Burien Council approves $450,000 to complete Seahurst Park Restoration

by Ralph Nichols Burien City Council members unanimously approved at their March 17 meeting an additional $450,000 to fund completion of phase two of the Seahurst Park Shoreline Ecosystem Restoration Project. Only $50,000 in city funds will be tapped for the supplemental appropriation, with the remaining $400,000 coming from grants, according to Steve Roemer, city parks development and operations manager, who presented an update on the project prior to the council’s action. The $50,000 from the city will fund additional concrete work, which originally was planned as part of future recreational improvements. Roemer said that by doing it now, with the contractor and equipment still on site, at least 50 percent of future construction costs will be saved and future park disruptions will be eliminated. The Seahurst shoreline restoration project to restore marine habitat by removing the north seawall and rehabilitating the beach behind it, is a joint operation between the city and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Phase I, the removal of the south seawall, was removed and the beach there restored to a natural state including habitat for shoreline marine habitat in 2010-11. King County built the seawalls in 1972 when it owned the park to prevent shoreline erosion. But after ownership of Seahurst Park was granted to the city, local officials began planning to remove the seawalls to restore the marine habitat and benefit young salmon. Roemer said that during demolition conditions relating to cultural resources and utility locations were discovered, resulting in a delay for redesign work “along with coordination and approval from local utility providers and tribes.” This has delayed the project by approximately eight weeks, which the $400,000 will pay for. The revised completion date is July 17; originally the project had been expected to be finished by May 17. Work began last Sept. 20 and the park has been closed to the public since Oct. 28. With these changes, the original estimated cost of the Seahurst Park renovation project has increased by 5.9 percent, from an original estimate of $7.7 million to a revised construction cost of $8.15 million.]]>