Letter to the Editor: Response to Ken and Pearl Noreen's letter

To the Editor:

I value Ken and Pearl Noreen's long-term involvement in our community, it has been stellar!  However, they state that a No vote would mean that the city could come back in a few years with a more financially realistic proposal. (See previous letter). There is no indication from the city of any such plan. Time delay will result in much higher costs or reduced features.  It will never cost less than now.

This proposal was vetted by significant input from our fellow residents. Necessary features such as indoor walking path, space for seniors, commercial kitchen and lap swimming were added.  We accommodated the School district's and our swimmer community's needs for competitive meets with additional lanes and viewing area. While not all the “wish list” items were met, this results in a lasting, positive, one for Shoreline. This is not the city’s wish list, it’s our wish list.

Our community was been intimately involved in creating this plan. Over a period of two years there have been multiple stakeholder meetings, idea boards, Council and Park Board meetings at which residents have attended and spoken. I was fortunate to be a participant in the early development of this plan – I started off  skeptical but bought-in with the added features for the Aquatic Center and inclusion of upgrades to some of our most needy parks. I might add, I have only lived here for fifty-three years – I now get to watch my third generation grow and call Shoreline home!

This is the time to create a legacy! Please vote Yes on Prop 1.

Donald Bell
Shoreline