Seattle Parks & Recreation staff, and the Superintendent, met with concerned neighbors of the Fremont Troll on December 3rd. Neighbors have sent letters and made calls about their concerns and requests for assistance with extreme trespassing and camping on the public property around the sculpture and the north-end of the Aurora Bridge.
Seattle Parks staff expressed appreciation for the civic engagement of the neighbors, their concern about the plight of the unsheltered people camping in filth and weather, and the efforts done by the neighbors to clean the area.
At the Dec 3rd meeting, neighbors of the Troll’s Knoll voiced a request for maintenance and enforcement to the Parks Superintendent of the City property. Neighbors want to activate the park, for use by all the public, which would displace, or discourage, a significant amount of the dozens of encampments.
Parks staff encouraged the neighbors to pursue grants, including the Neighborhood Matching Fund, to fund planning and design of a future park development – just as was done by the Friends of Troll’s Knoll in 2014. However, staff explained that Seattle Parks cannot address encampments, and that maintenance or enforcing jurisdiction would not necessarily prevent encampments.
The property is considered Seattle Department of Transportation purview, and Seattle Parks has no funding to take over maintenance responsibilities on SDOT property. However, Parks staff said, a fully-realized design would secure development funding for a park, with implementation requiring approximately five years to complete.
For neighbors looking for a draft letter to send to City Leaders, check the Fremocentrist news item from November (click here.) To find out how neighbors can help with clean-up and continued volunteer efforts to maintain the Troll area, visit the Friends of Troll’s Knoll Facebook page (click here.)