New projects and summer fun at Les Gove Park and Auburn's Community Campus
The Auburn Community Campus in the heart of Auburn contains
a host of public amenities, including Les Gove Park, Discovery Playground,
Rotary Spray Playground, a looped trail, the King County Library – Auburn
Branch, White River Valley Museum, Auburn Senior Activity Center, Les Gove Gymnasium,
Auburn Parks, Arts & Recreation Administration Offices, and community
service provider Auburn Youth Resources.
Several projects are underway around the campus; including plans for a new
Auburn Community Center & Youth/Teen Center and a master planning process
for the entire community campus area.
For all
the details about what’s happening at the Auburn Community Campus, visit www.auburnwa.gov/communitycampus
It is a priority of the City of Auburn to make the Auburn
Community Campus a safe environment for the public. The following is an
overview of some of the recent changes to public safety procedures around the
campus:
-
Auburn Police have
worked in conjunction with the King
County Library – Auburn Branch in order to
identify strategies to ensure the library and its surrounding area are
being used for lawful and safe purposes. Loitering by non-patrons in the
area of the Library are not tolerated, and an emphasis on this has already
produced some positive feedback from the library and their patrons.
-
Former park etiquette rules have been added to Auburn City Code and are now enforceable by the Auburn Police Department; signs of all the laws are posted in the park (Auburn Municipal Code - Chapter 2.22).
- Increased proactive police patrols within the
park and campus area and re-established the bicycle unit with the purpose of
increased proactive patrols in the campus area.
- Removed all non permitted food servers from park
areas.
- Installed new fence around spray park to improve safety
between spray playground, Deal’s Way and Library.
- Added Police-only parking spots in park for quick
access to park area for police.
-
Trimmed up all trees and trimmed plantings around all
building for clear sightlines through the park.
- The Auburn Police Department Community Response Team meets regularly with Campus partners to address issues related to campus safety and has entered into a code of conduct agreement with the King County Library – Auburn Branch and a trespass agreement with staff at Auburn Youth Resources.
Auburn Community Center & Youth/Teen Center
The City of Auburn is continuing with
the design and construction of a combined Community Center and Youth/Teen
Center at the north end of Les Gove Community Campus, adjacent to the new
gym. It’s an exciting project that will provide
additional amenities to the entire City of Auburn.
The community and youth/teen center will provide
approximately 21,000 square feet of building space to be used for educational,
cultural, and social activities. Emphasis will be made on creating spaces that
will attract teens and encourage cross-generational interactions with the
existing neighboring Senior Activity Center and Gymnasium. The community and
youth/teen center will be created by renovating the City’s existing Parks,
Recreation and Arts Administration Building (approximately 7,300 square feet) and
adding approximately 13,700 square feet of new building space.
The maximum project budget is $9 million ($3 million provided by the taxpayers of Washington State through the Projects
that Strengthen Youth and Families Program and $6,000,000 from the City of
Auburn). Budget includes construction and other costs like architects and
engineers, permits, furniture and equipment and sales tax.
Auburn Community Campus Master Plan Process
The Auburn Community Campus is a major community asset and is in a position to grow and improve with adjacent civic facilities and newly acquired properties. Through the master planning process, the City will develop an updated vision for the Campus and Les Gove Park into the future, utilizing existing civic amenities including a new rec center, teen center, senior’s center, museum and library. The master plan will be detailed enough to guide future decision making, including pursuit of grant funding, yet flexible enough to adapt and seize unforeseen opportunities.
Upcoming Summer Fun at Les Gove Park:
- Replacing the grass in Discovery Playground to a new poured in place surfacing and synthetic turf (Discovery Playground was just ranked #36 out of the Top 50 U.S. Playgrounds)
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Adding new electronic Pulse Tennis equipment to Discovery Playground for summer 2015 – a grant-funded item though a 2014 King County Youth Sports Grant.
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Kids Day – Friday, June 19, 11am-4pm
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Hooked on History: Wednesdays, July 1-29, 10:30-11:30am, White River Valley Museum
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Kids Summer Stage: Wednesdays, July 8-August 12, 12pm
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4th of July Festival: Saturday, July 4, 11am-4pm
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Summer Sounds & Cinema: August 14, 7pm
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Rotary Spray Playground: Open daily from Memorial Day to Labor Day, 10am-8pm
For all the details about what’s happening at the Auburn Community Campus, visit www.auburnwa.gov/communitycampus
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