Same place - September 2012 and August 2014

A few days ago when I was taking photos of the dry grasses near the overlook of Primus, Costco, etc. I recalled the fun time I had tagging along with a bunch I guys I had just met and who allowed to take photos while they golfed.  Lots of joking and teasing about bad shots and such.  Camaraderie at it's best.


August 18, 2014

September 8, 2012

photos by Bill Stankus
2012 and 2014


**Disclaimer: I'm not a golfer nor have I ever played golf.

This is what Snohomish County's Department of Parks and Recreation took away from the Community

The following photos were taken at Wellington Hills Golf Course ...

 It doesn't take much to remember back to a year ago and to all the previous decades when Wellington Hills Park looked like this:

Photos by
Bill Stankus

Makes no sense - UPDATED

UPDATE: 
March 7, 2013
SEE PHOTO AT BOTTOM OF PAGE

Despite the FACT the Snohomish County Council has not been presented the proposed sports complex plan … and that certainly means they haven't voted on it … Yes, despite those sort of important steps, The Department of Parks and Rec has brought in a work crew with their big backhoe and big truck … and, this morning, they demolished the old house, commonly referred to as "the log cabin on the golf course".

Just as with the club house and golf office building - the log cabin is now history.

                               ……………………………………………………….


Another item on the list of, "Building A Sports Complex In The Wrong Place"

The justification for demolishing the golf course buildings?  

A quote from Tom Teigen, Director, Snohomish County Parks & Recreation:

"It was determined that the most prudent, safe and cost effective option was to demolish the buildings. … The buildings represent a public safety hazard, attractive nuisance and have been targeted by vandals. As a result we believe the best  course of action is to continue with the abatement and demolition as planned and permitted. "

 Yet the golf course building and club house were both in use until the end of September 2012.  

If the buildings were that unsafe, why did the County allow them to be used for all these years?

What is a mountain bike building?

YouTube of what to expect concerning the proposed "MOUNTAIN BIKE BUILDING".

Help in the Fight

If you cast you eyes to the right side column, up at the top, you'll see a PayPal button...

It's easy, just click on that button to give your assistance to 
Neighbors to Save Wellington Park (NSWP). 

The mind-boggling scheme of Snohomish County's Park and Wrecks Dept. defies logic.  

Their plan will cause havoc in a residential area of Woodinville Washington - and that includes both sides of the King County/Snohomish County line.

Instead of using Brightwater mitigation money - something that was meant to soften the impact of the Brightwater Sewage Plant on nearby neighborhoods - they've proposed a huge, commercial sports complex.  

Their proposed "park" will be create a regional headache and a terrible traffic mess on Hwy. 9 from Woodinville to Costco and from 240th St., along 156th St. to the Woodinville-Duvall Road and beyond. 

The County's plan isn't a "park" it's a nightmare!

Our sole intention is to bring a neighborhood friendly - a community friendly park - to the former Wellington Hills golf course property.

Please note - All donations are used to pay our legal fees.

In the Woodinville Patch And There's a New Sign!

(I will occasionally be blogging in the Woodinville Patch.)

click to read, "Last Golf Days at Wellington Golf Course"


and, "Closing a Woodinville Landmark"

Once the County installed gates in front of the parking area (for the old club house and country club) it was only a matter of minutes ... and up popped several declaration signs, from the new masters. New rules are now in force.

There's even a phone number if you want to rat on someone who has a dog on a leash over 8 ft. in length or, heaven forbid, they are walking around with golf clubs!

I have a feeling there will be a bunch more signs in the days to come.  Signs that more or less will say:

                                             "You will not have fun unless you pay for it."

There's something Kafkaesque about forbidding the playing of golf on a golf course.

Then again, I've never worked in a department within a local government. Nor have I spent hours sitting around big tables deciding how to profit by making changes - both to the land and to people's lives.

The Fundraiser - in the building

I spent much of the day tagging along with golfers as they played Golf Scramble ... however, I did get a few pics inside the club house before walking 36 holes of golf.

kinda neat!

Oil painting by Ted Pankowski

beautiful quilt by Nancy Martin 

I wish I'd bid on this!

Autographed guitar, the Wilson sisters, aka, Heart

by the time she was through setting-up, the table was overflowing with pies and cookies

Teri Derr begins the auction

One other thing: IT WAS A TERRIFIC EVENT and "Thank You" to everyone who came, donated, ate, laughed, told stories and are standing up for our community!

NSWP Fundraiser - Photos of the Golf Scramble

Photos during the Golf Scramble part of the NSWP Fundraiser!

(and I had a terrific time tagging along with the golfers!)

Golf Scramble - Golf, Food, Raffle and Auction. UPDATED!

NEIGHBORS TO SAVE WELLINGTON PARK
http://neighborstosavewellingtonpark.blogspot.com/

FUNDRAISER FOR THE SANE DEVELOPMENT

OF WELLINGTON HILLS PARK

WHEN: September 8th, tee times start at 8:30am

Play: 4 Player Golf Scramble - entry fee $40.00/person (includes lunch)

Don’t Golf?  Come for lunch 11 to 1pm and auction - Lunch ticket $10.00

Raffle Tickets - $10/ticket for a variety of Awesome Prizes!

Auction & Bake sale -  Purchase coffee & baked goods between 8 & 11am & hang out with your friends and other nice people. Check out the cool auction stuff (wine, dinners, autographed guitar, artwork & more), then get ready to bid! 
The Auction closes at 2pm!  

We’re fighting for the appropriate development of the Wellington Hills Golf Course. All money from this event goes towards the legal costs to keep our community safe from over-development.

We realize the golf course property will be developed, but this is our community, Snohomish County can't just tell us it's a "done deal" and drop a commercial park in our neighborhood. Their sports complex belongs in an industrial area where pay-for-play fields are more appropriate.

Why should a residential neighborhood suffer from bulldozer development? Why cut down old evergreens, flatten rolling hills and then add field lights, artificial turf, huge buildings and blast the area with noise and excessive traffic?

The County's current Master Plan includes: two paved parking lots for 700+ cars, a 60,000 sq. ft. mountain biking building, a 50,000 sq. ft. activities building, four lighted artificial turf fields and three grass fields plus a flattened area for two additional sports fields which will be used for even more parking when tournaments are held. 

Golf fundraiser:

 To sign-up & purchase Golf Scramble tee times or buy raffle or lunch tickets:

 CALL 425-402-0302

Make checks payable to:
Neighbors to Save Wellington Park
Teri Derr
Teriderrsings@comcast.net
15122 NE 204th St Woodinville WA 98072

For Donations only: Make checks payable to:
Neighbors to Save Wellington Park
Margaret Phillips
15110 NE 204th St.Woodinville, WA 98072

Please contact SaveWellingtonPark@comcast.net to learn more about NSWP and why the proposed sports complex will affect you.

JOIN US! WE NEED YOU!

Another letter sent to Snohomish County Council

The following letter was shared with NSWP.

----------------------------

To: Snohomish County Council, Dave Somers

Dear Mr. Somers:

My wife and I have lived in Woodinville area since 1979 and our home sits directly across from the proposed Wellington Hills County Park.

We are aware that this proposal came about as a result of the brightwater Sewer Plant and the mitigation funds that King County gave to Snohomish County to “mitigate” the impact of the sewer plant. The only negative impact that it (Brightwater) created is the loss of property taxes both to the state and the county due to the fact the County now owns it.

It should be noted at this point that the original Brightwater had most of the plant underground, which then would have resulted in soccer and baseball fields being built on top. However, this proved to be too expensive and thus no sports fields. At this point funds were offered to Snohomish County to build the presently proposed park. It is also important to note the property selected is on the southern boundary of Snohomish County, which adjoins King County. The majority of the users will be King County residents. Restrictions on how far such property was to be purchased took away the opportunity to look at more suitable locations.  Seems that maybe King County is getting the the better of the deal with their sewer plant in Snohomish County and now a sports complex that is better suited for those living in King County as opposed to those in Snohomish County. The result is a double impact to the residents of Snohomish County.

This brings me to point out that the funding for this proposed park in our neighborhood will bring to us the negative impacts of: lighting (the astro turf fields will be lit) increased traffic brought on by the 700+ parking spaces for use of the park and noise brought on by the tournament games that are projected to be played.

The scope of the proposed project in this area seems to have brought on by some very politically active groups, which are the soccer interests and the biking people.  As presented this will be a “pay to play” facility and therefore should be considered a commercial project.  Currently Snohomish County does not have any park in a residential neighborhood of this magnitude.

We have been told that it has been the experience of Snohomish County Parks that when parks are built property value will go up.  According to the real estate people that I have talked to they have said that considering the scope of this project we might expect our home values to drop by as much as 30%!  I would like to know what evidence does the Park Department have to make the statement of “increased property value”.  If our property values are negatively impacted what recourse do we have?

The building of Costco at the intersections of Highway 9 and 240th has already had an impact on traffic.  Before Costco we had 400 cars a day to now well over 2000 cars a day.  The parking lot for the park is basically the same size of that of the Costco store and if you consider that the fields when used in tournament play could bring in 2800 more cars and this is based upon using each of the fields for only 4 games a day which could result in even more traffic.

If you looks at 240th it is well below standards for what 240th is considered: a rural connector arterial.  Grades for a good part of the road are approaching 20%.  Throw in no less than 8 curves in the steepest part there definitely is a problem.  The speed limit on this road is 25mph but the average is 35 and above.  Since we have lived here I have observed only twice when there was any traffic enforcement.  The last time I personally thanked the officers for what they were doing and they acknowledged that this road was extremely dangerous.  It also might be noted the county has actually never had legal possession of all of 240th.

Now let’s consider where parks of this nature can be and should be found.  They should be in business parks or manufacturing areas where lighting, noise and traffic will not affect daily living. It has been pointed out that such areas do exist which was met by the reply that the Parks Department had no money to buy additional land but guess what, they made another purchase of a piece of property to make the proposed park even bigger!  We live in a residential area and do not think this park fits into our neighborhood.

In closing, the magnitude of this park is well beyond what this area can handle. People from the surrounding King County areas are also aware of the negative impact this will have on their lives. 

Soccer fields and baseball fields are great but is there really a shortage of fields in the area? Ask the people from the City of Woodinville about their soccer fields and they will tell you that they are under used.  Take a look at the fields in Redmond and you will find pay to play and pay to park and this is for a select group of people who are not in the majority. 

This proposal needs to be reconsidered with more time spent considering us “locals” and what we would like to see happen to this area. “We are going to build it and YOU are going to LIKE IT” is not what we want to hear.  Let us have a voice in what needs to be done!

Regards,

Letters written by concerned citizens

Several letters shared with NSWP: The first one was sent to the Snohomish County Council and others concerning the proposed sports complex.

The second was written by a concerned citizen and sent to a personal email list.

We have other letters of concern and we will post more of these in the coming days.

We also urge you to write your County government about this issue ...
YOUR voice is extremely important!

Here are links to the Snohomish County Council. Dave Somers is the representative for the golf course region, however it's recommended you also write the County Executive and the entire Council and the Woodinville City Council.

----------------------

August 15, 2012

To: Snohomish County Executive Aaron Reardon

       Snohomish County Council

       Snohomish County Public Works/Tina Hokanson

       Snohomish County Parks & Recreation/Tom Teigen/James Yap

       Woodinville City Council

Re: Proposed Wellington Hills County Park

To all concerned;

We have lived in Woodinville for the past 18 ½ years. We chose this beautiful area with a large lot precisely because of the abundant natural surroundings and quiet environment. Having survived the “Brightwater” noise and commotion of these past years we are saddened to see yet another project being planned that will directly impact us in so many ways with very little consideration given to what the neighborhood truly wants and can actually handle. (Sure there have been minor concessions given to make us feel better but not enough to satisfy our needs). It is so very obvious to the majority of us here that this is not the correct place for a ‘sports’ park, that it feels very much like another project being planned “for us” rather than “with us”. We raised children here and they were involved in soccer for many years so we see the value in that. However we as homeowners also see the value in quiet neighborhood parks and having soccer fields/sports fields located away from neighborhoods as much as possible for the safety and sanity of the people living in those neighborhoods.

This entire process has been so rushed and hastily planned that the neighbors who are going to be directly impacted have had little chance to digest and respond to the amount of changes being proposed. This kind of project should involve the neighbors and the county working directly together on a 50/50 basis, not just a few select people on a committee supposedly representing the greater neighborhood.  There is so much at stake here that it would be such a waste of time, money and resources to make decisions so quickly and not please the greater majority of people not to mention preserving the environment most affected. One would have to ask, ‘who is this mitigation project really benefitting?”

We are all for a quality, peaceful, neighborhood park here but definitely not a sports park of the magnitude that is being suggested by the parks department. The landscape and natural layout of this property are so unique and beautiful it would be a shame to scrape it flat and mold it to other uses. Why is it so necessary to ‘bend’ this outstanding natural habitat to accommodate people rather than using what is naturally here and having people ‘bend’ to its  natural design in the form of a completely unique habitat and park for everyone to enjoy? Beautiful landscapes and natural formations are becoming more and more rare and unusual as the land is manipulated and transformed to cater to the current popular sports and that seems like such a shame. According to Tom Teigen the only real stipulation for the proposed park use is that it be for ‘active use’ and that can be defined in the context of a neighborhood park in a multitude of quieter, less invasive ways other than a lot of outdoor soccer fields, an indoor sports facility, a mountain biking complex and parking for 750 cars. Active use could be defined as retaining the current golf course as well.

If ‘safety is the overriding factor in the park design’ as stated in the design criteria provided by Snohomish County via Tom Teigen and Bruce Dees, then how in the world can this location even be considered for a park this large and complex? Traffic issues have been at the forefront of discussion since this park became known to us and it makes no logical sense whatsoever to bring that many cars into this area  Regardless of the ‘traffic calming’ devices that may be installed the simple fact remains that there will be too many cars for the road and the neighborhood to safely handle. Not only will it be more difficult for the neighbors to access their own streets but the issue of emergency response is of real concern as well. We understand that there will be great care taken and many studies done to resolve traffic concerns but to date we have not seen any evidence of either current studies taking place or information resulting from previous studies (except for the reports regarding the massive changes that have occurred on 240^th St. since the opening of Costco at the bottom of the hill).  We have seen firsthand the major impact of traffic on our roads and the blatant disregard for the posted speed limits, running lights at Costco and the greatly increased usage of 240^th St.

Common sense needs to be applied to this project.  Let’s not try to squeeze a large sports complex into a small neighborhood where it just doesn’t fit. There have been other options suggested to the county that could handle a sports complex much, more easily and effectively allowing the opportunity to create a distinctly unique park to be located here at Wellington. The majority of neighbors here are not supportive of the proposed park as it now stands and also feel that they are not being properly heard. Sometimes sacrifices need to be made to preserve valuable natural habitats rather than just to make money as this proposal suggests. There needs to be a more agreeable way to mediate this issue and allow for more compromises to benefit the directly affected neighbors and fill the county’s needs as well. We firmly believe this is possible if we are given the time and opportunity to do so. Thank you for your support in this matter.

Sincerely,

----------------------
----------------------

Sorry to bother you through email, but I thought this was important enough to send this email out as an FYI to my friends in the area - because this issue has really caught a lot of people by surprise and most don’t know anything about the size of it.

Please pass this message on to your Woodinville friends and neighbors if you too don’t agree with this new Wellington golf replacement park plan by Snohomish County. Although I don’t oppose a park in this space and a few fields, my question is do we really want a mega Starfire like soccer complex right in our backyards? Shouldn’t it be somewhere in between. This will change the rural landscape of Woodinville forever.

This is supposed to be a mitigation park from the Brightwater Sewage Plant hassles of construction and it’s turned into a mega pay to play revenue generating theme park for the county in an unincorporated area that can’t represent themselves like a city can. Thank you Snohomish County. A park this size realistically should be located in a more open industrial area (like Starfire is, like Northcreek is, like 60 Acres is) that can support it.

The families of Woodinville should have a say in the type and size of this park and the impact it will have on our community. So far Snohomish County has tried to steamroll this project under the radar with no one having any clue of the magnitude of this project – just above Costco. Let’s help try and slow it down and hopefully get a park that is the right fit for this area.

Thanks,


Action on Wellington Hills Golf Course

Breaking News!
Woodinville Washington, August 6, 2012

Balloon down! And ace neighborhood reporter, Heidi Ondrasik, (with her camera) was there. Everyone enjoyed the moment, except for Gus Hacksalott from Bothell WA.  Gus said the balloon came quietly down behind him and ruined his swing of the 7th tee.  He finish 10 over for the day and caddy Carl Spackler said, "hot air hazards are just part of the game of golf."

Those who've lived here awhile ... remember when our summer skies were filled with colorful balloons (and the occasional landing on the golf course)?

Notice - Snohomish County's Master Plan Meeting - August 15

In today's mail, an unexpected postcard...

See you there!

I know that county guy or at least I've seen him before

After the May 8th bombshell fell on us about the plan to change Wellington Hills Golf Course into a "sports complex", I went to all the meetings: the ones held at the Brightwater conference center, a meeting at the golf course community center and numerous meetings at neighbor's homes.

... there was something about the Parks and Recreation guy that seemed familiar ... like I've listened to his spiel before ... then it hit me ...., yes I had, he reminded me of "Professor Harold Hill" in the film, "The Music Man".  Yes, that's it!

... a musical (and clever) lesson in misdirection

What to expect

There's a place, just south of Woodinville, known as "60 Acres".  Or, as stated on their web page, "60 Acres is a King County Park located in the Sammamish River valley on the north side of Redmond. It is situated on 94 total acres, including 60 acres of premium athletic fields."

More or less, that's what Snohomish County's Parks and Recreation wants to do with the Wellington Golf Course.  Tho' 60 acres doesn't have 110,000 square feet of buildings or difficult hills or terrible traffic intersections ... or a quiet neighborhood within spitting distance of the activity fields or parking lots..

Thank you Reed Keagle for these photos.

No this isn't 240th St. SE or 71st Drive SE (the Wellington Golf Course roads) ... but it could be if the Parks and Recreations Dept. of Snohomish County isn't checked.

What happens when large parking lots are filled ...

Everyone is well behaved, orderly and will pay attention to signs (that's what the Snohomish County representative said people will do).

At least the off-leach area will be orderly ...

Willis Tucker Community Park, aka, What to expect in our neighborhood

Willis Tucker Community Park is often touted by Snohomish County Officials as the model for the future Wellington Hills Sports Complex. The basic message is, "See Willis Tucker Park" .... that's how nice we do things."

Here's something I found in today's Seattle's PI .... Outdoor Movies

And the outdoor movies are being shown at Willis Tucker Park.

The description for each movie:

(Movie name and date) "Snohomish, free. The event is at Willis Tucker Community Park, 6705 Puget Park Dr.. Popcorn and soda can be purchased there. Open seating begins at 7 p.m. Pre-movie entertainment includes laser tag, bouncy houses, balloon animals and the  Sno-Isle Bookmobile with books related to the movie on screen. The park has grass seating, and viewers are allowed to bring low-back chairs and blankets."

Yes indeedy, The now Quiet Wellington Hills area will no longer be quiet once we get parking lots (700+ cars), sports tournaments, PA systems, umpire whistles, screaming/cheering fans, police sirens and ... outdoor movies.

Woodinville Group Formed To Save Wellington Park

FOR  IMMEDIATE  RELEASE

Sunday, July 1, 2012

                                   

        WOODINVILLE  RGROUP FORMED TO SAVE WELLINGTON PARK

            Frustrated by Master Planning for the Wellington park near Woodinville, community leaders are forming “Neighbors to Save Wellington Park.”  And have hired an attorney to counter plans by the Snohomish County Parks Department  to convert the 100 acre Wellington golf course site into a Regional Sports Complex.

            The attorney is Richard Aramburu of Aramburu & Eustis,LLP  practicing  administrative, environmental and land use law, including litigation and appeals under Washington State’s Growth Management Act (GMA) and the State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA). Aramburu also represents “Concerned Neighbors of Wellington” (CNW), a  King  County based group fighting the nearby proposed “Woodtrails” development.

            Earlier in the year Snohomish County bought the Wellington Golf Course site from the University of Washington with $9 million of $70 million in Brightwater mitigation funds agreed to by King and Snohomish Counties as far back as 2005. Neighbors in King and Snohomish Counties first heard of the Snohomish County Parks Department proposals for the Golf Course in a Public Meeting called by Parks at the Brightwater Education Center, May 8, 2012.  In the last two months there have been occasional public and numerous small-group meetings soliciting public input in the development of a Master Plan to be presented to Snohomish County Council on July 10.

            Representatives of “Neighbors to Save Wellington Park” say that the process is way too  fast and that the proposed Master Plan for a  Regional Sports Complex at this specific site raises fundamental  questions about the process:


1) What was the public site selection process that identified the site as the most  suitable location for the proposed use? A Regional Sports Complex at Wellington or anywhere in South Snohomish County, is not included In Snohomish County’s Comprehensive Parks Plan or as part of any publicly-identified “needs study.” No acquisition of park property nor approval of a master plan occur unless preceded by a public site selection process.

2) How can a Regional Sports Complex, to include commercial buildings and paved parking with a footprint as large as the adjacent Costco development be located outside of an Urban Growth Boundary required by the Growth Management Act? The Wellington Golf Course site and adjacent neighborhoods are designated as   “rural” lands on County land use maps.

3)    Have adjacent communities such as the City of Woodinville been formally notified that a major development is planned at a location affecting City transportation and other infrastructure?  If not, why has this necessary requirement taken almost 8 years to be realized?

4)    Why were transportation, drainage, community disruption, environmental and other limitations not accounted for in a feasibility plan before the development of a Master Plan for the site? It appears that related work by Snohomish County’s Public Works and other departments have to now “catch up” to what many consider a “done deal.”

5)    What will be the process for reviews under the State’s Growth Management Act (GMA) and State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) ?   Word in the community is that the any additional reviews of a Regional Sports Complex may be  “SEPA Light”  to avoid complete environmental analysis and skirt “concurrency” requirements of the GMA that may otherwise torpedo the development of the Park.  This course of action does not seem in the best interest of South Snohomish County and City of Woodinville communities!!

 “Neighbors to Save Wellington Park” believes that the Wellington Golf Course site offers a wonderful potential for both active and passive park uses without the destructive impacts raised during the current master planning process and its emphasis on a Regional Sports Complex.

According to spokesperson Todd Bailey:

“It’s ironic that the mitigation money from Brightwater might pay for something that is far worse for the community than Brightwater itself and that we have to spend our own  private resources  to counter a  $9 million dollar public project aimed at our community and to the detriment of  the public’s long-range interests.”

For more information on how to get involved, contact: Todd Bailey at: bushfire67@hotmail.com.  

To contribute or pledge to a Wellington Park Defense Fund  send your check to “Neighbors to Save Wellington Park”  Margaret Philip, Treasurer, 15110 NE 204th St. Woodinville, WA  98072.

Source: Ted Pankowski at Tedpankowski@msn.com. (425) 486-5741.

Map, Wellington Hills area

Google map of the Wellington Hills Golf Course, Wellington Hills area.

Snohomish County's Proposed Sports Complex

Snohomish County's latest version of their proposed sports complex on the Wellington Hills Golf Course.