July 28, 2026 Meeting Summary
-- see also the June 23, 2026 meeting summary
- Welcome and Introductions: Justin Camputaro, Marymoor Park Administrator; Warren Jimenez, King County Parks Director; TJ Davis and Lindsey Miller, King County Parks CIP; Heidi Kandathil, KCP Special Projects Coordinator; Patrick Tobin, Marymoor Park Maintenance and Operations; Greg Helland, SODA, FOMP President; Michael Hobbs, Marymoor Bird Survey, FOMP Secretary; Glenn Eades, Eastside Audubon Bird Loop, neighbor; Claire Waltman, Eastside Audubon Bird Loop; Shai Hinitz, MAR/C; Jim Trockel, SODA; Marceil Whitney & Travis Roach, TOPS Tennis Outreach; Emily Alexander &Andy Baker, Marymoor Velodrome Assn.; Kevin Killeen, King County Levy Oversight Board and neighbor;Online: Jannell Seigwarth, Marymoor Live; Sara Low - Sammamish Rowing Assn.
- Marymoor Park Updates: Warren Jimenez, Director King County Parks
Warren and Justin shared some data and information with FOMP:
2025 Marymoor Park Snapshot
Estimated Park Visitor Numbers: 3,381,127
Avg. Daily: 9,263
Avg. Weekly: 66,022
Avg. Monthly: 281,761
Method of Entry:
By Vehicle: 3,098,408 - Based on assumption of ~2/vehicle
Pedestrians: 280,571
Marymoor Partnerships and Special Events
- 13 different partnerships, including SODA, MAR/C, EAS, MVA, MCGA, etc.
- Over 12 major events/event types annually, with ~240,000 attendees
Marymoor Park Plan
2024 Marymoor Park Plan Purpose:
- Reconfirm agency's mission and goals
- Merge goals from 1995 plan with analysis of current park conditions
- Identify recommendations to improve capital project, O&M practices, and business needs
Plan published for Public Comment August 2024
Public Meeting in September 2024
1,111 comments received from 835 participants. Comments prioritized pedestrian/trail improvements, which informed the 6-year CIP Project List
Marymoor Park Capital Investments
Infrastructure Rehabilitation
- Utility system improvements
- Roadway and pedestrian improvements
- Wayfinding and park amenity improvements
Building System Rehabilitation
- Clise Mansion improvements
- Concert Venue improvements
Ballfield Investments
- Turf Replacement
- Other upgrades as needed (i.e. fencing, etc.)
Discussions:
- On the subject of wayfinding, Jim complained that when signage is aimed at people on foot, instead of in vehicles, the signs should not be placed 6’ plus high. There must be two different height standards!
- Stage and Clise green-room improvements are necessary to attract a full range of acts for the concert venue.
- Kevin, echoed by Michael and Greg, brought up that the 1995 Master Plan, nor the 2024 update, do not address how to evaluate development within the plan – we had the added desire for revenue generation events, but not how to decide what is okay and what goes too far. How much infrastructure can be accommodated within the park? How many visitors can the physical plant handle? How many events and how big can parks handle from a management and staffing perspective? What existing things are appropriate/inappropriate? What considerations would be used in deciding to eliminate a park amenity, replacing it with something new?
- TOPS Tennis Outreach Programs is proposing a new public tennis and pickleball community center at Marymoor Park. TOPs is a 501(c)(3) non-profit which aims to empower youth for lifetime success through tennis, education, fitness and character development regardless of economic circumstance
They expressed the following justifications:
- Expand equitable access for King County residents
- Would provide affordable, year round recreation
- Focus would be on youth development, with a multi-generational connection
- This would be a long-term investment in community health and opportunity
TOPS, as they always do, made an excellent presentation on the positive aspects of their goals and community impacts. One new goal they mentioned was providing pickleball for adults with Parkinson's.
Everyone at FOMP seems to support the TOPs organization. The big question that the FOMP membership was interested in was "Why Marymoor Park?"
TOPS provided seven bullet points:
- Accessibility for communities we want to serve
- Regional Park with strong community connections
- Aligns with Marymoor Park active use zone
- Aligns with KC ESJ grants
- Complements existing recreational opportunities
- Opportunity to partner with KC Parks to serve more families
- Shortage of indoor public courts in King County and Washington
The proposed location of the facility would be just south of the velodrome and east of the velodrome parking lot (Lot I), where the picnic shelter and lawn currently are. The Climbing Rock would not be affected. Parking for this facility would be in the triangle immediately south of where TOPs would go. This area is currently a small part of the parking available for events on the Event Pad.
I do not recall if they presented details about the size of the building(s).
The concerns from FOMP are related to building large structures in the absolutely irreplaceable open space that is Marymoor Parks. Why not build the facility in an already developed location rather than within the open space of a park? Looking through the bullet points for Why At Marymoor, many only express a desire to work with and within King County Parks. But couldn't King County buy an old parking lot somewhere and declare it to be a park comprising the TOPs facility? To reiterate, FOMP asks why Parks can’t get some non-park land to house partners providing programs that coincide with KC Parks; buy some land that is ripe for redevelopment.
Shai also asked whether the affluent area of Redmond is the appropriate location for their youth outreach/support for low income kids? TOPS reported that Redmond siting is good for fundraising, and that there are many low-income people are in the *general* Eastside area.
Michael was concerned about access for low-income kids. The Marymoor Village light rail station is very close to the proposed facility, but light rail does not serve areas low-income neighborhoods such as near Crossroads Mall. There is very little bus service anywhere near Marymoor with only Metro route 222 on West Lake Sammamish Parkway and route 269 from the Sammamish area to the Light Rail station.
Glenn asked if there are other locations they are/have considered. TOPs has “looked around”, but they’ve mostly been assuming a public park location, as those have been successful in other cities. They seemed to convey that Parks would provide a lower-cost way to get the facility built.
- Cricket – Warren Jimenez
KC is still evaluating the feasibility a cricket facility at Marymoor, and that would probably only be viable by using the Bellevue ballfields site. KC is still very much mulling whether it is a benefit to KC Parks and park users
.
- CIP/Project/Facility Updates:
a: Eastside Audubon Birdloop: Held a celebration of 20 years of partnership with KC Parks
b: Marymoor Community Gardens: KUOW may be doing a report on the successes of the Community Gardens
c: R/C Field (MAR/C):
- They had one accident, where there was loss of control and a plane crashed into a residential area off ELSP. Did do an extensive investigation.
- Getting R/C interference in the NE portion of the flying area – Working with HAM radio operators to locate the interference. It was determined this interference was NOT related to the accident.
- Next events: August 12 swap meet, where members swap junk/treasure, and August 15th with summer barbecue.
d: Marymoor Velodrome Association:
- Had a fantastic Grand Prix, well attended. Was live on YouTube, with lots of viewers around the country and the world.
- Adult classes and youth day camps going strong through August.
- August 28th, partnering with Corgi enthusiasts, doing a corgi race on the track preceding the bike racing.
- MVA has noted an uptick in eBike usage of the track, which is not permitted.
e: SODA - Off-leash Dog Area:
- Finished the access area to culvert
- Constant battle with blackberries
- Removing heron fencing this weekend
f: SES/CMC - Concert Venue & Clise:
- Beach Boys cancelled their concert. Otherwise, all the shows have been going great.
- Last concert September 11th.
- Total attendance will probably be ~50,000 for the year, so not too bad.
i: Maintenance:
- Art Barn getting painted this week.
- Park gardener has a new shed.
- Tree pruning ongoing – Had to remove one dead tree along Marymoor Way; will be replaced.
- Ditch work along 7-8-9 and MacNair.
- Tansy, thistle, Foxtail control underway
- Baseball 3, 4, 5 repairs ongoing. And etc. etc. etc.
- Upcoming projects: flag pole rehab in August, pressure washing, etc.
- New Business:
SODA raised concerns about how Parks manages major event scheduling. How do they determine when too often is too often, or too many in a cluster. Most notably, August 15th, both D and G lots are scheduled to be closed. That removes access to the Dog Area. Justin clarified that they make every attempt to make sure the Off-leash area always has access to either Lot D or Lot G, and that he was fairly sure both would not be inaccessible for dog walkers at the same time. Jim thought that was not correct, as the drone exhibit tends to take over the parking lot long before it's officially closed.
Next meeting, TUESDAY, August 25th, 2026 in the Art Barn
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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.
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