Thanks to Kelly Goold, Seattle Parks‘ project manager for the Highland Park Spraypark, for the sneak-peek photos taken while it was being tested. We’ve been checking with him on the spraypark’s status; he tells WSB this afternoon that opening day is “close,” but right now, they’re waiting on a part:

Construction is complete, and the spraypark is fully functional (and very cool). However, there are some minor problems with the water quality system, and we need to be overly cautious in dealing with this. The manufacturer is supplying a new part and it will be installed as soon as we get it … we are very close.

The Parks and Green Spaces Levy-funded spraypark replaces the old Highland Park wading pool, which has been closed for five years. Sprayparks are considered more economical and sustainable – no staffing required; less water evaporation.

Speaking of wading pools – their season starts two weeks from tomorrow; here’s the citywide schedule.

The newly formed Friends of Morgan Junction Parks is inviting you to be part of history – help out with its first event this Saturday! The photo and invitation are from Barry:

Our group is dedicated to maintaining and beautifying the two parks in the Morgan Junction area. We invite any member of the community who would like to volunteer their gardening and design skills to join. This is also a great opportunity to learn about urban landscape issues and the latest, research-based horticultural practices. There is no time commitment. Our group can be found here.

Our first event is this Saturday from 10 AM to noon at the main park next to the Beveridge Place Pub. Seattle Parks will bring us two yards of wood chips from Lincoln Park for mulching the plant beds. Tools will be provided. The work should be easy and enjoyable and will offer the chance to learn about what’s planted in the parks. We hope to see you there.

That photo is courtesy of Bill and Margi Beyers, who have been trying to get Seattle Parks to remove those rocks placed in January in front of the damaged north Lincoln Park beach seawall. (Here’s our December coverage of that storm damage.) Last week, they e-mailed us about it, saying the rocks’ size “makes them environmentally unsustainable – the first strong north wind at a high tide will toss these rocks over the beach,” adding that Parks put sand and gravel over the rocks last week, which they didn’t see as a solution. After reading their concerns, we contacted Parks for comment – and today, we’ve learned that Parks is working on a plan that eventually would remove those rocks, but says it’s a “complex” situation – not simply a matter of scooping them up and taking them away. Read on for details of the concerns, and the response:

First, the letter we received from the Beyers, explaining their concerns in detail:

In December 2012 an unusually high tide damaged the WPA seawall on the north side of Colman Pool, and in January 2013 the Parks Department repaired this seawall damage. THEN they dumped in front of the repaired area a mound of rock. We spoke to the staff person in the Park Office at the north end of the Park about this (his name was Bill), and he said that he had recommended against dumping these rocks on the beach. Why? Their size makes them environmentally unsustainable—the first strong north wind at a high tide will toss these rocks over the beach. (Please see enclosed photos).

In late April the Parks Department held a public meeting on management of Lincoln Park, which we could not attend because of travel, but we wrote a lengthy letter to the Mayor, Parks Department Interim Superintendent, and Councilwoman Sally Bagshaw (Chair of the Parks Committee, Seattle City Council). In this letter we expressed our concern about these rocks, among other topics, but got no reply from any of the officials.

We received e-mail from Robert Stowers in the Parks Department, with cc:’s to Dan Johnson, Laurie Dunlap, and Carol Baker (all of whom work in the Parks Department, but none of whom have contacted us) on May 23, asking to meet with us about our concerns about this and other issues in Lincoln Park. We indicated that we did not need to meet, as our concerns were clearly stated in our letter. We now invite readers who like us have noted this environmental disaster to register their concerns to the Seattle Parks Department.

On May 28 the Parks Department posted signs on the shoreline path at the north end of Lincoln Park about the closure of the road on May 29 for “beach cleanup.” What the Parks staff did was to put beach sand/gravel on the rocks, so as to camouflage them! What an absurd use of public money, and a failure to correct a bad situation honestly. We cannot tell you how many people we have met walking on the shoreline who have spoken about the ill-guided decision to dump the rocks in front of this area of seawall repair.

This seawall was built in approximately 1936. It has not needed any fill of this type for over 75 years, and the Parks Department has not provided us or in any public forum that we are aware of as to why the rocks were placed in this location.

The shoreline of Lincoln Park is one of the City’s treasures. If a storm scatters the rocks on the beach—and it is only a matter of time until one does—they will be an environmental disaster. Unlike the glacial cobbles that form the natural beach, these are crushed rocks with sharp edges, and they will stay that way for decades. All one needs to do is to go to the cove at the north end of Lincoln Park to see the impact of storms on similar crushed rock dumped on the beach several decades ago in the name of protecting the pathway. High tides in the winter have scattered these larger rocks all over the beach at the north end of the park. They are an eyesore, and a monument to bad engineering that failed to recognize the power of storms that hit this shoreline on a periodic basis. We urge West Seattle citizens to join us to demand that the Parks Department to “correct a bad situation honestly.” Get these rocks off the beach immediately.

Now, the response we received from Parks today via spokesperson Dewey Potter:

Following is information regarding the communication from Bill and Margi Beyers. Parks apologizes for the delay in responding; the issue they raise is complex, involves a number of agencies, and required some physical exploration.

Following the December 2012 storm surge, Parks found that the sewer mainline protective wall on the north side of Colman Pool was damaged in several places. As a temporary emergency measure to prevent further damage from the waves, we placed rocks at the damaged part of the sewer mainline protective wall. (The wall protects a sewer main that was replaced about seven years ago.) These rocks have effectively kept the sewer mainline protective wall from further damage.

Although our Concrete Crew was able to make some repairs to the sewer mainline protective wall, they were unable to gain access to the main washout area. When they were at the site on May 28, they found the extent of the damage was such that they feared that removing more of the rocks covering the sewer mainline protective wall might destabilize the wall. We added sand and gravel to provide, in the meantime, a little more stability. (The BEACH CLEANUP signs were intended to keep the public away while large trucks were using a narrow area that day.)

We are looking for a long-term solution. When we have identified and implemented it, we will remove the rocks. Because the designated emergency period has passed, we may need a permit from Washington State Department of Fisheries and/or the Army Corps of Engineers to remove the rocks placed during the emergency.

We’ll continue to follow up.

Thanks to Kris Rouse for sharing photos from the Girl Scouts gathering last night at Camp Long:

Friday night was a beautiful night for a campfire. West Seattle Girl Scouts gathered for a traditional campfire complete with good ol’ camp songs & s’mores. Deyette Swegle organized a terrific gathering for the Girl Scouts of Chinook Service Unit at Camp Long … Several Junior Girl Scouts were recognized for their achievement of the Bronze Award; acknowledgement was made for two girls’ earning the Silver Award and Ann Manning’s group of Cadettes, the winning of the Mt. St. Helens Award at the recent Girl Scout Cascade Challenge. The evening was concluded with an Eternal Flame candle ceremony led by Lynn Zahniser.

If the City Council agrees with the recommendations of the Parks and Green Spaces Levy Oversight Committee, that lot at 48th and Charlestown will become city-owned park space. It’s one of the proposed Opportunity Fund recommendation changes that committee chair Pete Spalding mentioned last Wednesday night while telling the Highland Park Action Committee that the new HP spraypark – funded with money from the first Opportunity Fund – is almost ready. The 48th/Charlestown purchase was proposed by the Genesee-Schmitz Neighborhood Council. The full list of citywide recommendations is here; in addition to $400,000 for that site, it includes two other spending recommendations for this side of the city – $374,500 for the Highland Park playground area (vicinity of the new spraypark), and $669,000 for land acquisition near the south end of the new South Park Bridge, to create a plaza. Those three projects are on a list of 14 citywide; a preliminary list of recommendations had included a plan for improvements to cabins at Camp Long, but we’re told that had to be dropped, which cleared the way for the two other West Seattle projects (culled from an original list of 7 from WS) to make the list. The council is expected to vote by mid-summer.

9:13 AM: Busy night and morning since this announcement was made at last night’s Highland Park Action Committee meeting (details on other items later) but we wanted to share before too much more time passed: Highland Park’s new spraypark (1100 SW Cloverdale) might open as soon as this weekend! The news came from Pete Spalding, the West Seattleite who chairs the Parks and Green Spaces Levy Oversight Committee. The spraypark is on the site of the former Highland Park wading pool; at one time it was proposed for a very simple spray feature, but Highland Park neighbors led by Carolyn Stauffer, now co-chair of HPAC, campaigned three years ago for a share of the levy’s first Opportunity Fund round, and the city eventually secured the funding for a more extensive project. Sprayparks are considered desirable not just because they’re fun but also because they conserve water better than wading pools and don’t require staffing. We’ll continue checking with Parks regarding the spraypark’s status for this weekend – Saturday is the date when sprayparks citywide are scheduled to start operation for the season; currently it’s forecast as cloudy and showery. (Our photo was taken through the fence after last night’s HPAC meeting.)

ADDED 10:21 AM: The spraypark area also is likely to get some money from the next round of Opportunity Fund spending. We just talked with Parks’ Rick Nishi for details of other items mentioned by Spalding at HPAC last night: The Oversight Committee is recommending funding for better pedestrian access to the spraypark/playground area, and the art project involving the small building at the site is in the plan too. Final approval will have to come from the City Council, but the committee made its recommendations at a meeting this past Monday night. Funding was freed up, Nishi explained, when a project involving improvements for Camp Long cabins had to be removed from the proposal because of logistical/bureaucratic challenges.

12:57 PM: Karen O’Connor from Parks e-mailed to say that while the spraypark is close to completion, they still need inspections that could take up to 2 weeks, so don’t get too excited yet. She adds that its dedication is likely in late July-early August, after artwork is complete at the spraypark.

What do you want Seattle Parks to be like in the future – and how do you want to pay for it? Those key questions brought dozens to Dakota Place Park last night to discuss the department’s draft Legacy Plan. As Parks’ Susanne Rockwell explained during the opening presentation, there’s much at stake:

The opening presentation was followed by 2 rounds of small-table discussions after a short presentation, each table focused on a different component of Parks’ operations/accountabilities, and that resulted in butcher-paper sheets full of ideas and suggestions:

Tonight there’s one more meeting about the draft Legacy Plan, focused on issues affecting immigrant/refugee communities, not in West Seattle but all welcome – 7 pm at South Shore K-8 School, 4800 South Henderson.

Next month, a revised draft will be circulated, and a final proposal is expected to go to elected officials before year’s end. Something to say, but couldn’t get to last night’s meeting and haven’t said it already? Say it fast – parkslegacy@seattle.gov

TUESDAY MEETING ABOUT PARK SYSTEM’S FUTURE: Tuesday night at 7 pm, you’re invited to Dakota Place to share your thoughts about the future of Seattle Parks – priorities, funding, more, as explained here. Parks Superintendent Christopher Williams talked about it at Celebrate Lincoln Park last month (here’s our story, including video), and you can see the draft Parks Legacy Plan here – but Parks would like to hear directly from as many people as possible, and with all the land and facilities it has here in West Seattle, plus more in the works, now’s the time.

DAKOTA RENTALS: While you’re at Dakota Place for the meeting, take a look around – they’re offering rental specials through the end of the year, since the facility is not completely booked with classes or other Parks events. From Tiffani Melake at Hiawatha Community Center, which runs the Dakota Place building too:

3-hour special, including booking fee, staffing, patio and exclusive use of facility! – $225

5-hour special, including booking fee, staffing, patio and exclusive use of facility! – $400

Weekday inquiries go through Hiawatha, 206-684-7441; weekend inquiries go through Parks’ event-scheduling department, 206-684-7254.

With this record-setting heat, we’ve been getting questions about when the city’s wading pools open. Schedule’s not out yet, but the short answer: Not till next month. The questions, however, inspired us to check in on the new addition to West Seattle’s outdoor aquatics scene this summer – the Highland Park Spraypark, going in at the site of the wading pool that’s hasn’t been open since 2008. Seattle Parks project manager Kelly Goold says the spraypark is currently on track for completion by the end of this month, and shared construction photos with WSB:

The top photo, he explains, “shows concrete being poured in one pad and forming for the next – concrete for this project is part of the final phase.” The second photo shows “the very cool bronze inlays that tie to the planetary theme of the spray-park.” As he notes, most of the work has been “in-ground; a lot of piping for the spray-park equipment.”

Weekend wildlife scenes to share before the week gets going at full speed! Trileigh Tucker says, “A few of us had a wonderful time watching the Lincoln Park Barred Owls! They were trying (unsuccessfully) to get away from crow harassment in the central part of the park. Here’s what was happening: (The) owl does a luxurious wing and leg stretch! Note leg stretched out vertically below:”

Next, she explains, the owl “tucks his head in his feathers for a brief rest during preening”:

From there, she explained, the crows were distracted and flew away, “I think because this guy’s mate came in.” But first, he was buzzed by other birds, including two hummingbirds, one of which you can see here:

At that point, Trileigh says, the owl flew over to drink from a stream while “still getting harassed by hummingbirds, crow, and jays, then (flew) up to join his sweetheart.”

She says it was quite the show. We wondered if there might be hope of a baby owl this year – you might remember the one Trileigh chronicled a few years back – she says it’s a little late in the season, since that baby owl (nicknamed “Wollet”) was already out and “walking” by late May, but still possible.

Did today’s summery weather put you in the mood for outdoor swimming? Less than three weeks remain before this year’s first swim sessions at Colman Pool on the Lincoln Park shore. We checked on the plan for the upcoming season after receiving that photo from photographer/pilot Long Bach Nguyen, who noticed the pool had been drained as of a few days ago. You might recall that last year’s season started late because of the $1.4 million renovation project; that work also prevented the pool from being filled with salt water from Puget Sound last year, since its new lining needed fresh water. Seattle Parks spokesperson Joelle Hammerstad tells WSB the pool was drained last week for leak repair and was then filled with water from the Sound. First day of swimming at Colman Pool is Saturday, May 25th, for the first of three “pre-season weekends” before the 7-days-a-week summer schedule begins June 15th. Here’s the schedule booklet, including information on lessons, which are already being booked.

You have about another hour to go explore and “Celebrate Lincoln Park” with the help of naturalists like Noelle, as well as artists, writers, and local volunteers like these Seal Sitters:

Events from nature walks to kids’ art projects proceeded as scheduled despite the weather’s decision to turn gray and breezy.

The Fauntleroy Community Association organized CLP as a two-part event, with today’s outdoor fun following last Tuesday’s presentations about the park’s history, wildlife, status, and more (our Tuesday coverage includes as-it-happened video of those presentations – find it here). It’s on till 2:30, at multiple locations toward the south end of the park.

Thanks to John Hinkey for the Alki photo from today’s low tide, -2 feet just before noon. This weekend, the afternoon low tides will be even lower: -2.6 at 12:43 pm on Saturday, -2.7 at 1:29 pm on Sunday. (Tomorrow, of course, Lincoln Park is the place to be before, during, and after the low-low tide – beach naturalists are part of the second installment of the Fauntleroy Community Association-presented Celebrate Lincoln Park, 10:30 am-2:30 pm tomorrow, full schedule here.)

If you’ve been to Alki Community Center, you know its lobby is a bit snug. That situation is finally about to improve, reports Liesa Rose, president of the Alki Advisory Council:

I have exciting news to share. After a 3-year effort of ideas, design, bids, and negotiations, Alki Community Center’s lobby will be expanded slightly. Construction by a Seattle Parks Dept. crew started on Tuesday 4/23. This project was my idea and supported by the Alki Advisory Council, Associated Recreation Council and the Seattle Parks Dept.

The current exterior roof overhang space will be enclosed to add about 300 square feet. We hope the community will enjoy the new space to sit, read, play games, and chat with friends.

Attached is a picture of the start of construction and 2 PDFs of the designs showing the new exterior and new interior. The entry doors will be moved to the west. Construction will be funded by the Alki Advisory Council / ARC and the Seattle Parks and Recreation Dept.

We hope this project will be finished at the end of May.