Over 100 volunteers came to plant 1,700 native plants and celebrate the opening of Lake Forest Park’s only waterfront access park, the Lyon Creek Waterfront Preserve on Oct. 26.
Former governor Mike Lowery and state Rep. Ruth Kagi joined King County Executive Ron Sims and King County council member Carolyn Edmonds in announcing the opening of the park with Lake Forest Park mayor Dave Hutchinson.
“This park is for the enjoyment of all, but especially for those of us who are landlocked, this give access to the lake,” Hutchinson said.
The property was purchased in 1998 and was a point of contention for the city.
“People thought it was not a good idea to spend tax funds on this, and neighbors were afraid it would attract trouble and trash the neighborhood,” explained council member Alan Kiest after the celebration.
“There was some hesitancy on the part of the council to buy this property, but what pushed us to do it was Mr. (Rick) Purn’s third grade class (at Lake Forest Park Elementary School),” Hutchinson said.
Claire Matsunami, 11, was one of the students who spoke to the council when she was in the third grade.
“We were doing a project on wildlife and went to look at native plants (on the site) and found animal tracks near the dock,” she said.
“When we found out they wanted to sell it, we decided to go to the council and tell them to keep it.”
Her teacher, Rick Purn, also spoke to the council.
“If you don’t have parks in Lake Forest Park, it’s only Lake Forest,” he said.
The property was acquired in 1998 for $985,670, with financing from the Washington Wildlife and Recreation Program through the Interagency Committee for Outdoor Recreation, which gave $500,000. The Washington State Department of Natural Resources gave $300,000, and King Conservation District gave $57,000. Lake Forest Park spent about $200,000 from the city real estate tax on the project.
Now the preserve is complete, and open to the public.
“It’s a passive park, with only one parking space (for the handicapped) and we’ve changed the signaling at the light, and put up signage in the neighborhood,” Kiest said.
The council also passed an ordinance that requires motorized boats and water vehicles to stay 10 feet from the dock.
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