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Big Finn Hill

mulletgawd

Chimp
Apr 16, 2009
10
0
All- I wanted to give you a quick update regarding Big Finn Hill and the potential for the development of a fire station in the park.

I’ve had the opportunity to interact with a number of concerned community members. I share your passion for the sport and for this great park. It is critical that we all continue to take part in the public process and make our voices heard before decisions such as this are made.

Based on your concern Evergreen board and staff have made it a priority to engage with representatives from Fire District 41 and King County Parks in order to gather information and make it clear that we are concerned about the project impacting our trails and setting a dangerous precedent.

Last week I met with Fire District 41 and walked through their planning process. They emphasized the need for a modern facility in the area that can respond to residents in a timely manner and described the BFH site as one option that is being considered.

We talked about the recent bulldozing off 138th and they explained that they hired a third party to evaluate the site to determine whether it is indeed buildable. They are trying to define what would need to be done to address sensitive areas/wetlands and evaluate cost to build on the proposed BFH site. The contractor did not follow protocol which requires public notice/explanation of what is being done and why.
Just to be clear, there is no agreement in place to build the fire station and before the project moves forward there will be a formal process that allows for public input and makes the terms of the deal clear.

The Fire District understands our concern about the project impacting the park/trails and seems committed to avoiding the loss of trail. At the end of the day however, King County will be the one driving the requirements around park use and if necessary mitigation.

This week I met with officials from King County Parks. They are well aware of community concerns and made it clear that Big Finn Hill is an important part of the Parks system that they intend to improve rather than degrade.

There is a real possibility that the fire station will be built on parkland. If this happens there will be tradeoffs, but here are the facts:
• There is no deal in place to build on Big Finn Hill today
• Fire District 41 is evaluating the site for suitability
• Fire District 41 is shopping for other sites in the area
• If the station is built on park land there will be mitigation which may include the development of additional public park space in the area, additional park facilities at Big Finn Hill, and restoration of park/trail that is impacted during construction
• King County is committed to keeping the park/trail system intact

Our goal is to protect our access to these trails and to uncover opportunities to enhance the riding experience at Big Finn Hill for all members of the riding community. We’re committed to staying involved in this process and will do our best to represent the mountain bike community when dealing with this issue.

I encourage you to stay involved in this process, attend local meetings in order to learn more and make your opinion known...informed opinions are valuable.
I’d also encourage you to stay active in the maintenance and improvement of Big Finn/St Eds. Stay tuned for more info on 2011 plans for your local trail.

Scott Edison
Evergreen Board