EVERETT – After years of saving up cash, Snohomish County is set for a record season of parks construction.
Officials have budgeted $33 million toward parks this year, including $11 million in parks payments expected from King County’s Brightwater sewage treatment plant in Maltby.
“We are in a major growth phase,” parks and recreation director Tom Teigen said. “It’s the launching point for this next generation of parks.”
Officials have set aside $10 million to begin construction on three major parks in the unincorporated areas of Lynnwood, Lake Stevens and Paine Field.
Developer fees and real estate taxes from the county’s housing boom help pay for the work. Grants also have filled the coffers, and it’s time to spend the money.
“This is the biggest year we have ever had,” said Marc Krandel, parks planning supervisor.
The money will build the county park system’s first skateboard park – to be located at Martha Lake Airport park – and an amphitheater at Willis Tucker park.
Funding also will build soccer and baseball fields, trails, restrooms and picnic shelters.
“The county has made significant purchases of land in the past, and they were sitting fallow waiting for the right time to develop,” County Executive Aaron Reardon said.
“As you’re seeing the growth in Snohomish County, you’re seeing the investment in the land, making it more conducive to an active lifestyle in those high density areas.”
Another $5 million is expected in 2008 to extend the Centennial Trail from Arlington to Skagit County.
All the park money coming together at once is rare, and an opportunity, Teigen said.
Teigen, hired this year, is bringing a business spin to managing the county parks system. He said the only magazine subscription he’s had for years is Harvard Business Review.
“We are a business that’s tied to quality of life and environmental sustainability,” Teigen said.
Teigen is working on a new concept to leverage those dollars by bringing in support from sports leagues, dog owners and nature lovers.
Deals with volunteer groups could be on the horizon to help maintain a variety of county parks, and ease the county’s costs.
Teigen said county employees are buying into giving visitors the “Nordstrom experience” marked by good customer service.
He’s also teaming up with city parks directors so the county’s park systems work together and complement each other, he said.
Teigen sees a future with an increasingly urban county clamoring for ball fields and hiking trails. Based on his experience in King County, Teigen said synthetic turf and lights are the best way to get the most use out of the fields.
All told, the county has nearly 10,000 acres of passive and active park land. Park construction in future decades depends on how much land officials can find and purchase.
That’s not easy when land prices are through the roof, and parks departments must compete with housing developers, officials said.
“There are a couple of properties that we offered $400,000 for in 1997 and there was no deal, and now they’re asking in excess of $4 million,” Teigen said.
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