“We have been in a race against time to make sure these facilities continue to operate in their communities,” said Councilmember Carolyn Edmonds, chair of the Council’s Natural Resources, Parks and Open Space Committee. “Considering the deadlines we were facing to ensure that these parks, trails and pools stay open for the public, I consider this a remarkable achievement. These agreements, and all of the stakeholders responsible for putting them together, are testament to how important these facilities are to our residents.”

Due to an ongoing structural gap between revenues and expenses, King County evaluated many options for continued funding of parks and pools located within incorporated cities. It came to the reluctant conclusion that it needed to transfer or mothball local facilities located within cities and focus its resources on such regional facilities as Marymoor Park, the King County Aquatic Center and the King County Fairgrounds, and on parks and pools in the unincorporated areas where King County is the only local government. Therefore, the council has taken a series of actions earlier this year to adopt a new entrepreneurial blueprint that enables the transfer of ownership of local parks and pools to individual cities and organizations that are willing to operate and maintain them for the benefit of their constituents.

Agreements have been reached to transfer:
·        Beaver Lake Park to the city of Sammamish.
·        Lea Hill Park and Auburndale Two Park to the city of Auburn.
·        Bridle Crest Trail to the city of Redmond.
·        Salmon Creek Waterway to the city of Burien.
·        Lake Sawyer Park to the city of Black Diamond.
·        Sammamish Cove Park to the city of Issaquah.
·        Kenneth Jones Pool to the city of Federal Way.
·        Mary Wayte Pool and the Northshore Costie/Ruiz Pools to the Northwest Center

Interlocal agreements have been reached for the temporary operation of:
·         Mount Rainier Pool—A 1-year operating agreement with the Highline School District   and the cities of Des Moines, Normandy Park and SeaTac.
·          Redmond Pool—A 1-year operating agreement with the city of Redmond

Having the transfer agreements in place and ready for council action is vital because all of these facilities were slated to be closed by the end of the year. King County will transfer the parks and pools to cities within 30 days of executing each agreement. Following the transfer, the facilities will be used for park and open space purposes, and will be open to the public.

“We’ve been forced to slim down our County parks system, because we no longer have the money to maintain and support all of our parks and pools,” said Councilmember Larry Phillips, Chair of the Council’s Budget and Fiscal Management Committee. “Now money that would have been spent mothballing these facilities will give cities and organizations the financial boost necessary to keep them operating.”

“Parks staff and suburban cities are among the many who have been involved with this effort since we recognized the crisis facing our parks,” said Edmonds. “Working together we have achieved our goal, making sure these precious community resources remained available for use now and in the future.”

Read more about this legislation on the King County Council’s new LEGISEARCH system at http://mkcclegisearch.metrokc.gov