The third time's the charm.
Staff at HBB Landscape Architecture had met with Queen Anne neighbors earlier in the year on two separate occasions to discuss updates and beautification ideas for lower Kinnear Park.
Last week, HBB staff returned to the meeting room at Queen Anne's Bayview Manor and presented a new proposal distilled from neighbor suggestions. Neighbors gave it the proverbial green light.
"People were appreciative of the process and how we consolidated the ideas while recognizing that you can't make everybody happy," said Aaron Luoma, architect at HBB. "The Parks Department is heavily involved in the whole process and will continue to be."
But the bigger force in bringing the park improvements to the forefront is FOLKpark, or Friends of Lower Kinnear Park. This nonprofit made up of park neighbors and led by Debi Frausto, spearheaded the effort to get the improvements. FOLKpark applied for and received a $750 Small Sparks grant and a $15,000 Department of Neighborhoods Small and Simple grant, when went toward paying HBB for its plan. And FOLKpark is just getting started.
Yesterday, FOLKpark applied for the Department of Neighborhood's Large Project grant at $100,000. Then it will apply for $750,000 from the Opportunity Fund which is funded by the most recent passage of the parks levy. There is also a shot at $10,000 in the Department of Natural Resources' Community Forest Assistance grant.
The Large Project grant is a matching grant. This means to get the $100,000, FOLKpark needs to raise $50,000. $10,000 of that might come from the Community Forest Assistance grant. But Frausto is already brainstorming fundraising ideas such as neighborhood martini parties, walks in the park and selling donated items on eBay.
"Everybody has something in their house they can sell and make payable to FOLKpark," she said. "We're looking for someone to organize that." If anyone is interested, they should contact Frausto at debi4kinnear@comcast.net.
Should FOLKpark get its funding by fall, the rehabilitation project can begin by the summer of 2011. HBB's plan includes the removal of invasive non-native plants such as English ivy, and planting natives such as Garry oaks.
The park will be opened up by increasing sightlines and lowering the tennis court. There will also be a rockery retaining wall that will replace the one installed by the Parks Department roughly a year ago.
That existing wall, which doesn't fit with landmark status of the park, according to Frausto, was a mistake.
"People talked about the wall last night," Frausto said last Friday. "They didn't like it." Toward the end of the meeting at Bayview, the crew chief on that retaining wall took Frausto aside and told her the wall was his fault.
"He was well intended and I hope we get to keep him involved in the process," Frausto said. "And you know, it was well intended."[[In-content Ad]]
