Central Area Police Precinct

At a special meeting of the City Council on July 27, 1977, a brief discussion of a bond proposal for police precinct stations took place. The issue appeared on the ballot September 20, 1977, and passed 73,745 to 37,258. Below are Council President Sam Smith's views.

Excerpt from Special Meeting of City Council, July 27, 1977

Transcript:

Councilmember Sam Smith: I understand Mr. Hill's language, but perhaps Mr. Hill has not lived in the Central community, made a call for police and waited 45 minutes to get a response. By the same token, perhaps Mr. Hill has not lived in the community where that community was inflamed at the Police Department, and you had to literally throw yourself in between them to try to get them on speaking terms.

We have an atmosphere now whereby there is a congeniality and wanting a precinct out in our neighborhood somewhere and we're not going to fuss now about where it's located. The idea is to increase service. The people in the Central community pay the tax that supports the north and the south precinct and I think that they are quite willing to pay the tax to support that third precinct because the whole structure of government is moving towards neighborhood operations. Just this morning, I participated in the opening of an unemployment security office in Ballard, so that the people in that general northwest neighborhood where Mr. Hill lives would not have to come downtown to Taylor Avenue North but that they could go out in that neighborhood to get services. So the people of the Central community have long been denied, often promised, and it's time for delivery. So, I strongly urge you to support Mr. Revelle's position for the three precincts.

The entire Council meeting can be heard in Digital Collections. Many other issues are discussed including bicycle registration and location of the animal shelter. See more on this topic from the Seattle Public Library. Citation: Special Meeting of City Council, July 27, 1977. Event ID 6448, Seattle City Council Legislative Department Audio Recordings (Record Series 4601-03).

Municipal Archives, City Clerk

Anne Frantilla, City Archivist
Address: 600 Fourth Avenue, Third Floor, Seattle, WA, 98104
Mailing Address: PO Box 94728, Seattle, WA, 98124-4728
Phone: (206) 684-8353
archives@seattle.gov

The Office of the City Clerk maintains the City's official records, provides support for the City Council, and manages the City's historical records through the Seattle Municipal Archives. The Clerk's Office provides information services to the public and to City staff.