Published: Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Eastmont land could be new park
A potential agreement could allow Snohomish County to buy eight forested acres from the Everett School District.
EVERETT — Residents of the Eastmont neighborhood might some day get the nature park they’ve wanted for more than 40 years, thanks to a potential agreement between the Everett School District and Snohomish County.
The district announced last week that it intended to draft an agreement giving the county first rights of refusal to buy approximately eight forested acres next to Jefferson Elementary School. The district has made no decision to sell the land. If that happens, the agreement would give the county the first shot.
That’s good news for John Crawford and other community members involved in the Jefferson Woods Nature Park group. They want to keep the land as a natural area and environmental classroom.
“It’s moving right ahead, but everybody knew right off the bat that this is going to take a while,” Crawford said. “It’s going to take a year or two or more.”
Now, people from the neighborhood are lobbying to find conservation groups or others who might be interested in buying the land.
A neighborhood meeting is scheduled for Thursday night to provide a progress report on the park project. The meeting also is a chance to collect ideas about what people want from the park.
The district decided to give the county a chance to buy the land because of presentations by the neighborhood group at public meetings, said Mike Gunn, the district’s executive director of facilities and operations.
“We’re doing this in response to the concerns that the community had that some day we might sell it and they might lose out on the opportunity for a park,” Gunn said. “We hope this will reassure them.”
The district has no recent appraisal for the land, Gunn said. Jefferson Elementary was built in 1964 and is undergoing extensive remodeling.
Noah Haglund: 425-339-3465; nhaglund@heraldnet.com.
Meeting Thursday
Jefferson Woods Nature Park group in the Eastmont neighborhood just outside the Everett city limits has scheduled a meeting for Thursday about efforts to secure land from the Everett School District for a future park.
The meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church, 9320 Meadow Way, Everett.
The district announced last week that it intended to draft an agreement giving the county first rights of refusal to buy approximately eight forested acres next to Jefferson Elementary School. The district has made no decision to sell the land. If that happens, the agreement would give the county the first shot.
That’s good news for John Crawford and other community members involved in the Jefferson Woods Nature Park group. They want to keep the land as a natural area and environmental classroom.
“It’s moving right ahead, but everybody knew right off the bat that this is going to take a while,” Crawford said. “It’s going to take a year or two or more.”
Now, people from the neighborhood are lobbying to find conservation groups or others who might be interested in buying the land.
A neighborhood meeting is scheduled for Thursday night to provide a progress report on the park project. The meeting also is a chance to collect ideas about what people want from the park.
The district decided to give the county a chance to buy the land because of presentations by the neighborhood group at public meetings, said Mike Gunn, the district’s executive director of facilities and operations.
“We’re doing this in response to the concerns that the community had that some day we might sell it and they might lose out on the opportunity for a park,” Gunn said. “We hope this will reassure them.”
The district has no recent appraisal for the land, Gunn said. Jefferson Elementary was built in 1964 and is undergoing extensive remodeling.
Noah Haglund: 425-339-3465; nhaglund@heraldnet.com.
Meeting Thursday
Jefferson Woods Nature Park group in the Eastmont neighborhood just outside the Everett city limits has scheduled a meeting for Thursday about efforts to secure land from the Everett School District for a future park.
The meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church, 9320 Meadow Way, Everett.
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