The City of Mountlake Terrace has been notified that a $50,000 grant award from Snohomish County for playground equipment at Matt Hirvela/Bicentennial Park will be moving forward after being put on hold due to the pandemic. This funding is part of Snohomish County’s REET 2 allocation that is distributed as part of the budget process.

This project will proceed over the next year after the city obtains public input on the location, theme, and play components. During the past few years, the city has organized successive volunteer work projects that have revitalized the neighborhood park, including a paved trail loop that was completed in 2018. This work was recognized with a Trail Spotlight Award by the Washington Recreation and Parks Association.

The property, located at 4105 222nd St. S.W., was originally owned by resident Matt Hirvela, who desired to see the site preserved as park property. The site was acquired as a children’s park in 1968 with the aid of state grant funding and donation of the land by Hirvela. Under the terms of the donation, Hirvela retained the rights to continue to live on the property in a 900-square-foot log cabin in the southwest corner of the property until his death. The cabin was later removed in 2012. The park was dedicated the Matt Hirvela Bicentennial Park on the 4th of July 1976 as part of the Bicentennial Celebration.

To learn more about Matt Hirvela/Bicentennial Park, visit www.cityofmlt.com/1981. For more information about this project, contact Recreation and Parks Director Jeff Betz at jbetz@mltwa.gov or 425-640-3101.