Friends of Athletic Fields: Issues

Construction work on the Sports Meadow project has been completed with the expansive grass fields set for return to service in Spring 2007. Thank you ProParks, Seattle Parks Department and all you Seattle citizens.

Let Seattle City Council know that you support the Magnuson Park Athletic Fields/Wetlands Project and that you want it to move forward - now! The Seattle Parks Department has now received full funding for Field Five (the fourth lit field allowed by Council) with the ProParks Oversight Committee providing surplus funds from the ProParks Levy's athletic fields budget - thank you ProParks Oversight Committee.

Parks presented the proposed final design of the Athletic Fields/Wetlands project to the City Council Parks Committee earlier in 2006. The project design for Phase 2 is complete and fully funded - it is time for construction to begin. No more budget provisos. No more delays. Let Councilmember Della's Parks Committee know that you want them to approve the project as soon as possible so bidding can begin early next year. See Action Items for more details.

Additional project elements (ie, park entry improvements, removal of internal paving, and restrooms) have been introduced into the mix as a result of lobbying by neighborhood and open space advocates. These items had been addressed by the Project Advisory Team (PAT) to varying degrees but no consensus was reached by the end of their work. While these items have merit in themselves, they were not included in the final design and were not originally included in funding requests. Some members of the City Council are now insisting that these extra items be funded before the project can move forward. Field users have reminded City Council and Parks that Field Five, a second lit and now fully funded, synthetic soccer field is part of the Phase 2 project. Project supporters should ask Councilmembers on the Parks Committee (Della, Drago, Conlin) to approve the athletic fields/wetlands project and move forward with bidding and construction.

The Land Use Permit was approved by DPD in May '06 and no appeals were filed. The wetlands permit application is being reviewed by the Army Corps of Engineer. So, the permitting process continues with hopes that bidding and construction can start early next year. Feel free to remind Parks to keep the Corps' wetlands permit review a top priority.

The Seattle Parks and Recreation Department has proposed numerous worthwhile projects for the 2007/2008 budget period including installing synthetic turf at five fields and replacing decrepit lighting systems at eight fields. These significant improvements will provide many additional hours of field time that are desperately needed by sports groups and casual athletes around the city, as you well know. The proposed improvements will provide high quality field surfaces that can be played on throughout the year especially during months that natural grass is off limits. The existing lighting systems at the vast majority of Parks' playfields are approaching 30 years old (the light pole that snapped off in the wind storm last February at Lower Woodland #2 is a good example of what we're talking about). These systems rely on outdated light fixtures, provide poor field coverage, and produce objectionable spill lighting. Modern, shielded lighting systems can be designed to maximize field lighting while minimizing glare. These improvements will be beneficial to field users and neighbors alike.

- New Field Lights at Georgetown, Delridge, Interbay, Garfield, Lower Woodland #2 & Bobby Morris playfields

- New Synthetic Turf at Queen Anne Bowl, Jefferson Park (lid), & Miller playfields

Check out the Mayor's proposed 2007/2008 budget for athletic fields across Seattle (start at page 111 for fields info). > http://www.seattle.gov/financedepartment/0708ProposedBudget/default.htm. City Council is now reviewing the budget and working through the process with the budget to be finalized in November. Encourage Councilmembers to support funding of these important improvements to the Parks' fields inventory that will result in:

- increased field availability to accommodate growing numbers of youth and adult athletes and new sports leagues (e.g., ultimate, lacrosse)

- more durable fields with even playing surface, no puddles in the winter, no dust in the summer, and no potholes!

- reduced operations and maintenance costs: no mowing, watering, chemical fertilizer or herbicides like grass; no daily dragging or relining like sand

- improved lighting systems with more even field coverage and reduced glare and spill lighting impacts on neighbors

Loyal Heights Sportsfield Taller Light Poles - Approved by City Council & Illumination Management Plan

On September 25, 2006, the City Council approved light poles for Loyal Heights with increased height. Taller poles are critical for aimer the lighting down onto the field to minimize glare and spill light in the neighborhood. However, prior to the pole height public process, neighborhood advocates had lobbied Council to further limit the number of lit nights beyond the previously agreed upon Sunday off night. Field users were not engaged in these discussions despite the potential direct impact on our activities and we narrowly averted (for the meantime) these field lighting/scheduling restrictions. The full Council conditioned approval for the taller pole height by requiring that an Illumination Management Plan be developed and include a "meaningful" public process. City Council had previously passed Resolution 30530 that limited lighting of newly lit fields to Monday-Saturday with all field lights off at 10pm and security lights off at 10:15. Even though Loyal Heights was a previously lit facility Parks agreed to conform to this Resolution, which is more restrictive than Parks' lighting policy.

Now some neighbors want to further restrict lit nights. Field users should remind Council that Parks' playfields are the only places we have to play and there just is not enough field space to go around. Lit synthetic fields are one of the best ways to increase capacity and make good use of the existing inventory. Councilmembers have even expressed a desire for field improvements to be spread around Seattle at neighborhood parks. This is a perfect site for meeting that recommendation. A public meeting on the Illumination Mgt Plan is scheduled for Thursday, Nov 30th at the Loyal Heights Community Center, 2101 NW 77th St, from 6:30-8:30pm.

See the Parks website (Loyal Heights Playfield) for a posting of the Illumination Mgt Plan and other details.

800 citizens provided input to the Parks Dept public involvement survey. Folks either love it or hate it with the full range in between. Check out the following link for more info and to see recommended improvements to the Process: Parks Public Involvement Audit Results

Previous message from the City Auditor: Seattle City Councilmember David Della asked the Office of City Auditor to review and evaluate how well Seattle Parks and Recreation (Parks) community involvement processes have worked in the past and to identify possible ways for Parks to improve its public involvement processes.

Seattle Public Schools considering raising Adult Athletic Field Fees Again!!!

Seattle Public Schools apparently is considering raising field fees again even though they're already the highest rates for lit, synthetic in the area. While we understand the budget problems that Seattle Schools is experiencing, we don't feel that it's fair for them to take advantage of adult field users who already willingly subsidize early evening hours for youth play. In the spirit of the Seattle Joint Use Agreement we ask that Seattle Public Schools reconsider their policies regarding adult fees.

School field fees had been unilaterally raised from a rate of $45 per hour to $95 per hour for 2005. Seattle Schools has now revised that rate down to $60/hour (plus $20/hour for lights) for baseball fields only! After hearing the outcry from numerous adult baseball leagues and others about the unfair impact, Schools changed their minds about the fee. However, the fee for rectangular fields currently remains at the $95/hour rate for adults only. All field users are encouraged to contact Seattle Schools and let them know how you feel - this means you ultimate, soccer, football, rugby, lacrosse, volleyball, field hockey, cricket,... players. Go to Action Items for contact info.

Parks conducted a Final Public Meeting on July 24th to review the proposed final design of the upgrade to the athletic fields. This project will convert the nearly three acres of sand/clay field surface into synthetic and natural turf. The synthetic turf portion will accommodate soccer, ultimate, and one baseball field. The existing northeast softball backstop and fencing would also be removed and the one-half acre sand surface that does not overlap the soccer field would be converted to natural grass for drop-in community use. In order to keep within the allowed budget, no other field or park improvements are proposed at this time. < excerpts from Seattle Parks' website (Georgetown Playfield).