The newly formed Sherwood Park &Playfield Preservation Council took to the Edmonds School District board Tuesday, March 14, a plea for help in keeping surplus school property as its neighborhood park.

Approximately 20 residents of the south Edmonds neighborhood attended the school-board meeting where organizers, led by Cliff Sanderlin, delivered a petition bearing 50 names of people unhappy with how the sale of the former Woodway Elementary School site is being handled by the district. The group also has expressed unhappiness with the Edmonds City Council’s internal and external negotiations related to acquiring at least part of the site for park land.

The neighbors, who have taken their concerns to Edmonds City Council meetings, too, want the entire 11 acres up for sale to end up in the city’s hands for use as a park containing playfields, ballfields, open space and forested areas. The school district set March 31 as the deadline for bids from potential buyers of the land that’s been declared surplus property.

Twenty-three developers have submitted bids for the property. The city wants at least part of it via a from the eventual buyer or through an outright purchase.

In its petition, neighbors are asking for the following:

• Extension of the bidding deadline for 180 days past March 31.

•Reconsideration of the terms of sale and the offering of the property at a fixed, publicly announced price

• Consultation by the district with members of the neighborhood council to explore options for the property

• A meeting of the district and Edmonds City Council to work out a mutually acceptable solution to the dilemma of locating a park in the neighborhood

District spokesman Debbie Jakala had this response to the concerns voiced by the Sherwood neighbors:

“We appreciate the comments we received last night. Certainly, this is a complex situation. To extend the deadline, however, is problematic for us. The school district already has extended the timeline on this parcel and if we delay further, it will only increase the cost of the projects to be funded from the sale.

“We will be reviewing the purchase proposals at the end of this month to determine our next steps. This property and the financial resources from the property are an integral portion of the capital projects plan that was shaped by our community and built in to the bond issue approved February 7. We have a duty to be responsible stewards of public resources for all of our citizens of our school district.”