Viretta Park -- Parks Staff Deserves Praise

The current fuss over Viretta Park prompts me to question a statement from Joseph Baillargeon, one of the leaders of Neighbors and Friends of Viretta Park. The March 23 Times reports that Baillargeon said that what's going on is a lack of oversight by Parks Department officials in watching out for the public interest.

In my opinion, it looks like the public is getting a pretty good deal. An overgrown park has never looked better. The waiver of fees to the Parks Department for allowing part of the park to be used as a staging area during the construction of the Schultz residence seems a pretty good trade-off considering the extent of landscaping and restoration of park property that has occurred.

Instead of beating up on Parks Superintendent Holly Miller and her staff, we ought to give them an award for finding a creative way to improve a neglected city park without spending taxpayers' money. John A. Gessner

Seattle