It was a warm July afternoon and the grass was waist-high. A crew of two left work early and spent 2 ½ hours using their weed wackers to cut a path through the grass so folks could attend the ground-breaking ceremony on Tuesday, July 19th at 7:00pm. Thanks to Greg Ahrens and Robert Culwell, the job was done!
People came, and kept coming. All in all there were about 55 adults and 25 children of all ages there to witness the ceremonial ground-breaking of your neighborhood park. The park committee came equipped with a gold shovel, Mirrormont Park sigh, design plans, and refreshments. They are a strong group who worked hard for this day. If you see them, please thank Steve and Anne Clark, Lauren Braunston, Meg Wade, Tammy Reeve, Wendy Harnos, Bob Duffner, Miriam Culwell and Brett Dean for their perseverance and dedication. Patti Miotke was there, as always, helping to raise funds with sweatshirts, designed by another neighbor Bob Gimmel and company. We also had our resident volunteer photographer, Chas Wade, clicking away at each opportunity!
Our County mentor, TJ Davis was there to speak and mingle along with Kevin Brown, County Director of Parks, and David Irons, King County Councilmember. David Irons has played a big part in helping us get to this point. The press release below was given to local papers….
Mirrormont Park Press Release 7/20/2005
After nearly five years of negotiations and planning, Mirrormont Park became a reality last night with a ground-breaking ceremony at the 11-acre site near Issaquah on Tiger Mountain. Metropolitan King County Council member David Irons, who proposed and negotiated King County’s purchase of the property for a park, congratulated residents of the community on their persistence in pursuing the successful park plan for the vacant property. “You are to be commended for your dedication to improving your community and to preservation of important open space for environmental quality as well as for recreation,” Irons told the residents at the Tuesday night ground-breaking and celebration
In 2000, the property was declared surplus by the Issaquah School District, which had acquired the parcel years earlier for a possible school site. After deciding not to build a school there, the district planned to sell the property, which could have been developed into new home sites. Neighbors preferred to keep the site as open space, and they approached Councilmember Irons for assistance in establishing a passive park on the property.
Development of the park will include grading and planting a main meadow, clean-up and restoration of existing trails, construction of new trails, and construction of a covered picnic shelter. Funding for the improvements will come from a new grant program, Association Development and Operations Partnerships, which allows the Mirrormont Community Association to develop, maintain, and operate the park. A wooded buffer will be maintained around the entire property.
“During a period of budget cuts when King County has been transferring its parks to local jurisdictions, this success at establishing a new park is a testament to the vision and energy and persistence of the community joining together for a common goal that benefits all of us,” Irons said. He thanked Mirrormont Community Association President Miriam Culwell, Parks Committee Chair Meg Wade and the group of volunteers for their dedication, as well as the assistance of King County Project Manager, T.J. Davis.
“We would like to thank the Mirrormont community for the commitment to this park project,” said Parks and Recreation Division Director Kevin Brown. “Partnerships such as this are an important element of the Parks Business Plan in which the Parks and Recreation Division works closely with communities to develop new opportunities.”