The Department of Neighborhoods was created in 1991 by consolidating staff from the Executive Department's Citizens Service Bureau and Office of Neighborhoods, the Community Service Centers of the Department of Human Resources, and the Neighborhood Assistance Division of the Department of Community Development. The Office of Urban Conservation, the City's historic preservation agency, was added in 1992. The following year, the department added a community development function by taking over projects in the Central Area, Southeast Seattle, and the Port of Seattle. In 1999, the Neighborhood Planning Office was abolished and its continuing functions were assumed by the Department of Neighborhoods. The Department's mission is to bring local government closer to the citizens by maintaining a responsive presence in Seattle neighborhoods, by responding to citizen concerns and complaints, and providing a communications link for neighborhoods on City issues that will have an impact on them. The department operates the Neighborhood Service Centers (Little City Halls), administers the Neighborhood Matching Grant Program, staffs the Landmarks Preservation Board, and manages the P-Patch program.
Meeting minutes, reports, correspondence, and notes relating to the activities of Ballard District Coordinator Rob Mattson. Each of Seattle's 13 districts had a neighborhood district coordinator who acted as a liaison between the City of Seattle and district councils. In addition, the neighborhood district coordinator was responsible for overseeing grant applications, responding to community requests and complaints, and managing the activities of the neighborhood service centers. In 2017, the department reorganized neighborhood staff to four community engagement coordinators (one citywide coordinator, and one each for the north, central, and south sectors.)
Rob Mattson was the first Neighborhood District Coordinator for the Ballard neighborhood when the Community Service Center program, also known as "Little City Halls," started in 1973. He was also an active member of the Ballard District Council, which was formed in 1988. Mattson retired in 2013.
Records in this series include administrative files from Mattson, Ballard District Council and Northwest District Council meeting materials, and Ballard and Crown Hill neighborhood plans. Other topics include the Ballard branch of the Seattle Public Library, the Ballard farmer's market, Ballard Interbay Northend Manufacturing and Industrial Center (BINMIC), Ballard rail, and the Nordic Heritage Museum.
Records are open to the public.
[Item and date], Ballard Neighborhood District Coordinator Records, Record Series 5752-16. Box [number], Folder [number]. Seattle Municipal Archives.