City Departments
Seattle City Council
1/30/2006 3:42:00 PM
Tatsuo Nakata (206) 684-8806
COUNCIL ALLOTS FUNDS TO MAKE GAS WORKS PARK A CONCERT VENUE
$150,000 will go to electrical upgrades
SEATTLE –Today, the City Council approved allotting funds that will make Seattle’s Gas Works Park a concert venue for the popular Summer Nights concert series.
“The producers of the concert series, One Reel, have a wonderful tradition of bringing people together to celebrate and enjoy great music,” said City Councilmember David J. Della, chair of the Council’s Parks Committee. “However, we must be sensitive to the concerns of the surrounding community and commit to working with them to address all the issues involved,” he added.
Summer Nights, held this past summer at South Lake Union Park, is required to relocate due to construction at South Lake Union Park. Its previous location was Pier 62-63. The future of the non-profit organization, One Reel, producer of the concert series, was dubious. But today’s allocation of funds for necessary utility upgrades at Gas Work’s Park came as a welcome move for many. Still, there were concerns expressed by some community members with regard to process.
“We need to recapture the trust of the community, that’s why this amendment limits the presentation of the concert series in Gas Works Park to three years,” Council President Nick Licata, who amended the legislation to provide certainty that the move to Gas Works would only be temporary. Licata and Della also put forth several other amendments that intend that One Reel and Seattle Parks fully address community issues on sound levels; traffic and parking; park restoration at summers’ end; hazardous waste remediation; and concert staging before entering a long-term agreement.
The legislation requests a report back to Council by March 1, 2006 and that a special committee of neighborhood groups, One Reel and Seattle Parks Department report back to the Council at the end of summer to evaluate the concert series.
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