White Center Now: The blog about White Center

Another Night Out event in White Center – and this one is early, so you can still go to the downtown block party, too! Here’s the official announcement:

The Annual King County Parks Night Out Against Crime Picnic is coming up on Tuesday, August 6th from 5-7pm at Steve Cox Memorial Park (1321 SW 102nd 98146.) The White Center Teen Program has participated in the National Night Out event for over a decade and is thrilled to invite families back to the park in 2013. In addition to the traditional Night Out crafts, games and hotdogs, the Teen Program will also be offering tours of their new demonstration garden at the Southeast corner of the park. The garden tours are especially fitting for Night Out, as the new garden was installed in the Spring of 2013 in an attempt to replace an ongoing safety concern in the park with a new, improved amenity.

In recent times, the original picnic shelter at Steve Cox Memorial Park has posed challenges for public safety and ongoing maintenance. The remote location of the shelter provided privacy for picnic goers, but it also allowed for general misuse and mistreatment of the space. King County Parks just completed construction on a more centrally located picnic shelter next to the children’s playland, and the question was raised as to what to do with the existing structure. In lieu of tearing down a beloved amenity made possible by local community groups like the WC Lions , The White Center Teen Program proposed upcycling the space and structure into a demonstration garden and greenhouse. The original shelter was converted by the County Crafts Crew in the spring of 2013, and the teens have been volunteering to build the beds, plant the crops, and maintain the garden ever since.

This year’s picnic is once again sponsored by the teens and staff of the White Center Teen Program. The WCTP offers free recreational, educational and social enrichment programming to over 800 culturally diverse participants ages 12-19 each year. The program operates five days a week, forty-eight weeks a year and provides structured recreational classes and programs, homework assistance, educational and computer resources, leadership training, volunteer opportunities, special events, field trips, and drop-in activities. Teens and staff will be providing garden themed crafts, games and snacks along with garden tours between 5-7pm on the evening of the 6th.

For additional Information, please contact Darlene Sellers, Recreation Coordinator at 206.296.2952

12:28 PM: Thanks to Gill for sharing photos of what’s happening this week at North Shorewood Park – new playground equipment! The installation came shortly after the removal of the old equipment:

We’re checking with King County Parks and will add whatever more we find out.

2:12 PM UPDATE: KC Parks spokesperson Doug Williams tells WCN: “This is a Community Development Block Grant project, officially named the North Shorewood Park Rehabilitation project, in the amount of $117,000. Completion is expected in about mid-August.”

The Technology Access Foundation‘s facility in Lakewood Park is one example of the kind of partnerships the county is trying to embrace and increase, and so a special event last night honored TAF and other partners. Here’s the official news release:

Dozens of past Community Partnerships and Grants recipients joined King County Parks this week to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the innovative program aimed at creating new or enhanced public recreation facilities.

Community partners representing a variety of King County user groups, sports associations, recreation clubs and other non-profit organizations gathered together Thursday, June 20, for a special recognition dinner to reflect on the achievements of their partnerships with King County Parks that resulted in new or better facilities such as mountain bike trails, a birdloop trail, community meadows, a boathouse, and turf sports fields.

“Getting behind Community Partnership Grants and embracing the passion and energy of our community partners makes sense for the County,” said King County Councilmember Larry Phillips. “The results speak for themselves: In the past decade, more than 50 community based projects have been completed with a public investment of over 14 million dollars that was amazingly matched by over $40 million dollars in private funding.”

In 2003, the CPG Program was established as a public/private partnership initiative to empower community-based organizations to develop public recreation facilities and run programs on King County land, which would not be possible with Parks current funding.

King County contributes use of land and capital improvement grants for successful partnership proposals. Community partners contribute the necessary additional capital and in-kind resources to develop the new or enhanced facility, as well as operations, maintenance, and programming, which is typically accomplished through volunteers and/or revenue-based programs or other resources.

Popular outcomes of the CPG Program include the active Duthie Hill Park, a partnership with the Evergreen Mountain Bike Alliance that brought more than 20,000 hours of volunteer labor to build the impressive network of mountain biking trails; the recently completed lacrosse turf field at Big Finn Hill Park in partnership with Kirkland Lacrosse; and the Technology Access Foundation’s Bethady Community Learning Space at Lakewood Park, a beneficial resource to thousands of students with learning labs and an accessible community room that was the fitting venue to host the CPG Program recognition dinner.

“I am honored to be here with you tonight to celebrating the 10th anniversary of the CPG program and to recognize and celebrate you and your organizations, as representatives of the thousands of park users and volunteers,” said King County Councilmember Joe McDermott. “The CPG program is unique and innovative and being here tonight at TAF’s Bethaday Community Learning Space – a building that embodies the CPG program. It is a testament to the hard work, energy and passion that each of you bring to the Community Partnerships and Grants Program.”

As each group stepped forward to accept their partnership recognition awards presented by Kevin Brown, director of King County Parks, a series of photos in the background displayed images of shovels breaking ground, hard hats in construction zones, ribbon cuttings and many smiles across the faces of people of all ages; all in part to their vision, passion and commitment to the greater community.

Learn more about the Community Partnerships and Grants Program: http://www.kingcounty.gov/recreation/parks/partners/cpg.aspx

Receiving partnership recognition awards Thursday night were:

· Discovering Open Spaces

· Eastside Audubon Society

· Eastside Football Club

· Evergreen Mountain Bike Alliance

· Friends of Cedar River Watershed

· Friends of Dockton Park

· Friends of Maury Island Marine Park

· Hollywood Hill Saddle Club

· Issaquah Little League

· Kent Youth Soccer Association

· Kirkland Lacrosse

· Marymoor Velodrome Association

· Middle Green River Coalition

· Mirrormont Community Association

· Northwest Paragliding Club

· Preston Community Club

· Ravensdale Park Foundation

· Redmond North Little League

· Sammamish Rowing Association

· Seattle Preparatory School

· Technology Access Foundation

· Vashon Forest Stewards

Thanks to Gill Loring for photos and news about a weekend event to beautify North Shorewood Park – organized by King County Parks and featuring Seattle Works volunteers as well as Friends of NSP:

We had a great time. The weather was perfect for working. Cleaned out around trees planted last year, added a few more and barked them to help keep down the weeds.

Cleared out along the trails and picked up trash. Several kids from the neighborhood showed up to use the basketball hoop and found it “busy” with a truck parked under it.

A wonderful thing happened – they volunteered to help, pulled on some Seattle Works tees and dug right in. According to Mark from KC Parks, they wanted to know if they could come back (Sunday) and help some more! Nope, just a one-day event.

Recently, we were among those CC’d on a letter from Friends of Hicklin Lake to the King County Parks Department. The letter voiced numerous concerns about the park, particularly regarding its use for disc golf. Christie True, who leads Natural Resources and Parks, has responded to the same mailing list with inline answers to concerns voiced by the citizens’ group (which are in bold, inbetween her answers):

Thank you for your e-mail sharing your concerns about the use of King County’s Lakewood Park and Hicklin Lake by the disc golf community. As you mention, Lakewood Park is a public park and is open to all users for both passive and active recreational activities.

As a general overview of Lakewood Parks and its may features and uses, you may know that it is unique in that it is the home of the only disc golf course (established in 1989) in the King County park system. In addition to the public disc golf course, Lakewood Park has three picnic shelters, a playground area, restrooms, walking path around Hicklin Lake and is the new home of the Technology Access Foundation Learning Center (TAF).

Lakewood Park is used by the local community on a daily basis, as well as the site of community picnics and events, church groups, family picnics and reunions. Many of the community events are not charged for the use of the park. The new concession at Lakewood Park sells disc golf equipment as well as snacks and beverages and is open to the public. The Parks and Recreation Division (Parks) receives revenue each month from the new concessionaire and also receives revenue from user fees for picnics and other activities.

I would like to take this opportunity to respond to each of your concerns which I have provided below:

Is politics controlling reality in our local park? That seems to be evident, where one group of players is allowed to take over a public park for their benefit. Their web site notes “every nook and cranny of the park” has been utilized.

From our observations we find the following:

This King County public park is Lakewood Park/Hicklin Lake, located in the heart of White Center, and has been turned into a single sport arena, remaining a “park” in name only.

Lakewood Park is used by the local community on a daily basis, as well as the site of community picnics and events, church groups, family picnics and reunions throughout the year.

The disc golf community has given countless hours to volunteer projects over the years. In addition, they work with the local school district offering disc golf classes to the middle and high school students.

King County personnel defend, with lame embarrassing excuses, both of the illegal activities which occur in connection with this sport and the environmental damage to the park landscape.

Many of the illegal activities that occur at the park cannot be resolved by Parks alone as we do not have legal enforcement authority and must rely on other King County agencies, such as the King County Sheriff and Animal Control, to enforce King County regulations.

The exchange continues ahead – again, what’s in bold is what was voiced by Friends of Hicklin Lake: Read the rest of this entry »

In this afternoon’s bright late-summer sunshine, a small group of dignitaries and community members gathered to celebrate the renovated Steve Cox Memorial Park tennis courts. (Added: Video of the entire event)

The work’s been finished for a while, but there was no point in hurrying the party, which had been three years in the making. The project depended in large part on a federal Community Development Block Grant, and while that was obtained in 2010, county parks boss Kevin Brown explained, federal stimulus-related projects took precedence, so this didn’t get done for a while. But this afternoon, as he presided over a ceremonial ribbon-cutting, that was all a distant memory:

Among other attributes, the courts are unique as a lighted public place to play tennis in White Center.

If you’re with a company that specializes in getting people ready for the outdoors – what better way to spend your volunteering time, than to be, well, outdoors? North Shorewood Park got an infusion of attention on Thursday when REI volunteers dug in:

If you’re feeling like helping out, REI’s website even has a feature you can use to find someplace to volunteer. Thanks to Gill for the tip about Thursday’s work party – and for sharing this bonus group shot:

Side note: North Shorewood Park, which is at 24th and 102nd, is one of those that King County would turn over to the City of Burien if annexation wins the November vote and is finalized next year.

(Photos by WCN’s Patrick Sand)
Notice people in bright-green shirts around White Center at midday today? Those were the Starbucks workers whose second annual Month of Service volunteerism brought them today to Mount View Elementary, Lakewood Park, and White Center Heights Park (the latter is where we caught up with them).

The White Center work was in conjunction with SeattleWorks.

According to the announcement we received in advance, on behalf of Starbucks, the company has a lofty April volunteerism goal: “This year we’re aiming to beat 200,000 community-service hours – that’s the equivalent of nearly 100 people working 9-5 for a year!”

If White Center becomes part of Burien, its parks will become tobacco-free. In the meantime, they’re not, but a King County proposal might change that. Announced by the county:

King County would join a growing list of local parks, hospitals and schools with policies for tobacco-free areas under a proposed ordinance sent today to the King County Council to prohibit tobacco use in the busiest areas of the County’s expansive parks system.

“When people come to a public park, they expect to breathe fresh air – not someone else’s cigarettes,” said King County Executive Dow Constantine, citing a survey of county residents in which more than 70 percent said they support smoke-free public places, including parks.

The proposed ordinance would mean visitors to County parks could no longer use tobacco in heavily-used park areas such as children’s playgrounds, athletic fields, picnic shelters and trailheads.

Compliance would be voluntary, much like for littering, failure to keep a dog on a leash, or alcohol use in a park; enforcement would occur only when problems are reported. A federal grant will pay for signs denoting tobacco-free areas.

“Our residents want healthy, tobacco-free parks,” said King County Councilmember and King County Board of Health Chair Joe McDermott. “Tobacco use is still the leading cause of preventable death and illness in King County, and this ordinance would further expand our smoke-free spaces so children and families can be safe from second-hand smoke.”

Council adoption of the ordinance would align King County with 11 local governments representing more than 1 million residents that have already adopted rules prohibiting or limiting tobacco use in parks. They include Auburn, Black Diamond, Bothell, Burien, Covington, Kirkland, Mercer Island, Seattle, Shoreline, Snoqualmie, and the Vashon Park District. In Washington state, more than 45 cities in 15 counties have smoke-free parks policies, including Tacoma Metro Parks in Pierce County, and Marysville and Lake Stevens in Snohomish County.

A universal “tobacco-free parks” sign has been created for jurisdictions to post in their parks. Each jurisdiction that has adopted or plans to adopt a tobacco- or smoke-free policy will have the opportunity to post this sign as part of the regional partnership for tobacco-free parks. Tobacco-free efforts by local cities and King County are supported by Communities Putting Prevention to Work (CPPW), a federal grant to address obesity and tobacco use.

Tobacco-free parks are part of a broad movement to create healthy and smoke-free areas, especially for kids and the most vulnerable. In recent months many hospitals, housing providers, and mental health and chemical dependency centers have also gone smoke-free.

In King County alone, tobacco causes almost 2,000 premature deaths and costs over $340 million in medical expenses and lost wages each year. In addition to the health effects, cigarette butts can account for up to 70 percent of litter in public places. Cigarette butts can take up to 15 years to decompose, leaching chemicals into the soil and posing harm to small children and pets if ingested.

“The U.S. Surgeon General has concluded that there is no safe level of exposure to second-hand smoke,” said Carrie Nyssen, Regional Director of Advocacy for the American Lung Association of the Mountain Pacific. “Even brief exposure to second-hand smoke can cause an asthma attack in a child, or increase risk of blot clots in healthy adults.”

Nationally, almost 600 jurisdictions have enacted laws that prohibit tobacco use in parks and on beaches, including New York City and Los Angeles County. Among the support from local cities:

· City of Auburn Mayor Pete Lewis: “The City of Auburn is committed to creating a healthy community. The Tobacco-free Park Policy is intended to assist recreational organizations and parents in their efforts to recreate in a tobacco-free environment. It is important that we recognize the effects of first and second-hand smoke and discourage tobacco usage at places where youth are gathered and healthy lifestyle activities are available.”

· City of Black Diamond Mayor Rebecca Olness: “Black Diamond has parks and open spaces that provide healthy recreational opportunities to its citizens. To ensure that these places continue to provide these benefits, limiting smoking makes sense and adds to the healthy experience. Our residents deserve parks where they can exercise and enjoy the natural environment smoke free.”

· City of Burien Mayor Brian Bennett: “We’re proud to have joined other cities in King County in declaring our parks smoke-free. This policy benefits the entire community and is in line with the City’s vision of promoting a healthy environment for people of all ages.”

· City of Covington Mayor Margaret Harto: “Covington established its tobacco-free park ordinance in 2002 because we knew that choosing to be tobacco-free in our parks meant choosing to provide a better quality of life for our citizens. We are proud to join King County’s initiative to bring light to the harmful effects of second-hand smoke in our public places.”

· City of Snoqualmie Mayor Matt Larson: “We believe parks should remain spaces that are focused on health. Having places where kids can go and exercise and enjoy the fresh air is what parks are all about.”

· City of Shoreline Mayor Keith McGlashan: “The City of Shoreline has made a commitment to being a Healthy City and has developed a Healthy City Strategy to make it a reality. Part of that effort is to make our parks tobacco-free. The Council is currently studying the issue and so far the community has been very supportive of the idea.”

The King County Parks system is comprised of roughly 200 parks, 175 miles of regional trails, 180 miles of backcountry trails, and more than 26,000 acres of open space.

For more information on CPPW, please visit www.kingcounty.gov/health/cppw and the campaign Let’s Do This that encourages residents to get involved in improving the health of their communities.

(Photo by Patrick Sand for WCN)
One more reminder – 4 pm today, the community, and especially veterans, are invited to the re-dedication of the White Center Triangle Veterans’ Park at the south end of Delridge. A new flag and plaque will be highlighted. If you are a veteran and are able to wear at least part of your uniform, organizers have made that request. Here’s the detailed invitation we published here last weekend.

WCN contributor Deanie Schwarz sent that photo with news that the tennis courts at Steve Cox Memorial Park are dug up, as work starts on a renovation project. She checked with Darlene Sellers from King County Parks, who tells WCN it’s a two-phase project:

Phase I of the project began on Monday, September 12th and is expected to run 45 days, until around October 31st. At that time the courts will be temporarily lined, and should be playable again in early November. Phase II is scheduled to begin in May and should last for about three weeks.

The money is from a $100,000 Community Development Block Grant (process explained here) obtained in 2009.

WIth an online survey that has just one more week to go, King County Parks is hoping to hear from you. They hope to gain “a better understanding of the open space and recreation needs of King County residents and their perspectives of what makes really great parks, trails, cultural areas, and recreational opportunities, now and in the future.” Take the survey here; it’s open till September 14th.

Story and photos by Deanie Schwarz
Reporting for White Center Now

A picnic with free barbecue brought out a hungry and hardy crowd to enjoy Hicks Lake at Lakewood Park on a slightly chilly Saturday afternoon. Smoke billowed from burgers on the grills as neighborhood folks milled around the tables to chat and learn about where things now stand with Lakewood Park and where they might be headed.

Frana Milan, program manager for the Enterprise and Partnerships Unit of King County Parks and Recreation Division (pictured above with civilian-attired King County Sheriff’s Office community officer Vary Jackson), was available to receive first hand the feedback from the community about the proposed trail improvement around the north and west side of the lake.

In a conversation with community members, Milan explained the different responsibilities for different county agencies discussing the future plans for Hicks Lake and the surrounding natural systems. It is the Water and Land Resources Division within the Department of Natural Resources and Parks that addresses the stormwater management issues and has lake-ecosystem experts on staff.

Milan explained further, “I always like to say that Water and Land takes care of nature for nature’s sake and Parks takes care of nature for people’s sake.” A map was available to instruct the picnicgoers and the other groups present about the complex context of neighboring stormwater systems, wetlands and lakes.

North Highline Unincorporated Area Council president Christine Waldman led a large contingency from the North Highline group working their way through the tables. She observed that Friends of Hicks Lake‘s Dick Thurnau had successfully brought together for the first time these varied groups which can together face a long-standing problem which they all agree must be addressed. “It’s been long enough. Something really needs to be done.”

Thurnau’s passion for the Hicks Lake area is legendary around here. Many other group representatives nodded and spoke in agreement about the need for some kind of formal recognition for the tireless decades of volunteer work he has done on behalf of the area. His two daughters were on hand assisting him in his work during Saturday’s event. One had flown up from California to help him with the coordination and planning because, she says, “It is so important to him.” Dick, along with Sherry Williams (with him in the photo above), enjoyed the crowd’s anticipation as they drew raffle tickets for a much desired prize of smoked sockeye salmon. A number of other items were raffled off as well to some lucky picnicgoers.

Williams is deputy director of TAF (Technology Access Foundation) and said the groundbreaking for the new TAF Community Learning Space is still on track for next April, with completion of the “warm shell” by the following fall of 2011. To be located in the northeast quadrant of Lakewood Park, the building will be built green and developed in phases following the initial structural development. ( The term “warm shell” describes the future large building edifice and its completed systems, but does not include specific classroom equipment or furnishings.)

Additional feedback on plans for Lakewood Park, Hicks Lake and/or surrounding parks can be provided to the county through this website: parksfeedback.com.

So says King County – they’ve got some work to do. Here are the details.

Update to the Puget Sound Park situation (reported here late Friday) – Talked Saturday with Joe Woods from King County Executive-elect Dow Constantine‘s team. He says Constantine is asking that outgoing King County Executive Kurt Triplett not proceed with any deals before the change in command on Tuesday afternoon; Woods is short on specifics of what the “deal” involving Puget Sound Park might be, but he says it appears to be “something the current executive was pursuing to plug the budget hole and help fund the rest of the unincorporated parks that were at risk, according to his plan that came out this summer” – and whatever this is, it progressed further than other possibilities had. Woods says they’re hopeful the soon-to-be-ex-county-executive will appreciate the about-to-be-county-executive’s request not to strike a deal. We’ll be checking in with various parties Monday to see where all this stands.

As reported here several weeks back, King County Executive Kurt Triplett has proposed closing more than three dozen county parks in unincorporated urban areas, like White Center, because of the county budget crisis. King County Council Chair Dow Constantine, who is running for KCE, just announced his proposal to keep those parks from closing:

King County Executive candidate Dow Constantine today issued a four point plan intended to keep parks across King County open as the County moves to close its current budget gap.

Current King County Executive Kurt Triplett has called on the County to begin mothballing parks December 1st of this year in order to help close the budget deficit.

“I do not believe that closing parks is the right approach for dealing with the County’s budget problems, nor is it necessary,” Constantine said. “If we use our existing resources more wisely, we can keep our neighborhood parks open and available for use by the people of King County.”

Constantine’s concern with the Executive’s proposal to shutter parks is two-fold.

“Our 39 local parks provide critical services to the communities in which they reside. Many of these parks are in low-income communities and are important community gathering places that provide recreation and exercise and enhance the quality of life for the communities in which they are located,” Constantine said. “Moreover, the voters of King County passed two parks levies in 2007 in order to save all our parks. While this levy applied only to regional and rural parks, this was not the perception of the voters and I am not interested in closing these parks based on this technicality.”

Constantine’s parks plan outlined the following points:

Prioritizing Parks in the Budget: When the Executive transmits his budget to the Council in late September, Constantine will propose funding these parks through 2010. This would provide the County Parks Department with the appropriate amount of time to execute on the Executive’s current plan – which Constantine believes has merit – to transfer urban parks to cities and other entities. With reduced maintenance and other efficiencies, the cost of keeping the affected parks open should be able to be reduced to about $1 million. In his nine-point budget proposal, Constantine has previously highlighted up to $75 million in cuts and other efficiencies that could be used to find the necessary funding.

Aggressively Pursue Annexations: All but five of the threatened neighborhood parks are in urban unincorporated areas slated for annexation by surrounding jurisdictions. The annexation of part of North Highline by Burien, approved by voters in the August ballot, will ensure that beginning in January six of these 39 parks will remain open. Similarly, the three other annexations on the November ballot, if approved, will protect 12 more parks. The willingness of cities like Burien to take over their annexed parks earlier then initially planned is a positive step, and Constantine is confident that the County can keep expenses low and transfer these assets without disadvantaging the communities that hold them dear.

Partner with Community Groups: Constantine will initiate and expand discussions with local community groups and other interested organizations to support threatened parks. As an early model for such partnerships, Constantine cited his work with White Water Aquatics to facilitate their takeover of the Evergreen Pool in White Center early next year. While that effort has not been perfect – the pool will have to be shut down for a few months until the transfer occurs – partnership and/or sponsorship efforts with respect to parks could help ease the cost of keeping these parks open.

If Necessary, Modify the Existing Parks Levy: The second of the two regional parks levies passed in 2007 includes significant funds for new open space acquisitions. Constantine is a long-time supporter of parks, open space and trails acquisition. However, in a time of recession it would make sense to use a portion of those funds to keep our existing parks open and maintained. If the pace of annexations is slowed and the need arises for King County to continue funding these parks beyond 2010, Constantine will propose going back to the ballot to modify the existing levy to allow existing levy funds to be used to keep threatened neighborhood parks open. Such a modification would require no new taxes but would simply allow more flexibility with existing resources to ensure no parks are closed, and would still leave millions of dollars in funding to continue expanding the County’s regional trail system and make other acquisitions.

“By transferring the majority of these parks to other entities in 2010, my plan will also allow the County to use money already set aside to fund these parks in 2011 right now. This money will be critical in closing our 2010 budget gap and still allow us to keep our local parks open in the meantime,” Constantine said. “Given the County’s shrinking revenues, it is an economic reality that the County will have to stop funding local parks in the long-term. However, this process must be done in a responsible manner that allows adequate time for other jurisdictions or interested parties to step up to keep these parks open and available for use. It is the responsibility of your elected officials to find creative solutions that protect our citizens’ quality of life, and that is what I intend to do as Executive.”

The 39 parks that at risk of being closed are:

132nd Square
Arbor Lake
Bingamon Pond
Boulevard Lane Park
Bridle Crest Trail
Bryn Mawr Park
Camelot Park
East Norway Hill
Edith Moultan Park
Evergreen Athletic Fields
Five Mile Lake Park
Green Tree Park
Hamm Creek Natural Area
Hazel Valley Park
Hilltop Park
Juanita Heights Park
Kingsgate
Klahanie Park
Lake Geneva Park
Lakewood Park
Maplewood Heights
Maplewood Park
May Creek Park
North Green River Park
North Meridian Park
North Shorewood Park
Park Orchard Park
Puget Sound Park
Renton Park
Salmon Creek Park
Sierra Heights/Honey Dew
Site 1 Duwamish
Skyway Park
South County Ballfields
Southern Heights
Sunset Playfields
White Center Heights
White Center Pond Natural Area
Windsor Vista

By the way, something we didn’t realize till a conversation this morning with State Senator Joe McDermott, who’s campaigning for Constantine — the new county executive will be sworn in after the election results are certified in late November, rather than the more standard January swearing-in, since the current KCE is appointed rather than elected.

Approximately 12:20-12:40 pm today, KUOW Radio will take a look at the King County Parks mothballing proposal – and we’ll be among those participating, on behalf of White Center Now. The folks at KUOW are encouraging community members to call in with their thoughts and concerns – the number will be 206 221 3663. Or, if you want to post a comment here, we will be talking about what we’ve been hearing from people.

(photo of White Center Heights Park – which is on the list – added 7 pm)
ORIGINAL REPORT, 12:06 PM: As part of the county’s budget woes, County Executive Kurt Triplett has just proposed “mothballing” – keeping them open but no longer maintained – more than three dozen parks in urban areas of the county, including White Center. The list is on the right sidebar here. Though the parks will technically remain open, the announcement says that playground equipment will be fenced and restrooms locked in December, if no one steps up to take over the parks. We’re pursuing reaction and will add to this story. ADDED 12:53 PM: County Council Chair (and County Executive candidate) Dow Constantine‘s office says he’ll have a statement shortly — you’ll see it here as soon as it’s out — and adds that the Council will have to sign off on this because it involves next year’s budget.

4:01 PM UPDATE: Just received Council Chair Constantine’s statement:

“I am opposed to Executive Triplett’s proposal to cut all funding for King County parks in the urban unincorporated areas.

“Parks are important to the health and quality of life of everyone in the communities in which King County provides basic services—especially to our young people. To eliminate these parks with the stroke of a pen when economic times get tough would be short-sighted.

“We need to look at all other possible cuts and explore innovative budget solutions—including reductions to administrative staff—before we consider the elimination of direct services to King County residents. I have laid out a set of ideas to serve as a starting point for substantive discussions by the King County Council to create a balanced 2010 budget without raising taxes or cutting funding for urban unincorporated parks.

“It should be noted that Executive Triplett’s proposal addresses only parks whose upkeep is financed through the general fund, and would not affect King County’s regional parks and trails, which are funded through the County Parks levy.

“I am committed to keeping our parks open in the urban unincorporated areas of King County and will work with Executive Triplett and the Council on accomplishing this goal.”

ADDED 6:41 PM: We also asked North Highline Unincorporated Area Council president Greg Duff for comment, and he replies:

The mothballing comes as no surprise to me. The county has been telling us that they want all of the unincorporated areas to be annexed and that they would begin cutting services to those areas. The people who think they can hold out and not vote to annex to Burien or Seattle better wake up. I see this as just the first step in the county telling us to get on the ball and get the annexation done. I hope the people who have not voted yet see what the county is doing and will vote yes to annex to Burien.

Big agenda at Thursday night’s North Highline Unincorporated Area Council meeting. We recapped the crime update earlier today; now, the topic that took up the largest portion of the NHUAC meeting – the future of Evergreen Pool, the county’s only 9-lane indoor pool.

After months in which the pool’s prospects of survival seemed iffy at best – and right now, it’s still facing closure at the end of the month if nothing changes — a plan to keep it open has surfaced:

That’s Joel Schweiger, head coach of the WhiteWater Aquatics swimming organization, which includes almost 100 area swimmers. He opened his presentation by recapping the group’s seven-year history, leading up to its status now with workouts five days a week, 48 weeks a year at Evergreen Pool. He says “other summer league pools” are involved with WhiteWater too, including Arbor Heights. Swimmers’ parents run the non-profit organization “through an elected board of directors.”

He didn’t get into the numbers that the group has crunched, but briefly showed that they expect revenue from swim-lesson programs, teams, and event rentals to provide the operating budget, from which they would handle pool maintenance as well as operations.

According to Schweiger, staff cuts would be necessary – he says they believe that’s a big part of the pool’s current budget problem, so “restructuring staffing to appropriate levels” would be necessary: “Staffing costs are one of the things pulling the pool down.” He said lifeguards and instructors would make more, but not managers.

But long operating hours would still be possible, he said – 5 am to 9 pm Mondays-Fridays, 8 am to 3 or 4 pm on Saturdays, and a “smaller scale” on Sundays, plus he promised more commitment to public-swim and free-swim hours.

If the WhiteWater Aquatics plan goes through, he says, the pool would still close temporarily at the end of this month, for maintenance work including federally mandated safety upgrades on the drain system, then they’d aim to reopen it and “begin programming in October.”

WhiteWater came before NHUAC members seeking a letter of support for their efforts to take over the pool. It wasn’t a slam dunk; several members questioned him sharply regarding how they would ensure public involvement on the board, not just the team-involved parents who he had said are part of it now. And community member Rachael Levine told the council she and other people concerned about the pool didn’t want them to commit support to WhiteWater before others had a chance to come forward; eventually it was pointed out that meetings about the pool’s potential closure had been under way for months, and if no one else had come forward so far, who’s to say they would now?

Levine’s concerns also included making sure of a commitment to “wider community use” of the pool, and determining that the business plan was sound enough that the pool wouldn’t be back under threat of closure in a year or so.

Questioned further by board members including chair Greg Duff and Heidi Johnson, Schweiger said the pool would remain open to school groups, therapy groups, and others: “We want all those groups in there, and (to) expand on (them).”

The question of who would actually own the pool still seems to have a few details to work out – “we’re looking at how to deal with that,” Schweiger said – Highline Public Schools owns the land, King County Parks owns the building but might turn it over to the school district, he explained. But his group has not yet appeared before the Highline school board, he acknowledged.

In the end, a majority of board members voted in favor of a letter of support; Ray Helms said, “I think supporting an organization that is trying to work to keep the pool open and acknowledges it needs the public support is not too far out of the question … with the understanding that we hope in the final phases there will be full public participation.” Pat Price noted that the letter is, in the end, just a letter, and that NHUAC doesn’t hold “a lot of clout” in the situation, saying, “In the end, we’ll be lucky to see the contract.” Christine Waldman observed, “The county wants out of the pool business, and we’re running out of time.”

The letter of support will be written by Heidi Johnson and sent to various stakeholders including the Parks Department, King County Council and the school district. Schweiger said his organization has another meeting next week to determine more of the next steps in the process.

Our next story: The annexation discussion from Thursday night’s meeting. In the meantime, miscellaneous other notes —

COMMITTEES AND EVENTS: NHUAC chair Greg Duff says he wants to hear at least two committee reports every month – “we’re not hearing from the committees enough.” And he wants two people in charge of each special event, instead of just one – to lighten the load and to ensure backup in case someone gets sick, has an emergency, etc.

NHUAC WEBSITE: Board member Ron Johnson got big kudos for keeping it updated. But he says he can’t do it alone: Got an article? An event to add? Send it to him. (The website’s at northhighlineuac.org)

COMMUNITY REMINDERS: The annual Pasefika festival is tomorrow, noted Pat Price.

STEVE COX PARK PICNIC SHELTER: Christine Waldman is working with the Parks Department to get it moved.

BUS SHELTERS BY THE WHITE CENTER FOOD BANK/PUBLIC HEALTH: Ron Johnson’s been working on this one for a while, at 8th/108th, and says it got bogged down in the bureaucracy – but now the shelters are supposed to be installed this fall.

That’s a brand-new flyer for the White Center Community Development Association luau coming up August 29th, 4-8 pm at White Center Heights Park. Island food (an imu-roasted pig!) and entertainment are promised, as money is raised for WCCDA (with an auction, too). Lots more info on the WCCDA site – just go here.