PenMet Parks has big plans for the Sehmel Homestead

Susan Schell

of the Gateway

Frisbees were tossed into the air above Sehmel Homestead Park on the Gig Harbor peninsula Monday afternoon in celebration of the ground-breaking ceremony. The Peninsula Metropolitan Parks Service plans to build three baseball fields, a children’s playground, tennis courts and a basketball court on the 98-acre parcel.

The park will also feature a soccer field with synthetic turf to “withstand abuse that grass fields wouldn’t be able to tolerate,” said Marc Connelly, PenMet Parks’ executive director.

A $100,000 Boeing Mariners Care Grant will make the development possible.

The ceremony was attended by state Rep. Pat Lantz, Pierce County Council member Terry Lee, Connelly and members of the Sehmel family — Donald and Mary Ellen Sehmel, and their son, William Sehmel, who is the president of PenMet Parks.

Six generations of the Sehmel family have lived on the property.

Connelly said the development will include a 301-space parking lot, but 78 acres will basically remain as is.

“The majority of it will remain in its natural state,” he said. “The meadow that is there now will be used for family picnics and family reunions, and three miles of trails will remain.”

Peter Stocker, a neighbor who lives adjacent to the park, said that, although he would prefer the property to be left in its natural state, he was relieved that homes would not be built, as an alleged plan once called for.

“Many homes were going to go into that area,” he said. “It would have had a tremendous impact on the traffic and road use with all the people coming and going to work.”

Stocker attended the ground-breaking ceremony and said he was glad to participate in PenMet Parks’ effort to raise funds for the development.

“This is quite a good example of what a neighborhood can do,” he said.

Reach reporter Susan Schell at 253-853-9240 or by e-mail at susan.schell@gateline.com.