1) Introductions:   Norah Robinson, King County Parks; Greg Helland, FOMP President, SODA representative; Michael Hobbs, Eastside Audubon, FOMP Secretary; Herb Bone, MAR/C, Glenn Eades, Eastside Audubon and neighbor;  Ollie Oliver, birdwatcher and neighbor;

2) New Festival – September 2015, probably 2nd or 3rd weekend, but that is still very, very much in the air.

Parks is seeking an Event Production Company to assist in developing a new community event to take place at Marymoor Park. RFP deadline was 2/24. This new festival could be reminiscent of the Heritage Festival, updated to the 21st century. Norah believes there were one or more responses to the RFP, and hopefully an agreement will be reached with one of them.

The event would combine local foods and crafts, local agriculture and sustainable living and would be geared towards a demographic reflective of King County's population.  The themes of this event will encompass sustainability topics, the local farm to table movement, crafting, demonstrations, hands-on activities, and entertainment for both adults and children.

Greg’s response: “Fabulous”, and suggested workshops such as an arborist tree-care and pruning workshop. He also mentioned that SODA ran the beer garden for the last Heritage Festivals, and that might be a possibility again as it was a great fundraiser for them.

3) CIP/Project/Facility Updates

a) Birdloop – the question of trail surface has resurfaced. The question is whether to replace the asphalt with new asphalt, or with compacted gravel sharps. Michael asked about ADA accessibility of gravel, and Norah stated that as long as it is maintained well, it is fine for ADA. The downside of gravel is that regular maintenance is required. Gravel would also require an edging material – wood? Something else? Recycled plastic boarders? Michael mentioned that most gravel trails are noisy to walk on, which is a problem for birdwatchers listening for birds. Michael also mentioned that the area floods under extreme conditions (at least twice in the last 20 years). He asked if the gravel surface would be destroyed if it were submerged under a foot of water for a week. Norah is still leaning towards asphalt.

Norah and Parks engineers have done some inspections of the boardwalk. They really liked the extension that Eastside Audubon built, and were very interested in the deck surface material. We discussed whether railings were desirable or required, and so on. Boardwalks in other parks were brought up and discussed. We eventually decided that the engineers can figure this stuff out. MyNorthwest.com discussion about enforcement of dog rules.

Michael brought up the idea of switching to a permanent fence around the heronry. The herons are using the heronry about 8 months a year, and are already bringing lots of sticks to build nests. Greg will talk to the Trockles about it. Split rail would probably be sufficient. We noted that SODA-installed split rail, backed with mesh, seems to last better than split-rail installed by others, and not backed by mesh.

b) Marymoor West and Boathouse project – a new gate will be installed at the top of the drive to restrict vehicle access. County rebuilt dock, replacing the interior floats and the deck surface. c) Sammamish River Transition Zone – Public meeting Saturday, March 14, 10-noon to present preferred alternatives. Location will be announced later.

c) Sammamish River Transition Zone – Public meeting Saturday, March 14, 10-noon to present preferred alternatives. 

Redmond Senior Center
8703 160th Avenue NE
Redmond, WA 98052

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Please join the Willowmoor Project team for a second public meeting about the work being done to address existing flood control and habitat issues on the Sammamish River at its outlet from Lake Sammamish in King County’s Marymoor Park.

• The meeting will focus on the project's progress, outcomes of the ongoing Stakeholder Advisory Committee process and next steps.
• Staff will review the design alternatives being considered for the transition zone to maintain or improve flood and lake level control and water quality and habitat conditions.
• Following a presentation, project team members will be available to answer questions and cover upcoming project milestones.

If you are a Marymoor Park user, Sammamish river or lake recreational user, neighbor or property owner, or are interested in salmon recovery, flood-risk reduction or habitat restoration, please attend this meeting.

More information about the project and the Stakeholder Advisory Committee process is available on the Willowmoor Project web page or contact Craig Garric at 206-477-4694 or craig.garric@kingcounty.gov.