West Seattle parks 1894 results

West Seattle Easter weekend: Community-center egg hunts

(High Point Community Center video by Tracy Record for WSB)
All five of West Seattle’s city-owned community centers planned egg hunts this morning, as usual – and so far, we have coverage from three of them. Top video, the tweens hitting the field at High Point Community Center – took them less than three minutes to round up the eggs, despite the relatively small size of the group (other age groups went after eggs at different spots around the site – including the playground and the tennis court). Meantime, hundreds lined up outside Hiawatha Community Center in the Admiral District:

(Hiawatha Community Center photos by Jason Grotelueschen for WSB)
And .. off they went!

Yes, Mr./Ms. Bunny was on hand at Hiawatha too – with photo ops galore:

While over at Alki for a non-Easter story, we spotted some Alki Community Center egg hunters at Whale Tail:

(Photo by Patrick Sand for WSB)
Aside from a teen hunt tonight, that’s it for the big egg hunts – but some local churches are offering them for kids in conjunction with Easter Sunday services; check the WSB West Seattle Easter page for the list.

Update: Delridge Skatepark construction crew digs in

Some people are so excited about Delridge Skatepark, they are watching every little detail as construction begins – so if that’s you, here’s the latest. We published a photo Monday showing the fencing that had just gone up at the site – then came word that construction equipment had arrived – and today, that equipment is digging in, so you can say the official “groundbreaking” has occurred (no ceremony was planned). Some skateboarding advocates had fretted that West Seattle would never get a skatepark, since the original proposal drew opposition 3+ years ago when it was proposed for Myrtle Reservoir Park – which finally opened last fall and will be dedicated a week from Saturday – but a new site search followed, and North Delridge welcomed it with open arms. The skatepark should be complete and open in late summer.

Delridge Skatepark: Another sign that groundbreaking is near

(Fence photo added 12:55 pm)
With a few speed bumps along the way, it’s a day some wondered if they’d ever see – but it’s truly almost here. No formal groundbreaking ceremony is planned, but Delridge Skatepark construction is about to begin. Stu Hennessey from Alki Bike and Board just shared the news that the fence is up. (We’re heading out for a photo.) We had checked a few days ago with Seattle Parks project manager Kelly Davidson, who told us that since the official “notice to proceed” kicked in last week, preparations were in motion – including “utility locates,” as well as an on-site meeting with Parks’ arborist. “It just takes a few steps before they really start tearing things up out there,” Davidson told us. The park will be built by West Seattle-based Grindline, the skatepark specialists who also designed it:

Their winning bid was $483,000. Construction is expected to last about four months, with the skatepark opening in late summer.

Community meeting set for Walt Hundley Playfield turf project

April 13, 2011 3:23 pm
|    Comments Off on Community meeting set for Walt Hundley Playfield turf project
 |   High Point | West Seattle news | West Seattle parks

Two days after the City Council finalized $1 million for synthetic turf at High Point’s Walt Hundley Playfield, the date’s been announced for a community meeting: April 27, 6:30 pm, Southwest Library (35th/Henderson). The project now has its own webpage, too.

City Council finalizes $1 million for turf at Walt Hundley Playfield

Seven months after the High Point playfield was named in honor of the late Walt Hundley, the first African-American Seattle Parks Superintendent, something else new is officially on the way: Synthetic turf. As reported here back in December, the Parks and Green Spaces Levy Oversight Committee (currently chaired by West Seattleite Pete Spalding) decided to allot $1 million for the project. That allocation won final City Council approval this afternoon. We’ll be checking with Parks on the project timetable.

West Seattle parks: Myrtle Reservoir Park dedication set – April 30

(Photo shared December 2010 by Andy Silber)
Just got the announcement from Seattle Parks – the dedication ceremony for Myrtle Reservoir Park is now set for 10:30 am Saturday, April 30th – that will be five months to the day since it actually opened to the public. From the official flyer:

• Enjoy great jazz music by Jacob Lakatua Quartet

• ‘Ooh and ahh’ as Capoeira Malês demonstrates an amazing acrobatic capoeira performance at 11:30. Spectators will have a chance to learn some of the basic movements and sequences of this exciting Afro-Brazilian art form that incorporates martial arts, dance and music together in a fun and accessible manner!

• Create at the arts and crafts table sponsored by the ARC Summer Day Camp program from High Point and Delridge Community Centers.

Another new park coming to West Seattle: Puget Ridge Edible Park

(Photos courtesy Stu Hennessey)
By Keri DeTore
Reporting for West Seattle Blog

Thanks to a group of Puget Ridge neighbors, the historically agricultural parcel of land at 5265 18th Ave SW [map] will retain its agricultural status and become urban farmland in West Seattle.

Stu Hennessey, owner of Alki Bike and Board, is part of a community group that has been working toward the preservation of this site to turn it into a publicly owned permaculture farm, to be known as Puget Ridge Edible Park (PREP). They applied for, and were recommended to be granted, a $520,000 share of the Parks and Green Spaces Levy Opportunity Fund (here’s our coverage, with video, of project supporters making their case last October).

He says, “We thought it would be cool to have a P-Patch or garden” for fresh produce in their neighborhood.

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West Seattle volunteer power: Landscaping facelift for Lady Liberty

Alki Community Council‘s volunteer work party at Statue of Liberty Plaza, featured in this morning’s preview, is now a case of “mission accomplished,” reports David Hutchinson (who also shared the photo):

The Alki Community Council wants to thank the dedicated volunteers who came this morning to the Alki Statue of Liberty Plaza. The Council sponsored this event to assist Seattle Parks & Recreation in replanting the landscaped areas surrounding the Plaza. Fortunately, the rain held off and, working under the direction of Parks Senior Gardener Phil Renfrow, the planting was completed by 10 am. Parks will be adding mulch in the next few weeks. The new plants were purchased with money from the Parks-administered maintenance fund, created with the proceeds from the ongoing ACC sale of engraved bricks and bronze plaques.

The plaza itself came to life thanks to a lot of volunteer power 2 1/2 years ago!

@ Highland Park Action Committee: Park update; new sidewalks

We’re at the monthly Highland Park Action Committee meeting, where local residents have just received an update about the West Seattle Reservoir-covering park project. Virginia Hassinger from Seattle Parks says construction will not start this year. Hassinger notes that the park’s design-development detail isn’t even fully finalized yet. And when asked about the possible P-Patch/community garden on the park site, Hassinger explained that’s not currently funded – the neighborhood would have to get together and seek funding, for example, to make it happen.

But one of the reasons it’s taking a while has a silver lining – Hassinger says some city changes since the inception of the project mean the nearby neighborhood will get some long-requested sidewalk work: The south side of SW Cloverdale between 8th and 9th will get a 6-foot concrete sidewalk, says SDOT‘s Douglas Cox, explaining that the estimated cost of nearly $100,000 (for 275 feet of sidewalk) will be funded by some Bridging the Gap money (the park project itself is being paid for out of Parks and Green Spaces Levy money). Attendees are saying there are still a few other improvements desperately needed for traffic/pedestrian safety in the area, and they’re being urged to fight for that by contacting city leaders. More from the meeting, coming up later. One more P.S. HPAC’s Dan Mullins brought up some pothole problems in the area, and Cox reminded everyone they can call 206-684-ROAD, or report them online here.

Another sunless equinox/solstice sunset with ambassador Alice

“We’re 8 for 8!” was the cheery declaration at 7:22 pm last night, as, for the eighth consecutive equinox-or-solstice-sunset-viewing event at West Seattle’s Solstice Park (uphill from the Lincoln Park tennis courts and P-Patch), the sun failed to appear . That didn’t faze Alice Enevoldsen (photo center, just past blue scarf), an official NASA Solar System Ambassador, jovially checking the time till the first (technical) sunset of spring, while explaining equinoxes/solstices to the crowd (with the help of a young assistant):

Sun or no sun, Alice hopes to be back at Solstice Park for summer solstice in three months, toting the daughter she’s expecting in a few weeks; the solstice/equinox crowds just keep getting bigger – we counted more than 50 people this time! Long after the actual moment the sun set somewhere behind all those clouds, Alice stayed, answering questions, including one about the previous night’s so-called “supermoon.” No, it wasn’t really that big a deal, she explained, it was only a little closer that night than on previous nights (that was a relief to the people who asked the question, since apparently they hadn’t been able to join the “supermoon”-gazers the night before).

(If you missed the “supermoon,” by the way, here’s a video that WSB’er Coleman shared, including the subsequent moonset:)

We shared local photographers’ “supermoon” photos late Saturday night, too – see them here.

4 weeks till ‘Seattle’s 1st Environmental Adventure Race’ in Delridge

March 18, 2011 6:19 pm
|    Comments Off on 4 weeks till ‘Seattle’s 1st Environmental Adventure Race’ in Delridge
 |   Delridge | Environment | West Seattle news | West Seattle parks

A first-of-its-kind race is coming to West Seattle in four weeks – HP3, on April 16th. We heard first word of it at a community meeting months ago; organizers have been putting it together ever since

HP3’s unique 16-mile Adventure Race crisscrosses the Delridge community and features multiple challenges that will help the Parks Department maintain and upgrade trails in West Seattle parks, including: carrying two 5-gallon buckets of gravel over a series of routes, pushing a wheelbarrow full of mulch and planting trees.

HP3 features an exclusive partnership with the City of Seattle Department of Neighborhoods & Parks Department, engaging community members, businesses, students and City officials in an event to raise awareness and foster action on environmental issues.

The race consists of two divisions: an Elite Division for experienced, competitive runners and an Open Division for less competitive runners interested in a relay style event. Each division is restricted to 25 teams.

Here’s more about what the race entails; here’s where to sign up.

Paid parking in Seattle parks? Might not be worth it, report suggests

Among the items of interest for this afternoon’s meeting of the City Council Parks and Seattle Center Committee is an update on the proposal to study the possibility of raising money by charging for parking at some city parks. We brought you first word of this back in October, when Lincoln Park was mentioned as a possible candidate. What’s on the committee’s agenda today is a preliminary report about the feasibility of even studying the topic. You can read it here; it basically says so many issues would come into play, that it just might not be worth it. If councilmembers do want to give it a try, the report says, the “strongest candidates” for paid parking include the Lincoln Park south lot. And one option presented would be a “pilot program” possibly including that lot:

Implement a small pilot program at 1-3 sites, without conducting broader occupancy counts. The sites may include Lake Union Park, Lincoln Park south lot, and Green Lake Community Center. These sites have the least variation in use weekly and seasonally, good transportation alternatives, and controlled nearby street parking. If conducted at all three sites by City staff, the approximate cost of this option would be $182,000, which covers $90,000 for 6 pay stations, and $92,000 in staff costs.

The other two options include spending up to $70,000 for another consultant study – though the report also goes on to note that the possibility of paid city-park parking has been studied multiple times since 2003 – or, dropping the whole thing. The meeting’s at 2 pm (viewable live on Seattle Channel, cable 21 or online at www.seattlechannel.org).

4 PM UPDATE: We’ll have a roundup of the meeting later, including a couple other items, but topline: The committee members were leaning toward the idea of a pilot project at one location, South Lake Union. No formal vote or decision yet – we’ll keep an eye out as the proposal progresses.

Be a wading-pool hero! City’s looking for sponsors this summer

(WSB photo of the Hiawatha wading pool)
Might be a stretch to think about wading pools on a wintry night, but the city announced today that it is looking for help long before summer gets here. Seattle Parks doesn’t have the money to add back any of the hours slashed last year, when only five pools around the city were open daily, 10 three days a week, and 7 never opened at all (3 more were closed last year but will reopen as spray parks this year, including the Highland Park wading-pool site). But if they can find sponsors/partners, they might be able to change that, and open more pools for more days. In West Seattle, only Lincoln Park was open 7 days a week last summer, so if the schedule remains the same, sponsorships could help Delridge, E.C. Hughes, and/or Hiawatha. Find details on Parks’ pool-sponsor proposals by going here.

Fauntleroy tree ‘encroachment’: Reminder to check before cutting

Story and photos by Keri DeTore
Reporting for West Seattle Blog

Walking through Fauntleroy Park one day last fall, Steve Hodson was surprised to hear the sound of chainsaws. Walking toward the south ridge of the park, he came upon a tree-cutting company taking down trees and dropping the debris on a recently restored hillside, crushing the new vegetation.

Hodson, who has been a park steward for many years, pointed out to the tree-cutters that they were dropping debris on a newly restored site.

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West Seattle wildlife: Meet Oswold the Lincoln Park owl

West Seattle’s eagles have made headlines recently (both here and on TV) – but don’t forget the rest of our amazing avians – like the owl Trileigh photographed at Lincoln Park this morning:

It’s not only eagles who are increasingly active this season! Many of our forest species are feeling the energy of spring. If you keep your eyes, and especially your ears, open, you can see all kinds of life in our West Seattle parks. Here’s a photo from this morning of one of our Lincoln Park Barred Owls, named “Oswold” by one of my students in honor of young Wollet of a previous year. If you’d like to find owls, pay close attention to when other birds large and small are making a loud fuss…you may get lucky and find that the source of their concern is a nearby owl!

(We appreciate the tip – we’ve had about as much luck owl-watching as we have had whale-watching.) If you missed WSB reports on the owlet Trileigh mentioned, Wollet, check out this 2009 story.

Renovated Delridge Playfield opening; celebration set

(Photo added 1:51 pm)
The fence is finally coming down at Delridge Playfield, which has brand-new turf as the result of a multi-million-dollar renovation project. Seattle Parks confirms that the fencing should all be down by tomorrow. They have also set the date for a community celebration, according to Parks’ Karen O’Connor: Saturday, March 12, 12:30 pm-2:30 pm (north field).

Delridge Skatepark update: Grindline’s bid passes city review

West Seattle-based Grindline, which (as a subcontractor) created the design (above) for Delridge Skatepark, is one step closer to building it. A week and a half after the word that Grindline had submitted the “apparent low bid” in the second round of bidding (here’s backstory on the 1st round), project manager Kelly Davidson has an update this morning: “The formal Request to Award to Grindline has been submitted to City Contracting. This means that Parks has reviewed and approved all pre-qualifications and we will move forward with contracting and bonding. This process can take 2-4 weeks.” Once the bid is awarded, then a date will be set for construction to start. The city says Grindline’s bid was $483,000 (almost $20,000 lower than its bid in the 1st round).

Happening now: Hiawatha Community Center pancake breakfast

8:08 AM: It’s an annual event to help Hiawatha Community Center raise money to cover program fees for those who wouldn’t be able to participate otherwise – and it’s happening right now. The annual “all you care to eat” pancake breakfast is under way till noon – $6/adults, $5 for kids 4-12, free for 3 and under, breakfast meats and beverages included, 2700 California SW.

10:30 AM UPDATE: Went by for photos, which we’ve just added. Still time to go have pancakes, sausages, and more!

Lincoln Park ‘stalker’ encounter: Reader shares an alert

If you saw police in the Lincoln Park area yesterday afternoon – here’s what it was about. Just out of the WSB inbox:

Yesterday about 3:30 PM, I (woman, late fifties, in good shape) was stalked by a white male, early 30’s, 5’11”, about 175, fairly attractive, with broad shoulders and about a 29 pant size – athletic. He had on a black ski hat, and I believe it had an orange stripe around it, a navy jacket with the collar up around his jaw, and light gray sweat pants.

I was walking from the south going north to the bluff trail, and just past the children’s zip-line ride towards the bluff trail. This man just appeared out of nowhere, and was heading for me, having to circle bushes that were too thick to walk through, but short enough to see over. He was looking straight into my eyes. As soon as he got around the bushes, about 8 feet from me, he noticed I had two dogs, so he made a U-turn and started walking next to me heading for the bluff trail. We were secluded and had not come to the trail yet. The park has bunch of little trails right there, and I was on the main trail. I don’t know where he came from.

My intuition, and the events with attackers at the park, put me on high alert, and I knew I didn’t want him behind me, so I stopped and told him to go ahead of me. He did, but as we walked, he kept slowing down, forcing me to slow down or get closer to him than I wanted to get. I knew there are benches along the bluff trail and we would come to one soon, so I waited him out and than stopped at the first view point with a bench. I did some stretching and must have waited about 10 minutes before I started back up the trail, thinking he had time to move along.

After I began walking up the trail, I met a woman with a cute dog and we talked about dogs while our dogs played a bit. Next I came upon an older couple who pointed out an eagle in a tree to me, so I talked to them and watched the eagle for a while. The guy I had let pass me, the creep, had plenty of time to move up the trail.

On the trail is a workout station to do pullups, and at that station, I thought I would go into the woods and “relieve myself”. After all a woman in her late fifties has to pee all the time. Well thank God & Goddess that before I went into the woods, I stopped to check if anybody was around, and there was that guy! He was behind a tree and I could see his arm. As I moved closer to him to make sure what I was seeing, he moved around the tree hiding from me. He almost caught me with my pants down! A lesson for me!

After I finally realized he was hiding from me and I had better get out of there, I went back onto the trail and a young woman with headphones on was jogging down the trail. I stopped her, thinking she wouldn’t hear the guy come out behind her, and she & I walked out of the park together. We decided his behavior was too strange and we called 911.

By the time we got to the north parking lot, at the instruction of the 911 operator, the police were on their way, and took our statement in the parking lot. The police called me last night, telling me a total of four cars searched the park, and they did not find the guy.

All & all, it was a pretty scary afternoon and I am sure as I think about how that guy was staring hard into my eyes that he had ill intent for me or some other woman. This is not the first time my dogs have saved me from predator men. I grew up in Lincoln Park and have been going there my whole life, and am always careful to stay on main trails, but nonetheless, this guy found me at the most secluded juncture of my walk.

Please pass this along. I wish to remain anonymous.

There was some scanner traffic regarding this search yesterday – we had checked with police, who had nothing to report at the time, but we are checking again. While at this point there is no indication this had anything to do with the suspect arrested, charged, and released last week, Duane Starkenburg, we should note that part of the conditions of his release on bond was an order to stay out of Lincoln Park.

ADDED 11:25 AM: Responding to our followup e-mail, she says she was shown a photo of Starkenburg and “it was not him.”

Happening now: Councilmembers fielding sports-fee-hike complaints

We are at Corner Café on First Hill along with about 40 people who came for a coffee conversation with City Councilmembers Sally Bagshaw and Sally Clark – many of them from youth-sports groups furious about the major fee increase they have to pay because of the new city budget. Among them, West Seattle Little League president Mark Terao, who sounded the alarm citywide recently and was unhappy to hear Councilmember Bagshaw tell him flat-out, there’s nothing they can do about the fee increases this year – they’re in the 2011 budget to stay, but they can certainly talk about next year’s budget, although they couldn’t guarantee cuts next year – only that there won’t be another increase for 2012. She also said that leagues having trouble paying the fees should contact her. Seattle Lutheran High School and West Seattle Soccer Club are other West Seattle concerns that have been mentioned. And youth-sports reps from all over the city have pointed out, as has WSLL, that they put major amounts of their own money and volunteer time into field prep, upkeep and improvements, which should be taken into consideration, instead of charging them the same increases as other types of organizations. Bagshaw acknowledged, and apologized, that the teams did not get clear advance notice of how things were going to change: “This did not go well, that you didn’t know.”

We’ll add video later; this isn’t the only topic of the councilmembers’ meeting, which was announced as open to all – they’ve also heard concerns about human-services cuts and the Department of Neighborhoods changes/cuts – Bagshaw described the latter as “just nuts,” but also said, it’s nuts to cut other services too, and notes “nobody wants anything cut,” so, “when things get better, we’re going back.” And what they heard included a message from one attendee: “We want to be part of the process.” (Also among the attendees from West Seattle, City Council candidate Michael Taylor-Judd.) More later.

ADDED: Video of Seattle Lutheran High School athletic director Bob Dowding explaining their concerns to the councilmembers:

Child-care reminder from High Point Community Center

On this day when many kids aren’t in school, a reminder about a before- and after-school program at one of West Seattle’s city-run community centers. From Brian Judd at High Point Community Center:

Through a partnership with Seattle Parks and Recreation and the Associated Recreation Council, High Point Community Center provides a licensed School Age Care Program for our neighborhood children. The program offers a caring and creative learning environment for children ages 5-12. We provide care in the morning from 7:00 am-9:00 am and from 3:00-6:00 pm in the afternoon. During the Breaks and Holidays we also provide camps as well as a summer program! Our daily schedule offers various projects and activities that range from cooking to jewelry making, homework time, games and snacks. The staff is energetic, encouraging and are looking forward to working with your children!

Before School Care: $175
After School Care: $275
(Addition child Discount: $10)

Please contact us at: highpoint.childcare@seattle.gov to learn more about our program.

High Point Community Center
6920 34th Ave SW
Seattle, WA 98126
(206) 684-7422

City budget shockwaves: Youth-sports leagues fight fee hikes

(Panorama of Bar-S fields; photo courtesy West Seattle Little League)
Some sunny Saturday, not that far away, the West Seattle Little League will take the field at Bar-S Playfield. Right now, in addition to dealing with their ongoing Snack Shack project at the field, they are signing up players – and dealing with what WSLL president Mark Terao calls “shocking news”: They’re being asked to pay almost $13,000 in fees to the city this year, up from $5,000 last year, to help balance the city budget.

In a reply to Terao, circulated in a league-wide e-mail, Councilmember Sally Bagshaw, who chairs the Parks Committee, says the fee increases – for adult sports as well as youth sports, and other activities – are “unfortunate but necessary.” Tomorrow, WSLL reps are planning to bring their concerns to Bagshaw and Councilmember Sally Clark at a community-conversation event they are hosting on First Hill, and at least one other local youth-sports organization is hoping to do the same – more on that later.

For one example of how the fee increase translates, Terao explains:

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‘A long time coming’: Camp Long challenge-course meeting

(Rendering of “vertical playpen” that’s part of the challenge-course plan)
By Karen Berge
Reporting for West Seattle Blog

More than 25 people attended the community meeting at Camp Long on Thursday night to learn more about the new ropes/challenge course that is scheduled to be built there this spring.

Meeting organizers from Seattle Parks and Recreation, the Camp Long Advisory Council and WSU 4-H were on hand during the meeting, as well as before and after, to field questions. (See their full PowerPoint presentation here.)

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