Friends of Marymoor Park
 

March 26, 2025 Meeting Summary

-- see also the February 26, 2025  meeting summary

1. Welcome and Introductions: Justin Camputaro, Marymoor Park Administrator; Greg Helland, FOMP President; Michael Hobbs, Marymoor Bird Survey, FOMP Secretary; Glenn Eades, Eastside Audubon Bird Loop, neighbor; Kevin Killeen, King County Levy Oversight Board; Emily Alexander, Marymoor Velodrome Association; Don Norman, Puget Sound Bird Observatory
    
2. Heronry Monitoring:  Don Norman, representing the Puget Sound Bird Observatory, joined us.  The PSBO has decided that heronry monitoring is important, since the State is no longer doing this.  Nobody is tracking where heronries are and how many pairs are at each.  PSBO hopes to have the grant money to pursue this.  According to Don, very little is known about the heronries that are located in the Lake Washington / Lake Sammamish watershed areas, as most past research has been at heronries along Puget Sound.  PSBO is planning to focus on the heronries near the Ballard Locks and at Marymoor, both for understanding their prey species, and understanding their timing and productivity.  Don is also interested in Marymoor site as a training site for volunteer monitors.  The survey will start in 2026, hopefully.
   
   Michael will send Don a compilation of data about Great Blue Herons that has been recorded during the weekly Marymoor surveys.
   
   Glenn noted that Eastside Audubon members are a possible source of volunteers.
   
   
3. CIP/Project/Facility Updates:
   
   a.    Eastside Audubon Birdloop: – Monthly work parties continue.  They are working with noxious weed people from KC to try to deal with European Hawthorns.
   
   b.    Marymoor Community Gardens: – Gearing up for spring.   May 1st is the unofficial start of the planting season.  Justin also let us know that the adjacent Pet Memorial Garden has paused in memorializing dogs, since the person who carved the memorials in stone has retired.
   
   c.    R/C Field (MAR/C): – Shai reported via email:
   
   •    we had a very successful "swap meet" even earlier this month.
   •    Grounds team did a great job mowing some of the big brush on the edges of the runway. Thank you!
   •    UW DBF (Design Build Fly) team and our mentors have been practicing for their competition
   
   d.    Off-leash area (SODA): – Next week SODA is getting new trash cans delivered.  Of the culverts, it is looking likely that the county will move forward with replacing the northern-most culvert that drains an interior ditch into the slough.
   
   e.    Cascade Music Collective and Seattle Event Solutions (Concert venue): – Initial concert lineup has been released.  County is working with SES to figure out how to get more use of Clise Mansion.  SES provided drinks/concessions service to Cirque.    Cirque itself was very successful, with 12900 attendees and 30K parked cars.
   
   f.    Maintenance: – Replacement of fencing and netting along the north edge of the park just south of Sound Transit.  Seasonal staff arrives April 16th.  Concert venue will be built out as soon as they arrive.
   
   g.   Velodrome: - Work on the walkway from Light Rail, passing around two sides of the Velodrome, is underway.  Weather dependent, classes will begin mid-April.  Containers also will be on-site around the same time.  MVA will be appearing at the Light Rail Grand Opening as well as a bike show of some sort.
   
   h.    Event Update: – Justin showed us a calendar.   21 concerts are pretty much locked in, with 14 already announced.  Likely to hit the 25 mark for concerts.  For a complete current listing of events, see the Events page, www.marymoor.org/events.htm 
   
   
   i.     Capital Site Planning: – The Marymoor plan is in draft format, and is waiting on upper level management for review before finalization.    Goal is to have the plan complete by the time of the Levy.  The current draft is very similar to what we’ve seen earlier, according to Justin.  Traffic Study: Traffic Study has been finalized.  Justin briefly showed us the document. They created a list of reconfigurations etc. and scored them according to how useful and important they are.  Top recommendations include a pedestrian walkway paralleling Pea Patch Rd.   They have put together some possible “Packages” of work to be done.  Justin will check when and how much of the study can be released for all to see.
   
   j.    Cricket Facility Proposal: –  Greg was in a call with Warren Jimenez on March 4th.  Mostly talked about the levy.  But re: cricket, Parks and Bellevue have failed to agree to any purchase of the Bellefield site.  Instead, Parks is considering a multi-us facility somewhere in the northern section of the park that could work for cricket, concerts, etc.  Possibly on the event pad location. Jimenez also discussed possible improvements to the velodrome.  Improvements are likely to be in the levy proposal.  Emily detailed how important the velodrome is, and how it needs to be brought back up to world class status.  The velodrome is 50 years old this year.  Details are not determined yet, but MVA would love on-site restrooms or preferably locker rooms.  Improvements to grandstand seating also is a goal.  Greg raised the issue of how a multi-use facility could be included in the levy without first determining the appropriateness of a professional cricket facilty within the park.
   
   
   
Next meeting Wednesday, April 23rd, 2025 in Clise Mansion



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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.