1) Introductions - in attendance - Barbara Dickson (neighbor, salmon watcher), Michael Hobbs (East Lake Washington Audubon Society, FOMP secretary/webmaster), Norah Gaynor (King County Parks), Harley Sheffield (Marymoor Velodrome Association), Jack MacKinnon (Community Gardeners Association), Christina Merten (CGA).

 

• Antique Car Show - would be July 1-2.  Would have a family-oriented fair atmosphere.  Siting not yet decided.  Up to 5,000 - 10,000 attendees projected.  Admission fee would be minimal or free.  Possibly would include an antique car parade with 100-200 cars.  Might have an entertainment stage.
• Food and Wine Festival - Mid-August - 8,000 attendees over the course of the weekend days, though not all at once.  Company has done similar festivals in California.  Would be ticketed ($50-$500 per ticket, many or all advanced sales).  Physically small and compact.
• Sweetfest - August 26-27.  Big festival, 20,000 attendees over the weekend.  Food festival focussing on desserts.  Free admission.
• A forestry association is having a conference in Redmond, and would like to do a Field Day at Marymoor on Friday, September 29th.  Their members would compete in a tree climbing competition, there would also be training, and they would also do some arbor work in the park. 
• See the Events listing on the website for other events.  It will be updated tomorrow or Friday.

• Recreation & Event Area - Paving mostly complete; the project should be finished soon.  Recreational equipment may not be installed prior to Cirque du Soleil.
• Velodrome Restrooms - In progress; concrete poured and framing up.  Hopefully will be opened March 1.   Discussions are underway with possible concessionaires.
• Synthetic Turf Fields - Meeting tomorrow for pre-bids.  Construction will start in the spring, with the fields closed throughout the spring and summer.
• Maintenance Building - Under construction, and basically on schedule.  This building is LEED certified (environmental guidelines), which limits color and materials choices. The exterior color scheme is under discussion.  Something fairly muted is expected. The roof will be a dark brownish color.  The walls might be dark green or beige.  Doors and windows might be maroon or red&orange or something else.
• Velodrome Association Building - Tied up right now in internal King County discussions.  Permitting is delayed.
• Sammamish Rowing Association Building - SRA will bring new drawings and plans in February.  City of Redmond Site Plan Entitlement permit is pending, with comments due by February 6th.  File number L060007.  
• Ruff House - Still in permitting.  Permits might be issued in 6 weeks.  Could be ready to open by summer or fall.

• A swing gate will replace the bollards at Marymoor West (the Rowing Club).  Split-rail fencing will encircle the east and south edges of the parking lot to keep ORVs and motorcycles out.
• New signs have gone up indicating that the park is closed at dusk except for scheduled events (there were signs already, but these are new and more visible).
• The swing gates at the middle of the park will be moved to the entrances of the park, but at this time there are not plans to close them nightly.  Norah was seeking input as to appropriate hours if the gates were to be closed at night, what times would be acceptable.  Midnight? to 5:00 a.m.?  5:30 a.m.?  6:00 a.m.?

• Water levels reached their second-highest level in recent memory, beaten only by the flooding around New Years 1997.  The dog meadow still has significant standing water, and there are significant closures of access.  The slough trail is blocked at the first footbridge, just past the southernmost dog swim area.  This bridge is no longer underwater, but will need several boards replaced.  The entire southern 2/3rds of the dog meadow are off-limits to all except the ducks and gulls that are very happy there. Closures in the dog area will probably continue for quite a while to allow the area to dry out and firm up.
• The Interpretive Trail was flooded from north of the first footbridge, but the water has receded to the point that you can stay dry all the way to the boardwalk.  The boardwalk is partially submerged, with water up to about 6" deep, but it is passable to the lake platform if you are wearing boots.  There is quite a bit of debris to contend with.
• At the Rowing Club, sandbags prevented water from entering the boathouse, to my knowledge.  The water has receded, but there is still 10" of water between the boathouse and the dock.
• Probably 1/3 of Marymoor was underwater at the height of the flood.  A significant portion remains inundated.

• Parks desires to replace some of the sandwich-board signs for Subway and other concessionaires with something else.  Norah passed around a proposal to install slats in the existing new park sign frames with, for instance, "Food", along with the color logo for the company.  Christina proposed making the slat a different color as well.  Hmmm.  There was strong support for sign reduction, and general support for Norah's idea.

• All Washington State employees can participate in the WSCFD and have a small portion of their wages passed on to charities.  Program is run by a committee appointed by the Governor.  Employees can either give straight to the fund, or directly target a participating organization.  There is a fairly simple form that FOMP could submit on-line to apply to be one of the participating organizations.  There was support for proceeding with this.

• A car did donuts in the Pet Memorial Garden - the perpetrator was caught, and will be required to make recompense.
• Banners at the Velodrome have disappeared sometime in 2006, and may have been stolen.
• Marymoor Community Gardeners are selling Chinook Books through the end of February.  Contact Christina Merten if you want one.  They are also looking at other fundraising in order to proceed with some new projects.
• There is a Small Habitats and Drainage Improvements program that is seeking projects.  Applications are due January 31st.  More information is at http://dnr.metrokc.gov/wlr/cposa/shrp/suggest.htm.  Contact Norah if you have an idea.
• New bird for Marymoor - a pair of Western Screech-Owls were seen on the Interpretive Trail over the New Year.  They may have moved to other areas due to the flooding, however.

Next meeting, Wednesday, February 22nd.