Windtree Park Groundbreaking

Stay tuned, but it looks like there will be a Windtree Park groundbreaking ceremony sometime in January. Details to come.

Windtree Park November Update

Advertisement for Windtree Park construction has been published. Contractor bids are due on Nov. 23rd I believe. After which the council will decide how to proceede, presumably in December.

Windtree Park Update

The path to begin Windtree Park is still ahead of us. I, as many of you have, were expecting to see some progress this summer. The current status is that the city staff is prepared to put the project to bid after delays this summer due to our public works department being focused on preparing for work on Coal Creek Parkway.

But at Tuesday Sept 18th's council meeting, Councilman Bill Erxleben raised 2 issues regarding the park. First he expressed concern that the money approved for the park in 2006 was not properly accounted for in the 2007 budget. This is mostly an issue of procedure and the city staff is tracking the paper trail. This unfortunately will delay the project for a few more weeks until the procedural matter can be resolved.

Secondly, and more concerning, is that Mr. Erxleben advocated removing money from the park project and questioned the expense as extravagant. Additionally he called into question the public process leading up to the decision to move forward with the park. I personally take exception to his diatribe as I personally witnessed a very active public process. These are my neighbors he is talking about and for him to claim that all of the hard work and involvement by the more than 30 residents of Windtree was insufficient is frankly a slap in the face. Possibly he should have attended more meetings himself ? Members of the Parks commission have commented to me that the involvement in the Windtree Park process should be a model for community input in the future.

I encourage everyone interested in seeing Windtree Park completed to attend the Oct 2nd Council Meeting to express your displeasure with the current delays.

I would also like to point out that I attended the City Council candidate forum this evening. It should be noted that council candidate Russ Segner publicly advocated removing funding from Windtree Park and to use the money instead for changes to the intersection where the Valley Medical Center is currently located.

Windtree Park Update!

Construction is getting closer! At last nights Council meeting the City Council authorized the City Manager to sign construction and access easement agreements with two property owners adjacent the North and East of the park property. The good news is that one of the easement agreements includes the construction of an asphalt path extending from 91st St to the North end of park site. (where the gravel driveway currently extends from the dead end of 121st) This will give residents a paved pathway from both the South end of the park and the North end of the park. The residents of Windtree owe both of these property owners a big "Thank You" for working so cooperatively with the City to reach this agreement.

This means that the city can now begin the process of advertising for a contractor (bidding the project) and hopefully start construction as soon as August. The public works director indicated that the park construction and landscaping would last about 3 months. If all goes well, we could see the park finished by Oct-Nov.

Windtree Alternate Access

Access into the Windtree neighborhood is challenging. The only access is via 121st Ave. which serves more than 100 homes as the sole access point from 88th St. In the past six months this bottleneck has been made painfully apparent by a few events that have caused road closures along 121st. First, during the December windstorm, a power line was downed and lay draped across the roadway for more than 6 days. There was limited access around the downed line but the situation could have been worse especially if emergency vehicles were unable to use the roadway. Second, the construction of the Windtree sewer project has caused daily short-term closures, that are not just inconvenient but pose a safety risk as well.

At this Tuesday's (June 19th) Council meeting we will be reviewing and considering changes to the TIP (a public hearing will also be held at a future meeting). The Transportation Improvement Program (or TIP) is a list of transportation related capital projects the city intends to carry out. The TIP is a planning tool that is required by state law for coordination with other local public agencies. The only change to the TIP currently being proposed this year is a project titled "Alternate Access for Windtree". Of the 18 projects identified in the TIP, this project is placed 6th in priority behind phases 2&3 of Coal Creek Parkway, general pavement overlays, and the Newcastle Transit Center. By placing this project on the TIP, it gives the city authority to begin planning for a possible project. The first step in 2008 would be to survey/study the current access and explore possible alternate locations for access roads. After a study is completed an estimate of cost for a full project would be presented to the council (presumably in late 2008).

I believe that it is important for the rest of the council and city staff to hear the opinions of the residents of Windtree on this subject. While I have been an advocate of exploring alternate access to the neighborhood I am unsure of what the best alternate might be and am curious to hear the thoughts of other neighbors. So if you have opinions on the issue please feel free to come speak at public comment period during this Tuesdays meeting or submit comments via email to cityclerk@ci.newcastle.wa.us.

Increased crime in Windtree

Recently the Windtree Neighborhood has seen a number of daytime burglaries. With all of the construction happening in the neighborhood please be on the alert for suspicious persons and activities. A number of residents recently got together and had a representative from the Newcastle Police come and speak about block watch and crime prevention. Here are some notes and contacts from that meeting:

Officer Lockhart told us to be sure to report *any* suspicious activity, and that the best line of defense is an alarm that sounds when doors are opened - it doesn't have to be monitored because just the alarm will send most criminals away.

Block Watch Info
www.metrokc.gov/sheriff/prevention/handbook

City of Newcastle E Alerts
http://www.ci.newcastle.wa.us/cu_sign_up_for_notices.asp

Officer Lockhart
James.Lockhart@metrokc.gov
425-649-4444 x120

Melinda Irvine
Chief of Police Services
police@ci.newcastle.wa.us
425-649-4444

For Construction concerns/problems/issues
Tom Peadon
Coal Creek Utility District, General Manager
425-235-9200
tpeadon@ccud.org