The final Village Green Master Plan will be presented this month to the Kitsap County Board of Commissioners, after a few last revisions are made which were discussed at a public meeting July 18 with its designer Miles Yanick, the Kingston Community Center Foundation and Village Green Park Stewardship Committee.
Miles Yanick & Co. was hired by the county to create the master plan. The final version will reflect a last suggestion to create a walking path around the perimeter of the park.
In a surprise announcement, resident Bob Smiley announced that his recently incorporated non-profit Smiley Charitable Fund will earmark a $15,000 donation to the Village Green to develop a covered pavilion in the plaza between the new community center and senior housing that will feature a giant chess board and café-style seating. He hopes the chessboard will connect the two not only visually, but also encourage adults, youth and seniors to interact. The giant chess pieces could be stored when not in use and the plaza available for other activities.
Over the last few months, after several community meetings to gain input on the plan, Yanick has made revisions to the plan based on what residents said they’d like to see included and other elements that will make the Village Green a community centerpiece with both active and passive-use opportunities for all ages. In addition to a new community center and senior housing, the master plan shows an outdoor amphitheater, picnic shelters, trails and access through both California and Oregon avenues. Oregon Avenue is shown as being reconfigured as a 40-foot right of way with sidewalk, planting median and parking along one side. The current location of the tennis courts will remain, as well as the basketball courts in Kola Kole Park. The baseball field, known as Ed Moon Field, would be redesigned and flipped diagonally to become a regulation Little League field.
Specific design elements and uses of the community center and senior housing will be addressed in a future planning process. In the meantime, Navy housing is slated to be demolished this fall and several underground fuel oil tanks removed. With a Village Green Master Plan in hand, the Kingston Community Center Foundation and county can begin to explore funding options, break the project down into phases of development and funding, and drum up more community involvement.
