After some delays, plans are moving forward on a new community park on 33rd Place W. in northeast Lynnwood.
The future Stadler Ridge Park sits on a two acre parcel of land the city acquired in 2001. It’s named for the Stadler family that settled there in the early 20th century.
The city says the project “will meet the recreational needs of an underserved neighborhood that has grown in population in recent years.”
It’s Lynnwood’s first park since Meadowdale Park was built in 2002.
The park site, which is already partially forested, will include other natural elements such as outcroppings, stumps and logs that are designed to encourage exploration. Nature trails will wind through the forested area.
Crews will install a grassy play slope and lawn, basketball court, and playground equipment. Hard surface trails for walkers and bicyclists will encircle the park.
The park is funded by a $350,000 grant from the state Recreation and Conservation Office, with matching funds from the city. It was originally scheduled to begin last year, but the mayor temporarily cut the matching funds to help solve the city’s budget shortfall. The money was reinstated in the 2011-2012 budget. It comes from the real estate excise tax, which may only be used for capital projects.
The City Council still must approve the financial plan and contract for a landscape architect, which is expected to happen on June 27.
Construction is scheduled to begin next spring and be completed by October 2012.
Fingers crossed that this park will finally be built! It has been on-again/off-again so many times that I have given up hope of ever seeing it finished. For the past seven years (at least) the only thing the city did for the park was cut down the blackberry plants once a year that were crawling all over the sign announcing a new park “coming soon.”
What about the promised but undelivered Doc Hageman Park on the east side of I-5? The city has let it turn into a weed patch.
Maybe the city council doesn’t want to build a park on land that may not ever be in Lynnwood? The council has hopes to annex the unincorporated land, but Mill Creek filed a lawsuit protesting it: https://www.heraldnet.com/article/20090709/NEWS01/707099887
The lawsuit was filed two years ago. I don’t know the status of the protest.
I found an “update” from 2010:
https://www.ci.lynnwood.wa.us/Content/Business.aspx?id=89
The city lost the $500,000 state grant last fall because matching funds were no longer available due to the budget crunch. For Stadler Ridge, the city was given an extension to match the funds, which it is now doing. No such extension was granted for Doc Hageman Park. They plan to reapply for the grant in 2012.
The Parks Planner told me Doc Hageman Park remains a very important project for the city and they will continue to see funding.
Mike
Oh, great. The city council has raised every freakin tax they can think of, laid off police and other personnel because of a “tight cash situation” but they’re coming up with the matching funds for this?!!! Somehow the definition of the word “priority” is unknown to these fools. Time to clean house in a really big way starting with the people who have been there the longest.
Mark Williams, Ph.D. Economics
Lynnwood, WA.
Something I should have included in the original article (and which I will now add) is that the city’s portion is funded by the real estate excise tax, which may only be used for capital projects and not city services.
Mike
Parks are great. Lynnwood already has lots of nice parks. This just seems like something really low priorty in times of financial trouble.
I wish there were more sidewalks, personally.
mylynnwoodlife.com
NICE! This is one thing that I love about being over here. There is a big commitment to adding and developing more green space and having parks.