Our new playground design was presented to the Wallingford Community Council on Tuesday, Dec. 3rd. Daniel Winterbottom and Jennifer Szabo described the entire plan, including public amenities and the cultural themes of creative play. Kelly Aramaki, members of the steering committee and a JSIS parent and student attended the meeting to show support. The presentation ended with the topic of fundraising and community building in this area of Wallingford. The council praised the plan and recommended advertising our project at Wallingford Park and on the Council's website.
On January 7, 2009 Seattle Parks Superintendent, Tim Gallagher, will attend the next WCC meeting. The Hamilton/Wallingford Park interface 65% design will be presented. The intent of Gallagher's attendance is to gather community input on how the Parks and Recreation Department can work successfully with the neighborhood in the future. This will be an ideal opportunity to show our support for the playground upgrades. Our playground is a pocket park for the neighborhood and should complement Wallingford Park. With support from city departments such as Parks, our fundraising options expand. Please consider attending this meeting.
The new Master Site Plan will soon be posted on the playground blog site which is accessed via the JSIS website at jsisweb.com. The design team will be meeting independently with Gretchen Dedecker at Seattle School District to gain her explicit approval. Landmarks Board will also review the plan. Finalization of the plan with these approvals should occur in early January. The steering committee will be completing our grant obligations with the Department of Neighborhoods by the end of January. Our hope is to apply for the large grant in February to enable us to begin the playground renovation later this year. Stay tuned for opportunities to make the playground a reality.
