Friends and foes of the Fremont Canal Park fire circle gathered on Monday, Nov. 5, to voice their concerns in a public meeting held by the Seattle Parks and Recreation Department at B.F. Day Elementary School.
The meeting was a long time coming for Fremont residents, after a violation from the city fire marshal's office in June forced the parks department to close the pit, angering many members of the community.
According to the fire marshal's office, the Seattle Fire Department responded to more than 23 illegal fires in which circle users had failed to comply with city regulations requiring them to obtain a permit beforehand.
The parks department was subsequently ordered to close the fire circle or pay the Seattle Fire Department up to $1,000 per day that it was in use.
"We did everything that was feasible. We posted signs and put up fencing around the pit, but the signs were burned and the fencing was torn down," said Royal Alley-Barnes, North Parks resource manager. "We had to close it."
A GATHERING PLACE
University of Washington architecture professor Steve Badanes helped to design the fire circle in 1994, along with students from the UW's Howard S. Wright Design/Build program. Badanes also designed the Fremont Troll, with financial support from the Fremont Arts Council.
"There [wasn't] enough opportunity to sit around a fire in an urban setting," Badanes said. "I don't think it was being abused."
Made up of a 4-foot burn area and berm, the fire circle had become somewhat of a sacred place for local residents. Many gathered weekly to play music, while others had used it to spread ashes of loved ones and even exchange wedding vows.
For one West Seattle artist, "It was a place I would go [to] when I had a piece of art that went to die.... Many of us [had] been using it for 10 to 12 years."
WORKING ON A REDESIGN
Like the majority of fire-circle frequenters, Chuck Harrison, a Fremont Arts Council board member and Friends of the Fremont Fire Circle (FFC) chairperson, was "saddened and shocked" by the actions taken by the parks department and was looking forward to finding an alternative agreement at the meeting.
Close to 50 people attended.
"It was a pretty positive example of people engaged in their community," Harrison said. "A strong majority had really loved the fire circle and were upset, but a small minority were happy to see it go."
Those individuals happy to see it go had been more concerned with the noise from the fire circle than any actual flames, Harrison said. To combat those concerns, the group broke into four subgroups to discuss the pros and cons of redesigning the fire circle, as well as developing a new set of rules and a new way to ensure their enforcement.
There was even talk of recognizing one or two nights as "late nights" for those residents concerned with the noise.
"Fremont is such an incredible community with a long history of engagement. Redesign is absolutely an idea," Alley-Barnes said. "We just want the groups to understand the legal limitations."
MOVING FORWARD
Next, the parks department will tabulate the ideas to present at another public meeting in 2008. The FFC will be open to suggestions, as well.
"This is a city process. You can't actually have a decision yet, but we are moving forward in a direction that will better serve the community," Harrison said.
