Friends of Marymoor Park

August 28th, 2002 Meeting Summary

-- see also the July 2002 meeting summary

Conley's Golf Driving Range: Greg Conley

We got to review preliminary design drawings prepared by architect Curtis Gelotte.  The design features an L-shaped structure with 44 driving stations on two levels facing north (towards SR 520), and a Pro Club, putting green, and restrooms facing west.  The building would be located immediately west of the velodrome parking lot, with the range filling the west half of the newly constructed grass soccer fields.  Netting would run 75' to 110' tall stretching from the building to SR 520 and the wetland buffer there.  The building itself would have a 10,000 sq. ft. footprint, and would be constructed of star-shaped steel frames supporting a shed-like half-roof.  The base of the roof (on the south and east sides) would be a block wall.

An agreement will be routed to the county council in September for authorization.  Plans go to DDES (Department of Development and Environmental Services) in October.  The current schedule calls for the facility to open in March.

On the question of parking, the facility is designed to allow people to use the Cowboy Lot as well as the Velodrome Lot.

[Later I asked Bobbi Wallace about mitigation for loss of the grass soccer field space.  She is proposing changing out the dirt fields under lights to field turf and she would like to add two more fields next to them towards the road, but would need to move the trail and do drainage. They also would be field turf to conserve water, not use fertilizer and reduce labor costs. ]

Projected revenue to the park system is still in negotiation, but would six-figure amounts annually.

Puget Sound Festival Debrief:

The Luis Palau Puget Sound Festival had stunning attendance, estimated at 80,000 Saturday and 75,000 Sunday.  There were some problems due to the large crowds: restroom waits were long, food lines were longer, dumpsters were overflowing, traffic was bad.  There was concern that the teardown after dark Sunday could have posed a safety hazard.

The sound apparently was turned up for a time on Saturday, and complaints could not be registered because the contact phone number that had been given out was, in fact, a FAX line.  Noise concerns were also raised because the auxiliary sound system (covering the overflow section near Clise Mansion) faced West, towards neighbors.

Universally, however, the organizers and attendees of the festival were praised.  Traffic problems were handled well, for the most part.  There was VERY good clean-up afterwards.  There were sufficient EMT staff on hand, as well as volunteer aid workers, etc., etc.  It almost appeared as if the organizers were prepared for the size of the crowd, despite having projected considerably smaller attendance figures in the contract with the county.

A general sentiment was that contracts should specifically address overattendance.

NEC Golf Tournament Parking Debrief:

Attendance was lower than projected during the week, but picked up on the weekend.  For only a couple of hours on Saturday and Sunday was the park switched to one-way traffic.

No problems this time for Community Garden gardeners; they easily got to their plots.  It was noted that, while there were signs stating NO PARKING along West Lake Samm. Parkway, this was not being monitored well by police.

Movie-in-the-Park Fundraiser Debrief:

Big success.  Around 500 people attended, and almost $1000 was raised for FOMP.  A big thanks to the volunteers who helped out!!!

Discussion of cumulative effect of big events:

Clise Mansion rentals have been affected by special events during July and August.  There is no way to rent out the mansion some weekends.  Weddings require advance bookings, and the park schedule is not always determined far enough in advance to know whether a given weekend will be free.

The grass fields south of the access road have been thoroughly beaten by the combination of the Evergreen Classic horse jumping event, the Puget Sound festival, the NEC parking, and the almost total lack of rain this August.  Much of the fields has been denuded of all grass, and it is just bare dirt.  Money is available to restore the fields, but time is not.  LWYSA will be moving some of their games to the new fields near the velodrome (fields that were going to be rested until next year to allow grass to become fully established).  The Parks System is investigating plastic roll-out covering to protect the grass for at least certain large events.  It is unclear if such coverings could withstand car parking though.  And certainly they could not be used for the horse jumping event.  Grant money may be available to change all-weather fields to Field Turf, and that might mitigate future unavailability of the grass fields.

Other Business:

• The Community Gardens may lose their coordinator position (currently Laura Niemi).  This is a major concern for them.
• Barbara Dickson complained that the fall rowing season has just started and already rowers are parking on the street.  The Marymoor West lot is full all evenings, preventing non-rowers from visiting that section of the park.
• The King County Executive is considering a recommendation to charge for parking at Marymoor.  Comments are needed before September 25 to the Executive; after that date, the recommendation will be considered by the Council, and comments can be addressed there.  The proposal is a $0.50 daily fee.  There will be an annual pass available, possibly at $80.

These notes were made by the webmaster, 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.