Sign Petition Now To Save Laurelhurst's Waterway Basketball Court

 Waterway #1 Basketball Court

 

 

The popular Basketball Court at Waterway #1, located at 43rd Avenue NE and NE 34th Street, needs your help today.

 

Here is what the Laurelhurst Community Club wrote in its latest news bulletin:

The 70-year-old basketball court is  old and decaying with cracks and a two-foot sinkhole at one end. The community council has a contract with the State Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to maintain, enhance and restore the site and volunteers have been great stewards over the years. 

 We want to fix the basketball court the right way, with gravel and packed dirt underneath and concrete on top. Volunteers have raised the $11,000 from the community to redo the court to make it safe for our kids.  

Now DNR  says this work is a new facility, rather than a repair, and they want to charge us an annual lease fee based on fair market value-between $4,000 and $11,000 each year, plus assume liability for any accidents. 

This is unacceptable and unfair to neighbors and our kids. It also is contrary to what the state law says:

RCW 79.105.230 Use for public parks or public recreation purposes.
Use for public parks or public recreation purposes shall be granted without charge if the state-owned aquatic lands and improvements are available to the general public on a first-come, first-served basis and are not managed to produce a profit for the operator or a concessionaire. [2005 c 155 § 144.]
 

You can sign the petition now at: http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/basketball-court-resurfacing-project/.

 

The Laurelhurst Community Club told us that "Every signature counts as we're hoping to get 1,000."

 

LCC received many comments, among them, one that said:

Is this really true???? Are you seriously going to charge us a annual lease fee just because we are taking something junky and turning it into something useful? This sounds absurd. Please tell me this is a mistake.

LCC also urges the community to contact the Commissioner of Public Lands, Peter Goldmark, and "ask him to allow the basketball court project at Waterway No. 1 to move forward with no annual fees or assumption of liability for accidents. The project promotes public access and fixes the sink holes and cracks to create a safe court for all to enjoy-at no expense to the state."

 

Commissioner Goldmark can be contacted at  the Commissioner of Public Lands, email cpl@dnr.wa.gov or write to him at: Peter Goldmark, Commissioner of Public Lands Department of Natural Resources, P.O. Box 47000, 1111 Washington Street SE, Olympia, WA 98504-7000.

 

Include on your message Laurelhurst's 46th District Legislators: David.Frockt@leg.wa.gov, gerry.pollet@leg.wa.gov, Jessyn.Farrell@leg.wa.gov, who LCC said are working behind the scenes to secure the cooperation of DNR.

Here is a letter a neighbor living near the basketball court wrote to Commission Goldmark:

Subject: No good deed goes un-punished”

As a resident of the Laurelhurst neighborhood in northeast Seattle, I was surprised and troubled to hear that your office has proposed charging the neighborhood an annual fee for use of the existing basketball hoop located on Waterway No. 1, Union Bay, Lake Washington.  

As you have no doubt already heard from others, RCW 79.105.230 states that “Use for public parks or public recreation purposes shall be granted without charge if the state-owned aquatic lands and improvements are available to the general public on a first-come, first-served basis and are not managed to produce a profit for the operator or a concessionaire. [2005 c 155 § 144.]” 

Have you ever visited the subject property, or any of the waterways our neighborhood? We do not ask that you pay to maintain these public lands (though it would be wonderful if your budget allowed this). We and our neighbors commit our own time and resources to keep the blackberries at bay and the Lake’s garbage picked up.  

Now we wish to repair a 70 year old basketball hoop and half-court slab (original installer unknown), and our reward for stewardship of the public land is to have the State turn around and seek to charge us.  

Please re-think your position on this proposed fee for public use of public land.

 

 

Some of the repairs needed at the Basketball court