Friends of Marymoor Park

October 26th, 2005 Meeting Summary

-- see also the September 2005 meeting summary

Greg Helland opened the meeting with the usual introductions.

The following were the topics off discussion and comments:

1. Skiforall Bicycle Rental Concession proposal. Two members of the Skiforall group were there. The group proposed operating a temporary bike rental concession at Marymoor. The proposal was well received. There are to be two trailer loads of bicycles. Some of the bicycles are especially designed to allow people with disabilities ride and enjoy the area in Marymoor Park area. At this time, the anticipated rental rates are: 1/2 day $20.00, 24 hrs for $40.00. They will be available from late May to mid- September. It is proposed to have the bikes available Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The schedule should be set by the middle of spring.

Skiforall is evaluating this opportunity, and believes Marymoor would serve as a preferred base of operations. However, other park facilities are being considered, as is the pricing structure and schedule. Several details remain unresolved, but the general acceptance by FOMP was considered a first step towards operations at Marymoor.

King Co. Parks Division will subject the proposal to the “lite” version of the development criteria evaluation. A copy will be forwarded to FOMP for review.

2. Pet Garden Opening Ceremony. The Pet Garden discussion was led by Bobbi Wallace. The opening ceremony is scheduled for Tuesday November 1, at 10:30 AM. Bobbi was the one that worked to get this all in action. She said that there was to be a couple of tents to stand under in the case of rain. She passed out little well designed greeting type cards which will be used as introductions out to all interested parties. It looks like this will be well received by pet owners.

3. Concert Venue. There are outstanding issues with the Landmarks Commission related to the concert venue in the Marymoor historic district. Norah provided a timeline for the process to evaluate and resolve the issues. In early November, the Parks Division intends to submit a concert venue report related to 2005 Certificate of Appropriateness (COA) to Landmarks Commission. The report will outline concert venue locations/costs, and economic hardships for maintaining existing venue site with current restrictions. The current Landmarks restrictions include removing all banners and portions of the interior and perimeter fencing (~1200 linear feet) between concerts. The costs for compliance with these restrictions has represented a hardship to the Parks Division, particularly given the reduced number of concerts the past two summers.

The Parks Division will meet with the Landmarks Commission to discuss the report. An application for a 2006 COA will be submitted in late November. Discussion of the 2006 application is tentatively scheduled for the December 8th Landmarks meeting. Barbara inquired whether there will be public notice for the meeting, or the opportunity for public comment at the meeting. Norah was uncertain.

4. Current Capital Projects: Presented By Norah Gaynor

• Recreation and Event area. Construction is scheduled for completion by November 30th, but is dependent on the weather.
• The Parks Division is finishing negotiations with Cirque de Solei, and expects to sign a contract shortly. The plan is to have approximately 50 shows Tuesdays through Sundays between May 4 and June 11 (one show on week days and two shows per day on the weekend). There is a Fire Marshall requirement for water supply equal to 1000 gallons of water per minute. The water system in Marymoor is inadequate to meet this requirement, so portable storage tanks will be used. It is anticipated that soccer fields 5& 6 will be used for parking. There will be a separate charge for the event parking.
• Group Health Velodrome Restrooms: Construction will begin soon and should be completed by spring 2006.
• Synthetic Turf Fields: Will start in the spring of 2006, and anticipate completion in fall 2006.
• Ruff House: Permit applications have been submitted. There will be a minimum of three months before start on this project
• Wifi and Automatic lighting system. The system is working, but there will be service interruptions due to construction activities.
• East Lake Sammamish Trail. A temporary surface will be installed starting next month with probable full use available in about 6 weeks.
• Maintenance Building. The appeal has been resolved. A pre-construction meeting will be held Monday, November 1, 2005
• Marymoor Association Bldg. Nothing new to report.

5. Event Updates 2005. Not much said on this except what was presented previously. Gardening seminars, as part of the Pet Garden project, are being scheduled.

6. Other. Two items:

• The trees that were removed near the west entrance are believed to have died due to drought conditions. The stumps should be removed shortly. Additional tree removal may be needed.
• Bobbi Wallace made the suggestion to utilize the large gates that have been used for control of traffic through the park. She feels that one could be moved to a location just west of the bridge and the other at the east end of the park. This would prevent people from driving through the park at night when the park should be closed. She felt this is a security issue. A good idea.

Next meeting: Wednesday, November 16, 2005

These notes were made by the Bill Ilie and Greg Helland, and entered here by Michael Hobbs, and they do not constitute an official record of the meeting.  They may have inaccuracies and omissions.  If anyone has any complaints about the content of these notes, they should direct them to Michael Hobbs at fomp@marymoor.org, and he will endeavor to correct them.