A lack of police officers was the most common complaint when representatives of neighborhoods from throughout Seattle met recently for the city's first State of the Neighborhoods Summit.

West Seattle neighborhoods - represented by the Southwest District Council as well as the Delridge Neighborhoods District Council - listed emergency preparedness and human services respectively as their top priorities during the Jan. 18 event at City Hall.

Neighborhood and business organizations on the western side of West Seattle are represented by the Southwest District Council and the Delridge Neighborhoods District Council is on the eastern side of West Seattle.

Emergency preparedness topped the Southwest District Council's list because of West Seattle's vulnerability as a peninsula in an earthquake zone.

Transportation is the Southwest District Council's other priority issue, both transit and traffic.

There is fear in West Seattle an earthquake could wreck the West Seattle Bridge and cut the community off from jobs and health care, said Dennis Ross, who represented the Southwest District Council. He called for widening the Spokane Street Viaduct.

In other comments, Ross criticized a plan to reduce parking requirements for multifamily and small business developments at the same time that Seattle neighborhoods are becoming more densely developed. Further, he said the increased density amounts to a change in the neighborhoods' zoning designations.

Besides housing for the homeless, other priority issues for the Delridge Neighborhoods District Council are domestic violence, programs for refugees and treatment centers.

While representatives from district councils in other parts of Seattle shared some of the same issues as the West Seattle district councils, they seemed more concerned about the relative lack of city police officers.

The city is spending $408 million on public safety, which amounts to approximately 14 percent of the city's total $2.9 billion budget. Mayor Greg Nickels added 25 more police officers to the force last year. Nevertheless representatives from the Northwestern, Eastern, Southeastern and Magnolia-Queen Anne district councils all mentioned the need for more police officers at the summit meeting.

The representative from the Lake Union District Council even complained of "boat prowls" in her neighborhood and called for more Harbor Patrol help.

The Downtown District Council said public safety is their No. 1 priority and that the Seattle Police Department is understaffed.

Challenges for Ballard include keeping track of all the condominiums that are under construction, said Mary Hurley, representing the Ballard District Council.

At the same time, there's no affordable housing in Ballard, she said, and increased density is making parking scarce.

There's also a desire to keep the Ballard Locks operating 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Hurley added Ballard's voice to the call for replacing the Alaskan Way Viaduct because of the community's dependence on State Route 99.

The North District Council shares Delridge's concerns about immigrants and homeless people, said Cheryl Klinker, the representative from the north. The needs of immigrants are underserved and the homeless need housing, according to her group.

Magnolia-Queen Anne District Council's rep Matt Fraser called for replacement of the Magnolia Bridge as well as an emergency plan for the community.

The Greater Duwamish District Council represents South Park, Georgetown, Sodo and Beacon Hill.

"We feel like we're being dumped on," said Judith Edwards, representative of the Greater Duwamish District Council.

For a few months, Southwest Airlines wanted to move into the neighborhood. The airline withdrew its proposal to move from Sea-Tac International Airport to Boeing Field after the public got wound up about the proposal.

Now the city of Seattle is considering building its intermodal garbage transfer facility in Georgetown.

Another sore point for the Greater Duwamish District Council is the city's plan to establish an adult entertainment zone with strip clubs in part of the Sodo area, Edwards said.

Mayor Greg Nickels addressed the neighborhood representatives at the summit. Many people from neighborhoods on the western side of the city spoke of the need to replace the Alaskan Way Viaduct. Nickels said $2.5 billion has been secured to help pay for replacement of the Alaskan Way Viaduct and heavy construction could begin in 2009.

Among the "ongoing challenges" facing city government, the mayor said, is getting enough money to keep Seattle's streets repairs.

"Our streets are falling apart," Nickels said.

A few years ago, the city budgeted $37 million for street repairs. But court challenges to the way in which the tax was collected as well as tax-limiting initiatives reduced the street-repair fund to about $12 million.

"We have a $25 million systemic gap," the mayor said.

Seattle faces other challenges, such as restoring confidence in Seattle Public Schools, Nickels said. Future jobs will require critical thinking skills, he added.

The city needs more affordable housing too, the mayor said.

"Anyone who works in the city ought to be able to live in the city," Nickels said.

Tim St. Clair can be contacted at 932-0300 or tstclair@robinsonnews.com