Think your neighborhood needs a park? There’s more than one way to get it. That’s what the Morgan Community Association heard from a Parks Department manager during its quarterly meeting Wednesday night. Read on for the toplines on that, and other updates including plans for this year’s Morgan Junction Community Festival:

HOW TO GET A PARK, #1: You’ve probably heard by now about the Opportunity Fund set up by the Parks and Green Spaces Levy voters approved in November 2008 – community proposals for new park projects will be accepted later this year, with proposal letters due February 1st. At least four proposals are expected in the Morgan Junction area, and slightly beyond, according to last night’s discussion – at Orchard Street Ravine, Fairmount Playfield, Eddy Street Ravine, plus one described as “Green Crescent” property acquisition. Ann Martin talked to MoCA about the Orchard Street proposal, which would expand the site’s upslope area with purchase of an adjacent 5,600-square-foot park parcel with a vacant house, as well as vacating what’s now set aside as city street right-of-way. The expected cost is about $300,000; MoCA agreed to write a letter supporting the proposal.

HOW TO GET A PARK, #2: Parks Department manager Chip Nevins talked with MoCA about the acquisition money in the Parks and Green Spaces Levy – $24 million for acquisition of “neighborhood park” sites in 20 urban centers citywide that are short on park space. There’s a fairly narrow definition of “urban center” – so areas like Morgan’s Green Crescent wouldn’t qualify for this fund, he said. Sites should be at least 10,000 square feet, preferably vacant “but we’ve taken out houses.” Several suggestions were offered – like the idle development site at California/Graham (map), and a vacant view lot near 50th/Graham (map). If you’ve got a suggestion, you can e-mail Nevins at chip.nevins@seattle.gov.

MORGAN COMMUNITY FESTIVAL: MoCA is leaning toward June 12-13 as the dates for the annual Community Festival, which returned in a big way last year after a few years’ hiatus. You’ll find the Bite of Morgan food-sampling again this year (here’s the wrapup on last year’s participants) as well as live music (Chas Redmond is again assembling the band lineup).

NEIGHBORHOOD PLANNING: Redmond also co-chairs the Southwest District Council and updated MoCA on its plan to take a closer look in the coming months at each West Seattle neighborhood with an official neighborhood plan (WSB coverage here). He also had an update from the final meeting of the citywide Neighborhood Plan Advisory Committee – saying West Seattle is now NOT expected to have a neighborhood chosen for one of this year’s updates, which means this year’s SWDC discussions can be a good run-up for a future year. The Department of Neighborhoods’ Southwest District Coordinator Stan Lock was at the meeting too, with an update on SWDC guest bookings – Councilmember Sally Bagshaw is expected in February (2/3) and Councilmember Tom Rasmussen in March (3/3).

THE KENNEY: MoCA president Deb Barker hit the toplines on this project, biggest one in Morgan Junction right now. The day of the meeting, she said, The Kenney had applied for the 46th SW “street vacation” that is part of the project; she also reminded the group that the deadline for comments on the project has been extended to February 3rd. The time for people to “comment or ask questions” is now, Barker stressed. Also at the meeting, a local architect working with the project team; he said they’re expecting to return to Design Review in March, but in the meantime are “confirming a lot of our … assumptions, nailing down (financing aspects), polishing drawings” and reading those comments as they come in to the city’s DPD. Parking and traffic dominate the concerns voiced so far. Some city codes have changed in the year-plus since this project’s been on the drawing board; “Are you going to design to the old code or the new code?” asked MoCA’s Cindi Barker. Reply: “We haven’t decided – (but) what the new code gives in density, we’re not doing anyway.”

SPOKANE STREET VIADUCT: We’ve been talking about it almost all week on WSB, and it was a hot topic at the MoCA meeting too – the closures and detours that are about to start kicking in. (Before we could finish writing this report, Chas Redmond had already made good on something he told MoCA he’d do – talk to city leaders about reopening the issue of keeping the “low bridge” closed during rush hours – see our story about Councilmember Jean Godden’s visit to the West Seattle Chamber of Commerce on Thursday.)

MORE QUICK NOTES: A followup meeting will likely happen the week of March 15-19 with King County Wastewater Treatment Division about the pump-station-overflow improvements needed at the Lowman Beach (Murray) station site … The current project at Orchard Street Ravine is almost done – the city’s installed a kiosk and hiker-safety signs are on the way … West Seattle Trails kiosks are on the way too, with the permit process under way, though Chas Redmond mentioned a few wrinkles in the process, such as million-dollar liability insurance required for each one … The vacant, earmarked-for-development parcel at California/Graham came up again with a question about whether wildflowers could be sowed at the site, now dotted with weeds; the owner will be contacted … Myrtle Reservoir Park: “Turf establishment” isn’t finished yet and that’s why the site is still fenced off … April 21 is the next MoCA meeting.