It's simply been an incredible last few weeks and I'd love to catch you up on the great conversations and support that is building for an aquatic center at Bellevue Airfield Park. The exciting opportunities for the elements being considered for the master plan create a wide variety of indoor and outdoor community spaces that would be a hallmark for Bellevue, breathing life into an undeveloped park that can be enjoyed by many more people across all ages, abilities, and backgrounds.

We've been busy meeting with many of our City Council members, holding forums to hear your input, speaking with parents within schools, engaging in conversation with local community pools, participating in parks funding planning, and expanding our reach with our HS Lifeguard Training Program. Alongside this we are busy planning for our organization's growth and I look forward to sharing more on that in a future newsletter.

Check out the updates in this newsletter to get caught up. There are four things we ask you to do at this important moment.

Thank you for your ongoing support! We need more places that bridge our diversity and keep us connected. An aquatic center builds community while offering essential life skills. Together we are going to put a pool in the plans at Bellevue Airfield Park!

In gratitude,

Susan Pappalardo

Co-Founder, President

SPLASHForward

Last Tuesday evening, the Bellevue Parks & Community Services Board had an opportunity to provide feedback on the master plan update for Bellevue Airfield Park. They also received an overview on the existing Bellevue Aquatic Center (NE 8th at Odle MS).

SPLASHForward along with two Bellevue School District students used their strong voices in support of an aquatic center at Bellevue Airfield Park during oral communications. Thank you Gauri and Artin! We are so grateful and proud of you!!

The Parks Board discussion after the presentations was thorough and two main points stood out.

Next up, City Council will have an opportunity to provide input at their November 21st council meeting. Following both the Parks Board and City Council input, a third community meeting will be held to share a recommended master plan and receive feedback. This meeting will be held in person sometime in January of 2023. Stay tuned as we'll need you to attend!!

On Sept 29th, we held our first in-person community meeting since the pandemic, and it was wonderful to connect with our community! We recapped the City's second community meeting and held breakout sessions that provided a healthy discussion on the aquatic center and master plan alternatives.

Check out our meeting slides to see master plan alternative options and an update on the project.

Learn more & stay up to date at the City's website

Your voice matters! We want to know what excites you and how you will use the new Bellevue Aquatic Center at Bellevue Airfield Park.

Take our survey & share it with a friend!

Comments may be shared with Parks staff by visiting the city's website. There will be a third community meetings early next year (date TBD) and this process will span to next fall (2023). You can see the full timeline on the city's website.

Dog park playtime

Ballots arrive on Tuesday. Bellevue residents please vote! Prop 1 is the City of Bellevue's $85 million Levy for Parks and Open Space that includes $10 million for Recreation and Community facilities which would help fund the design phase for the new Bellevue Aquatic Center.

SPLASHForward is serving on Kirkland's Parks Funding and Exploratory Committee to provide the City Council with a recommendation for elements and funding mechanisms for a 2023 Parks Measure. In our first four meetings we have received a comprehensive background on Parks Operations & Maintenance from Parks staff. We toured Juanita Beach Park, Peter Kirk Park and Pool, and in December will be touring the Sammamish Aquatic Center.

We recently awarded five high school students the final payment of a $100 incentive we offered to students who chose to work for the City of Bellevue so that Bellevue could keep its beaches open and fully staff the Bellevue Aquatic Center this summer.

Through a partnership for National Injury and Prevention Day in November, we will soon be introducing many more high school students to the wonderful opportunity to become a lifeguard. We are so excited!

Lifeguarding turned out to be a great job, and last summer I especially enjoyed making memories with incredible coworkers and being able to spend time outdoors at the beaches while learning valuable skills. 

October 31st - Halloween - Can't think of what to be? Throw on your swimsuit over your clothes and wear your cap and goggles!

November 8th - General Election, Vote!

November 18th - National Injury Prevention Day - Drowning Prevention is this year's King County theme

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