TEN YEARS LATER Group has been quilting for soldiers for a decade. Page 4
LACROSSE IS COMING Registration for spring lacrosse teams begins. Page 15
NEWS | Fur Ball raises $100,000 for VIPP. [3] COMMENTARY | Exchange students bring perspective. [6] ARTS | High school play tackles teen issues, social media. [10]
BEACHCOMBER VASHON-MAURY ISLAND
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2015 Vol. 60, No. 46
www.vashonbeachcomber.com
75¢
County to award more than $1 million to four island organizations Culture agency and county team up to give Kingdome funds to arts, preservation nonprofits By ANNELI FOGT Editor
Clockwise from upper left: Mike Urban’s photo of a VAA ballet student getting ready for the annual “Nutcracker” performance, curator Laurie Tucker displays a Native American basket at the Heritage Museumm, Glenda Pearson (left) and Mary Matsuda Gruenewald look at photos of the Mukai family, VoV’s Michael Barker and Susan McCabe broadcast their radio show.
Four island nonprofits are slated to receive more than $1 million as part of a plan to redirect millions of dollars from King County’s early payoff of the Kingdome to cultural organizations. With a new performing arts center expected to open in April 2016, Vashon Allied Arts will be awarded $1 million to go toward construction costs for the center; Voice of Vashon is expanding into downtown and will receive $22,750 for the construction costs of the storefront studio; Friends of Mukai will be given $100,000 for restoration of the Mukai house, and the VashonMaury Island Heritage Association will be awarded $20,000 for a new foundation and seismic upgrades to the Heritage Museum. The four organizations were the only ones on the island to apply for the county-wide grants, according to county Councilmember and Chair of the council’s Budget and Fiscal Management Committee Joe McDermott. He said the grants are expected to be awarded later this month after approval by the county council. For the island organizations that are expanding and building, the grants for construction are exactly what they need to finish the projects. With the grants, the construction costs of VAA’s performing arts center and VoV’s storefront studio are fully
funded. The largest of the local grants went to construction costs for VAA’s $19 million performing arts center. Scheduled to open in April as a venue for dance, choir, opera and orchestra performances, the center has been an expensive undertaking funded almost completely by local donations. VAA Executive Director Molly Reed told The Beachcomber last week that $3.2 million of the center’s funding is from government grants; the remaining $15.8 million has come from local funding and private donors. “It’s really great to get this financial support,” Reed said. “A big allocation like this is very gratifying. It’s just amazing.” Reed said that the center’s construction has been a long, tough process, but now that she can see the vision literally take shape before her eyes, it’s much easier. A multi-million-dollar donation from islander Kay White began the process in 2007, and provided enough money to begin making the center a reality. The project, at times, became a polarizing community issue with some islanders throwing their full support and money behind it, while others doubted its necessity and felt the community had other issues that required funding and attention. The recession put the project on hold for years, and construction did not begin until April 2015. “There was awhile there where I said I hadn’t slept in five years,” Reed said. “When they started construction, I could finally sleep.” As the center rises up from the corner of Cemetery Road and Vashon Highway, a more modest project is taking shape closer to town. SEE GRANTS, 19
King County Metro launches transit survey, seeks community input By SUSAN RIEMER Staff Writer
King County Metro Transit is working to improve Vashon’s public transit options and is asking islanders to complete a survey to help officials better understand transportation use on the island and its limitations. The survey is part of Metro’s Alternative Services Program, which brings transportation services to communities where traditional bus services may not be effective or possible. In September, Metro officials involved with the program created a working group of about a dozen islanders to address Vashon’s needs, and the survey — which is available online and will soon
be available on paper — will be an important part of that effort, those involved say. Metro officials also plan to ride Vashon’s buses in the coming weeks to hear from community members directly. “We want to find out how people are using the bus routes, who is not served and barriers for using transit,” said Dan Anderson, a Metro community relations planner. The survey, crafted by Metro with input from the working group, asks a range of questions, including location of residence, how bus service is currently used, most frequent destinations and where people would like to go by bus that they cannot
now. Metro officials would like responses by Dec. 3. The working group has met three times since it formed in September and has discussed what members would like to see in a transportation network, Anderson said, noting that a variety of perspectives are represented, with members that commute, some who remain mostly on-island and others who represent Vashon social services and the business community. “We know that there are a lot of unique transportation needs on Vashon, so we tried to get a broad representation,” he added. With information from the working
group and the survey results in hand, Metro will then begin analyzing the information and suggesting solutions, from community app-based ride sharing programs to island shuttles. Anderson was reluctant to speak at length about potential solutions, however, because he did not want to circumvent the process. “One of my goals is to not start with solutions and then find the problems to fit, but to start with the problems and learn the gaps and then tailor the program to fit,” he said. This effort is part of a two-year pilot program the county funded to help SEE TRANSPORTATION , 17