An enthusiastic membership attended the 2008 FHA Annual Meeting held on April 22 in the South Lake Union Armory. There was a festive atmosphere during the pre-meeting social hour as members shopped at the Houseboatique, chatted with dock friends, mingled with the scheduled speakers and FHA board members and met neighbors new to houseboat life. More photos of the meeting.
Fire Chief Gregory Dean, the first speaker of the evening, had his audience laughing as he admitted to some misperceptions about houseboat living. He moved on to behind-the-scene accounts of recent waterside infernos and concluded with encouraging words to the community. He suggested houseboaters could learn more about fire prevention by inviting SFD representatives to individual docks.
A second guest speaker, David Graves, Seattle Parks Department representative for the Lake Union Trail, described plans in the works for the trail. Audience members asked how the convergence of walkers and bikers on the narrow trail could be avoided and expressed worries about further loss of resident parking. A major concern questioned the city plans to impose a trail on, already congested, Fairview Avenue East. Amalia Walton, FHA representative on the LU Trail project, will be sure to follow up on these questions and other issues.
The meeting continued with a presentation from Barb Donnette of Tenas Chuck about the ‘walking fish’ tile project. This Community Tile Project should coincide with Eastlake's part of the new Lake Union Trail/Loop. Imagine these ‘unique fish’ on trail markers, on dock entry signs, and possibly a walking fish on individual homes. Watch for further information this summer.
Committee reports, a yearly staple of the meeting, looked to the Board’s focus for the future. There were reminders of upcoming events: The Lake Union Sweep and the 2008 FHA Tour. Bob Bowman spoke on how the proposed changes to the Shoreline Management Act could affect the community. Bill Keasler explained how to use the new web site and encouraged members to join in discussions on the Community Forum page.
During the FHA board elections, new member, Molly Cadranell was welcomed onto the board. Then, President Bill Keasler presented a brief history of Lake Union as a Working Lake and discussed his views on adapting to change on our neighborhood lake.
The meeting ended with a Houseboatique raffle of bottles of wine and T-shirts.