By LEAH WEATHERSBY

Green hearts pinned to shirts told the tale: "we said said towne centre - south lot."

It was a silent response by several Northgate area residents to the proposal by Parks Department Superintendent Ken Bounds and his staff to co-locate a new community center and library on a pair of adjoining properties known as the "Bon Tire Site." The properties, which formerly housed a bank and a Bon Tire store, are located on the east side of 5th Avenue NE, between NE 105th Street and NE 106th Street.

Bounds made known the Parks Department's preferred site for the proposed Northgate Community Center/Library at a public meeting held Feb. 12 at Olympic View Community Church in Maple Leaf. The meeting drew over 70 people.

While several area residents, especially from the Maple Leaf neighborhood, spoke strongly in favor of the Bon Tire Site, others, sporting the green hearts, reiterated their belief that Northgate Mall's south parking lot was still the best choice.

"I'm quite annoyed about the whole process," said one of the green heart wearers, Molly Burke, a Victory Heights resident. "The South Lot is really the place (for the community center/library)."

Broadview resident Gloria Butts echoed Burke's support for the South Lot, saying that the Bon Tire Site proposed by the City is too small for the proposed 20,000-square-foot community center and 10,000-square-foot library. The Bon Tire Site also eliminates the possibility for future expansion of the community center, should it be needed, she noted.

The South Lot supporters include two citizen groups - the Thornton Creek Legal Defense Fund and Citizens for a Liveable Northgate - that have been urging the City to daylight a section of Thornton Creek that currently flows in an underground culvert beneath the parking lot.

Last fall, the two groups worked with an architectural firm, to draw up a proposed design for developing the 12.8-acre South Lot that would include a community center and library along with housing that would be built by a private developer, to go along with the daylighted creek.

In late December, the County announced plans to pay Northgate Mall owner Simon Properties $7.64 million to acquire 3.9 acres of the South Lot on the west side to convert into a Park-and-Ride lot. Simon has been looking for another buyer to purchase the remaining 8.9 acres of the South Lot.

Bounds told the audience at last month's meeting that the City couldn't afford to buy the South Lot, based on the price King County agreed to pay for its four acres, and based on Simon Properties' desire to sell the remaining South Lot property as a single parcel.

"I can't change the amount of money I have," said Bounds, adding that the funds for land acquisition pooled for a community center, library and park in the Northgate area totaled about $7 million. The price tag for the remaining South Lot, he said, would likely be close to $17 million - and that doesn't include the cost of constructing any buildings.

Parks Department staffers also cited other advantages to the Bon Tire Site, such as its centralized location within the greater Northgate area as well as the fact that it fronts 5th Avenue NE, a busy thoroughfare that the City has designated for pedestrian-friendly improvements.

Bounds said the City has negotiated a price for a potential purchase of the Bon Tire Site from Simon, although he added that the deal has not been finalized.

Should the deal go through, the community center and library would likely be ready to open before the end of 2004. It was clear that the argument for expediency resonated with some of the meeting's attendees.

"There are people who have worked probably since the '50s to do this," said Janice Camp, president of the Maple Leaf Community Council, who favors the Bon Tire Site. "I don't want to put (the community center/library project) off another couple of years."

The final decision has yet to be made. Mayor Greg Nickels will consider the Bon Tire Site option and is expected to make his recommendation to the City Council in March or April. For more information about the Northgate Community Center/Library Project, contact Tim Motzer of the Parks Department at 684-7060.