City of Seattle to Close Hangar 30 in 2011 Killing the Sand Point Antique & Design Market. Please make your voice heard.

Sand Point Antique & Design Market to hold last antique show and sale this year on December 5th. Set up on Saturday sale Sunday morning at 8 am early buyers and 10 to 4 general admission. Booth spaces are available. $130 plus $5 for the city permit. Contract and floor plan attached.

The City of Seattle expects to close Hangar 30 to most functions next year. A decision is close at hand. We ask that you contact the people below who have a say in the issue and ask them to give us a year (2011) to prepare so we can continue in business.

As promoter of the Sand Point Antique & Design Market for the last 7 years, I have rented Hangar 30 In Magnuson Park nearly 42 times. That is about $126,000 that I have paid to the City of Seattle to use Hangar 30. In addition to this my wife and I have invested well over $100,000 to promote this antique cultural event.The Sand Point Market is now the longest running antique show and sale in Seattle's history.

At this moment it is not clear if I can use "building 30" next year and if not, I am out of business.

This would be a stinging rebuke of all we have tried to accomplish at Magnuson Park.

The two hundred and 26 thousand dollars we have spent was just a start of cash left in the City or Seattle after our events. From 50 to 100 dealers can have sales for thousands of dollars during our event; look at all the tax money being deposited in the city coffers. We bring hundreds and hundreds families and friends together for about 8 hours exchanging money, fun and a sense of community, which ebbs into the city.

And the Sand Point Antique & Design Market is just one event, which brings cash into the City of Seattle; extrapolate these thousands with about 32 other vendors all producing cash for the City.From my understanding closing building 30 has been an ongoing dispute between building officials, Fire Marshal and park officials.

But, this dispute has been going on since I started promoting the Sand Point Market 7 years ago.While Mayor Mike McGinn's words here are encouraging, the fighting factions need to understand you do not pull the rug out from under a cash paying, willing exhibitor with only a month or two's notice.This action is very extreme and should not be implemented until 2012 so that my company and everyone else paying to use building 30 can make other plans.It is also a knock on the head to know the building will be used Monday to Thursday, in other words, nearly every day by the tennis club and four other annual events. If you allow only this tightly chosen groups, you can continue the use of building 30 for everyone.Remember, we are talking about the city of Seattle tossing out $300,000 cash plus untold thousands more.Does this make sense in today's money tight economy? Dennis Eros

Please contact the Seattle City Council and Mayor and urge them to find the funds to renovate Building 30 so that the Book Sale and other events can continue to provide important contributions to the greater Seattle community.richard.conlin@seattle.gov, sally.bagshaw@seattle.gov, tim.burgess@seattle.gov, sally.clark@seattle.gov, jean.godden@seattle.gov, bruce.harrell@seattle.gov, nick.licata@seattle.gov, mike.obrien@seattle.gov, tom.rasmussen@seattle.gov