A long-awaited baseball field fix was nearly derailed by questioning neighbors, but the parks department made it clear at a public meeting last week the project will move forward, much to the relief of Little League supporters.
Construction of a retaining wall that will help even out the steep slope at the edge of Ballfield No. 3 at the Queen Anne Playfield began last Friday. More than three years ago, Foushee - a contracting company in Bellevue - offered to donate the time, materials and planning for the retaining wall, but permitting and paperwork delayed the project until this summer, when it was almost permanently stalled by concerns raised at a public meeting by a neighbor.
The project is valued at $50,000, according to project engineer Barrett Johnston. Had the project not began Friday, it wouldn't have happened at all, Johnston said.
Although a couple neighbors posed questions about the wall's height - 3.5 feet at its highest point - Parks project manager Gary Gibbons said the wall would not be reduced anymore. From the original plans, the wall was already dropped 6 inches. A new 4-feet chain link fence - exactly like what is currently on the field - will be installed above the retaining wall, increasing the combined height to 7.5 feet at its highest point.
At the meeting, Parks presented community members with a chance to vote on the fence's color. Community members at the meeting voted to have a black fence, but getting a vote on the fence color wasn't much of a compromise for one neighbor.
"I really felt like it was a charade. It's like they went through the motions of giving us an opportunity to speak, but it wasn't very genuine," said Lisa Middlebrook, Queen Anne resident. "Had that been a genuine opportunity to find a solution, I think we would have then talked abut the proper height of the wall.... My solution to this problem was that the height of the wall be to the shoulder height of the kids that will be typically running down the hill ahead of their parents."
Middlebrook lives across the street from Ballfield No. 3, and frequently walks the path that runs behind the edge of the field's outfield with her 4-year-old son. At the first public meeting, Middlebrook voiced concerns about the wall and its height, which she argued would lower her property value.
But as of the most recent meeting, held last Thursday, Middlebrook developed a new concern: safety for the children on the path behind the field.
"When this first happened, that was my perspective because I wasn't happy with this project, but in the meantime [between the first and second meetings] I saw this blind spot issue and saw that it was a legitimate issue and a real safety concern," Middlebrook said.
Middlebrook argues the retaining wall creates a blind spot at a bend in the path that heads toward Blaine Street - meaning young children running or biking ahead of their parents heading into the street might not be seen in time.
Though a compromise seemed possible in Middlebrook's viewpoint, project engineer Johnston said, "There's really not much more we could do to change the design without taking away the effect of what we're doing."
While Middlebrook voiced her safety concerns, Little League supporters and Gibbons pointed out the existing dangers of leaving the field in its current condition. With an estimated 15-20 percent downgrade in right field, the slope hindered game play and posed risks for outfielders trying to field the ball, as well as soccer players chasing the ball into the sloped corner.
"We want to keep the height that maintains the best fall protection," Gibbons said at the meeting.
And whether or not Parks provided a sufficient public platform isn't the real issue, according to supporters.
"It's too bad that the neighbor upset about this wasn't brought into the process early, but that's Parks' problem, not the Little League's. This really is an issue of safety, and I can't see how a view into the park can outweigh the safety of the number of children that use that field every year," said immediate-past president of the Queen Anne Little League and coach Pete Livengood.
"First and foremost it's a ballpark.... At some point you have to recognize its use as a ballpark ... and adjust to that," Livengood added.
Queen Anne Community Council chair Ellen Monrad echoed some voices in the room by noting the distinction of the property as a baseball field, and said the QACC was 100 percent behind the improvements to Ballfield No. 3. "We feel very strongly this project should start tomorrow and be finished before the soccer season," Monrad said.
And since the project was labeled a maintenance project by the parks department, technically public input wasn't a part of the process.
"The meeting was two-sided. It was primarily informational but we also wanted to make some modifications that would respond to the concerns some people held," said Linda Hubert, Major Maintenance Manager for Seattle Parks and Recreation. "I felt we were able to do that. We got the different types of fencing and had people vote on it. We were able to lower the wall 6 inches without compromising the structure. We were hoping that would make people feel more comfortable with the project."
As stewards of the park, Hubert said it was Parks' responsibility to maintain the ballfield in a safe manner, and also noted that ballparks have different standards than an unscheduled park space. However, Hubert said Parks would definitely go through the process differently next time, given the tension that grew over this project.
"We could definitely do better in terms of notifying immediate neighbors sooner," Hubert said. "I think we erred in thinking we had plenty of time to do that, and that the project would not be controversial. We misjudged that and would not make that same mistake again."
While Parks moves ahead with lessons learned, and others consider their satisfaction or dissatisfaction with the project, construction continues for the retaining wall, which Foushee expects to complete in three and a half weeks.[[In-content Ad]]
