PHOTO BY MEGHAN ERKKINEN

The city of Fife is looking for feedback on a preliminary plan for the 14-acre Brookville Gardens site, located off Valley Avenue. An open house will be held Aug. 6 from 6:30-8:30 p.m. at the site.

Fife seeks comments, ideas on Brookville plan

By Meghan Erkkinen

Fife wants citizens to weigh in on the design of the Brookville Gardens park. The 14-acre site off Valley Avenue is being designed as an open-space park with a trail around the perimeter and various other amenities.

The city’s parks and recreation department is hosting an open house event at the site to acquaint people with the area, explain the basic design, and get feedback from residents. Right now, the site – which is adjacent to the FedEx facility at Valley Avenue and 70th Street – is leased to a farmer who is using the site to farm.

But in the next few years, the city envisions the site becoming a destination for area residents. A preliminary plan of the site has a pathway around the perimeter, with another segment dissecting the park through the middle. The design includes a large and several smaller picnic shelters, a playground area, a restroom facility and interpretive information along Wapato Creek, which runs along the edge of the park.

At the open house, the parks and recreation department, along with representatives from the design firm BCRA, will be at the site to discuss the preliminary design with residents. They will also offer visitors tours of the site.

The city council has also expressed its desire to make the project “green” by decreasing the impact on the environment. The city and BCRA have considered several ways to do this, whether by putting solar panels on buildings, reactivating an old well on the site for irrigation to save water or installing pervious asphalt for the trails to control runoff.

“We very much want to focus on that (making the project green) in our design,” said Parks and Recreation Director Kurt Reuter. Residents will be able to ask questions and made suggestions on this topic, as well.

The city and the design firm are also considering ways to incorporate the heritage of the city and the site in their design. The site was owned for a long time by a family of Japanese immigrants, who were vegetable farmers. The city council earlier this year agreed to retain the name of the site – Brookville Gardens – in recognition of the site’s heritage. The park designers are also considering ways to salvage or expand on a Japanese garden left on the site.

After the open house BCRA will revise the plan according to citizen feedback and return to the city council later in August.

The open house will be held Aug. 6 from 6:30-8:30 p.m. on site. The city and the design firm will have information available to visitors, and will be available to answer questions, take suggestions and lead tours of the site. To get to the location, follow Valley Avenue east until just before the western edge of the FedEx facility. Turn right into the driveway.

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