West Seattle, Washington
02 Monday
ORIGINAL SATURDAY MORNING REPORT: Thanks to the reader who just called to share the news that she discovered while out for a walk this morning that a tree is down across the Schmitz Park pathway near the Alki Community Center entrance to the park. We asked her to report it to the Parks after-hour maintenance hotline, which is reachable via 206-684-7250.
SUNDAY AFTERNOON UPDATE: Still blocked, another reader reports, sending the photo we have added above.
More than five years after buying and “landbanking” the future park site in the 4700 block of 40th SW [map], Seattle Parks is moving forward with designing the new park. And the next round of input is set for two drop-in events on the same day: 11:30 am-1 pm and 5:30-7 pm Thursday, February 1st, at the site. The project team from Parks and GGLO Design will be there to “review design concepts and gather input” from everyone who shows up. Last September, you might recall, Parks held a drop-in event at the West Seattle Farmers’ Market to gather votes on potential design elements. The city bought the park site in 2012 for $1.4 million and “landbanked” it; until last summer, it was home to temporary Fire Station 32 while the new station was being built.
Off work/out of school on Monday, and not signed up for a “day of service” project yet? Here’s one looking for volunteers, in case you haven’t already seen it on the WSB calendar:
Fairmount Park Forest Work Party
January 15, 2018 10 am – 1 pmGive back to your community park this MLK Day! Fairmount Park Playground is a small green space along Fauntleroy Way next to Fairmount Park Elementary. We started restoration in Spring of 2017, removing invasives, like blackberry and ivy, moving compost piles and replanting it with beautiful Native plants. Come help continue our efforts. It’s a small park that needs a lot of help.
Here’s where to go for more information and registration.
(Anybody else looking for volunteers on Monday? Not too late to let us know.)
Last year was the first time the city tried “participatory budgeting” – under the banner Your Voice, Your Choice – for park and street projects. After ideas were proposed, then vetted, then voted on, each City Council district got a share, and four transportation-related projects were the winners in our area. This year, the city’s starting the process earlier – right now! – with more money to spend, $3 million citywide. So this is your official alert that if you have a “small-scale” park or street improvement idea – something that wouldn’t cost more than $90,000 – you have a month to tell the city about it – either online by going here, or via a paper form you’ll find at Seattle Public Library branches. February 2nd is the deadline; see the full announcement here.
P.S. If you contributed an idea last year but it didn’t make the final cut, it may have been rolled over for reconsideration this year – 400+ of those ideas are on this city-created Google Map and don’t need to be resubmitted.
(Circle shows expansion site on park’s southeast edge)
Three weeks ago, we reported on a City Council 
committee giving its OK to a small purchase with big potential – Schmitz Park neighbor Bruce Stotler (right) selling rights to his property for far below its value, so that after he’s gone, the site will become part of the forested park. This afternoon, the full council gave its unanimous approval to the $225,000 deal.
It’s been years in the making, initiated back when West Seattleite Tom Rasmussen was still on the council, and shepherded after that by Councilmember Lisa Herbold. As she noted before this afternoon’s vote, the city Parks Department was originally reluctant, but eventually was convinced. The funding will come from the Seattle Park District levy. Those speaking at the start of this afternoon’s council meeting 
included Rasmussen, who said he was “thrilled” to see it finally coming to fruition, and Vicki Schmitz-Block, on behalf of the family that originally donated Schmitz Park land, saying she hoped it would inspire others, and that it will eventually help enable better access to the park. The council also heard from Jeff McCord, executive director of the Southwest Seattle Historical Society, supporting the purchase (as originally announced), and finally from Bruce Stotler himself, who told the council, “Thank you for allowing me to fulfill my dream.” (He elaborated in this recent Seattle Times report that he felt it’s “the right thing to do.”)
The Westwood-Roxhill-Arbor Heights Community Coalition usually meets on first Tuesdays – but not tonight, given the proximity to the holidays. However, WWRHAH is helping coordinate these two special upcoming community discussions that you’re encouraged to be part of. First – imagine more events in Roxhill Park!
(2016 WSB photo from ‘Blood Wedding’ performance in the park)
On Tuesday, January 9, from 6:30 to 7:30 at Southwest Library, we’ll join Parks Commons and Arts in Parks Coordinator Randy Wigner to discuss ways Roxhill Park could be a good location for this program. The goal of the Parks Commons Program is to develop community capacity and civic engagement in event production, and the program is assigned to parks that experience long-term public safety issues and where those issues would be improved by increased community use of these parks. We’ll discuss park needs and if the program is a good fit.
Next – looking ahead to the RapidRide H Line, but not about the buses or routing:
On Thursday, January 18, community members and kids are invited to join artists from Oakland’s WowHaus studio for a discovery walk to help inform art projects coming to our neighborhood as part of the redevelopment of the 120 into the Metro Rapid Ride H line. Around 2:30 pm, we’ll meet at Roxhill Elementary under the main entry awning, then walk over to the 26th and Roxbury stop and hop on the 120 bus to the stop at Trenton and Delridge (so bring your bus fare). Members of the public can also meet at between 3:30 and 4 at the corner of Delridge and Henderson (where the largest concrete triangle is located in the right-of-way), and join the walk from there. What ideas do you have? Join us and share! Learn more about our selected artists here.
Though the snow stopped more than 48 hours ago, some effects linger. The latest: The snow aftermath has the West Seattle Golf Course closed today, along with the city’s three other golf courses. We went over to verify and found a sign on the clubhouse door, plus the still-snowy scene you see above.
Still slushy out there, so Seattle Parks has officially closed its athletic fields today. Otherwise, the only West Seattle facility on the Seattle Parks closure list today is Southwest Teen Life Center.
More closure info as we go into the holiday weekend: Besides schedule changes for some Seattle Parks facilities on Sunday, and closures on Monday – as listed here – the lodge/visitor center at West Seattle’s Camp Long has an extended closure starting tomorrow. Parks says the building will be closed December 23rd through January 1st, for maintenance work as well as the holidays, and is scheduled to reopen Tuesday, January 2nd.
(Lincoln Park aerial photo from 2012, by Long Bach Nguyen
Lincoln Park is the second West Seattle park chosen by the city as a site for an “outdoor preschool.”
This is the second year of a city pilot project allowing these types of preschools in four city parks. Tiny Trees has been operating one at Camp Long, the only West Seattle park on that initial list.
This past October, the Parks Department came up with a list of nine parks where it would allow outdoor preschool to continue, or to begin. That list included Camp Long and Lincoln Park. And it issued a call for interested preschool operators.
The application and vetting process has just ended, and Parks spokesperson Rachel Schulkin tells WSB that Tiny Trees and a second company called Roots & Sky are the two providers chosen for the nine parks. In addition to Tiny Trees continuing at Camp Long, Schulkin says, “Roots & Sky is the provider that we intend to work with in offering outdoor preschool at Lincoln Park.” We couldn’t find information about them online, and followed up with Schulkin, who explained:
Roots & Sky is a new business. In addition to applying to utilize Lincoln Park as their preschool site, they are applying to the Seattle Preschool Program (pathway program) which would provide crucial funding and support for them to operate. With successful acceptance into the Seattle Preschool Program they will then acquire a business license. Our intent to move into an agreement with them is dependent upon both successful acceptance into the Seattle Preschool Program (pathway program) and acquisition of a business license. If those things don’t happen, we will not move forward with Roots & Sky as an outdoor preschool provider at Lincoln Park.
She says Parks is working on a Memorandum of Agreement with both providers “to lay out the specifics/expectations regarding outdoor preschools in Seattle Parks.” Before agreements are finalized, she says, there will be a community meeting at Lincoln Park to discuss:
-SPR’s goals around partnering with outdoor preschools
-what we have learned after our first year of piloting these programs,
-some information about how outdoor preschools work and their agreements with SPR.We will also have time to answer community questions.
No date set for that meeting yet. And yes, the preschool providers do pay the city for use of the parks – “There is a monthly fee depending on the hours of preschool (the exact cost are a discounted rate based upon our rental rates), additional fees are charged for any added maintenance needed.”
One non-West Seattle park in the pilot program, by the way, was excluded for future preschool use, according to this city document, John C. Little, “because of deteriorating site conditions and overuse.”
A long meeting of the City Council committee chaired by West Seattle/South Park Councilmember Lisa Herbold just concluded with a vote supporting a small but significant expansion of Schmitz Park.
We published the Southwest Seattle Historical Society‘s announcement of this on Sunday. (They’re a supporter, though not a party, to the matter.) 
Today the Civil Rights, Utilities, Economic Development, and Arts Committee heard from the 5,000-square-foot site’s owner Bruce Stotler (right) and from West Seattle-residing former Councilmember Tom Rasmussen, who shepherded the proposed purchase until his term ended two years ago, and handed it over to Herbold.
Stotler said at today’s meeting that he wanted to make sure his parcel on the southeast edge of the forested preserve – donated by the Schmitz family more than a century ago – wouldn’t someday become a “megahouse with a five-foot yard.” Under terms of the deal with the city, he will sell it for $225,000 but retain a “reservation of life estate” interest so he can continue living there until he dies (or if he chooses to move), at which time the city takes full ownership and will demolish Stotler’s house. The money will come from the levy-funded Seattle Park District.
The city originally didn’t have the money for this, the committee was told, but Stotler didn’t give up. And, said Parks’ Chip Nevins, “It’s important to protect the edges of these parks from encroachment by development.” The site might also be part of a new pathway into the park someday, Herbold noted.
The two committee members in attendance, Herbold and Councilmember Mike O’Brien, both voted to approve the deal, and the full council will have the final vote sometime next month.
One of West Seattle’s biggest parks will get a little bigger, if a proposal for the city to buy an adjacent parcel gets final approval. The announcement was sent tonight by the Southwest Seattle Historical Society:
109-year-old Schmitz Park is on track to be expanded by a parcel at its southeast corner.
The plan, which has secured approval by the Seattle Mayor’s office, is headed for consideration by a Seattle City Council committee on Tuesday morning, Dec. 12.
Working on this plan for nearly three years is a group calling itself Friends of the Historic Schmitz Park Addition, including former Seattle City Councilmember Tom Rasmussen, Schmitz family spokesperson Vicki Schmitz Block, and the Southwest Seattle Historical Society.
SWSHS is pleased to congratulate and support this recent announcement, which would involve legislation for the Seattle Department of Parks and Recreation to acquire the property of West Seattle resident Bruce Stotler, located at the southeast corner of historic Schmitz Park in West Seattle (see map).
This issue will be voted on in Seattle City Council committee on Tuesday, December 12, during the meeting of the Civil Rights, Utilities, Economic Development, and Arts Committee chaired by Lisa Herbold, which begins at 9:30 am and is open to public comment. If passed in committee, the legislation will go to full Council in early January.
The process began in 2015 when property owner Bruce Stotler reached out to former Seattle City Councilmember Tom Rasmussen about donating or selling (below cost) his property abutting the park. Councilmember Rasmussen led Parks Superintendent Jesús Aguirre and others on tours of the Stotler property.
(2015 photo: L-R, Bruce Stotler, Tom Rasmussen, Vicki Schmitz Block, Rasmussen staffer Evan Clifthorne)
Rasmussen and property owner Stotler later met with Councilmember Lisa Herbold in 2016, presenting goals to:
• Expand Schmitz Preserve Park by adding Bruce Stotler’s property to the park
• Allowing Stotler to live on the property through a life-estate agreement with the Parks Department
• Potential increase future accessibility to the Park at its southeast corner, potentially improving ADA access
• Establishing this agreement at a time that the property owner was willing to do so with a large donation componentFast forward to today: Former Councilmember Rasmussen expresses his own appreciation to Mr. Stotler, Councilmember Herbold, and others for championing this issue and bringing it to the fore. “I believe this is an important step toward the preservation of our parks, and Mr. Stotler is setting a remarkable example of how an individual resident can continue in the tradition of the Schmitz family’s original gift of the park land to the City of Seattle.”
Representing the Schmitz family, Vicki Schmitz Block said, “The Schmitz Family is grateful to Mr. Stotler for his vision of adding his property to Schmitz Park, the Seattle Parks Department for agreeing to purchase this piece of land, and Mayor Jenny Durkan for shepherding the project forward. We are hopeful that this action will generate renewed interest and involvement by the community to ensure the future of this forest-like park.”
Jeff McCord, Southwest Seattle Historical Society executive director, added, “We hope to continue to provide outreach, support and advocacy for projects like this one which help to enhance our wonderful West Seattle character and environment. The prospect of having better public access to a great asset like Schmitz Park, as well as helping to expand and preserve the park for all to enjoy, is great news for our community.”
The proposed purchase agreement that’s part of the committee’s Tuesday agenda lists the price the city will pay for the 5,000-square-foot parcel as $225,000, about half its current assessed value.
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
Seattle Parks and Recreation hadn’t been planning an overhaul of Lincoln Park‘s South Play Area so soon after revamping the park’s North Play Area.
Termites forced their hand.
That’s what was revealed last night as the cause of the damage that led Parks to suddenly shut down the south play structure, and to remove it shortly thereafter. In addition, the discovery led to an inspection of other similar structures citywide – and accelerated plans to replace some, including one in West Seattle; more on that later. First – what last night’s meeting was all about: Gathering opinions on what the new play area should include.
The meeting at The Kenney was sparsely attended, but the team from Parks was excited to already have received 250 responses to this online survey, which you can reply to if you haven’t already. (Here’s how responses are going so far.)
Parks manager Susanne Rockwell and landscape architect Pamela Alspaugh led last night’s meeting (with the project construction manager observing), which revealed some basics about the project’s scope and timeline as well as options for what could be installed.
Two notes today about Seattle Parks play-area-renovation projects in West Seattle:
HIGH POINT ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW: Today’s city-circulated Land Use Information Bulletin includes a notice that the High Point Play Area renovation project outside the HP Community Center has been determined to be environmentally non-significant. That opens a comment period if you have something to say – as long as you get your comment in by December 11th (today’s notice explains how). The full document can be seen here. Also noted on the project website – the project is now expected to start in fall 2018, because of “permitting delays.”
MEETING REMINDER FOR LINCOLN PARK SOUTH: This Wednesday is the first of two meetings for the Lincoln Park South Play Area project – 6-7:30 pm November 29th at The Kenney (7125 Fauntleroy Way SW). This is to replace the equipment that was abruptly closed and removed this past summer because of safety concerns. The meeting will give you a chance to “learn about the project and provide input on play equipment and the overall design for the play area.” Whether you can or can’t be there, the city invites you to answer this survey, too.
(WSB file photo from West Duwamish Greenbelt)
Thanks to Craig for the heads-up: If you enjoy using trails in Seattle Parks, you should know that the city’s asking for feedback on its Draft Soft Surface Trails Maintenance Plan. When finalized, the plan will be, Seattle Parks says, “a guiding document to guide the department and the community when addressing the overall maintenance of our nearly 100 miles of trail within the City. Trail Types, Levels of Service, Standards, and Best Management Practices are just some of the areas covered in the plan as we work to provide safe and equitable access to our green spaces.” Once you’ve checked out the draft plan, you have two ways to comment – via e-mail or postal mail, as explained here, and/or come to a meeting set for Wednesday, December 13th, 7 pm, at West Seattle’s Camp Long (5200 35th SW)
ORIGINAL 10:38 AM REPORT: We’ll be checking on various aspects of the windstorm aftermath throughout today. First: While walking through upper Lincoln Park this morning, we saw numerous downed branches and tree limbs, large and small. With so much parkland in West Seattle, many others might notice cleanup and/or repair needs, so we asked Seattle Parks spokesperson Rachel Schulkin the best way to report what you see, today and beyond. She advises calling the Parks maintenance-request line – 206-684-7250.
ADDED 12:47 PM: A damage report from Hiawatha Playfield – a bench taken out by a madrone tree/branch:
Thanks to Erika, who sent that photo, and Max, for both e-mailing about this.
ADDED 2:50 PM: From Seattle Parks via Twitter: “Camp Long’s Ridge Trail is currently closed. Crews are removing a downed tree in the area. We expect the trail to be closed through tomorrow. Call Camp Long for more info: 206-684-7434.”
(From left, Payton Goldstein, Marley Grantor, Malia Grantor, Elliot Goldstein, Jane Howsmon)
Thanks to Marcy Grantor for the photo and report on how these students spent their day off:
We wanted to do a community service project today and chose Roxhill Park. We picked up trash from the skate park to the bathrooms to the picnic area and the soccer field too. After an hour and a half of cleaning, we collectively gathered 1,072 pieces of trash!!!!! We had fun and even had some kids jump in and help … just because.
Now Roxhill Park is a trash-free space and we feel proud!
As they should!
(WSB photo, July 12th)
Four months after safety concerns shut down the play structure at Lincoln Park‘s South Play Area, the rebuilding project is getting into gear. Today, Seattle Parks sent word of an online survey – it’s for all park users, not just families whose kids use the play area – and details on the November 29th meeting (mentioned in our Morgan Community Association coverage last month): 6 pm at The Kenney (7125 Fauntleroy Way SW). That meeting will be “to learn about the project and provide input on play equipment and the overall design for the play area”; a followup meeting to see the resulting design is set for January 24th.
12:20 PM: With so much Seattle Parks property in West Seattle, leadership changes in the department are always news, and there’s another one on the way. Thanks to the texter who tipped us that superintendent Jesús Aguirre has resigned after two and a half years on the job. We called the Parks communications office for more information and they say they’re working on it. (Photo from seattle.gov)
2:06 PM: Parks spokesperson Rachel Schulkin says Aguirre’s resignation will be effective January 2nd, after which time he plans to “take some time to be with family” and eventually join his family’s welding business. He told Mayor Burgess on Monday, and Parks staff on Tuesday. A news release is due out from the mayor’s office soon.
3:16 PM: And the mayor’s statement has arrived in the inbox:
Jesús Aguirre has been an incredible leader and advocate for both our parks system, and the community supports offered through our programs and recreational facilities. He has been a great leader to team of over 2,000 permanent and seasonal parks and recreation employees, and will be missed.
During his tenure, Jesús led the initial implementation of the Seattle Metropolitan Park District, which through tax-payer funding provides much needed maintenance to our parks and recreation facilities. Additionally, he engaged neighborhoods around the development of a Community Center Strategic Plan that led to longer hours at centers, programming targeted to underserved communities, major maintenance to aging centers, and eliminating fees to many drop-in recreation programs. Jesús advocated for the staff at Seattle Parks and Recreation to ensure they received recognition for their excellent service to the city and continued opportunities for growth and development. Most importantly, he was a champion for utilizing park resources to further equity within our city, and in being strategic in how we grow and sustain a park and recreation system as our city changes.
Before Aguirre’s arrival, Christopher Williams served as acting superintendent for four years, after the 2010 departure of Tim Gallagher.
If you’re wondering whether this afternoon’s Longfellow Creek celebration is still happening on this snowy, chilly afternoon – yes, but at a new location. Signs at the originally announced Dragonfly Pavilion site will point you to Delridge Community Center.
Seattle Parks reps there joked that they thought they would only have to deal with the Seahawks game as competition for the event – not the Seahawks and snow. Nonetheless, they’ll be there with information about the creek, its environment, and its wildlife until 4 pm.
Me-Kwa-Mooks is one of the West Seattle spots that’s greened up after a chilly morning of hard work by Green Seattle Day volunteers today. (Thanks to C. Parrs for the photos above and below!)
During the Green Seattle Day work parties, our photographer stopped by two other spots where volunteers were planting trees and shrubs – in Highland Park, volunteers worked east of the off-leash area at Westcrest Park, where some Friday snow was still on the ground:
(WSB photos from here down)
And in east Admiral, the Duwamish Head Greenbelt drew dozens of volunteers to work at 34th and City View, one of the sites where the city is restoring damage done by illegal tree-cutting:
Steve Richmond from Garden Cycles was leading the work today, and told us they were planting larger evergreens as well as understory plants such as ferns.
The city is committed to work at the east Admiral restoration sites for five years, Jon Jainga from Parks noted.
The 21 Green Seattle Day sites with work parties today included two others in West Seattle – Camp Long and Lincoln Park.
6:26 PM MONDAY: If you’ve seen the racist graffiti vandalism at Delridge Skatepark – you’ll probably be glad to hear that Seattle Parks will have a cleanup crew out tomorrow morning. That’s according to Parks spokesperson Rachel Schulkin. Several people called our attention to the graffiti (shown in this tweet), which refers to President Trump as the “great white chief” (albeit, with several misspellings). We pointed them to the Seattle Parks graffiti hotline, 206-684-7587. One person who e-mailed us expressed concern that the hotline has a recording saying it might take two weeks to get graffiti handled, so we asked for a timeline, and that’s how we got the response that “crews are planning to deal with it first thing tomorrow.” Parks also stresses that if you see graffiti vandalism (or any other crime) as it happens, call 911.
ADDED 9:13 AM TUESDAY: Thanks to the texter who just sent this photo of the cleanup crew at the skatepark:
(WSB photos added)
FIRST REPORT, 2:28 PM: A “brush fire” call that’s been open since late morning in the Roxhill Park area is actually an underground peat fire, according to Seattle Parks, which says it’s under control but has claimed a few trees. Parks also says part of the park will be closed TFN because of the fire. We’ll be heading over to find out more. The peat bog in the park was restored years ago but has gone dry because of a variety of problems that the Westwood-Roxhill-Arbor Heights Community Coalition has long been trying to get the city to address. More to come.
3:04 PM UPDATE: We are at the park now. SFD and Parks are working together to dig into the peat to try to get to a not-burned area so they can cut off the fire. They have had to tear out some trees to get to it.
(And yes, that’s a TV helicopter.) What looks like smoke in our photos, we are told, is ash. Peat fires can burn for days, weeks, even months, so SFD is hoping this hasn’t extended too far. It’s at the southeast corner of the park.
3:56 PM UPDATE: Back at HQ now, and adding more images.
Since the fire isn’t out, SFD can’t say for sure how it started, but Deputy Chief Gene Zimmerman told us firefighters have been out a few times in recent days to extinguish “small warming fires” in that area of the park. We will check back in early evening but right now, this is NOT affecting the play area on the west side of the park, except that an SFD line is running to the fire area from a hydrant on 29th SW on the southwest side of the park. (added) This view of digging to fight the fire …
…is reminiscent of a view from the Seattle Municipal Archives, dated 1961, of peat being dug up in the area during road work (we’ve published this photo before):
FRIDAY NOTE: SFD closed out the call late Thursday night. We haven’t received a response yet to our question for them, whether the fire’s considered extinguished, but we went over at 5:30 pm for a look:
All that remains is a big muddy area, with chain-link fence around it. The paths to the east and to the north (toward the bus stop) are taped off, but nothing else in the park is affected. We’ll be checking with Seattle Parks, and again with SFD, next week.
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