Friends of Marymoor Park

January 28, 2015 Meeting Summary

-- see also the July, 2014  meeting summary 

a) Birdloop: Asphalt trail replacement, and irrigation in the viewing mound / East Meadow area, have both been budgeted for 2015-16. Additional projects, TBD. Replacement of the boardwalk will require substantial investigation and planning.

b) Noxious Weeds: Eastside Audubon has given their okay to targeted herbicide application to try to control the Canada Thistle that is becoming dominant in the East Meadow. This will be done by Parks early this spring, with follow-up and a probable second application later in the year.

A report on the efficacy of herbicide control of the 23+ acres at Marymoor that are dominated by Garden Loosestrife shows that they have had measurable but minimal success. They can reduce the density of plants somewhat, but were unable to get anywhere near control.

c) Community Gardens: Laura raised the issue that MCGA has been trying for 3 years to get the long paths through the Community Gardens resurfaced. The current paths are so uneven that people have been twisting their ankles. She pointed out that the Parkour course might get $180K, while the garden path situation is not funded.  Norah agreed that this needs to be a higher priority, but she stressed that a specific plan is a necessary first step.

There is already a waiting list for garden plots for 2015, though the new ADA-accessible plots are still available.

Laura would like the fence along the north edge to be repaired.

d) Marymoor West and Boathouse Project: Construction work continues; the exterior exit stairs are being installed.

e) Lot B Drainage: Lot B grading has paused but will resume at a later time.

f) Sammamish River Transition Zone: Greg gave a report on the past Shareholder Advisory Committee meeting, outlining the 2-4 remaining options being considered.  They will be moving forward with design work on their preferred plans, and will be presenting them at public meeting(s) in the coming months.  LATEST NEWS:  There will be a public meeting from 10-noon on Saturday, March 14.

g) Clise Mansion repairs: There is some funding in the 2015-2016 funding cycle for the Clise Mansion. Window repairs may take first priority, so there may or may not be money available to upgrade the kitchen.

h) Concert Venue: Current funding is inadequate for full room replacement, so repairs will be performed, to continue use of the exisiting structure for now.

5) Other

Discussion of email sent to FOMP from a concerned park user worried about dogs

We had a long discussion concerning a well-written email sent to FOMP concerning dogs at Marymoor.  Most of us have witnessed for ourselves the issues that concerned this park user the most:  Dogs off leash both north and south of the Dog Area, entering the river; erosion along the river just south of the Dog Area (not entirely due to dogs); dogs in the East Meadow east of the Dog Area. 

We all felt that some of the proposed solutions seemed very reasonable, while others were unreasonable.  There was no support within FOMP to permanently close off access from the Dog Area to the nature trail, for example.  But other suggested solutions were met with support or triggered slightly different suggestions.

The fence along the east edge of the Dog Area could be made taller, though this might block views down towards Mt. Rainier.   View preservation is a long-standing concern within FOMP and for King County.  Still, one rung higher might or might not block views.  Making sure that the fence has mesh preventing dogs from jumping through it made sense to many at the meeting, both for that fence, and for the fences along the river.  Planting more roses, etc., on the east side of the fence to make a natural hedge that would discourage dogs was an idea that had a lot of support at the meeting, and which is being implemented already by Eastside Audubon.

The writer specifically asked for mesh up to the top rung on the fencing that separates the Dog Area from the river.  There was unanimous support for this idea, with the caveat that Michael believed there were specific objections to this from SODA.  Greg agreed to try to talk with the Trockels to find out specifically what those objections might be.

The writer also called for fencing off the damaged area along the river south of the Dog Area.  This has already been recognized as a problem needing urgent action by both Eastside Audubon and King County.    There has been discussion about building a dock-like structure to allow river access (for fishing, viewing, and possibly for canoe/kayak tie-ups), and otherwise restricting access to the river along that section.  Some dog owners would undoubtedly use this dock as a dog swim access spot, but the dock would reduce erosion even from that non-sanctioned activity.

Greg and others suggested that Norah talk with the SODA group about making a renewed and forthright request to their members to keep off-leash dogs only within the Dog Area.

Michael stated that he had replied to the concerned park user with some historical information about the Dog Area (including that things are better now than they have been in the past), and also conveying some information about plans already underway to address these problems. 

Next Meeting: February 25, 2015, at the Art Barn

These notes 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.