Kent Hearing Examiner Clears $10M Mill Creek Middle School Track and Field Rebuild

The flood-prone track and field at Mill Creek Middle School in Kent, Washington, is cleared for a rebuild. Kent Hearing Examiner Brian McGinn approved a critical areas variance for the Kent School District project with conditions on Oct. 20, the Kent Reporter reported.

The project is estimated at approximately $10 million. Construction is expected to start in spring 2027 and wrap up by fall or early winter that year.

What's being built

The plan raises the track and field, builds a five-lane track and puts an all-weather surface on the field. Crews will add fill in the floodplain and install two flood storage cells, underground structures that hold storm runoff and connect to Mill Creek. The cells will be planted with native vegetation.

Get today’s Kent report for your trade, free →

The school sits at 620 Central Ave. N., on a 12-acre property zoned Downtown Commercial Enterprise – Transitional Overlay and designated Urban Center in the Kent Comprehensive Plan.

Why it needed a variance

Mill Creek runs along the east edge of the site. It's a Type 2 stream with coho salmon and trout, and it carries a 50-foot buffer plus a 15-foot building setback. McGinn found there was no workable spot for the track and flood storage outside that buffer.

The job permanently affects 218 square feet of buffer. In return, the approved mitigation plan adds buffer enhancement, creation and restoration. "The project ultimately increases the buffer area from approximately 45,000 square feet to approximately 65,000 square feet," McGinn said.

His conditions include a plan for any artifacts found during digging, ready by groundbreaking, and a covenant or easement protecting the new buffer for the city. Final mitigation will be a requirement of any site development permits issued for the project.

A field that floods every winter

The track rebuild has been a long time coming. When Kent voters narrowly approved the $97.8 million three-year Capital Projects and Technology Replacement Levy in 2024, the district listed synthetic turf fields at Mill Creek and Kentridge High School at $18 million because rain often made the fields unusable, according to Kent Reporter coverage of that vote. The levy passed with 50.77% of the vote.

The Mill Creek project is being paid for with that levy and the 2016 Capital Improvement & School Construction Bond.

Sources

• Kent approves $10M Mill Creek Middle School track and field upgrade, Kent Reporter
• Kent School District thanks voters for $97.8 million levy approval, Kent Reporter