LYNNWOOD
On the Fourth of July, the ball fields of the Lynnwood Athletic Complex will once again serve as host for the Star Spangled Celebration.
Lingering in the background, however, is the question of the program’s future.
The 40-acre site, at 3001 184th St. S.W. next to Lynnwood High, owned by the Edmonds School District, has been available to public recreational use since 1980.
That’s the year the federal Parks Service provided a $394,000 federal Land and Water Conservation Fund grant. The 40-year agreement specified that the city of Lynnwood would maintain the athletics fields in partnership with the district.
Now, the complex’s future is coming face-to-face with the school district’s plans for a new Lynnwood High School.
Last year, the district signed a development agreement with Cypress Equities, a division of Dallas-based Staubach Retail Services. The 99-year ground lease anticipates availability of the site for development beginning next summer.
In September 2009, Lynnwood High, across from Alderwood mall, will close and a new high school site will open on North Road in unincorporated Bothell. The new 20-acre site will include new ball fields.
A big step in the process took another turn Friday, June 20 in Bellingham. The Washington Recreation and Conservation Office (RCO) board of directors voted 4-1 to recommend conversion of the ball fields to a new use, most likely a mixed-use office and retail operation. The Park Service still has to approve that recommendation.
“We need to have this done as part of our contingency on our agreement with Cypress Equities,” said assistant superintendent Marla Miller. “We’ve been told that it could take from four to 12 months for the federal step.”
With its vote, the board also denied a request by the city of Lynnwood to delay a decision on conversion until the city had a chance to review appraisals by the district and the park service.
June 23 the City Council agreed to hire The Hoefer Associates, Inc. to review previous appraisals.
Miller said Cypress officials have told the district that the company will likely allow Star Spangled Celebration to be held next year. The bigger question is what happens in 2010 and beyond.
“I’m anticipating that in 2010 we’ll have to look for another site,” said city parks, recreation and cultural arts director Lynn Sordel. “We haven’t really planned that far ahead.”
He said the city is still working on completing an inter-local agreement with the school district. That agreement will flesh out such questions as whether the city will participate in maintaining the ball fields at the North Road site, restrictions on lighting and other issues.
“Quite honestly, I was surprised by the board’s decision today,” he said June 20.
Mark Laurence, a resident of unincorporated Bothell near the new high school site, leads a group called Save Our Ballfields.
He testified at the hearing, arguing that the school district has not made its case sufficiently for moving the ball fields away from 184th Street Southwest.
Laurence said Lynnwood residents will have a “rude awakening” in the near future when they realize the ball fields at 184th Street Southwest are no longer there.
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