Everett, Wash.
Published: Sunday, June 1, 2008

County grants go to playgrounds

The $450,000 from Snohomish County, with additional funding, will build nearly $1 million in sports fields and playgrounds.

By Jeff Switzer
Herald Writer

 There's a shortage of soccer fields in east Snohomish County and things are expected to get tougher with some fields expected to close for repairs this summer.

The brother-and-sister team of Jim and Naomi Johnson are working to turn that around.

The two volunteer with the Sky River Soccer Club, a group among the top recipients of county grant money doled out on Friday.

The club received $75,000 toward a $300,000 project to build a dozen new soccer fields west of Monroe.

The money was part of $450,000 in a new pool of grants announced Friday for 10 groups by County Executive Aaron Reardon.

"It's exciting they're supporting all these projects," said Naomi Johnson, who has been involved in youth soccer for 30 years. "It's been a lot of years since anything has happened in east county. It's nice to see them making us a priority."

About 1,000 kids from the Monroe and Sultan areas play soccer in the Sky River club, Naomi Johnson said.

This is the first year for the county's special YARD grant program for youth and recreation projects. To win a grant, groups had to pledge cash or volunteer hours to match the county's funding.

The $450,000 in county real estate taxes will help build nearly $1 million in sports fields and playgrounds, thanks to matching donations and volunteer time, Reardon said.

It's part of the largest infusion of money into parks in the shortest amount of time in county history, "and without a tax increase," Reardon said. Some of the boost in parks money is coming from King County to offset impacts from the Brightwater sewage treatment plant.

The county is turning a small amount of cash into a whole lot of good, County Councilman Dave Gossett said.

The Johnsons still need another $150,000 for a parking lot for the Monroe soccer field at Fairfield Park, but the county money helps get things started, Jim Johnson said.

"Hopefully, by the end of the month, we'll have seed down and see grass growing," Jim Johnson said.

The county money also is helping to replace broken backstops, benches and an unsafe stairway at baseball fields in Mountlake Terrace.

Forest View Elementary School near Mill Creek will see $65,000 in new playground equipment at the end of October thanks in part to a $24,000 county grant, Principal Brenda Fuglevand said.

A "fun run" is expected to raise the $18,000 needed to finish the project, Fuglevand said.

"If it weren't for the grants, this would have been a three-year project," she said.



Reporter Jeff Switzer: 425-339-3452 or jswitzer@heraldnet.com.

Snohomish County parks projects

Snohomish County gave out $450,000 for 10 park project grants to organizations on Friday. They required either matching cash or volunteer time.

The projects include:

n Forest Crest sports field, Mountlake Terrace

Project cost: $26,650

County grant: $6,663

The Mountlake Terrace Youth Athletic Association plans to upgrade the sports fields.

n Forest View Elementary School, Everett

Project cost: $65,000

County grant: $24,100

The PTA is working to buy and install a playground climbing structure.

n Evergreen Fairgrounds racetrack construction, Monroe

Project cost: $150,000

County grant: $75,000

The Washington Quarter Midget Association is building restrooms, lighting and buildings.

n Terrace Park "Field of Dreams" playground, Mountlake Terrace

Project cost: $100,000

County grant: $15,000

The school district and PTA plan to purchase and install playground equipment.

n Fairfield Park youth athletic fields, Monroe

Project cost: $150,000

County grant: $75,000

The Sky River Soccer Club is preparing a park site for soccer fields.

n Little Cedars Elementary School playground, near Mill Creek

Project cost: $100,640

County grant: $49,640

The PTA plans to purchase and install a playground.

n Mukilteo Little League complex at Paine Field

Project cost: $95,671

County grant: $50,000

Mukilteo North Little League plans to improve the existing baseball-softball complex at Paine Field Community Park.

n Bill Quake Memorial Park fields, Arlington

Project cost: $84,225

County grant: $36,763

The Stilly Valley Little League and Arlington Youth Soccer Club plan to improve the existing soccer field, improve two baseball fields, add a baseball diamond and enlarge the street course at the Arlington Skate Park.

n Sultan Elementary School play field

Project cost: $90,000

County grant: $45,000

The Sultan Elementary School parent-teacher organization plans to install drainage and irrigation systems to play fields at Sultan Elementary School.

n Ropes course at Willis Tucker Park, Snohomish

Project cost: $117,834

County grant: $72,834

The YMCA of Snohomish County plans to install a ropes challenge course.

Source: Snohomish County
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