Voters favor park district

The new Fall City Metro Park District looks to be sailing smoothly to approval in results from the Tuesday, Feb. 3, special election.

The new Fall City Metro Park District looks to be sailing smoothly to approval in results from the Tuesday, Feb. 3, special election.

Nearly 58 percent of Fall City voters had approved the new district, in results posted Monday, Feb. 9, by King County Elections officials. About 40 percent of registered voters had cast ballots.

Despite some write-in candidates picking up as much as 4 percent of the vote, all five of the park district commission contenders — Perry Wilkins, Lee Moderow, Debra Pettersson, Kirk Harris and Dave Schneidler — can look forward to taking seats on the new district’s board.

If their leads hold, Moderow and Harris will take six-year terms, Schneidler and Wilkins will start four-year terms, and Pettersson will start a two-year term, running for reelection in 2011.

The new park district, which is being formed to manage, control and improve parks in Fall City and encompasses that community and parts of King County Fire District 27, required a simple majority of more than 50 percent to pass.

Schneidler kept an eye on vote tallies following election day, and told the Record that he was optimistic about passage. While latecoming votes tended to trend more negative than positive, Schneidler said the parks measure had picked up a considerable lead.

The election will be certified on Wednesday, Feb. 18.

Once the election is certified, Schneidler said the commissioners will post the date and location of their first meeting.

He plans on reaching out to “no” voters in the district to offer them a place at the table.