Strong turnout for public meeting to discuss future of Ballinger Park

 Design team member Guy Michaelson works with a citizen on some fine points of the park layout.
Design team member Guy Michaelson works with a citizen on some fine points of the park layout.

More than 75 citizens turned out on Tuesday evening for the kickoff public meeting to explore the future of Ballinger Park, the former golf course property located just east of the Edmonds/Mountlake Terrace border.

Formerly the Ballinger Golf Course, the City of Mountlake Terrace wants to develop the property as a public park and recreational space. The city subsequently contracted with the Berger Partnership, a Seattle-based design firm, to develop a master plan to reinvent the site as a public park.

At the close of the session, the Berger Partnership design team of Guy Michaelson, Stephanie Woirol and Andy Mitton lists the ideas generated by the breakout groups.  They will next take these ideas and fold them into 3 alternative plans, which will be presented at the second public meeting to be held next month.
At the close of the session, the Berger Partnership design team of Guy Michaelson, Stephanie Woirol and Andy Mitton lists the ideas generated by the breakout groups. They will next take these ideas and fold them into three alternative plans, which will be presented at the second public meeting to be held next month.

After studying the site and assessing its potential from an array of angles, the Berger design team planned three public meetings to solicit ideas and suggestions from interested citizens. Tuesday’s meeting was the first of these. It’s goal was to come up with a list of priorities from the audience that the design team would then incorporate into the next phase of the design.

The evening began with a short introduction by the design team outlining the history of the site and the particular features which give it potential as a new public space. They stressed the value of the open, rolling terrain for exploring and as a meditative space. The north shoreline was identified as a prime ecological area, supporting a variety of resident and migratory wildlife.

Attendees then broke into smaller groups, each led by a member of the Berger design team, to develop answers to four questions:

  • How do you use the park today?
  • What new park element is most important to you?
  • What is the most important ecological improvement to you?
  • What makes the park special?
More than 75 citizens attended the first of three meetings to provide input into the design of the new Ballinger Park, formerly the Lake Ballinger Golf Course.
More than 75 citizens attended the first of three meetings to provide input into the design of the new Ballinger Park, formerly the Lake Ballinger Golf Course.

After spending 30 minutes developing responses, the groups came back together to share their suggestions Top on all lists was to keep the area low-key and natural with meandering paths, footbridges and with opportunities to observe wildlife. Within this theme, citizens hoped the design team could include such amenities as enhanced handicapped access, climbable art, picnic shelters and exercise stations.

“We’re committed to citizen input throughout the process of developing this plan and folding it into our overall comprehensive plan,” said Ken Courtmanch, Mountlake Terrace Superintendent of Parks and Facilities. “Our Recreation Parks Advisory Committee (RPAC) has been involved from the start, which helps ensure that it will fit harmoniously into our larger open space plan.”

Andy Mitton, a member of Berger Design Team, sees this as a critical piece of the process. “The ideas we’re getting tonight will form the basis of moving ahead with the next phase, where we will fold these ideas into three alternative plans that will be presented in our next public meeting in about a month.”

At that meeting citizens will again be asked to weigh in and provide guidance on which of the three alternatives should be the basis of the final plan, which the team will modify accordingly and present at a third meeting to be held this summer.

“We have a strong environmental and conservation ethic in Mountlake Terrace,” said Edith Duttlinger, Senior Planner with the Mountlake Terrace Community and Economic Development Department. “I’m really seeing that at work here tonight with the great turnout and the quality ideas being generated.”

Learn more about Ballinger Park and keep up to date on the planning process here.

– Story and photos by Larry Vogel

A working map of the park shows areas identified by the design team for consideration in the final plan. Each breakout group was given a large copy of this map to mark up and add their own ideas.
A working map of the park shows areas identified by the design team for consideration in the final plan. Each breakout group was given a large copy of this map to mark up and add their own ideas.
  1. Wondering when the City of Edmonds purchased with Mountlake Terrace Lake Ballinger and Lake Ballinger Park?…….and what was the purchse price and who did the money go to?…….I hadnt heard of this before……I thought Lake Ballinger was always a Mounlake Terrace address?……

  2. I read online this morning that it is owned by Mountlake Terrace AND Edmonds……I will have to find the links of where I was….This was noted in three places online and that is why I was surprised, hence my questions

  3. County Tax Record for anyone who wants to look up ownership of land show MLT is 100% owner of the 46 acre parcel on the north end of the lake.

  4. Is that a current, up to date current tax record?……I have seen a number of County Tax Records records that are not I assume current, with a new written disclosure at the bottom of the information and I hadn’t seen the at risk (I believe it was something along those lines…..) disclosure before while looking up records. It appeared to be a disclaimer regarding the information. I have not seen that before and wondered what that was about.

    i have not had a chance to find the 3 links that say ownership is Mountlake Terrace and Edmonds, but will look when I get a chance.

    1. The City of Edmonds includes the western and southern shoreline, hence the “and” statement. They have not purchased or annexed the park property.

  5. Mountlake Terrace owns the property. The City limit runs along the Interurban Trail. There are two houses on the Lake in MLT, the rest are in Edmonds. Both Ballinger Park(golf course) and the Nile are in MLT.

  6. PS.. there is an error in the story relating to when the City acquired the property. MLT has owned it since the late 70’s or early 80’s the had a vendor operating the course. in 2013 the city council decided to lease the club house to the Mountlake Terrace Senior Center and to master plan the property.

  7. I had quite a collection of golf balls I picked up in that park when it was first opened to the public. I also hauled some garbage out of there. It was still in need of some cleanup when I was there last, but it was probably in the fall.

  8. Mike – thanks for your comment on the date MLT acquired the property. The article has been edited accordingly.

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