Newsletter

The Stewardship Foundation is working with the City of Lake Forest Park to create a nature preserve in the Hillside neighborhood. This site will be named for the late Grace Cole, state representative and Shoreline School Board member. Grace Cole was a very well-loved figure in our community, and she believed in conservation. In fact, she and her husband, Carlyle, donated land to the City on behalf of the defunct Briarcrest Community Club. This land will be part of the nature preserve. The long-term goal includes the acquisition of about 15 acres of undeveloped land near the headwaters of Brookside Creek.

The first step in the acquisition of this property came in May, when the Stewardship Foundation and the City applied for a grant from the King County Conservation Futures Tax Fund (CFT). In August, King County Executive Ron Sims approved the LFP request; the County will provide $225,000. The City of LFP is committed to contributing $273,000 in matching funds. This should be enough to purchase five lots totaling 11.6 acres. "We have had our differences with the City in the past, including conflicts over land uses in this very neighborhood," said Foundation president Doug Mitchell, "but this project is exactly the kind of partnership we envisioned when we formed the Foundation in 1998."

In addition to researching and writing the grant application itself, the Foundation will provide 200 hours of park maintenance a year, and $2,500 for interpretive signage. Similar support will come from StreamKeepers, Seattle Tilth, Boy Scouts, Trout Unlimited, the Audubon Society, and Brookside and Lake Forest Park schools. U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, County Councilmember Maggi Fimia and State Sen. Darlene Fairley endorse the project. "We applaud the City for supporting this project," Mitchell continued. "The City Council voted unanimously to support the grant application and to commit City matching funds. We look forward to working with the City and to seeing this project through to its completion."

The CFT grant is just the first step in acquiring the funds necessary to create the Grace Cole Memorial Nature Preserve. The Stewardship Foundation will be focusing a large part of its efforts in the coming year to raise additional funds for this project. "We hope you can help," Mitchell concluded. "This is a great opportunity to set aside some incredibly beautiful land for the enjoyment of the entire community."

The Foundation seeks donations for this project. Please make checks to “LFP Stewardship Foundation, Grace Cole Memorial Nature Preserve.” Gifts are tax-deductible.

Report from the President…

Welcome to the October 2001 Edition of the Stewardship Foundation's newsletter. It's time to catch up on the things we've been working on, and to welcome new members.

Recently, the Board of Directors took a close look at all the projects we're working on. To our surprise, we came up with a list of 26 active projects. Given that the bulk of the work is done by 11 volunteer board members, we realized that we're spread pretty thin. We did our best to prioritize these projects, to allocate the appropriate personnel, and (unfortunately) to decide which we must drop for now.

We realized we need a paid staff person to oversee day-to-day operations, to coordinate efforts within the Foundation and with other groups in the community, and--perhaps most important--to write grant applications. We've found that the task of writing grant applications is incredibly time-consuming. Therefore, we are seeking funding (by writing grant applications, of course) to enable us to hire a part-time executive director. We believe that filling this position is crucial to our future success.

One example of how important the writing of grant applications can be to the Foundation's mission is on this page, in the article about the Grace Cole Memorial Nature Preserve. The successful acquisition of the grant is one of the most important events in the Foundation's history. We hope you're as excited about this project as we are.

--Doug Mitchell

Does your property tax pinch? Want to aid the environment? Your solution could be PBRS.

King County has a program that allows property-owners to get savings up to 90 percent in tax assessment for property they agree to set aside for conservation, passive recreation, or other purposes benefiting the community at large. This mechanism is the Public Benefit Rating System (PBRS).

Many of Lake Forest Park's large wooded lots are prime candidates for tax relief under PBRS.

It works like this: The property-owner designates an undeveloped portion of his property as an open space. Points are assigned to the property according to “open space resources” on the property. Depending on the number of points the property merits, the valuation for tax purposes on that portion of the property may be reduced by 50 percent or up to 90 percent, bringing about a corresponding reduction in property tax.

The owner retains title to the land. However, the owner and subsequent owners may not develop the property, and must maintain it in the state for which it was designated under PBRS. This open-space designation can be revoked at the request of the property-owner; however, if this is done, any taxes avoided for up to seven years must be paid.

The minimum size that qualifies for PBRS benefit is one-half acre. Contiguous properties under different ownership can be combined in one application. This is encouraged by granting extra points.

“PBRS provides an unbeatable combination of tax relief and open-space preservation,” said Doug Mitchell, Foundation president. “We encourage you to explore this further.” Full documentation and application materials are at: http://dnr.metrokc.gov/wlr/LANDS/incentiv.htm.

We are renewing our effort to develop and update a map of streams and wetlands in our area. The effort began three years ago in collaboration with the City's Environmental Quality Commission (EQC). Many citizens contributed their knowledge of the streams and wetlands in their neighborhood, which were then transferred to a comprehensive city-wide map.

This spring, we began transferring this information to a digital map using the computer-graphics program,
Adobe Illustrator. In addition to its superior aesthetics, this program allows continuous updating of the maps as we learn more about our streams and wetlands. The most up-to-date version of the map is available on the web at http://www.lfpsf.org/WetlandNstreamMaps.htm.

We presented this map at the Watershed Forum at Third Place Commons and to the LFP Rotary Club. The digital format allows us to zoom in on any area, and do a virtual stream walk, following any stream all the way up to its headwaters or down to Lake Washington.

We believe developing and maintaining an accurate and up-to-date map is critical. The City's land-use planning and environmental policies will depend on accurate information about the streams and wetlands, yet no detailed and up-to-date map of streams and wetlands exists now.

Please help this project by sending us a sketch of the stream course and wetlands in your neighborhood. If you know their names, please be sure to include them. We are also very interested in learning the names of all the branches of our major streams as well as wetlands.

To help keep Lake Forest Park green, the Foundation has given away 200 potted Douglas firs to residents over the past three months. These were surplus trees the Weyerhaeuser Co. had offered to non-profit organizations for distribution. Members Liane and Perry Newman drove beyond Olympia to Weyerhaeuser's property to bring the firs back in their pickup. The trees were made available to LFP residents during two public events at the mall. In late May some were given away in conjunction with the City’s give-away of compost bins, and more were available at the Picnic in the Park July 28 and 29.

By now all the trees should have their roots snugly tucked into the soil and should be flourishing. "We hope this tree give-away will be repeated next year, and that we will be able to acquire a greater variety of species," said Mamie Bolender, Foundation treasurer.

Do you know which creek it is that you cross each day on your way from here to there? Or where it comes from, or how it got its name? Where are the wetlands and springs that nourish it? What are your chances of seeing a trout or salmon swimming through its riffles?

Your Foundation hopes to advance that knowledge a bit with a new booklet, nearing publication. We are producing a directory of streams, wetlands and parks in our community, with some background on the problems they've endured and some hints on caring for them. The Stewardship Foundation is publishing the booklet with a grant from the Northwest Fund for the Environment, the same organization that helped the Foundation with legal bills this year.

The Stewardship Foundation's Third annual Benefit Auction and Dinner was held on a balmy April evening at the Lake Forest Park Civic Club. Proceeds from this fund-raiser directly support efforts to preserve our environment through the stream and park preservation and restoration fund.

This year's event featured a wine bar, gourmet dinner and lively silent and live auction. Eric and Nancy Gorbman, founding members, catered the event. We acknowledge the Gorbman family for their extraordinary contribution to this fun-filled evening.

Lively bidding occurred during the silent and live auctions with some exciting weekend trips, original art and one of a kind items going to successful bidders. Special thanks go to the following individuals and local businesses for supporting this fundraising event. In particular, we encourage you to support our local merchants businesses when you shop. Our loyal donors are:

Mary Jo Watanabe, James Swanson, Chuck & Mamie Bolender, The Avid Angler, Barb Swan/Department 56, Stacia Kirby/Kirby Communications, Doug Mitchell, Northshore Fire Department, Dwight Thompson & Irene Arden, The White Dove Gallery/Ed Newbold, Mike Driskell/Lake Forest Park Ice Cream Shoppe, Gordon & Betty Orians, Eva Isaksen, Bob & Dee Simmons, Cousins Hair Design, Home Depot, SEAFAIR, Sage Manufacturing, Terry Ball, Lake Forest Park Stewardship Foundation Board, E.B. Foote Winery, Wild Birds Unlimited, Washington Trout/Kurt Beardslee, Ruth Kagi & Carolyn Edmonds, Forest Park Cleaners, Bothell Ski & Bike/Real Property Associates, Allen’s Photographic, Judy Altman, Ballinger Florist, Central Market, Cousin Sitter Service, Wendy Frank, Dr. Anna Danieli, Jan Eisenman, First Tire & Wheel Center, General Nutrition Center, Florist in the Park, Carol Dahl, Fortune Inn, Victoria Gilleland, Gottschalks, Great Harvest Bread Co., Dennis & Evette Glauber, High Spirits Music, La Tienda Folk Art Gallery, Darby Langdon, Bonnie Miller, Portage Bay Café, Betsy MacWhinney, Place to Place Massage, Sally Beauty Supply, Santorini Pizza & Pasta, Seattle Chamber Music Society, Thorton Creek, Seattle Seahawks, Servicemaster/Dick Yates, Sky Nursery, Tree Top Toys, Stylemasters at Towne Centre, University of Washington School of Music, Tom & Kay
Welborn, Willits Designs International, Mr. & Mrs. David Saunders, Lucy Marie Smith, N.D., Jackie Gardner, The Herbal Institute, Jane Simoni, 24-Hour Fitness, Debi Morland, Maple Leaf Naturopathic.

The Foundation will hold its annual corporate meeting at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 23, in the gym at Interim City Hall.

On the agenda: a review of the Foundation’s accomplishments for the past year, and a discussion of current and future projects. Members at large will vote on a slate of directors. About half the directors are elected each year for two-year terms. There will also be a treasurer’s report. The meeting will probably last about an hour. Anyone is welcome to attend.

The Foundation welcomes Peter Gunby, newest addition to its Board of Directors. Peter and his wife, Cher, moved to LFP recently from North Seattle with their two dogs and two cats. Peter discovered the neighborhood on numerous bike rides along Perkins Way. They were drawn by the tall trees and sparkling streams, and have discovered a friendly community.