By LEAH WEATHERSBY

For the past four years, the Fremont Neighborhood Council has been headed by a member of the household of Toby Thaler and Becky Sukovaty.

Sukovaty served a two-year stint as FNC president before handing over the reins to her husband, Thaler.

Now, it's time for someone from a different household to take a turn.

In July, the FNC elected Dick Selin, a member of the council for 10 years, as its new president.

Selin, 67, is a retired Boeing contract administrator who has lived in Fremont for 15 years. He served as a facilitator on FremontWorks in the '70s and '80s. FremontWorks' main function at the time was to hold public forums, he recalls. Selin also held a seat on the Lake Union District Council from 1995 to last year. He was the Lake Union District Council's chairman from 1999-2000. He currently works part-time as a facilities manager St. Mary's Church in the Central District.

Thaler, an environmental law attorney, plans to remain active with the FNC, serving as the chair of the group's land use committee.

Under the Sukovaty's and Thaler's leadership, the FNC tackled many thorny land use issues including an attempt in 1998 to block Quadrant Corp.'s plans to add three new office buildings at the Quadrant Lake Union Center, a business complex located just north of the Fremont Bridge.

While the Quadrant eventually proceeded with its expansion of the Lake Union Center, the FNC did succeed in persuading the developer to donate $50,000 to be used for much-needed parks and pedestrian improvements in the Fremont neighborhood.

To date, the FNC has committed $2,500 of that money to support the Peak Park project proposed for upper Fremont. Selin said the council has not yet decided how it will spend the rest of the funds.

Earlier this year, the FNC also voiced concerns regarding another proposed development: Security Properties' plans to build a 6-story housing/retail complex called the Block 40 Project on the northwest corner of N 34th and Fremont Ave N - the former site of the Red Door Alehouse Building.

A settlement between Security Properties and the FNC was reached in March, in which the developer agreed to pay $30,000 to the FNC for neighborhood improvements. Security Properties also agreed to some small design changes in the Block 40 Project.

When asked to talk about his accomplishments as FNC president, Thaler said he believed his status as a lawyer had "increased the credibility of the neighborhood council by making the city and developers aware that the neighborhood would litigate if necessary and appropriate.

"One legacy that we have done is we've left the FNC with a little bit of money to work with." Thaler said he originally took over as FNC president to free his wife from the obligation, and served two years because no one stepped forward to take his place. In turning over the reins to Selin, Thaler believes he has left the council in good hands.

"I think the neighborhood council board has increased in vitality immensely," Thaler said. "We now have a very strong board. Dick (Selin) is a very strong president and a good leader."

Suzie Burke, a Fremont businesswoman and property owner who has sometimes found herself at odds with the FNC over the last few years, expressed praise regarding Selin's election as the council's new president.

"I am delighted that Dick Selin, who was such a good facilitator for the Fremont Works committee, has taken the presidency of the FNC," Burke said. "Toby and Becky had a point of view on special issues, but there is such a broad plethora of issues that we need a wide involvement of neighbors."

Burke also said she hopes more members of the community will become involved in the FNC, especially since the group is now holding its monthly meetings at History House, a neighborhood history museum located on the corner of Aurora Avenue N and N 34th, underneath the Aurora Bridge. Burke is the History House's landlord.

Burke, who also serves as treasurer of the Fremont Chamber of Commerce, said, "the chamber looks forward to participating (with the FNC) in any way it can."

Selin said he would like to see greater community involvement in the FNC. To that end, the council recently launched several new committees and subcommittees to focus on various areas of public interest and concern.

The FNC's committees include land use, open space and "gorilla gardening" (a group which helps clean-up and landscape public spaces).

The FNC's other officers are vice president George Heideman (an architect and longtime Fremont resident who also serves as president of the Fremont Chamber), treasurer Benjamin Grossman, and Sheridan Hammond, who will begin her term as secretary. Hammond has been a Fremont resident for 11 years.

For more information about the Fremont Neighborhood Council, contact Dick Selin at 547-9697. (