Kent Youth Soccer Association and city officials are scrambling to deal with a proposal by Acting King County Executive Kurt Triplett to shut down four parks next year in unincorporated Kent.
North Green River, North Meridian, Park Orchard and Green Tree parks are on a list of 39 county parks released Monday by Triplett that could close Jan. 1, 2010 because of county budget cuts.
The park cuts would save about $4.6 million in an effort to reduce a projected $56.4 million shortfall to county tax revenues in 2010.
Residents would still have some access to the 39 mothballed parks, but the parks would not be maintained. In December, county crews would fence playground equipment, lock and secure restrooms, and lock gates in the parks.
KYSA uses five fields at North Green River Park, also known as the Kent Pea Patch Fields, at South 265th Street and Green River Road. The soccer group maintains the fields, in return for use of the county land.
“We would have to find a different location if we are no longer able to use the fields,” said Wayne Jensen, president of the Kent Youth Soccer Association, in a phone interview Thursday.
Jensen said the association already has contacted the Kent School District to try to find potential alternate fields in the spring if the county takes away use of the Pea Patch Fields.
The soccer league primarily uses the fields in the spring for the under-10 age groups. Jensen said the fields are needed the most from June through November, the busier season.
With field space so limited in Kent, Jensen said the “worst-case scenario” would mean the league would look to find fields in neighboring cities for games. That would mean longer travel times to games as well as additional rental costs.
But any alternate plans are only in the discussion stage at this point until the league knows whether the county allows games at the park or not.
“This is a wake-up call,” Jensen said. “It is county property, so it’s subject to be sold, developed or closed.”
Jensen said he has sent e-mails to Kevin Brown, county parks director, to see what the association can do to help out the county and to keep using the property. Jensen said he had not yet received a response.
“I understand the predicament they’re in,” Jensen said. “For us, we need a place to play.”
The soccer group also uses other fields, but has as many as 20 games per weekend at the Pea Patch during the fall and spring seasons.
North Meridian, Park Orchard and Green Tree parks are each in the city of Kent’s Panther Lake annexation area and could become a part of the city in July 2010.
Panther Lake residents will vote Nov. 3 on whether to annex to Kent. If voters approve the annexation, the three parks would be transferred to the city from the county next July.
“It’s an interesting one,” said Jeff Watling, city parks director, on the county executive’s proposal to shut down parks. “We’ll learn more as the (county) budget process goes through. We’ll stay on top of it.”
Watling said he left a message with county parks director Brown to learn more about the proposal.
Triplett said the parks proposed for closure are in potential annexation areas of neighboring cities and primarily used by local residents, but maintained with countywide general-fund tax dollars.
“The deficit is too big and the pace of annexations by the cities too slow for King County to continue subsidizing these local parks,” Triplett said in a county media release. “We will continue to work with the cities to take over responsibility for these parks that add so much to the quality of life of their communities, but King County cannot afford to continue to operate these parks while cutting criminal justice and public health services.”
Dow Constantine, chairman of the King County Council, issued a statement Monday against the proposal by Triplett to close the 39 parks in unincorporated areas.
“Parks are important to the health and quality of life of everyone in the communities in which King County provides basic services — especially to our young people,” Constantine said. “To eliminate these parks with the stroke of a pen when economic times get tough would be short-sighted.”
Constantine said potential cuts in administrative staff need to be looked at to help balance the budget before funds are cut to parks.
The proposed cuts are only to parks financed through the general fund and would not affect the county’s regional parks and trails that are funded through a county parks levy. Soos Creek is a regional park in Kent.
Learn more and speak your mind –
Four parks in unincorporated Kent could be closed in 2010:
• North Green River, (location of Pea Patch soccer fields) 141 acres, South 265th Street and Green River Road
• North Meridian, 35 acres, S.E. 231st and 120th Ave. S.E.
• Park Orchard, 6 acres, 11058 S.E. 230th
• Green Tree, 1.4 acres, S.E. 216th and 120th Ave. S.E.
Speak your mind
County Executive Kirk Triplett:
King County Chinook Building, 401 5th Ave. Suite 800, Seattle, WA 98104
kcexec@kingcounty.gov
King County Council:
516 Third Ave., Rm. 1200, Seattle, WA 98104
council@kingcounty.gov
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