September 25, 2024 Meeting Summary
-- see also the August 22, 2024 meeting summary
- Welcome and Introductions: Greg Helland, FOMP President, SODA representative; Chris Jordan, Marymoor Park Administration, King County Parks; Glenn Eades, Eastside Audubon Bird Loop, neighbor; Michael Hobbs, Marymoor Bird Survey, FOMP Secretary; Angie Heyer, Seattle Event Solutions (Concerts, Clise); Jamie Brown. Online: Daphne Payne, Capital planning team; Joe Inslee, Community engagement team; Kevin Killeen, King County Levy Oversight Board; Laura Hall, Marymoor Community Gardens, FOMP Board.
- Marymoor Park Plan - Community Engagement:
Daphne and Joe provided a very similar presentation via Zoom in early September, but repeated it for us in person.
Parks is doing a 2024 plan, since many changes have occurred since 1995, and many events added. Things like parkin and transportation have not been reevaluated since 1995.
The Capital Site Planning analysis is based on a National Parks model comprising History, Land Use Analysis, Cultural Resources Review, Environmental Impact Analysis, Facility Assessment, Transportation and Parking Plan, Development Concept Design, Operations and Maintenance Plan, Business and Demand Management Plan, and Community Engagement and ESJ Plan.
The 1995 plan laid out a long list of plans and improvements. This has been updated recently. Some of the old items are still relevant recommendations that carry over; there are also new recommendations. Prioritization is based on a ranking rubric comprising (1)Safety concerns for park users and staff, (2) Upgrades to prevent closure of facilities, (3) Improvements that aim to achieve KC initiatives, (4) Preventative maintenance, (5) Aesthetics.
The Land Use remain similar to 1995, with the addition of zoning and wetland considerations. There are guidelines of allowable alterations. There is a new restriction on any new development of proposals that consider community engagement as well as fitting within the Land Use districts, zoning, and environmental considerations. There are also revenue goal considerations, but these are tempered by Equity and Social Justice and other considerations, as well as parking and transportation issues.
The full plan is on-line; follow a link from this site: https://publicinput.com/Marymoor
Glenn – Does parking/transportation include pedestrian – Response – Yes, pedestrian accommodation is expensive. This continues from 1995 plan; these are still pending. Glenn noted that Light Rail is going to
increase the pedestrian flow.
Laura - For ADA conveyance, the park is atrocious. There are impacts from current pedestrian usage on, for example, migratory birds. There have also been some safety/assault issues, as well as injuries from
people walking on uneven ground.
Greg – Business and Revenue section seems to consider “Park needs”, i.e. a Recreation Demand Analysis. Marymoor is pretty maxed out physically. Many groups request facilities for particular sports, i.e. Rugby, Pickleball, Cricket, etc. These needs need to be considered, and the analysis needs to extend county-wide. This would be both looking at county-wide demand, but also recognizing that all needs don’t need to be satisfied at Marymoor. Response – King County does not have funding to do the required analyses at this time.
Greg asked if there might be an actual Master Planning process, to provide guidelines in advance of proposals.
Michael - When proposals have come before FOMP, we have no information about how to decide who gets into the park. An individual request can be evaluated, but that evaluation really needs to consider all of the other potential requests. Money and real estate and Parks resources are all severely limited.
Daphne – Pointed out that the Community Engagement – Development Proposal Form has a question regarding whether Marymoor is the place where this proposal can be supported.
There was discussion about how strong the grandfathering of existing uses is? Mostly, the expectation is that exiting usages will be grandfathered in for the foreseeable future, even if those activities would
not be consistent with the past or future guidelines.
Kevin: Daphne, as a plan professional, maybe a Master Plan would provide a framework for evaluation, but is there something short of a Master Plan that could help with this? Daphne: There are primary
guidelines that come from KC Council. These are changeable, but drive focus of KC Parks. Priorities are also so focused on immediate needs, such as updated irrigation and water lines in the park. The
interaction
- CIP/Project/Facility Updates:
a. Eastside Audubon Birdloop: – No First Saturday work party in October, but there will be a large Microsoft work day focusing on the European Hawthorn removal. Chris said that Dave can help with removal of some of the 20-or-so large trees. Glenn also asked about removal of European Hawthorns from other parts of the park (i.e. the dog area has many), as those trees provide fruit that are spread around the park..
b. Marymoor Community Gardens: – Look at their website for much more information. Few issues with vandalism this year. Season wrap-up coming up. Portapotty service can be cut back in November. Laura did request a pothole repair in their parking lot.
c. R/C Field (MAR/C): Shai is under the weather, so no M/ARC update. The project is completed. But there are some fencing and bollard placement needed.
d. Off-leash area (SODA): – First SODA work party for hog fuel is on the 28th.
e. Cascade Music Collective and Seattle Event Solutions (Concert venue): Concert season is over. Tear-down completed mostly within 7 days. Some fencing removal and
trailer removal is still pending. Angie and her crew have been cleaning up lots of micro-pollution (metal
clips, zip ties, etc.) Thank you! All of everything will be cleared in the first week in October.
f. Maintenance: Gates and bollard work going on to manage traffic in inappropriate places. Some places will be closed off at night. Fields 7-8-9 will be protected by split rail. Parks have slightly increased night
patrols. Lighting work mostly finished except for some old lights on Field 4. There are some small-capital projects in the work, such as flag pole, signage repairs, garbage can replacements, etc.
g. Event Update: Chris will send a calendar
h. Sound Transit Light Rail: No update. First or 2nd quarter for completion of the Gateway Trail; it will be a race to see if the trail will be completed before the Light Rail open. Some fence work may be delayed because of Cirque du Soleil.
i. Cricket Proposal: The proponents are still pushing for this, with some “Community Engagement” on site, apparently for an invited list of interested people. This seemed at little fraught to FOMP - promoting this proposal on-site…
i. Capital Site Planning: Chris doesn’t know what the Next Steps are, entirely. Laura asked about the Transportation Plan, and whether it discusses eBikes vs. pedestrians. Conflicts there can be serious.
Next meeting WEDNESDAY, October 23rd, 2024
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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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