Tony Overman/The Olympian
Nisqually Middle School students Kimo Lemn (right) and Chris Shannon hang out along Summerfield Drive in Lacey, where neighborhood kids have built skateboarding ramps, jumps and rails in the absence of an official park. "This is our skate park," said Jonathan Ortiz, 18, president of the youth association at The Ridge development.

In search of space

Looking for parks in Lacey? They can be tough to find in this growing city. A ballot measure this month would supply almost $10 million to change that.

LIONA TANNESEN, THE OLYMPIAN

Originally published Sunday, March 3, 2002

LACEY -- When members of Lacey's St. Onge family set out for a day in the park, they have fewer choices than families in other Washington cities of similar size.

"The public has got to have someplace to go to enjoy," said Rick St. Onge, as he left Wonderwood Park with his family Saturday after coaching a baseball team of 8- and 9-year-olds.

But such places are not always easy to find in Lacey.

Lacey has less developed park space per person than Kirkland, Renton, Pasco and Olympia, cities of roughly similar size. Two of the four -- Renton and Olympia -- have more total parkland than Lacey.

Lacey has about 2.2 acres of developed park space per 1,000 citizens. That compares with 5 acres per 1000 people in Renton, 6 in Kirkland, 8.5 in Pasco and 18 in Olympia.

Lacey voters will decide March 12 whether to approve a $9.98 million bond issue to develop up to 15 parks.

A $14 million park bond issue failed by 44 votes in 1999.

The city already has about 460 acres of parkland and would not buy additional property if the bond issue is approved, in part because the city requires developers to set aside open space in new projects as they're developed.

Instead, the city would develop 100 acres of the land it already owns, which would increase its total developed park space to 170 acres, up from 70 acres of developed space now.

The bond issue would add softball and baseball fields, tennis courts, trails, basketball courts and places to picnic. It also includes money for skate parks.

"We've outgrown the few parks we do have," said Lacey resident Diana Hines. "Kids need the parks."

Lacey resident Monica Dixon is a member of the citizen committee supporting the parks bond.

She recalled that during her childhood in Minneapolis, "every other corner had a park. ... It seems it's such a radical difference to here."

Other cities

Kirkland, Renton, Pasco and Olympia developed their first parks decades before Lacey was incorporated in 1966.

Kirkland, a Seattle suburb incorporated in 1905, has 35 parks, comprising 460 acres. Of that, 274 acres are developed.

Even so, Kirkland has fewer parks for its population than most parts of King County, said Barry Russell, Kirkland's director of parks and community services.

Kirkland faces a problem Lacey doesn't have.

"We are in a completely built-up area," Russell said.

To build parks, the city must buy property and tear down houses, Russell said.

Lacey has avoided that problem by buying unimproved property while it is available, Lacey Parks Department Director Jim Sheler said.

Pasco also has a long history -- more than 100 years -- but it doesn't have Kirkland's problems of being too built-up.

The city has less park property than Lacey, but much of that land is developed.

Of Pasco's 329 acres of park property, 319 acres are developed.

The city has 14 traditional parks, 27 others with grass that is watered and cared for, and two undeveloped parks.

"We've got parks that I don't think anybody could tell you how they came to be," said Paul Whitemarsh, Pasco recreation services manager. "I'm looking out my window at Volunteer Park. Residents hauled water from the river to water trees when the park first was established."

Renton was incorporated in 1901.

The city, south of Seattle in King County, has 732 acres of open space for its population of 50,000. About 250 of those acres are developed parks.

Olympia has 766 acres of developed parks for its 42,500 residents and an additional 52 acres of undeveloped park space. But 624 acres of the developed parkland is open space, which by definition isn't very developed, said Olympia Parks Services Manager David Hanna.

Olympia is updating its parks plan and evaluating ways to expand, Hanna said.

Lacey's Sheler said Olympia was fortunate to be able to obtain some parks when it did.

For example, Olympia bought 240 acres at Priest Point on Budd Inlet in 1905 for $1,200.

"That's a fantastic set-aside," Sheler said.

The cost of parks

Most cities piece together the money to buy and develop parks from city general or capital funds, grants, donations, impact fees, parkland dedication requirements for developers, and bond issues.

Kirkland, Renton, Pasco and Olympia charge developers an impact fee that goes toward buying and developing parks.

Lacey does not have an impact fee, but it requires developers to set aside a portion of the land they use for park space.

Ten percent of the land for a single family home must be set aside, 20 percent for multiple family buildings and 30 percent for planned areas with commercial buildings and residences.

Lacey decides whether to make the land a city park or leave it in the care of the local homeowners association.

"My feeling is the dedication has worked extremely well," Sheler said.

The dedication requirement allows the city access to the land without having to use debt to buy it, Sheler said.

Some of the other cities allow a developer to substitute land for the impact fee.

The impact fees range from about $350 to $530 per residence in Renton to a range of $710 to $1,800 in Olympia.

All of the cities applied for grants and received donations.

Lacey has a 1 percent utility tax dedicated to parks, and Olympia has a 1.5 percent utility tax for the same purpose.

Lacey has spent $6.37 million on buying and developing parks since it was incorporated.

Bonds

Not every city has used bond issues for parks.

Olympia tried to pass a $10.5 million bond in May 1991, but it failed. The city reduced the amount by about $1 million and tried again in September 1991, but that also failed.

Pasco doesn't use bond issues, Whitemarsh said.

Bonds are not the city of Renton's usual method for purchasing and developing parks either, said Lesley Betlach, director of the Parks Division.

Renton did pass a $2 million bond issue in 1980 and just finished paying it off, he said.

The city also took out $5 million in bonds for golf course improvements, but the golf course's revenue is paying back the debt.

Kirkland usually uses bonds to buy and develop parks, Russell said.

In fact, the city is considering a bond issue now.

The project list totals $15 to $20 million, Russell said.

"That's putting all the nice stuff out there," Russell said.

As in Lacey, this bond would mostly pay for developing parks the city already owns.

Unlike Lacey, the Kirkland bond would also pay for buying some new property and would include a maintenance and operations levy of about $2 million.

Kirkland's last bond was for $5 million in 1988.

"That's why there is a lot of trepidation around here now," Russell said.

But Kirkland has polled residents to see how interested they are, and preliminary responses showed up to 70 percent were positive, Russell said.

"We'll be interested to see what happens with Lacey's bond," Russell said.

Liona Tannesen covers Lacey for The Olympian. She can be reached at 360-754-5427 or ltannese@olympia.gannett.com.

Election day

March 12 is the day Lacey voters will decide the fate of the $9.98 million parks bond issue to develop parks.

A 60 percent supermajority is required for the bond issue to pass.

The city also needs 2,729 voters in order to validate the election, according to the Thurston County Auditor's Office.

The cost to residents

The bond issue would cost homeowners 36 cents per $1,000 of assessed value for 20 years.

That means the owner of a $130,000 home would pay $46.80 each year.

On the Web:

- City of Lacey

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