Sometimes, it’s easy to predict which stories will take off when they get to our website or Facebook page. They’re usually the ones with a lot of people’s photos in them — think Railroad Days or Festival at Mount Si — or a lot of zeroes in them, usually preceded by dollar signs. This month’s pick didn’t have any photos, and not a lot of zeroes, but only because when we get to the millions, we just spell it out. It also had a glaring omission, which caught many people’s eyes right away, and has since been corrected.
In spite of these shortcomings, I knew it was going to be big.
“North Bend to create new mountain bike park with help of $1 million county grant” is, with the exception of the report on an unfortunate accident at the North Bend Post Office, our most-viewed and best-read story for March, and one of a handful that went the furthest on social media.
It’s really big, exciting news for this fast-growing city of people who are often vocally opposed to growing (any more) and not just because it takes 36 acres out of the development pool to preserve them as green space. The partnership that made the acquisition happen promises to benefit the Si View Metro Park District, which will manage the facility, and the Evergreen Mountain Bike Alliance, whose members will help to build, and then break in, the trails and courses. And the park will make North Bend the destination for yet another amazing outdoor recreation opportunity, drawing visitors, and their tourism dollars, from a wide area.
North Bend deserves kudos for making this deal happen, particularly when some of the grant funding that had been anticipated was not awarded. City officials agreed to increase the city’s investment in the park, as did Si View, and with the help of the Trust for Public Land and a prompt text message to North Bend Community and Economic Developer Gina Estep when the final funding from King County was awarded — minutes before the council’s vote on the purchase, it all went through as envisioned.
In our future coverage of this project, I am aiming to get a map of the site, a timeline for the project and loads of other details that people have already been asking me for.
In the meantime, if you missed the story a couple of weeks ago, here’s a chance to refresh your memory:
“North Bend has formed a partnership with several local and area organizations to develop a 31-acre park for mountain biking and hiking, and the anticipated economic development that could come with increased recreation tourism to the city.
“The land is valued at $2.3 million, said Gina Estep, the North Bend Director of Community and Economic Development, but the city’s share of the purchase price is only $300,000, because of a partnership with Si View Metropolitan Park District, which will be contracted to manage the park, plus funding from the King County Parks levy and a Conservation Futures program grant. Si View contributed another $300,000, the parks levy $400,000 and the Conservation Futures program awarded the project an unheard-of $1 million grant.
“The partnership also includes the Evergreen Mountain Bike Alliance, which has pledged 2,000 volunteer hours to build trails in the new park, to be located off Exit 31 of Interstate 90.
“With the approval of tonight’s agenda bill, you will have a new park with hiking, mountain biking and canopy education,” Estep told the North Bend City Council March 7. They unanimously approved the agenda item.
“The land had been slated for development of almost 100 homes. However, a low-impact development proposal for the site proved too expensive for the developer, Heartland, to pursue, so the company agreed to sell the property to the Trust for Public Land. North Bend and partners will be purchasing the property from this organization.
“Several elected officials expressed their excitement for the purchase. Jonathan Rosen echoed a statement made by Mayor Ken Hearing during the State of the City address, that the city could stop growth fairly, only by acquiring land that would otherwise be developed.
“Trevor Kostanich praised the city and staff’s foresight in acquiring a multi-million dollar property and major asset to the city for a fraction of its assessed value, and Jeanne Pettersen noted that the original owners of the property, a longtime North Bend family, would be pleased with the property’s future use.
“Rosen also asked how soon the mountain biking park would be open. The projected opening will depend on when the partners can officially close on the property and on the availability of Evergreen Mountain Bike Alliance volunteers, but optimistic projections set the opening date as some time this fall.”
