Skagit County commissioners weigh in on Sedro-Woolley's baseball field relocation plan

The Skagit County Board of Commissioners was briefed Wednesday on the city of Sedro-Woolley's proposal to relocate the city's baseball fields at Riverfront Park to the county-owned Northern State Recreation Area.

The commissioners - while skeptical of the plan - are allowing the city to move forward with a preapplication meeting with county Planning and Development Services to better define what studies and their accompanying costs would be required for the project.

At Wednesday evening's Sedro-Woolley City Council meeting, Mayor JoEllen Kesti addressed the commissioners' stance.

"The conclusion from the commissioners was to have a preapplication meeting to determine which studies would be required of the city," Kesti said. "Studies would need to be funded by the city with no guarantee from the commissioners that they would enter into an agreement.

"So the (city's) administration is exploring an alternative approach and we will be getting back to you shortly as we know time is of the essence for this project."

County Commissioner Peter Browning said the commissioners need to see exactly what types of permits would be required for the project.

"A traffic study and wetlands and those kinds of things," he said. "I mean, they (the city) will need to lay it out, what has to be done and the price tags on every one of those studies. I don't believe we, as a county, have the money to do all those things.

"... you know, yes the (Northern State Recreation Area master) plan showed some ball fields and everything, but finances have changed in the last 20 years too. So I think you need to look somewhere different. That's my general thought on it. We can't take on future liability."

Browning said he can be frugal, and more so now with the county continuing to have budget issues.

"I would be willing to commit only a preapp, meaning with a list of everything that needs to be done and that would be on Sedro-Woolley's lap," he said. " ... We can certainly commit staff time to a preapp, but that would be the extent of my commitment with this whole project."

Among the concerns raised by the commissioners were the construction of a parking lot, restrooms and septic system; traffic issues related to vehicles turning off and onto Highway 20 at Helmick Road; infringement on the Veterans Plaza; drainage; environmental impacts including the undoing of years of wetland habitat restoration as well as the possible disruption of nesting habitat of the American bittern.

Who exactly would be allowed to use the baseball fields was also brought up.

"Are the people in the county going to have full access to it or is Sedro-Woolley going to have full control over these fields?" Commissioner Joe Burns asked.

Burns was also concerned about timing.

"I'd like to be as transparent as possible when we do things and I think doing it at breakneck speed kind of prevents transparency," he said.

Commissioner Ron Wesen spoke of the county becoming on the hook financially.

"I am not interested in the county taking on any liability going forward," Wesen said. "Then there's the future costs. We don't have the money to come up with future costs to cover it."

Sedro-Woolley wants to move the Riverfront Park fields because Skagit River flooding has consistently damaged the park's fields, dugouts and fencing, costing the city about $300,000 for repairs between 2021 and 2025.

"If Commissioner Browning wants us to continue gathering information, I'm fine with that," Commissioner Burns said of allowing a preapplication meeting. "I see enough concerns and financial challenges that I have a really hard time moving forward with this."

Another option Sedro-Woolley had considered was moving the baseball fields at Riverfront Park to Winnie Houser Park and the soccer fields at Winnie Houser to Riverfront Park.

That swap, however, may not be as straightforward as it appears.

The city has a specific funding agreement with state Recreation and Conservation Office, which helped fund Winnie Houser Park that states "the sponsor city - Sedro-Woolley - shall not at any time convert any real property or facility acquired, developed, renovated, and/or restored pursuant to this Agreement. Conversions include, but is not limited to, putting such property to uses other than those purposes for which funds were approved …"

"It is assumed that the funding agreement with RCO could be amended to allow the swap, but it is not a certainty," city Public Works Director Bill Bullock said. "Therefore, we may not be able to make that happen if RCO does not agree to that request."

The next step in the process of finding a new home for the baseball fields is Sedro-Woolley's to take.

"I have kids that would benefit from this," said Burns, a former member of the Sedro-Woolley City Council. "So, I am not without sympathy for needing ball fields. But I also see an alternative that's probably a simpler one within the city and would allow us to continue to leave this space where it has been used and they just shuffle two things around.

"So, I'm not completely opposed to looking at it further, but financially, I don't see how we can commit anything to it. So, I have a lot of concerns with trying to go forward with it."

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This story was originally published July 10, 2026 at 5:59 PM.