Last week Mayor Ed Murray announced that 24 community groups will receive matching funds to support neighborhood-initiated projects and among them are two Ballard organizations: Friends of Ballard Avenue and Ballard Civic Orchestra.
24 Seattle groups were allotted $464,823 total from the Department of Neighborhoods Neighborhood Matching Fund, which allocates grants for improvements in cultural festivals, physical improvements and events. The awards are part of the Small and Simple Fund, which is one of three offered by the city for community projects. The City offers up to $25,000 per project. Groups pledge to match the City’s $464,823 investment with $523,744 consisting of donated materials, fund raising and volunteer labor.
Friends of the Ballard Civic Orchestra were awarded $12,390 to create a multiethnic, multigenerational community orchestra. The orchestra will be open to the public and offer instructional workshops and rehearsals. Performances will also be free. Their Community match is $15,430.
“These awards recognize the dedication and hard work of community members working together to improve their neighborhood,” said Mayor Murray. “Whether the projects are for physical improvements or a cultural celebration, the benefit of this program is the connection and engagement of neighbors and the broader community.”
The City reports that neighborhoods and communities have completed more than 5,000 projects with support from the Neighborhood Match Fund since 1998.
“The Neighborhood Matching Fund has been such an incredible resource for communities over the past 27 years,” said Kathy Nyland, director of Seattle Department of Neighborhoods. “The dollars raised by community groups are leveraged with the help of the Fund which means a “win” for the groups and their projects, but also a “win” for the community at large. This round of projects is diverse and creative and proves once again how resourceful communities are throughout Seattle.”
Friends of Ballard Avenue were awarded $25,000 to start a preliminary plan for the construction of permanent overhead street lighting on Ballard Avenue N.W. They plan to gather designs and public feedback in order to come up with a plan for the lighting. The group hopes to bring a sense of security and aesthetic enhancement to Ballard Avenue. FBA pledges a community match of $12,550.
The Ballard Chamber of Commerce is a sponsor for the project. Mike Stewart, Executive Director of the BCC said that the lighting would be a huge improvement to the relatively dark street.
“The Project is to really work on illuminating the dark corridor that is Ballard Avenue at times,” said Stewart. “The thought is to add some lighting to help the pedestrian environment because the lights get blocked from the street by the dense tree canopy, and also to improve safety and make an interesting street scape for visitors, shoppers and diners.”
The group plans to place raised hanging lighting on a four-block stretch from in Ballard Avenue from Market Street down to Dock Place to the south. Lighting the intersections in the area will be emphasized. From their application to the City, FBA reports that the new lighting will improve a sense of security, strengthen commerce and the local economy and enhance not only the nighttime urban experience but also the day time experience by using iconic designs that celebrates the community and its history. The groups plan to collaborate with architects, SDOT and the public to come up with the designs and placement of the lighting.
After the design stage is complete FBA and the chamber plan to look for other sources of funding to keep the project on track.
“This grant will really help lay the ground work for this project. … It won’t cover construction costs but it will cover community outreach and the first round of community meetings and design concepts. …It’s anticipated that other funds will be procured either from public grants or fund raising to make this project come to fruition.”
Another point made by the group in their application was that the permanent lighting will add to the holiday lighting, which has had difficulty being funded over the years. The Ballard Chamber received city-funding last year for the lighting, however this year funds are low there will not be as much twinkling in the trees in the Urban Core. However, Stewart said that what lighting would be up is the result of Ballard merchants making contributions. Ryan Staufer of Market Place Shoes spearheaded the fundraising campaign.
This year the Ballard Holiday Fest and tree lighting ceremony will be held Dec. 6 at Marvin’s Garden from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.
Here are the contributors for this year’s lighting: Baraka Gemstones and Jewelry, Ballard Coffee Works, Caffe Umbria, Camelion Design, CKM Associates, Digs, Fair Trade Winds, Henbart, His Word Found Here, Horseshoe, Hot Cakes, Hotel Ballard, Kavu, Kick It Boutique, Kula Movement, Market Street Shoes, Olympic Athletic Club, Our/Seattle, Other Coast Café, Peoples Bank, Pluto VR, re-Soul, Seattle Divorce Services, Sonic Boom, Sunset Hill Veterinary & Rehab, Sunset Tavern, Gretchen and Greg Swanson, Sweet Mickey’s, Trident Seafood Store, Veris Law Group, Verity Credit Union, and Washington Federal Bank.
The Small and Simple Projects Fund opens again for applications in January of 2016. To learn more visit seattle.gov/neighborhoods/nmf/smallandsimple.htm.
