Friends of Marymoor Park
 

May 26, 2026 Meeting Summary
with additional notes from the April meeting

-- see also the March 24, 2026  meeting summary

1. Welcome and Introductions: Justin Camputaro, Marymoor Park Administrator; Greg Helland, SODA, FOMP President; Michael Hobbs, Marymoor Bird Survey, FOMP Secretary; Glenn Eades, Eastside Audubon Bird Loop, neighbor; Claire Waltman, Eastside Audubon Bird Loop, Shai Hinitz, MAR/C;  Vidhur Prabhu, Presentation; Mary ___, Marymoor Live; Jannell Seigwarth, Marymoor Live, online
    
2. Presentation - Song Sparrow Research Findings - Vidhur Prabhu, Eastside Audubon Society
   
   Vidhur is a high school student at the International Community School.  For an AP class, he did a study focusing on machine learning methods to survey vocal variety in a suburban resident population of Melospiza meloda (Song Sparrow), one of the most abundant resident nesting species at Marymoor Park.  Song Sparrows sing year round at Marymoor.
   
   Song Sparrows learn their songs (as opposed to some birds that only sing genetically coded songs), and each bird will sing a few different songs.  Other research has shown that the birds learn the songs sung by their neighbors, so one bird might sing three different songs: A (his personal song), and B, and C.  Some neighboring Song Sparrow might sing B (his personal song), as well as A, and perhaps a different song, D.
   
   Vidhur used passive acoustic monitoring – a Swiftone terrestrial autonomous recording unit, set it up in the East Meadow, in February/March. He also used BirdNet (like Merlin) to detect the Song Sparrow vocalizations out of the hours of recordings, finding about 376 usable clips.  Analysis was done using the visual representation of each song (sonogram). 
   
   He then used unsupervised machine learning to cluster the songs into the specific songs that were sung.  He found 27 different vocalizations, but most of those were just chirps.  Looking just at songs, he found just 4 unique songs, which may be partly due to the pre-breeding seasonality of the study.
   
   This study was mainly just an attempt to use autonomous recording units to gather the sounds, and then AI-based tools to do categorization and analysis.  His results demonstrated that these methods are quite effective, and are much, much faster than techniques used previously, that required countless hours with researchers manually and categorizing songs.  These new methods will greatly speed up the rate at which research can be completed.
   
   See these links:       Song_Sparrow_AP_Research.pdf         FOMP Song Sparrow Dialect Presentation.pptx
   
   
3. CIP/Project/Facility Updates:
   
   a:  Eastside Audubon Birdloop:   May work party was weeding and mulching around the plantings near the Viewing Mound.  Parks did poison as much of the Poison Hemlock that could be found, which helped greatly.  Blackberry control at the edge of the meadow was another part of that work party.  Glenn pointed out that meadows need constant maintenance, because they would otherwise revert to shrubs and trees over time.  Some have suggested occasional burning, which was a technique used by Native Americans to maintain meadows in Western Washington.  Mowing might also work (a technique not available to the tribes).  Techniques to control the Eurasian Hawthorn remain a fascinating question; poisoning may continue to be the best method, and Parks is working on that.  EAS is also investigating working with UW on some assessment for management.
    
   
   b:  Marymoor Community Gardens:   Food bank plot has already begun some limited harvesting.
   
   c:  R/C Field (MAR/C):
   
   • Training program going well; already certified a batch of new pilots.
   • Archeological team came out and tested several areas, without finding significant stuff.
   • There may be an Eagle Scout project in the future; they are at the creative thinking phase.
   • Their War Birds flying event went very well.
   • Special Event (small) on May 30 will feature an enlarged version of a small toy plane, and they will be seeing if it will fly.
   • June 6th will be a glider day. June 27th is their big Air Show with many events, etc.
   • Discussion continues with CPG on replacing their main fence.
   • Made donations to the UW design/fly program, the Food Bank, and one other organization.
   • From April:
   • The UW team that MAR/C sponsors, coaches, and mentors, came in 2nd of 97 teams in a major competition held in Kansas City.  This competition involves designing, constructing, and operating a special plane designed to accomplish the specific feats of the year
   • Training begins very soon, with regular classes
   • Military event.
   • June 22 – Open House air show
   • Shai also asked about getting clearance for putting pegs to hold up tents/shades in their most active areas.  Cultural Resource issues preclude anything that penetrates the ground even just two inches.  MAR/C will need to prepare a map of the area they would like “cleared”, which would then allow holes as necessary
     
   
   
   d:  Marymoor Velodrome Association: 
   
   • Kickoff Friday race is May 29.
   • There have many lighting issues that suddenly occurred.  Dirt in conduits shorted things out.  Most have been fixed, but still a couple of lights don’t work.  Will hopefully be fixed soon.
   • CPG is funding a velodrome assessment project to determine what needs to be done in terms of somewhat major work that may be needed to keep the velodrome successful.  Lighting changes will be assessed as part of that.
     
   
   
   e:  SODA - Off-leash Dog Area:
   
   • Working on managing Cleavers and Foxtail, which are weeds that can negatively affect dogs.
   • From April:
   • They are working with Parks on “Boy Scout Bridge”,  just south of the last dog swim beach.  This bridge is slowly collapsing into the small swampy area there.  Michael asked that the replacement bridge be wider than the existing bridge, since people cannot easily pass on the current bridge.
   
   
   f:  SES/CMC - Concert Venue & Clise: 
   
   • First show was last weekend, and it went quite smoothly, with very few hiccups.  Opened the door 7 minutes late, which is great for a first show.  No security issues.  Mary was very happy with all of the staff and vendors; everybody had a great attitude.
   • Next show Monday, June 8.
   • From April:
   • Tom, the Clise historian, did a walk-through of the mansion and located many artifacts, etc.
   • They will be putting in a barbecue grill for the back patio.
   • Concern that the sun-porch leaks in the rain, and there is a hole where critters are coming in.  There is schedule for permanent repairs, but these are immediate pressing issues.
   • Four shows through mid-June, then a 3-4 week break.
   • Many genres will be featured this year.
   • FOMP is very interested in whether people will be using Light Rail to access concerts.  Parks is making sure there will be signs for pedestrians, both coming and going.
   
   g:  Concessionaires:  All concessionaires are very active, and the season is proceeding as hoped.
   
    
   h:  Events:  Schedule now includes movies.  No additional charge for parking, but there is a facilities fee that has been added, but it will be cheaper for families than before.  Marymoor has more competition for summer movies than in times past.
   
   i:  Maintenance: 
   
   • Lighting of the velodrome needed extensive work to restore lights.
   • Currently, the Bellevue Ballfield lighting is out, which is limiting the use of those fields.  
   • From April:
   • The Art Barn interior will be remodeled, to make the main room more suitable for small events, possibly including something like an art class.
   • Fields and mowing are the majority of current efforts.  Unfortunately, three mowers were recently broken, and they have had to make do.  The new mower has just arrived, however, so mowing should proceed more smoothly soon.
   • Temp staff has just come on board mid-month. Virtually all of the temps are returnees, which makes on-boarding and training simple.
     
   
   
   j: Capital Site Planning:
   
   • Greg asked about repaving parts of the bike trail along West Lake Sammamish Parkway.  He noted that large holes and bumps had been marked with white paint to warn riders.  Greg wonders about whether they are preparing for repaving.
   • The East Lake Sammamish trail is closed for culvert repair/replacement until December.
   • Trail to Light Rail phase II is scheduled for August.
   • Look for the rain garden work during the upcoming winter month.
   • Next month, TOPS will be back with a new proposal.
   • From April:
   • Parks provided feedback on the current designs for the Sammamish River Capital Investment Strategy.
     Work is underway to replace the Rowing Club dock.  This is a CPG project, so joint between Parks and SRA.
   • The water main will be replaced, and with Phase 1, there will be water coming into the park from both the east and west.  Phase 2 will start around 2027-2028, with a new 12” line along the south edge of Marymoor Way, that will maintain higher pressure and will allow three fire hydrants.  Phase 3 (timeline unknown) will run down past Clise to/towards the Community Gardens.
   • Park Mobile – Q1, PM covered ¼ of the parking passes.  Justin believes that will more signage, more PM tickets will be sold.

   k:  New/Old Business:   Greg filed the appropriate forms to maintain FOMP’s non-profit status and filed the tax forms to keep FOMP out of trouble.

   
    
Next meeting, TUESDAY, June 23rd, 2026 in the Art Barn



JOIN OUR EMAIL LIST
and get notifications of meetings and news:
https://groups.io/g/FOMP
 

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.