facilities and computer access, FASC also provides life-skills training and case management. In addition, FASC places families and individuals in transitional and permanent housing.

When asked what led to the partnership, FASC interim executive director Jan Glick says that FASC has been in a six-year transitional period and the move will help its clients achieve their goal of self-sufficiency.

He also noted that FASC’s goals are consistent with the Seattle-King County 10-year Plan to End Homelessness, which was approved by the Committee to End Homelessness in King County in 2005. The plan calls for prevention, permanent housing, and support services to help those in need prepare for and maintain long-term housing. Living up to those demands “requires capital improvements and additional case management,” says Katherine Koch, FASC board president. “Our board determined that important economies of scale could be achieved if we partner with an agency that has similar goals and a similar client base.”

—Andrew Cardillo