By Keri DeTore
Reporting for West Seattle Blog
A variety of West Seattle-related issues came up — on and off the agenda — during tonight’s Parks Board meeting downtown, including new hope for construction of the Delridge Skatepark, plus other items from the golf-course plan vote to the stadium situation to Hiawatha bids and even a warning that swimmers will want to hear:
First, the skatepark. Bids for parks projects are coming in under budget — including Hiawatha Playfield artificial turf and track improvements (9 bids, it was noted tonight, all below the engineer’s estimate of $1.6 million, one as low as $1.1 million!). With this climate for bids, the Parks Department has new hope for unfunded projects, including the Delridge Skatepark, which is said to be #1 on the list. Design of the skatepark – set for the northeast corner of the park next to Delridge Community Center – had proceeded, but construction money didn’t make it into the city budget – even before the latest round of cuts and revenue-forecast revisions. We’ll follow up on what tonight’s news means for the project.
WEST SEATTLE GOLF COURSE: The Board voted in favor of “Option 4B” for the city’s Golf Course Master Plan. That means a driving range would be at the top of the list of improvements in the works for West Seattle Golf Course (as reported here), with a new clubhouse further down the road. Noting that golf is still a growth industry, even in the current down economy and brings revenue to the city, West Seattle-residing board vice chair Neal Adams said they would need to explore how to “make golf as available to the community as possible.” This would include finding ways to enable people from all socioeconomic groups to take part.
WEST SEATTLE STADIUM “NO PROPOSALS” FOLLOWUP: During Parks Superintendent Tim Gallagher’s report to the board, he noted that (as reported here last Tuesday) no one had answered the recent Request for Proposals, seeking private operators who’d agree to fix up the stadium. Two entities had previously expressed interest: Seattle Prep and Kemper Sports. Gallagher said he would be following up with both to find out why they didn’t submit proposals, but noted he had a “hunch the change in the economy … put a damper on things.”
LIFEGUARD HOURS CUT? It was also mentioned that budget cuts may lead to cuts in lifeguard hours; West Seattle has two pools, Southwest (indoor) and Colman (outdoor), so we’ll keep close watch on this.
PARKS LEVY MEETING REMINDER: A public meeting will be held at the West Seattle Golf Course May 6 at 7 pm to gather ideas on what to do with some of the money from last year’s Parks Levy that is not already assigned to certain projects.
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