RCO Grant
As you will remember, we were very excited about the prospects of an RCO grant from the State to assist with the development of the Boeing Creek Open Space and Sunset Elementary Park. It looks now like the Boeing Creek Open Space portion has a great chance of getting funded; there are some issues, however, with the requirements for Sunset. The grant specifies that the property must be used for the activities that the grant will fund for at least 25 years; we can guarantee that at the Open Space, but not on the School District property.
Here is a
letter from Dick Deal explaining the city’s decision not to pursue RCO funding for Sunset.
Here are links for more information on the RCO process:
So what's next for the Sunset Elementary Park funding?
We are continuing to explore options for the development of the park. We have done a walk-through of the building to get ballpark estimates on demolition or deconstruction. Once we have a good idea of what's involved and how much it will cost, we can start applying for grants, or doing alternative fundraising.
What we DO know is that it is difficult to find an agency that is excited about spending money only on demolition. We are hoping to find a few different sources who are willing to look at this project as a whole, with the deconstruction costs as part of the bigger picture. The District is picking up the hazardous waste abatement costs, and we will likely be able to use those funds as a match to any available grants.