With relatives visiting from Utah, Bill McInelly packed up the family in Marysville for an outing at Kayak Point County Park.
Sitting at a picnic table on the shore of Port Susan, he watched as children frolicked in the water and other kids explored forts made of driftwood on the beach.
Out of the county’s network of parks and recreational places, Kayak Point is McInelly’s favorite.
“You can come out here and do a little crabbing, a little fishing, and it’s easy to put a boat in,” McInelly said.
But as the county grows, there’ll be more people looking for that quiet place in the sun or that cool spot in the shade. Parks officials say up to 16 parks will be needed at a cost of millions of dollars.
Snohomish County owns more than 9,500 acres of park land. Most of that – 8,404 acres – makes up regional parks such as Kayak Point, lush green spots that offer recreational fun and lasting memories for residents throughout the county.
As a regional park, Kayak Point spans 428 acres. But the county also has smaller “community parks” that are about 20 acres, built to serve smaller numbers, up to 15,000 people. Those include places such as Lake Stevens Community Park and Martha Lake Airport Park. The county’s inventory also includes even smaller parks, such as Olympus Meadows, that are built to serve a nearby neighborhood.
As the county’s population continues to climb, however, the county’s park system will need to grow as well, park officials say.
Snohomish County may have as many as 330,000 new residents by the year 2025. As population grows, of course, more people will be using parks. That also means parks with special features – like those with beaches and golf courses – will get more crowded.
Parks officials say the county will need between nine and 16 new parks, depending on the number of people who move here during the next 20 years. And building 16 new parks is expected to cost upwards of $88.6 million.
Getting the money to pay for new parks could be a challenge.
One option is raising park impact fees, the money developers pay when they build new homes. Those fees are now used to buy land and develop county parks, but fee increases are opposed by the building industry.
Other ideas include building fewer new parks, and adding more features to existing ones.
Creating parks districts – where residents within a given geographical area pay special taxes to pay for parks in their neighborhoods – is another alternative.
For those who actually use parks, opinions differ on the right approach.
Ray Neibert of Monroe favors park districts.
Maltby Community Park, where his daughter’s sports team has played, was purchased with bonds approved by voters, he recalled.
McInelly, however, said new residents should bear some of the burden when it comes to paying for new parks. Raising impact fees is the best way to handle the upcoming deficit of parks.
“I think the impact fees are the best way,” he said.
Reporter Brian Kelly: 425-339-3422 or kelly@heraldnet.com.
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