EVERETT, Wash. — A chain link fence surrounds Clark Park in Everett. The City Parks Department has begun taking down the historic Gazebo to make way for the new dog park.
According to the city, the structure will be stored for "potential future use." A city spokesperson noted it will take time to determine a suitable new location. Options are currently being considered.
People part of the Bayside Neighborhood Association applauded the city council's June decision to move forward with the plan. The dog park has been in the works since 2019. Many who live near the park complained the gazebo was a hot spot for drug deals, drug use, and violence. They believe removing the gazebo will cut down on crime.
The city knew of these issues. As reported by the Everett Herald, a fence was kept around the gazebo for nearly two decades to prevent vandalism and drug use. In 2017, a number of drug arrests were made. The fence was removed in 2021. In 2022, a woman was stabbed near the gazebo.
"I think the gazebo was made a scapegoat for a lot of bad behavior in the neighborhood," Theresa Gemmer, who's part of the Everett Historical Commission, said.
Gemmer's one of several people who tried to persuade the city to not get rid of the gazebo. In February, KING 5 covered a "heart bomb" event for the gazebo. People showed up to express their support for the gazebo and its place in Everett history. At the time, City Spokesperson Simone Tarver told KING 5 while the gazebo has been "a valued community asset in the past, we’ve reached a point where it needs many costly repairs."
For this story, Tarver noted the only original parts of the 103-year-old gazebo are the base and design. Everything else has been replaced over the years.
Still, Gemmer believes this sets a bad precedent for the city.
"I think it's important to honor our history and not lose pieces of our history because it's in bad conditions. That's an example we don't want to set for people who have historic properties, to say, now it's beyond saving, so we're going to tear it down," she said. "The gazebo was there when I was a child. I used to play there. I really would like to see the gazebo stay in a dog park. We were portrayed as being against the dog park. I'm not against the dog park but a gazebo is a really nice feature in the dog park if you need a place to get away from the dogs running around or to get out of the rain.
The dog park is slated to open in the summer of 2025. The city listed several reasons why the gazebo and dog park cannot co-exist.
The city also shared a rendering of what dog park is supposed to be look like.
The dog park is going to set the city back $360,000. A breakdown of the cost can be found on page 2 of this document.