About 40 people met with architects at The Kenney Retirement Center last week to discuss design of a new park planned for Morgan Junction.

Architects exhibited three different designs for the 0.6-acre park, which will be located next to the intersection of California Avenue and Southwest Eddy Street. Meeting attendees voted for their favorite design ideas to help guide the architects as they refine plans for the new little park.

Each of the proposals included variations of particular elements that people previously told planners they want. For example, people want a gathering place in the park where the Morgan Junction festival and other events could be staged, so an elliptical plaza was included in each plan. Attendees preferred a paved plaza rather than a crushed granite surface.

It's important to include places in the new for people to sit too. Many voted for randomly placed boulders to sit on while others would prefer benches.

They want trees and shrubs planted around the edges of the new park. People also responded to the idea of a rain garden at the west boundary of the park to collect water because the site has a 4 percent slope from east to west.

Another popular idea was to plant a large "specimen tree" at the northeast corner of the park, next to the intersection of California Avenue and Eddy Street. They want a few additional trees along California Avenue to soften the hubbub of passing traffic. Attendees also told the architects to include evergreen as well as deciduous trees.

People insisted there be a kiosk at the California Avenue entrance, where community notices could be posted.

People want adequate lighting in the park and some public art too.

There are no plans to include a fountain or other type of water feature, nor a restroom.

An unusual aspect of the park is the new Beveridge Place Pub, which is under construction next door. Co-owner Gary Sink told the small crowd that he and his wife, Terri Griffith, the other co-owner, bought the entire park site as well as the new pub's location. The existing Beveridge Place Pub is next door south of the new pub.

They purchased the property from the Seattle Monorail Project when voters derailed the monorail project. They subsequently sold about half of the parcel to the city of Seattle so a park could be built there.

Since the park site had been a gas station and then a car-repair garage, the contaminated soil was excavated, disposed of in a landfill and replaced with clean fill dirt. Sink and Griffith split the clean-up cost with the city, he said.

The new pub will have a row of parking spaces between it and the park. A patio, partly encircled with a wrought-iron fence, is being built between the pub and park as well.

An official name for the new park has not be determined yet, said Seattle Parks and Recreation's Virginia Hassinger, project manager.

The new park is budgeted at $367,000. The money is coming from the Pro Parks levy, which Seattle voters approved in 2000.

Architects will refine plans for the new park with information gathered at last week's meeting and then meet with the public again later. Construction is expected to begin next fall.

Tim St. Clair can be contacted at timstc@robinsonnews.com or 932-0300.