By JESSE ROSS

A near-record crowd of 120 neighbors turned out to attend the Meadowbrook Community Council's meeting last month to learn more about two proposed projects in the area: The U.S. Post Office's interest in building a branch office on the former Maple Leaf School site and the construction of a new sports playfield at Nathan Hale High School.

Most residents who spoke at the meeting made it clear they weren't too thrilled about either project.

The Post Office proposed purchasing the old Maple Leaf School site - a three-acre lot at the corner of NE 100th and 32nd Avenue NE - from the Seattle School District to build a new 120,000-square-foot post office branch. The full-service facility would deliver to the entire 98115 zip code area, which includes the Meadowbrook, Roosevelt, Maple Leaf, and View Ridge neighborhoods.

The new post office would also lend needed support to the smaller and overworked Wedgwood branch..

The proposition was met with much skepticism from members of the crowd in attendance at the Oct. 12 meeting. Fears were voiced over the disruptive effect that the new facility would have on the adjacent residential housing and community church.

Complaints focused on the increased noise and traffic that would come with the new post office, as well as the impact that the project might have on the nearby Thornton Creek Watershed and the Chinook salmon that pass through it.

Neighbors also expressed their concern over the look and size of the facility, which would house a two-story mailing and sorting building as well as 180 parking spaces for customers, delivery trucks, and its 80 on-site employees.

In response to these concerns, post office representative Andy Jacobson unveiled design plans that included an enclosed loading area to reduce noise and a limited acess parking lot designed to restrict the flow of traffic to one side of the facility.

Jacobson also noted that if the project were to move beyond this preliminary phase, both environmental and traffic studies would be conducted to assess the potential impact of building the facility. Despite these concessions, the crowd remained pessimistic about the proposed project site.

Representatives of the U.S. Post Office first approached Seattle Public Schools with the idea to purchase the lot after an extensive search to locate a suitable site in Meadowbrook and the surrounding area pointed to the district's property as the best available location for a new branch. What to do with the former Maple Leaf Elementary School site has been up for debate since the closing of the school several years ago. (The Meadowbrook area was once known as Maple Leaf, which is not to be confused with the present-day Maple Leaf neighborhood, which is located approximately one mile to the south and west.)

After Post Office officials outlined the idea to John Richmond, property manager for Seattle Public Schools. Richmond suggested that the Post Office gauge the neighborhood's responsiveness to the project through a community center presentation.

The Post Office has decided to pursue other possible sites for the new facility. Wedgwood Post Office Branch Supervisor Gordon Eklund said the Meadowbrook location does remain an option, but the Post Office will now focus its efforts on researching new locations that were suggested at the community center meeting.

For more information on the Post Office's plans or to recommend a usable site, contact Candy Fuller at (253) 925-9727.