By Gwen Davis

Lisa Herbold, District 1 Coucilmember said that on July 13, the mayor will propose to dissolve Seattle's 13 Neighborhood District Councils, to be replaced by a new "Community Involvement Commission".

The neighborhood district councils are not diverse enough, the mayor feels.

Herbold released this piece of "controversial" news at Tuesday's Admiral Neighborhood Association meeting.

“The Seattle Council got an initial report about a month ago, and were supposed to come back with some recommendations with how to move forward [regarding diversity and,” she said.

This issue has been stewing for a while.

Months ago, the city council agreed that they needed to know more about the neighborhood district councils. “What role do the neighborhood district councils have?” Herbold said, as she reviewed the issue for the meeting’s participants.

“Last Nov. the council asked the Department of Neighborhoods for a request for more information. The council was interested in learning whether they could reorient their programs… more equatable community engagement,” she said.

But time had run out.

“We learned today that the mayor is going to propose a new system that [the has not had a chance to review,” she said.

Herbold said that while she agreed that there should be more diversity, she said there should be measures so that the "baby isn’t thrown out with the bathwater".

“I pledge to keep you as informed as I can be,” she said. “I don’t know how these recommendations coming from the mayor are going to engage the councils in the decision making.”

Participants brought up potential issues such as government staff appointing neighborhood council people, instead of how it is now, where residents are voted into office by their respective councils.

"You probably want to get your comments in by no later then the end of this month," Herbold said, regarding residents who wanted to challenge the changes.

Other topics in the meeting:

Around 50 people showed up for the meeting. Attendees went around the room, giving their intros. The secretary gave her announcements, including fundraisers. Southwest District Council information was announced before the meeting participants, regarding upcoming election material. The Kids’ Parade and concert series were discussed.

“We’ve got our line-up,” said Katy Walum, the coordinator of the concert series. “We’ve been putting it all together via email. The goal of the meeting in July is to hand out the posters… the concerts start on July 21.”

Walum said she needed volunteers for the different nights. There are many needs the volunteers fill, such as checking the sound, providing material to the bands and making sure people have appropriate places to sit.”

“I’m so thrilled for this year’s line-up,” she said. However, Walum did note that this would be her last year filling the concert series role. “I hope the next coordinator will be passionate about concerts."

Next on the agenda was a new PCC development.

“My company is invested in West Seattle,” the representative regarding the development said. “We got projects in the Capitol Hill area, and we’ve had the piece of land where the PCC is for a little over a year.”

The other representative who was with him, put up three slides in the front of the room where attendees could see the new potential PCC. The facility would have a store and a residential unit.

“We want to be a good neighbor,” the rep said, among other top wish-list items. “We want to break the building down into five pieces — that’s our preferred scheme,” she said. The developers will go to the city and make their case as to why their preferred scheme is a winner for the PCC.

One participant suggested that all the grocery store developers should get together and talk about the things that they do and do not like.

It was asked whether the PCC is out, and it is not, the developers confirmed.