Landscape architects along with students from the University of Washington asked White Center residents' opinions about what activities and structures they want at White Center Heights Park when it is remodeled in June.

Seattle-based Starbucks Coffee Co. recently announced it would donate $550,000 toward remodeling White Center Heights Park as part of its neighborhood park grants program. A key part of the program is the remodeling work itself, which is accomplished in one week's time. The "extreme makeover" is scheduled for June 8-15. See photos of the park now on Page 13.

"The park is a blank slate to do something spectacular," said Lois Maag, representing Starbucks.

Two public meetings were held earlier this month at White Center Heights Elementary School to gather ideas and suggestions from residents as to what improvements should be made.

Currently White Center Heights Park has an open expanse of grass in the northern section with limited access due to a curtain of trees and shrubs around the edges. The site gets plenty of sun and breezes though. The park drains from its northwest corner toward two ponds in the southern end of the park.

The forest that once stood where the park is today was logged at the end of the 19th century. White Center's first sawmill was built in 1888 by the ponds in the southern portion of the park. The larger pond has been called Green's Pond for sawmill owner Gottlieb Green.

White Center Heights Park comprises three activity zones, said Mark Shelby, a landscape architect from the Seattle firm Otak, Inc. The "high-impact zone" with the most activity would be the grass field in the northern section of the park. A medium-impact zone would be around the edges of the grass field, while the wetland at the southern part would be a low-impact zone for environmental education.

With the help of students from the University of Washington's College of Architecture and Urban Planning, people at both meetings at White Center Heights Elementary School "voted" their preferences for the park by placing sticky paper dots - green signifying "yes" and red dots for "no" - for what to include and exclude from the park.

People were asked to select what kinds of events and activities they'd like to have in the remodeled park, as well as the types of plants, furnishings and materials to include in the design.

When asked to choose from many types of recreation to have in the park, basketball got the most (25) yes votes, but it also generated the highest number (16) of no votes at the first meeting. At the second meeting, basketball had far more yes votes than any other form of recreation on the list. Soccer was in second place at both meetings.

Voting for "Frisbee" was strong the first meeting but waned at the second get-together.

It was all green dots for a "trail" and "open field."

Among educational activities, "trails" outpaced all the others, with "cultural displays" and "wildlife habitat" close behind. At the second meeting, there were votes also for "water quality" and "outdoor classroom."

As for the types of events to be held in the park, most popular idea at the first meeting was "concerts" - 15 yes, 11 no at the first meeting. "Kids' carnivals" and "educational" were popular too.

At the second meeting, "barbecues" collected the most green dots by far.

People were not enthused about having concessionaires set up shop in the park. Concessions were an unpopular idea at both public meetings.

As for furnishings in the makeover White Center Heights Park, most popular was a "play structure." Also getting support were "tables" and "kids fountain."

"Benches" and "dog-poo bags" were popular too.

At the second meeting, there were lots of votes for trash cans

A high priority at both meetings was lighting for the park.

As in nearly all public parks, White Center Heights Park has its share of Himalayan blackberry vines and English ivy. Such invasive non-native species will be weeded out. The dense buffers of trees along Eighth Avenue Southwest and Southwest 102nd Street will be thinned to make the park more visible from adjoining roads.

The green-for-yes, red-for-no dot system also produced some head-scratching results. For example, people were supportive of replacing invasive plants with native species. Yet there also was strong support for an "international arboretum" in the park.

People liked the notion of having a "rain garden" and, at the second meeting, wetland plants got the most support.

Youngsters from the nearby Southwest Boys and Girls Club surveyed kids at the club about what to include in the park. After considering a list of possibilities, most (75 percent) voted for a "big toy" and 70 percent want swings. About 64 percent want a tire swing, 59 percent were for a slide and 45 percent want "tubes."

Thirty-nine percent of the kids surveyed said there should also be a "baby zone."

Seventy percent of the kids in the Boys and Girls Club survey voted for a wading pool, 52 percent favor a fountain and 34 percent want a fish pond.

Eighty-four percent of the kids also want a drinking fountain and restrooms.

"Will the design be ugly or pretty?" asked a little girl at the meeting.

Some adults warned that, once the park improvements are completed, vandals are certain to damage the new equipment, paint graffiti and leave trash.

"Don't let it end up like Hicks Lake with stuff floating in it," a woman said, urging that maintenance money be budgeted to keep White Center Heights Park looking good.

"We have found that the more the community is involved, the more vandalism goes down," said Jessie Israel from King County Parks.

With construction scheduled just four months away, planners are busy getting permits from King County. Israel said she's been "overwhelmed" by the number of volunteers interested in the makeover of White Center Heights Park.

The project also is a rare, real-world work experience for the University of Washington students, said Jim Diers, an instructor at the university. He's also the former director of the Seattle Department of Neighborhoods and was temporary director of the Delridge Neighborhoods Development Association.

Although the project's work schedule is being expedited, it's still a chance for students to be part of a project from design through construction, he said. The project also involves neighborhood planning, so urban planning students are involved too. In addition, social work students are helping to involve the public in the project, Diers said.

The project also involves neighborhood planning, so urban planning students are also involved. In addition, social work students are helping to involve the public in the project, Diers said.

In a related development, the organization Friends of Hicks Lake is recommending the name White Center Heights Park be changed to Steve Cox Memorial Park, in honor of the King County sheriff's deputy who patrolled White Center until he was killed in the line of duty in December.

Ideas are being analyzed by students and landscape architects, who plan to present a preliminary design for the park at community development meeting scheduled for 6 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 28 at the Salvation Army's White Center Community Center, 9050 16th Ave. S.W.

Tim St. Clair can be reached at 932-0300 or tstclair@robinsonnews.com