Preston playfield gets financial boost for expansion project
October 1, 2008
By admin
Preston Fields and Community Park, a growing hub of athletic activity in east King County, received a boost
for its expansion plans Sept. 29, when the Metropolitan King County Council agreed to an amendment on the use agreement between the county and the Eastside Football Club.
“This is a win for all — the county, the Eastside Football Club and, most importantly, the youth that this valuable recreational organization serves,” said Councilwoman Jane Hague, the primary sponsor of the legislation.
In 2002, officials redefined the county’s role regarding regional parks, adopting a business plan for parks that cultivates strong relationships with nonprofit, corporate and community partners in order to enhance park amenities while reducing costs. A program that grew out of the entrepreneurial blueprint is the Community Partnership Grant, which leverages county resources without requiring additional public funds for operations and maintenance costs. The Preston Fields and Community Park was one of the grant program’s first projects.
The Eastside Football Club and Issaquah Little League worked with county and community leaders to create two synthetic soccer fields, a baseball diamond and playground equipment at Preston Fields. Club and county officials signed a 40-year agreement regarding the payment of user fees back to the county.
The council approved an amendment to the agreement, extending the period in which the Eastside Football Club will pay the county from 10 years to 15 years and reducing those yearly payments from $150,000 per year to $100,000. Extending the payments will assist the Football Club as it completes its private fundraising and financing of Phase I and prepares for Phase II of the project.
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