Friends of Marymoor Park

June 26, 2013 Meeting Summary

-- see also the May 22, 2013  meeting summary 

1) Introductions: Herb Bone, Marymoor R/C Club, FOMP Board; Norah Robinson, King County Parks; Michael Hobbs, Eastside Audubon, FOMP Secretary; Glenn Eades, Eastside Audubon; Grace & Ollie Oliver, neighbors and Eastside Audubon; Scott Sheffield & Marty Niesland, Lake Sammamish residents

2) King County Parks Levy:  On June 25th, the FOMP Board received an email from Terry Lavender with the King County Parks Levy Campaign, http://yesforourparks.com/.  They were requesting the endorsement of the Friends of Marymoor Park for the King County Parks Levy which is appearing on the August ballot.  Please see their website for details about the levy.  At the June meeting, we discussed the endorsement request.  Michael noted that, if FOMP were uncomfortable with the funding strategy for Parks, that would be something that would need to be conveyed to the Levy Campaign long before a levy was ready to appear on the ballot.  Given that the proposal was already finalized, and given that Parks is dependent on levy money for operations, that an endorsement would seem appropriate. Michael did make a motion to authorize Greg Helland (FOMP President) to complete the endorsement form on behalf of FOMP.  As he was not present, however, the motion could not be acted upon at the meeting, due to lack of a quorum.

3) New Ideas from Norah:

1. Parking Machine Pull-out Proposal:  Parking machines were installed in 2003, selling tickets for a $1/day fee. The machines are wearing out, and parts can no longer be acquired. Parks Maintenance department has been doing a great job keeping the machines running, but those machines are needing to be replaced.  A few new machines have been bought, and they accept credit cards. These new machines will go in the most-used locations; the first has been installed in Lot K near the tennis courts and SUBWAY. Norah would like to put new machines on the pull-out to Lot D (dog area parking lot) [one credit/debit only, the other takes both plastic and cash]. The machines would need to be ADA accessible [currently, ADA placard vehicles are not required to pay; and that will continue]. ADA rules require additional spacing between the machines.

   In order to accommodate the machines, Norah proposed having two pull-out lanes, each with a machine, instead of one lane with two machines in-line.  This would require a slightly wider pull-out.  Having two lanes, however, would also accommodate more vehicles; at high use times, the backup from the current single lane sometimes blocks the intersection with Marymoor Way (the through-park road).  In discussion, nobody expressed concerns about the additional pavement width, and in fact, there were suggestions to make the pull-out start earlier, or placed such that there would be less conflict with Marymoor Way.  And Scott suggested that credit card users be charged an extra 25 cents to cover the processing fee for credit card transactions.

    

2. Venue seating surface – Norah is investigating using permeable concrete to replace the plastic panels over gravel that is the current surface of the chair seating area for the concert venue. The cost would be less than the ~$30,000 replacement cost of the existing plastic surface. General comments were neither strongly pro or con, but there were a lot of questions about it that would be worth investigating. Things like how it will stand up to freezing? Will it get clogged by fir needles? Would weeds grow up through it? How much does it puddle during a strong rain? Would the rougher surface cause more wear-and-tear on the chairs? What will be the effect on sound – more or less sound absorption? Will the surface be a comfortable and safe surface for concertgoers?
    
3. Production Office – a trailer/container-like office box is parked behind the stage during the concert season. The trailer is now the property of Marymoor Park, and Norah was trying to figure out where to store it during the non-concert season. Michael suggested near the Art Barn. Ollie suggested somewhere behind the new maintenance facility in the NE part of the park.  Everyone was adamant that it should not remain behind the stage during the non-concert season.
    

Next Meeting: July 24, 2013, 7:00 pm 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.