MUKILTEO — After the deaths of three young adults last year, the city announced plans to establish a new park dedicated to their memory.
The city is inviting people to a meeting from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday at City Hall to begin planning where the new Peace Park should be.
Former Kamiak High School students Anna Bui, Jacob Long and Jordan Ebner, all 19, were killed July 30, 2016, during a shooting at a house party. Will Kramer was seriously injured.
In January, a former classmate was sentenced to life behind bars without the possibility of release for the deaths and the injury to Kramer.
The park will be planned on property the city owns, but “that still leaves a lot of room for possibilities,” Mayor Jennifer Gregerson said.
Among them are: Harbour Pointe’s Village Park; Byers Park, undeveloped land near Red Cup Cafe on 4th Street; the 76th Street trailhead to Japanese Gulch; and the 92nd Street Park.
“I really want to make sure that the Peace Park space is one that speaks to the community and fills a need,” Gregerson said.
She said she hopes people will turn out to share their thoughts on how the park should be developed.
Saturday’s meeting is not about picking a location, but rather a time to talk about “the concepts, vision and feel of that space,” she said.
Gregerson said she hopes the park can not only be dedicated to the memory of Bui, Long and Ebner, but other losses the community has experienced, such as students who have taken their lives by suicide.
“Depression and sadness hits everybody at times,” Gregerson said. “I’m hoping it can be a space that also can help people reflect and feel hopeful.”
Saturday’s meeting will be led by Timothy Corey, whose company, Colibri, uses graphic design to help develop projects.
“Having something that’s a little unconventional and creative will be a good fit for this conversation,” Gregerson said.
Sketches of how the park could be designed will be posted at Rose Hill Community Center in June. A final plan for how the park will be developed is expected in the fall.
The city has set aside $40,000 this year for the park’s planning and more money may be requested in next year’s budget.
The city also may ask people for donations of cash, materials, and labor to make the park a community effort, Gregerson said.
The goal is to start construction next spring and open it in the summer of 2018.
Sharon Salyer: 425-339-3486; salyer@heraldnet.com.
Meeting, gathering
A meeting to plan the location and design of Peace Park is scheduled from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday at Mukilteo City Hall, 11930 Cyrus Way.
A community gathering is planned from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. July 30 at Lighthouse Park, 609 Front St., to commemorate one year since the deaths of Anna Bui, Jacob Long and Jordan Ebner, and the injury to Will Kramer.
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