Lakewood City Council Members,
As residents of Tillicum and Silcox Island, we enjoy having beautiful Harry Todd Park beach for families to swim on summer days. However, we are concerned about the amount of Eurasian watermilfoil in the swimming area, and thus the safety of the children.
While the City has long-term plans to renovate the park, we are asking that some funds (est. $3,000) be allocated to remove the weeds as quickly as possible this season. The Tillicum/Woodbrook Neighborhood Association recently applied for a small grant from the Chambers Clover-Creek Watershed Council to pay for the weed removal, but the grant was denied:
“We had a record year for applications received with total requests of almost $44,000 and only $20,000 available to award.
“The grant committee recognizes that your grant proposal brings up serious public safety and equity concerns that should be addressed by the responsible jurisdiction. City of Lakewood staff have been made aware of your concerns and are working to address them.”
Please act at meeting this safety issue as soon as possible. Weeds are growing longer, and kids have already been spending days swimming at the beach.
On behalf of the Tillicum Woodbrook Neighborhood Association.
