One week from tonight, the recently released draft Seattle Parks and Open Space Plan gets a public hearing. (More on that shortly.) It’s a plan the city has to update every six years to be eligible for certain types of funding, but it gives a detailed look into where the department expects to go. So we went through the draft plan to look for specific West Seattle mentions.

Overall, the plan proposes redefining the “level of service” provided for people in Seattle – instead of focusing on a certain amount of park/open space acreage per person, the focus would be on ensuring that parks and park facilities are within a 10-minute walk.

Toward that goal, the draft plan notes that three of West Seattle’s “urban village” areas are “underserved” right now – the West Seattle Junction, Morgan Junction, and Highland Park/Westwood areas. (See page 94 of the plan for more on that.)

Also of note – a list of projects slated for the next several years. Listed for West Seattle are accessibility projects (without specifics) for Colman Pool, West Seattle Stadium, the West Seattle Golf Course clubhouse, Walt Hundley Playfield, the south end of Westcrest Park, Seacrest Park, and Riverview Playfield. Also, the three West Seattle landbanked parks (Morgan Junction addition, West Seattle Junction/40th SW, and 48th/Charlestown), plus the second West Seattle Off-Leash Area. Playground renovations are planned for Southwest Teen Life Center/Pool, Riverview, and Westcrest Park’s south play area. Restroom overhauls are mentioned for the golf course (on-course structure), Walt Hundley Playfield, south Westcrest Park, and the Lincoln Park wading-pool area. Other projects envisioned between now and 2028: Turf replacement at Walt Hundley, decarbonization and renovations at High Point Community Center, shower renovations at Delridge Community Center, field-lighting replacements at West Seattle Stadium, plaster-liner replacement at Colman Pool, and “illicit connection remediation” at Hiawatha Community Center.

There’s a lot more in the plan – maps, stats, demographics and how they’re changing – which you can read here. The Board of Parks and Recreation Commissioners – a city-convened advisory group – will hold a public hearing at its meeting one week from tonight (6:30 pm February 22 – online and in-person), and the deadline for all comments is March 9. Go here to find other ways to comment.

(WSB photos and video)

A ceremony and celebration in the midday sunshine dedicated Camp Long‘s new south entrance gate in the name of the park’s longtime leader and champion, Sheila Brown. It was one of her last wishes before her 2021 death at age 59, an upgraded entrance to make the sprawling park more accessible. A partnership between Seattle Parks and the Delridge Neighborhoods Development Association, plus more than 100 donors, made it happen.

Before the ribboncutting, a crowd we counted at more than 50 people gathered on 29th, blocked off for the occasion, to hear about Ms. Brown and the project. We recorded them all on video:

Speakers included Seattle Parks superintendent AP Diaz, Caroline Borsenik of DNDA, and representatives of Ms. Brown’s family and friends, as well as a Muckleshoot Tribe member providing a blessing. Camp Long’s Matt Kostle emceed:

Attendees were invited to enjoy treats including s’mores – but most of all, they were encouraged to explore Camp Long, today and in the future, through the new Sheila Brown Memorial Gate:

Its materials, by the way, include reclaimed stone. If you’ve never been to Camp Long, it’s one of the city’s Environmental Learning Centers, with features including a pond, climbing rock, and cabins you can rent for camping, and a historic lodge, with the main entrance at 5200 35th SW.

Thanks to Doug Eglington for sending photos Tuesday showing that crews were delivering materials to Don Armeni Boat Ramp. Today Seattle Parks confirmed this is the start of the long-in-the-works project to replace the floating docks at Don Armeni. Parks reiterates that one float will remain in service at all times; Doug sent another photo today showing one already has been removed:

This is another long-delayed project – we first reported on the plan seven years ago, at which time work was expected to start later that year (2017). Two years ago, Parks blamed the delay on federal permitting. The contractor is American Construction of Tacoma, which bid $1.2 million last year; Parks says the work should take about two months.

Thanks to Tom Trulin for the photos. A week and a half after Seattle Parks confirmed that the long-awaited Lincoln Park South Play Area replacement was about to begin, crews from contractor LW Sundstrom are there today.

We’re still awaiting the promised update from Parks on the expected schedule for this project and the Westcrest Park play area that was bundled with it for bidding (Sundstrom’s winning bid was just under $1.2 million). Parks had previously said March is the expected shipping timeframe for the new play equipment, which – as designed with community input six years ago – is supposed to have a marine theme. The Lincoln Park play area has been out of commission since July 2017; Westcrest, since May 2021 – both because, Parks said, wooden components had become damaged and unsafe (termites were blamed).

(WSB file photo)

Last month, we reported the long-planned stabilization project for Hiawatha Community Center was finally out to bid. Now the bidding process is closed and a list of eight bidders is now viewable online. The lowest “base bid” is $2,518,284 from Optimus Construction and Development of Burien; the highest, $2,989,000 from WS Contractors of Buckley. The project webpage lists the project’s total budget as $3.9 million. The center has been closed now for almost four years, and Parks officials admitted last month that it was a mistake not to reopen it while waiting for the stabilization project. If the rest of the contractor-selection process goes well, they also said last month, they hope work will start in March. It could last more than a year.

(WSB photo – Nino Cantu Southwest Athletic Complex parking lot)

By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

Seattle Parks has a new idea for where to add pickleball courts in West Seattle: The parking lot at Nino Cantu Southwest Athletic Complex.

That’s what Parks’ director of planning and development Andy Sheffer told the Fauntleroy Community Association last night.

It’s not a sure bet, though, as the parking lot is Seattle Public Schools property.

Before we get into those details – some backstory: Sheffer was invited to talk with FCA after the group’s previous meeting, last November (WSB coverage here), included a discussion with opponents of Parks’ plan to repurpose an old paved pad – once tennis courts, more recently a storage area for Parks maintenance – by setting up six pickleball courts. As FCA president Mike Dey explained in introducing Sheffer, they wanted to hear “the facts” about Parks’s plan, which first emerged in September, when Parks dropped a plan to add pickleball stripes to Solstice Park tennis courts, and drew intense opposition.

First Sheffer explained that the “next step” is a study on mitigating pickleball noise, a major point of concern for project opponents, contending the Lincoln Park courts would be disruptive both to wildlife and to people. He said this study – for which a “kickoff meeting” is imminent – involves the University of Washington Engineering Department, which is working on pickleball equipment that would reduce the noise by at least 50 percent. “Nobody ever really thought about the noise, but now that it’s a mainstream sport, they have to think about it.” (He noted later that pickleball noise concerns also include the “laughter and joy” expressed by players.) They’re also working with local wildlife/environmental advocates, he said, including Birds Connect Seattle.

But, he said then, “We are studying other sites concurrently … I’ve always had my eyes on the Southwest [Athletic Complex] parking lot.” Sheffer said he’s already had one meeting with the school district about the idea and has another one set up. He explained,, “What I’d like to see come out of that is to be able to build the same number of courts with the ability to park over [them] for the two or three big events a year.” He didn’t specify which events he was referring to; the NCSWAC is used for a variety of sports events throughout the year, plus high-school graduations, among other things, and its lot is adjacent to Parks-owned Southwest Teen Life Center and Pool.

Sheffer said they’re open to other sites but a major criteria is that a site would have to already be paved – they don’t want to pave anything that’s not; he said he’s been “scouring the city looking for impervious surfaces.” In West Seattle, he said, the Lincoln Park pad and NCSWAC parking lot “are really it” but he stressed that he’s hopeful the parking-lot idea “will go through and then we can look at other uses for Lincoln.”

If Lincoln Park remains the site, Sheffer was asked, what about its condition? One person in attendance said, “We have pictures of broken asphalt and treeroots coming up through it.” Sheffer replied, “We would patch the broken areas of asphalt and do another asphalt overlay and a top coat.” He added that the Lincoln Park site wasn’t identified for repurposing previously because Parks’ “old leadership” said it was needed as a maintenance facility, while “new leadership” decided the materials could be stored somewhere else.

Another question: What’s the rush for new pickleball courts? Sheffer replied, “We have a huge demand for pickleball … huge demand from West Seattle for sure.” So much so, he said, that existing sites are under pressure to expand – he noted, “There’s a big push to make Walt Hundley [Playfield, in High Point] more of a dedicated pickleball facility.”

What about a privately owned site, like Westwood Village, which has both a huge parking lot and two large empty indoorspaces? Sheffer said they could certainly consider that; FCA board member Marty Westerman said the suggestion had already been made to the shopping center’s owners, but they had yet to reply.

Sheffer returned multiple times to an acknowledgment of the concerns voiced previously by those opposing the Lincoln Park site (the FCA has yet to take a formal position) – “This is your park, we hear you loud and clear, you shouldn’t have to fight the city … I’ve heard a lot through this process.”

Other questions were aimed at eliciting more specifics about the study. Sheffer said it’s “kicking off” with a meeting tomorrow (Thursday, January 11th) and shouldn’t last longer than three months – “a lot of it is literature review,” he added, referring to what he said was “lots” of studies already done regarding pickleball noise.

He was asked about the best way to advocate, either for or against the pickleball project. At first Sheffer suggested people wait to see how the study turns out; later in the meeting, he suggested an online survey would be a possibility, maybe with questions such as “if noise could be reduced by 50 percent, would you be opposed?”

WHAT’S NEXT: Before leaving the meeting (which moved on to other non-Parks topics we’ll recap separately), Sheffer said his next steps would be the study, a survey, and review of other possible sites; he said the next conversation with SPS regarding Nino Cantu Southwest Athletic Complex was slated for the “third week in January.” (It should be noted that NCSWAC already has tennis courts dual-striped for pickleball, just west of the pool building.)

When we asked Seattle Parks about the construction fencing that signals the imminent start of the Lincoln Park South Play Area replacement, we also asked about the downed fencing around the planned pickleball-court site elsewhere in the park. We’ve received several reader photos like the one above sent by Ryan. Was it vandalism? Here’s how Parks spokesperson Karen O’Connor replied: “The fencing should not have been removed. The project manager is working to get it re-installed and also fix the signage.” The fencing was originally installed to stretch into the grassy area west of the planned court project because of accessibility work Parks said would be included. The work is currently on hold until warmer weather. The Fauntleroy Community Association, which heard from project opponents at its last meeting in November, is tentatively scheduled to talk with a guest from Parks at its next meeting Tuesday (January 9th), 7 pm at Fauntleroy Schoolhouse (9131 California SW).

(Photo sent by Mike Dey)

Thanks for the tips and photos! That fence is a sign that work is about to start on Lincoln Park‘s South Play Area, 6 1/2 years after the original play structure was closed and removed for safety issues. Seattle Parks spokesperson Karen O’Connor tells WSB, “We anticipate issuing the Notice to Proceed to the contractor next week, so it seems the contractor put up the fencing ahead of this notice.” We reported last September that a contractor had been chosen but wouldn’t be able to start work until early this year. The contractor is LW Sundstrom, whose winning bid was just under $1.2 million for this project and similar work at Westcrest Park (closed 2 1/2 years). Parks promises more information on the construction schedule next week.

A new gateway to Camp Long is complete, honoring the park’s longtime leader Sheila Brown, who initiated the project before her death in 2021. Here’s the announcement from Delridge Neighborhoods Development Association:

(DNDA photos)

Delridge Neighborhoods Development Association (DNDA) is happy to share with our community that the Sheila Brown Gateway Project at Camp Long is open for visitors!

The construction project honors Sheila Brown, who served as the director of Camp Long for 13 years. The gateway, which leads into the park, was funded through a community donation effort at the time of Sheila’s death from cancer in 2021 at 59 years old.

DNDA served as the fiscal sponsor of the project, which was initiated by Sheila’s family and completed by the City of Seattle. More than 125 community donors collectively contributed more than $41,000 to the Gateway Project.

The project involved building a new gateway to Camp Long at the park’s side entrance at 29th Avenue SW and SW Brandon Street, replacing an old chain link gate. The entrance features a wrought–iron gate and stone pillars, echoing the pillars and gate at the park’s main entrance, which were built by the Civilian Conservation Corps during the 1930s.

During her long and impactful career, Sheila led and supported many environmental projects that endure to this day, including establishing the 4-H Challenge course at Camp Long and the Longfellow Creek Legacy Trail that runs through Delridge.

DNDA deeply appreciated Sheila as a community partner and inspiring person, and so did our friends at EarthCorps, The Common Acre, and many more organizations. She helped create the city’s Leaders in Environment, Equity, and Facilitation program to empower youth in communities of color to become environmental education leaders.

Camp Long is a city park also designated and programmed as an Environmental Learning Center.

P.S. We just added a Camp Long event to the WSB West Seattle Holiday Guide – a wreathmaking workshop one week from today.

(WSB photo)

By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

The “stabilization” project for long-closed Hiawatha Community Center will formally be advertised for bids starting tomorrow.

Seattle Parks and Recreation deputy superintendent Mike Schwindeller tells WSB that his department got the confirmation “at noon today.” They’ll accept bids through January 10th.

At last week’s “West Seattle park projects update” online briefing, Schwindeller said the long-delayed project would go to bid this week, but we’ve been watching the city’s bidding website and hadn’t seen it as of this morning, so we asked about the status, and got Schwindeller’s confirmation in reply.

The center closed early in the pandemic, in spring 2020, but unlike most other Parks facilities, never reopened. It’s left north West Seattle without a community center, as Alki CC first converted to child care/early education and then closed entirely for the adjacent school rebuild.

In an online conversation following up on last week’s briefing – set up at the behest of a community advocate who has long been bird-dogging Parks on Hiawatha’s status – former acting superintendent Christopher Williams (now chief of staff) tried to explain why this turned into a four-year shutdown before the project even went out to bid, and admitted that “if we had to do this again, we would not have closed Hiawatha so prematurely.” They kept it closed believing the start of the stabilization project was a lot closer than it turned out to be.

Much of the delay has been attributed to a half-million dollar federal grant – about a sixth of the project’s $3.9 million budget. Schwindeller said they have funds they can use to cover if the project costs go over? So why couldn’t those funds have been tapped instead of having a half-million-dollar grant hold things up? Walking away from half a million dollars would have been “a hard decision,” Williams said, while adding that there’s always a “learning curve” when they’re dealing with grants and their unique red-tape requirements … “we’re trying to learn from this.” Even once the grant was awarded, they said, a separate process was triggered, with “different accountabilities” and “different timing.”

The community advocate told the Parks managers (as did we) that communication was a major problem too – frequently getting different answers about what was holding up the project and when key milestones like bidding would happen. Williams apologized for that too, saying, “We can do better, we will do better.” In addition to online updates, Parks promised an accurate sign would go up at the site of the shuttered center. The project scope is summarized as “electrical repairs, water and sewer pipe replacements, furnace and water heater repairs, roof replacement, and more.”

WHAT’S NEXT: Schwindeller says, “Assuming we receive favorable bids, the subsequent steps require weeks to progress through contractor verification, insurance and bond requirements, contract execution and notice to proceed. We anticipate a construction start date in March 2024.” Meantime, the playground project at Hiawatha – separate from the “stabilization” work – is being redesigned because of stormwater concerns, and is expected to go to bid next spring and start construction in the summer.

ADDED FRIDAY MORNING: The project has indeed opened for bidding, posted here this morning. Here’s how the project is described:

Construct Interior improvements to existing Community Center including interior finishes, and accessibility improvements. Construct exterior improvements including re-grading and replacing existing sidewalks and ramps, repairs to exterior façade elements, roof replacement and electrical upgrades. Work includes staging, construction access, temporary power, sanitary and water connections to be maintained for the project duration. Protection of existing facilities to remain. Work also includes selective demolition and renovation of the existing community center building. Additive 1 – Electric Switchgear Replacement. Add. 2 – Roof Replacement, Rooftop Mechanical Unit Replacement, and Low Slope Roof Insulation. Add. 3 – Exterior Upgrades that includes window replacement (other than Storefront Openings), Gym Clerestories, and adding blown-in insulation.