Parkways Seattle Parks and Recreation

Seattle Parks and Recreation invites the Rainier Beach community and swimmers to the second meeting for the new Rainier Beach Community Center and Pool. The meeting is Tuesday, Sept. 15, from 6:30 – 8:30 p.m. at the Rainier Beach Community Center, 8825 Rainier Ave. S.

At this meeting, Parks staff, A•R•C Architects and Counsilman Hunsker aquatic designers will discuss the project, answer questions and ask for community input. Concept design alternatives developed with valuable input from citizens at the first meeting in June will be presented.   Residents will have an opportunity to share their ideas on site design, building organization and the shape of the building.  

Community participation is essential at this meeting because the schematic design process is coming to a close.  Parks hopes to have the same quality participation at this meeting as the previous one in order to build on original ideas and create a fabulous facility for the community and swimmers. Comment forms will be available.  Parks will present the final schematic design in November at a third public meeting. 

After conducting a building assessment in 2007, the department determined the current facility would be demolished and a new community center and pool constructed.  Anticipated construction start is early 2011. The goal is to design a facility that achieves at least Gold rating from the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), which is a green building rating system, developed by the U.S. Green Building Council that provides a suite of standards for environmentally sustainable construction. 

For more information please contact David Graves, Senior Planner at (206) 684-7048 or david.graves@seattle.gov.   If you need translation services at the meeting, please contact Karen O’Connor at (206) 233-7929 or Karen.o’connor@seattle.gov.

Seattle Parks and Recreation and Seattle Public Utilities (SPU) will host a community meeting to discuss progress on construction at Jefferson Park, and potential emergency management funding. The meeting will be Tuesday, Sept. 8, from 6 – 7:30 p.m. at Jefferson Community Center, 3801 Beacon Ave S.

The first half of the meeting will feature an update on construction of the Jefferson Park Expansion project. The remainder of the meeting will focus on federal and state funding that Parks and SPU intend to apply for through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Hazard Mitigation Grant Program. 

Parks intends to use the funding to replace the roof and complete a seismic retrofit of the community center walls. SPU intends to use FEMA money to identify priority areas prone to urban flooding in Seattle. Both departments will provide matching funds to support the projects.

For more information on the Jefferson Park Expansion please visit: seattle.gov/parks/ProParks/projects/JeffersonPark.htm , or contact:

Andy Sheffer, Project Manager at (206) 684-7041 or andy.sheffer@seattle.gov.   For information on the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program please visit www.fema.gov/government/grant/hmgp/ or contact, Patti Petesch, Seattle Parks and Recreation Emergency Management at patti.petesch@seattle.gov or Erika Lund, Recovery and Mitigation Coordinator, Seattle Office of Emergency Management at Erika.lund@seattle.gov.

Seattle Parks and Recreation and Vision Greenwood, a neighborhood organization that supports Greenwood Park, will hold a party in the park at 602 N 87^th St. on Sunday, Aug. 30, from 1 – 4 p.m. to review alternatives for the park design and enjoy music and food. 

Local restaurants including Mr. Gyro’s and Olive You are donating food. There will also be home-cooked barbecue donated by volunteers, and live music.  Molly Moon’s will donate ice cream. The public is invited to attend.

 Vision Greenwood is a group of neighbors working to improve and expand the park.  After receiving a Neighborhood Matching Fund award, the group hired SiteWorkshop as landscape architect consultant.  Vision Greenwood and SiteWorkshop have been talking with community groups, park users, neighbors and others about new ideas for the park expansion.

Based on feedback, they’ve developed a range of alternative designs for adding more features and activities to the park. The community is invited to see the range of plans and give feedback about the future.

Community volunteers have worked tirelessly in recent years to see the land purchased and the park developed. In 1999, Seattle Parks and Recreation first purchased 2.2 acres for the park, which was the former home to Otani Greenhouses. In 2000, the community applied for and received a Department of Neighborhoods Matching Fund grant to develop a site plan for the park.

With the passage of the 2000 Pro Parks Levy came $1.2 million to implement the plan and build the park. In August 2003, the new park opened to rave reviews.

Also in 2003, with money from the Pro Parks Levy Opportunity Fund, Parks purchased an additional one-third of an acre to add to the park’s footprint. In November 2008, the community came together once again to develop a plan for the two most recently purchased parcels and formed Vision Greenwood.

In addition to the public meeting/party, there is an online questionnaire available to help visitors organize thoughts before the meeting, or to take in lieu of attending the event. Visit: www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=nR9UYBXxnw6kROLxGCBh%2bQ%3d%3d

For more information, visit: groups.yahoo.com/group/VisionGreenwoodPark/.

On Monday, August 31, 2009 Seattle Parks and Recreation begins work to complete the shoreline and habitat restoration project at Chinook Beach Park at the south end of Lake Washington. Funding provided by the 2008 Parks and Green Spaces Levy provides for the upland restoration of the park. The invasive species removal and native plantings completes the restoration work begun in 2004.

The “WRIA 8” Salmon Recovery Plan is a science-based plan devised by citizens, scientists, businesses, environmentalists and governments to conserve salmon today and for future generations. Funding for the salmon conservation plan is provided by 27 local governments in the watershed.

The plan designated Lake Washington shoreline south of Seward Park as an area of significance to juvenile salmon coming into the lake from the Cedar River. The gravel beach creation accomplished in 2004 and the ongoing invasive species removal and bank re-vegetation are positive additions to the Lake Washington ecosystem utilized by juvenile salmonids. For more information on the plan, please see http://www.govlink.org/watersheds/8/.

The existing non-native, invasive Black locust trees, clematis vines, and Himalayan blackberry will be removed and native coniferous and deciduous trees, shrubs and ground cover will be planted. Construction will be completed by November, 2009.

For more information please visit http://www.seattle.gov/parks/projects/chinook_beach/ or  contact David Graves at 206-227-5458 or david.graves@seattle.gov.