Submitted by the Friends of Moran State Park.

Next Spring (2017) the old KVOS building at the summit of Mt. Constitution will be razed. During the 2015-2017 biennium, funding was granted to renovate the existing building. Upon inspection, the State reconsidered renovating and determined that razing it instead would be more cost effective. Unfortunately, existing funding will not replace the building – it will only provide for three ADA-compliant restrooms until further funding can be obtained.

The approximately 40′ x 70′ structure was originally built to house radio equipment and some administrative functions for KVOS. Friends of Moran repurposed the building in 2009 when KVOS moved from analog to digital transmission and no longer needed the building. With the help of many volunteers and donations, Friends established a make-shift Summit Learning Center. This allowed visitors to the summit to come in from the cold and rain, get a complimentary cup of Local Goods coffee or tea and have their questions answered regarding geography, geology, hiking trails, etc. from our summer college interns and the summit hosts. Children at the summit enjoy taking a nature hunt or hiking with a loaner explorer backpack. In inclement weather, they can explore the center, which displays maps, books, posters and other learning tools and toys.

This is all about to change. Plans are in the works to build a new Summit Learning Center if funding is approved by the legislature next July 2017. A Seattle architect has been engaged by the State to design both phases and will be presenting a draft of the design to the public on Thursday, Oct. 13 at the school cafeteria at 6:30pm. Unfortunately, this meeting conflicts with another very important meeting regarding the Eastsound Urban Growth Subarea Plan. However, your comments and input are very much welcomed. To see additional renderings of the proposed design, visit: http://patanostudio.com/featured-projects/project/moran-state-park-learning-center.

If you are unable to attend the meeting but would like to submit comments, forward them to Jackie Daigle summitgiftshop@friendsofmoran.org. They will submit comments to the state on Oct. 13.