To: The Snohomish County Council and a possible moratorium on land use near slump and slide areas

As you talk amongst yourselves about a possible moratorium on land use/development near geologically unstable regions, i.e., slump and slide areas ... (because of the Oso tragedy).

May I suggest something?

Do an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) on Wellington Hills Park before preceding with the half-baked plan of digging out over 250,000 square feet of earth, de-watering the area - then building a NON-ESSENTIAL sports complex!

Fact: The western boundary of Wellington Hills Park is geologically unstable.

Fact: The Whidbey Island Fault Zone is directly beneath Wellington Hills Park.

Fact: While there are few houses on the western boundary of the park ... there is Costco, Route 9 and Hwy 522 - all of which have thousands of people in hourly proximity to the lower regions of the park.

I posted the following, February 24, 2014

 Letter posted in the Everett Herald

Park proposal needs an EIS

When Chris Hansen proposed to build a new NBA arena in Seattle, the city of Seattle and King County prepared a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS).

As part of the DEIS process, the public had an opportunity to comment on the proposed project and then their comments were used to determine the scope of the environmental impacts that would subsequently be addressed in the DEIS.

I mention this because, in their proposal to construct a “regional sports complex” on the site of Wellington Hills Park, Snohomish County’s Department of Parks, unlike the city of Seattle and King County, has attempted to undermine the process, trivialized public comments and concerns, and they’ve self-proclaimed that an Environmental Impact Study was not necessary for a project with a footprint approximately the size of Safeco Field.

In the public’s best interest, I suggest the only way to proceed is to demand an Environmental Impact Study. The county’s development of this site, as currently proposed, is not just a localized issue. Rather, it is an issue that will affect all Snohomish County residents due to its numerous environmental impacts, community altering effects and the high costs for construction and maintenance.

The Wellington Hills Park proposal also raises the question — how should the county proceed on major multi-million dollar projects, especially non-essential ones?

Bill Stankus
Woodinville

Artificial turf fields - Expensive non-essentials

Artificial Turf (AT).

In a nutshell - Artificial turf (AT) fields are expensive ... Very Expensive ... 
and the Teigen Plan for Wellington Hills Park hankers for, not one, but four artificial turf fields - with stadium lights. 

It's only money.

These giant outdoor carpets are costly to purchase, to install and to maintain. But there's more! ... AT fields need to be repaired and replaced on a regular basis. 

The average single turf field costs approximately $1,000,000 and yearly maintenance will run about $20,000.* Cool, huh? These non-essential seasonal toys have a life expectancy of approximately 10 years.

Doing the math ... the Parks Dept. wants to spend approximately $4,000,000 for turf fields in Wellington Hills Park ... which will then require maintenance to the tune of $80,000 a year. 

Then, after 10 years of specialized maintenance, when it comes time for the County to buy replacement turf, don't twitch when your taxes go up.

ps: Who would benefit from using Wellington Hills Park artificial turf fields? 
                          I'll give a clue - private organizations.


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The following is from Snohomish County Document, "Executive/Council Approval Form" dated June 7, 2013 and prepared by Tom Teigen, Director, Snohomish County Parks and Recreation.

"Synthetic Turf Development and Maintenance Costs - Typical costs for each lit synthetic turf field are $900,000 — $1,200,000 depending on site specific drainage conditions. Synthetic turf fields require maintenance activities consisting of adding infill materials, drainage repair and removing organic materials that might accumulate. 

Typical annual maintenance costs of artificial turf fields are around $12,000 per field compared with typical annual maintenance costs of natural turf fields of $8,000. Synthetic turf fields should be considered for either major renovation or replacement every 10 —15 years."

pg. 1 of a 14 page PDF

* this figure is based on the average costs associated with artificial fields not in Snohomish County.