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Monday, November 28, 2022

7:00 PM
Topics tracked across meetings:
Amendments to Rules & Regulations 2/9
Blackberry Park Update 5/5
Section
2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES
2a
Minutes of November 1, 2022
packet pp.3–4
Staff report:
APPROVAL OF MINUTES a) 11-01-22 Park Board Minutes Page 1 1 CITY OF ISSAQUAH Park Board – Special Meeting 7:00 PM Steelhead Room November 1, 2022 MINUTES 235 1st Ave. SE
4. REGULAR BUSINESS
4a
Amendments to the Rules & Regulations re: Virtual Attendance Policy, (D, A)
30 min · Tisha Gieser, City Clerk · packet pp.5–21
Staff report:
City Clerk's Office 130 E. Sunset Way | P.O. Box 1307 Issaquah, WA 98027 425-837-3000 issaquahwa.gov
4b
Blackberry Park Update
Information · 20 min · Jennifer Fink, Park Planning and Project Administrator · packet pp.23–35
Topics: Parks
Staff report:
J E N NIFER F I NK , PA R K P L A N N E R & P ROJ EC T A D M I N I S T R ATO R REGULAR BUSINESS b)
4c
NW Trolls - Art Installation Opportunity, (D)
30 min · Amy Dukes, Arts Program Administrator · packet pp.37–40
Topics: Arts & Culture
Staff report:
REGULAR BUSINESS c) CONFIDENTIAL - NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION
5. REPORTS
5a
Chairperson's Report
5b
Youth Representative's Report
5c
Director's Report
0:00 okay
0:02 all right so uh calling to order the
0:06 meeting for November 28 2022 uh we'll
0:11 start off by taking roll call so uh when
0:14 I call your name please take yourself
0:15 off of mute if you are attending
0:18 virtually or otherwise take your your
0:21 presence uh Chris
0:25 present
0:27 Marlene
0:32 Andrew e
0:35 present
0:37 David
0:39 good
0:44 Nicholas
0:50 present
0:52 Katie here
1:00 Danielle present
1:02 Brad
1:04 president
1:05 and Andrew and
1:11 all right moving on to the approval of
1:14 minutes from the November 1st meeting
1:17 did everyone have the opportunity to go
1:20 during the minutes
1:23 does anyone have any any uh questions
1:26 comments or Corrections
1:32 all right does anyone have any objection
1:34 to the approval of the minutes from the
1:37 November 1st meeting
1:41 all right I hereby approved the minutes
1:43 uh thank you
1:46 all right uh are there any uh comments
1:50 from the public today
1:55 public hearing person
2:04 all right okay so that in a public
2:07 comment uh just sort of moving forward
2:09 here uh today we will be uh going
2:12 through
2:13 um three items uh amendments to the
2:15 rules and regulations uh
2:17 for the virtual attendance policy uh
2:20 Blackberry Park update and the Northwest
2:23 trolls art installation opportunity
2:26 um but before we get started on that I'm
2:27 going to turn it over to uh Judd who's
2:29 going to introduce our uh youth thank
2:33 you so much Zach good evening everybody
2:34 glad you're here
2:37 um I know in our last meeting we talked
2:38 about our youth Advisory Board was busy
2:40 getting ready uh for this new school
2:42 year and identifying some appointees for
2:46 Park Board happy to introduce um zombie
2:49 and our Shaya did I say that right oh
2:53 man but I thought we could go around the
2:55 table and the virtual table really fast
2:57 and just quickly introduce yourself and
3:00 maybe share how long you've been a
3:02 member of the park board or a resident
3:04 here with isik boss so I will lead off
3:07 by solombe our welcome Jeff walkling
3:11 parks and Community Services director
3:13 I'm a dentist role with the squad boy
3:15 just over six years now
3:19 and I'm uh Zach and I've been the
3:21 membership for about a year and a half
3:26 okay
3:32 that's great where do you go to school
3:34 um Lake Middleton great
3:41 six years now
3:45 I'm Danielle and um I've been on the
3:49 Park Board I think since 2005.
3:53 and Jennifer thing
3:55 um Park planner project administrator
3:57 and I'm starting my ninth year here at
4:00 the city
4:02 hi I'm Amy Duke Spencer program
4:04 administrator and I'm also a resident of
4:06 this club and I have been in this role
4:08 for about 10 years
4:10 and I'm Tisha Geezer I'm the city clerk
4:12 and I've been here about seven years
4:15 and then I'm Hassan and I've been here
4:19 with the city bus for a month
4:24 resident and I've been living here for
4:26 about a year
4:28 it's great I don't know something so
4:30 enjoyed coming to the youth Advisory
4:31 board meeting a couple weeks ago and so
4:34 again welcome why don't we I'm going to
4:37 try and go down the Brady Bunch list
4:39 here Brad your first
4:42 uh hi everyone I've been uh Issaquah
4:45 resident and squawk Mountain person here
4:48 for 38 years I've been on the park board
4:51 for 10 and a half years
4:55 Andrew e
4:57 hello everyone I am Andrew ellikin I
5:01 have been a resident of Issaquah since
5:03 2019 and I just became a member a Park
5:07 Board member this year
5:09 I see Andrew M and Andrew joined us as
5:12 well
5:16 thank you uh yeah my name is Andrew
5:19 Myers This is my first year on The Parks
5:21 Board but I've lived in this quad for a
5:23 long time back and forth throughout my
5:25 life and actually attended Pine Lake
5:27 Middle School back in the day so glad
5:29 glad to have you both here the students
5:31 oh we got a connection yeah
5:34 Chris
5:36 yeah hi uh welcome and I've been an
5:39 isqua resident for 22 years in squawk
5:43 Mountain as well for 22 years and then a
5:46 Park Board member for about four and a
5:48 half I think
5:49 thank you
5:51 that's great Brenda
5:53 hello welcome I've been in Issaquah for
5:56 20 years on squawk Mountain like most of
5:59 us it seems like and a parkour member
6:01 this is my second year
6:06 hey David
6:08 hi everyone
6:09 um so yeah welcome to the meetings uh
6:12 I've been on the park board for about
6:13 four months now and the risks resident
6:16 of Issaquah for about five and a half
6:17 years and I'm on Cougar Mountain so on
6:20 that side
6:22 got our Hills representing and Katie
6:28 driving on 405 so pardon me I'm uh my
6:31 name is Katie and this is my first year
6:33 I live in Dallas and uh this uh I've
6:38 been living in Issaquah for almost 18
6:40 years thank you
6:43 it's great it's both hands
6:49 and again welcome
6:52 so glad you're both here thanks Eric
6:56 okay so I think we'll turn it over to
6:58 Tisha it's as the uh amendments to the
7:01 rules and regulations
7:09 this is a pretty straightforward
7:12 proposal but um I do have a few slides
7:15 to talk through this so
7:18 during covid-19 we moved from having
7:22 in-person meetings to all virtual
7:23 meetings uh the park board is one of the
7:26 boards and I go talk to you all recently
7:28 about um yarning subject to the state's
7:31 open public meetings Act so the governor
7:34 during the kobit 19 emergency
7:37 issued a declaration
7:39 um basically prohibiting in-person
7:41 meetings of groups that fall under the
7:44 open public meetings act
7:47 um but requiring
7:49 um so requiring a virtual meeting or a
7:50 meeting that people can join by
7:52 telephone so we purchased WebEx and
7:55 began helping holding your cardboard
7:58 meetings entirely virtually through 2020
8:01 and 2021 and even into 2022 the governor
8:06 terminated his uh proclamation in July
8:11 of this year and so we began basing our
8:14 boards and commissions back to the
8:17 person meetings
8:20 so uh your uh group will begin
8:24 um transitioning to in-person meetings
8:25 in September uh initially we requested
8:29 all boarding commission members to
8:31 attend meetings in person but committed
8:33 to retaining a virtual component for
8:36 some of the city's advisory boards on an
8:38 ongoing basis we found during covid that
8:41 there was a pretty healthy public
8:43 engagement in attendance in our public
8:45 meetings
8:47 um through the virtual element so our
8:50 commitment was to retain that for the
8:51 Park Board in many of the city's other
8:53 boards but encourage the board members
8:55 to attend the meetings in person if not
8:58 require that we heard some feedback over
9:01 the last few months that the boards have
9:04 been moving back to in-person meetings
9:06 that board members liked the option to
9:09 attend virtually in certain cases we're
9:12 attending a meeting in person could be
9:14 challenging so that might be you know
9:16 something like a business trip or a car
9:19 breaking down or have you know needing
9:22 to recuperate from a medical procedure
9:24 that makes you know getting into your
9:26 car and coming into it being difficult
9:27 so the mayor directed me to draft a
9:31 proposed policy to bring to all of our
9:33 city boards and commissions that um put
9:36 something in your rules about virtual
9:38 attendance so now if you look at your
9:41 rules and regulations they don't
9:43 um at all mentioned a virtual element to
9:46 meetings
9:47 so this recommendation that I have for
9:50 you tonight is is coming from the city
9:52 Administration but these are your rules
9:54 that you adopt as a board five of you
9:57 need to agree to any change so keep that
10:00 in mind as I talk to you a little bit
10:02 more about the post policy
10:05 so the policy as written State's
10:08 proposed policy states that if you're
10:10 unable to attend a meeting in person you
10:13 can attend remotely so again that would
10:15 be something like business travel
10:17 something something specific prohibiting
10:20 I need to quarantine something of that
10:23 nature and then you would if if you had
10:27 advance notice of this need to
10:29 participate virtually you would like let
10:32 your staff please unknown for that could
10:34 be Jeff or hasanthi and notified them
10:37 that you plan to attend a meeting
10:38 virtually in the rules we request them
10:41 advance notice of this because the rules
10:44 also specify that a quorum of the board
10:46 would attend meetings in person and so
10:48 there's a need for the staff to sort of
10:51 manage how many board members might be
10:54 participating virtually this is being
10:56 proposed for for um
10:58 a few reasons uh one of them is the
11:02 mayor continues to um
11:04 strongly prefer that boarding commission
11:06 members attend meetings in person when
11:09 at all possible
11:10 the second reason is as Brad experience
11:13 tonight sometimes there are technical
11:16 issues and if we don't have five of you
11:19 in a meeting room and we have an issue
11:22 with the audio uh the technology in the
11:25 room or your technology and you are we
11:28 don't have a forum physically in the
11:29 room the meeting has to stop which means
11:31 the people who have made the effort to
11:33 travel to the meeting location including
11:36 members of the public would would not be
11:39 able to proceed with the meetings so
11:42 those are the two reasons why that forum
11:46 is uh required in person with an
11:49 exception made if your board has two or
11:51 more vacancies
11:54 um if attending virtually in a policy
11:56 emphasizes that you need to be able to
11:58 fully participate so we don't want this
12:00 to be a reason for you to feel compelled
12:03 to attend a park board meeting when
12:05 you're vacationing with your family in
12:07 Hawaii we want you to be on vacation we
12:10 want you to let us know if you're
12:11 traveling and request an excuse to
12:13 absence
12:14 um and we also want you to request an
12:16 excused absence if you are not able to
12:19 have your camera on and be engaged in
12:22 the meeting
12:25 um another restriction mentioned is on
12:27 chairing so um uh the recommendation is
12:31 that the chair be in person so uh if
12:34 Zapp was unable to be here in person the
12:36 vice chair would chair um if neither of
12:39 them were present the board would uh
12:41 elect another person to chair the
12:42 meeting
12:45 so there were a few other things that
12:48 are adjusted in the rules related to
12:50 this virtual attendance policy
12:53 um one is just to acknowledge that the
12:55 city's commitment to retaining that
12:57 virtual element for your regular meeting
12:59 so that members of the public and staff
13:00 can participate virtually
13:04 um this also allows us to record your
13:05 meetings it may be that the board may
13:08 choose to tour the park uh Park
13:10 facilities or do some have some kind of
13:13 special meeting that has a social
13:14 element we wouldn't necessarily have a
13:16 virtual component for those special
13:18 meetings
13:20 um the other thing that is proposed
13:22 tonight which isn't really specific to
13:25 the virtual attendance policy but it's
13:26 something um we thought we would address
13:29 considering that the park board did add
13:32 additional alternate members recently
13:35 was to establish a procedure for how to
13:38 select which alternates would serve in
13:41 the absence of a regular member
13:43 so tonight it appears you have three
13:45 regular members who are here so all
13:47 three alternates are serving as regular
13:49 members but if that weren't the case
13:52 um it's proposed that the alternates be
13:54 selected beginning with the um alternate
13:57 who has the most seniority and sort of
13:58 rotated
14:00 um in their service throughout the year
14:02 as as best we can keep track of that
14:05 um and then the last thing uh the policy
14:08 does is is clarify that members of the
14:11 public can provide comments virtually
14:12 and that staff presenters may present to
14:15 the board virtually as well
14:18 so um a couple of options
14:21 um this is not any kind of requirement
14:24 you can choose to operate fully in
14:27 person and not adopt a virtual
14:29 attendance policy at all
14:31 um you can adopt the policy that I've
14:34 brought to you tonight as is
14:37 um or you can make changes to this to
14:39 make it more flexible change the
14:42 in-person Quorum requirement
14:45 Etc uh also if you would like some more
14:49 time to consider this proposal it is not
14:52 time critical we would like you we would
14:55 like to formalize the virtual attendance
14:57 if it continues to happen over the next
14:59 few months but certainly if you wanted
15:01 to bring this back up at your January or
15:04 February meetings the agenda allows for
15:07 that that's no problem
15:10 uh so I have a proposed motion here if
15:12 if we get that far tonight and if not um
15:15 that's the end of my presentation I'm
15:16 happy to answer any questions
15:21 thank you Jessica
15:24 um looks like I see Andrew M with a hand
15:26 up there
15:31 yeah so I I just have a question as one
15:33 of the resident alternates here
15:36 um on on that specific slide and because
15:39 there was some one of the one or two
15:42 meetings ago where I ended up voting and
15:45 the board decided to since I was in the
15:48 room I I was tagged as the one voting
15:51 and I just wanted to clarify if if
15:54 that's part of the policy or if it's
15:55 just going to be purely seniority at
15:57 this point and no opinion either way but
16:00 that was an ambiguous point that we get
16:03 to address with uh whatever we end up
16:05 here tonight
16:09 Andrew um this is Tisha I can speak to
16:11 that so yes we and so this is this is
16:14 why um Jeff and I had some
16:16 correspondence as I Was preparing these
16:18 amendments for your meeting
16:20 um because a few of our boards have a
16:22 have a methodology to selecting
16:25 alternates but the park board hasn't and
16:27 so you know one thought that I had
16:31 um was to sort of have this preference
16:33 for the in-person alternate but that
16:35 isn't um
16:37 that doesn't necessarily necessarily
16:39 ensure equity and give the alternates
16:42 time to participate just depending on
16:44 the circumstances of who who might be
16:46 virtual versus in person also it can get
16:49 a little tricky if you have multiple
16:52 regular members who are not able to
16:55 attend and so we felt that this um
16:58 policy to select the alternates based on
17:01 seniority and attempt to rotate them
17:03 gave alternates more opportunities to
17:05 experience being in that regular member
17:07 role and was maybe a little bit more of
17:10 a stable methodology going forward
17:14 so that was Trump
17:16 whether it makes sense makes sense thank
17:19 you
17:21 thanks Andrew
17:22 um Brad
17:24 well overall I think it's pretty good I
17:28 guess I would ask for more requests or
17:30 discuss for more flexibility
17:35 you know I think that
17:38 if it weren't for coven I think the
17:40 world would be a different place but uh
17:42 we're still struggling uh with viruses
17:45 out there
17:46 and for me personally that's one of the
17:48 reasons why I'm not there
17:50 uh and um I think that I may not be
17:54 alone I'll only speak for myself however
17:57 uh I think that um it makes sense that
18:01 there be a quorum in person so I do
18:04 understand that and agree with that
18:07 but it doesn't really create any
18:10 flexibility beyond that quite frankly
18:12 unless you're out of town or in your
18:15 deathbed uh and so I think that um I
18:18 guess I would just at least open it up
18:20 for discussion for a little more
18:22 flexibility I'm not exactly sure how
18:24 that flexibility might work
18:26 something that we can talk about
18:30 I do think though that when you have a
18:32 little more flexibility you also have a
18:35 little more potential attendance
18:37 because I think that if you make it too
18:41 strict to not have
18:43 um virtual ability except for those
18:48 minimal conditions you could end up
18:51 potentially having an awful lot more
18:53 requests for not attending and ask for
18:57 an excuse absence and so I'm not sure
18:59 that that serves the board either so to
19:02 me that's
19:03 that's kind of the snafu that we need to
19:06 talk about you know how to find some
19:08 Middle Ground
19:12 thank you Brad uh any other questions uh
19:16 with regards to the proposed amendments
19:19 yeah
19:21 it's not including me on insect so the
19:24 proposed virtual attendance policy so
19:28 what Brad was this referencing
19:30 um so
19:32 permission to attend as I read this
19:34 permission to attend virtually will be
19:36 granted if as long as there will be a
19:39 forum in person but there's an exception
19:42 to that if
19:44 it wouldn't make forearm due to two or
19:46 more vacancies on the board so the only
19:49 way that we would proceed without having
19:51 to form in person would be
19:53 if there are two like permanent
19:56 vacancies on the board
19:58 yeah so that yes so that's correct so
20:00 basically we'd be saying this we would
20:04 you can only have permission as long as
20:07 there will still be five people
20:09 yes and five people meaning would that
20:12 include alternates it would anything yes
20:16 okay five of The Twelve basically
20:21 thank you Danielle oh it looks like
20:23 Brenda has a question
20:25 uh just on our regular meeting room is
20:28 it going to be the steelhead room or are
20:30 we going to Tibbetts Manor
20:32 great question so we're going to sort of
20:35 pose that to the group tonight was the
20:37 intent to talk about that later this
20:39 evening we could certainly maybe
20:41 entertain that now I think our run well
20:44 two meetings now at the steelhead room
20:45 and given some general public when we
20:48 get all if all 12 of us are there it
20:50 really quickly becomes a cramped space
20:52 the staff as we look at what's on our
20:55 work plan next year with the number of
20:56 capital projects we think we'll have
20:58 enough
21:00 months where we're going to have
21:01 visitors this just feels like a space
21:03 that can handle the size of a Park Board
21:05 a little better so we're proposing
21:06 moving here but want to sort of open
21:09 that up to all of you and that that
21:11 makes sense I was thinking if you
21:13 require more people to be there when I
21:15 was there last month that was quite
21:18 tight and we didn't have close to all of
21:21 our members there so if we move to
21:23 Tibbetts Park then it'll be a tip its
21:25 Manor it'll be a whole different story
21:29 thank you Brenda uh I think that
21:32 maybe Segways nicely into uh starting a
21:35 discussion on on
21:38 the proposed amendments and um
21:44 just with uh anybody's opinion or um
21:47 moving forward on the discussion for for
21:49 the Amendments and whether we're
21:54 like the proposed motion or uh
21:59 so kind of in follow-up I wasn't real
22:02 clear with what Danielle said so I
22:05 wanted to clarify that um
22:07 my reading of the proposal is that um
22:12 even if you have five people present
22:18 you still need to fall within the
22:20 guidelines of the conditions to be able
22:24 to attend virtually
22:31 is that accurate I mean that's the way I
22:34 read it is that you could have five
22:35 people present
22:37 and have requests to attend virtually
22:41 but if you don't fall within the
22:43 conditions of
22:45 being sick or out of town
22:48 Jeff wouldn't really the way it's
22:50 written be able to approve a virtual
22:52 attendance
22:55 Brad this is Tisha that's right that is
22:58 how it's written now so the five is a
23:03 the five is a requirement but it doesn't
23:05 mean that if you've confirmed that five
23:08 of your colleagues can attend that you
23:10 choose to meet virtually there's there
23:12 is that criteria in this in this
23:15 proposed draft yes
23:17 so I guess that's where I would maybe
23:19 you know discuss some potential revision
23:23 to that would be
23:25 to give more flexibility to Jeff and
23:27 Santa to allow more virtual attendance
23:30 as long as at least there are five
23:33 people that are going to attend in
23:34 person
23:38 well I wish they weren't so complicated
23:41 but
23:43 well again the intent tonight is
23:45 discussion as as Tisha said so well
23:49 this isn't requiring action tonight so I
23:52 mean I think it's good to have this
23:54 discussion get options on the table
23:57 um we can bring this back with some
23:59 proposed language in January for uh
24:02 potential actions so
24:04 what I'm hearing you suggest Brad is
24:07 keep the five keep the quorum
24:11 in attendance minimum
24:14 am I saying that right at least at least
24:16 five in attendance but
24:19 um give a little bit more flexibility
24:22 for someone choosing to attend virtually
24:25 is that yes I hear that correctly Brad
24:28 yes that's what I'm that's what I'm
24:31 saying because I do understand the
24:33 reason to really for technological
24:35 reasons for more than anything else but
24:38 you know I do understand why you need to
24:40 have five people for a quorum
24:42 uh if you are in a situation here though
24:46 whether there's whether situations to
24:49 vote on anything
24:52 although really to have a true meeting
24:54 you have to have a quorum so I I'll take
24:56 that back so so yeah I do understand
24:58 needing five people in attendance for a
25:00 quorum I just think having more
25:02 flexibility beyond that is something
25:04 that I would propose
25:07 and I appreciate that option Brad I'm
25:09 I'm gonna I'm Gonna Save this from a
25:11 staff perspective not to counter that
25:13 but I just think as we're discussing and
25:16 really wanting to open this up to
25:18 opinions of all the parkour members
25:20 there is as we start talking about
25:23 projects and having discussions there
25:25 there is value in having more people in
25:29 the room than
25:32 us trying to manage Tech as well as
25:35 facilitate a meeting and so
25:39 we're
25:42 we're flexible
25:44 um but as professionals we're also
25:47 um Limited in in uh in that and so again
25:51 I don't say that as a direct counter to
25:53 Brad I just say that as you know your
25:56 Park board at the park board members and
25:58 as you I've so appreciated the new
26:02 um just there's an energy with the park
26:05 board you're you're all lending such
26:07 good insight to projects I want to make
26:10 sure we as staff are able to facilitate
26:13 that as best we can and is that better
26:16 served mostly in person or this 50 50
26:21 um other thoughts please
26:26 I have a question like a point on
26:27 clarification so
26:29 um I I see in the policy description
26:33 that
26:34 that it's in her that um virtual tenants
26:38 would be in limited circumstances so
26:40 work travel medical restriction warrants
26:42 you know notice but I don't actually see
26:45 that in the actual language extracted
26:48 and I might I'm probably just missing it
26:50 but I'm one hoping you can
26:53 it's not as extensive so it just says um
26:56 in section six one uh however if the
26:59 member is unable to attend a meeting in
27:01 person they may request permission so it
27:04 doesn't include a list
27:06 here of examples okay so actual pulse so
27:10 as I read that that means that if if
27:12 somebody is is hesitant to attend a
27:16 meeting in person
27:18 because of
27:21 um viruses going around or whatnot not
27:22 that they're actually sick that they
27:24 could still request permissions attend
27:26 virtually
27:27 which I think addresses Brad's
27:29 Brad I might be wrong but I think that
27:31 addresses this product is concerned well
27:32 it's it's work it's worded that if a
27:35 member is unable to attend which I mean
27:37 I guess that's a little bit subject to
27:39 interpretation and could be better
27:41 clarified to me that implies there's
27:44 something preventing due to your
27:46 location due to a transportation issue
27:48 due to a child care issue due to a
27:50 medical issue you're not able to
27:52 physically be at the meeting
27:54 um but that could be something
27:59 I guess we can read that differently it
28:02 was just more much more clear in the
28:03 fall and then yeah
28:05 so okay
28:08 thank you Danielle Chris
28:11 yeah um
28:14 I I think the number of times
28:19 I I can't count uh I don't remember any
28:22 times when a virtual meeting has really
28:25 been a problem
28:27 uh you know where we couldn't make it
28:29 happen and I think there are a lot of
28:31 reasons why people may need to just
28:33 attend on occasion and I I would
28:36 actually
28:37 uh suggest
28:40 uh that we revise the wording for our
28:43 board to say you know tenances uh
28:47 preferred and I understand that I agree
28:50 with that
28:52 um and it's recommended but I don't
28:56 think it should be required for a quorum
28:58 I think it's unnecessary I think we've
29:00 proven it's unnecessary
29:02 uh and there might be people uh I'm not
29:06 one of them but there might be people
29:07 with reasons that they really need to
29:10 keep
29:11 uh you know they would choose to keep
29:14 private and are they you know they may
29:17 have a high risk that they don't really
29:20 want to be making public but they can
29:23 still be a contributor and valuable and
29:25 I think we're we're at this point now if
29:28 a few years of hybrid meetings that we
29:31 can do this and if we settle on a
29:33 location
29:35 um I mean I think the the most difficult
29:37 part of our meetings is actually
29:39 getting I like I can't really hear the
29:42 people in the room as well as I can hear
29:44 everybody else that's in their own room
29:46 and um so I I recommend that we actually
29:50 consider it making it just recommended
29:52 and you know suggested but uh not
29:55 required
29:58 I really appreciate that Chris and again
30:00 I I appreciate your perspective of doing
30:04 what we can to remove barriers and as
30:06 staff we too want to do all we can to
30:08 facilitate and encourage participation
30:13 and again again we're adaptable I'm
30:16 going to say this one more time and I
30:18 think you spoke to it Chris is there's a
30:20 reality that if we enter into this
30:23 in the coming years we're proposing
30:26 something that's different than the last
30:28 two years and I'll be honest a hundred
30:30 percent virtual is easier
30:34 than 50 50. right 100 of person or 100
30:39 virtual has a that there's a manageable
30:42 element to it that
30:45 you know this hybrid literally a hybrid
30:49 it just brings with it things that we're
30:52 going to do everything we can to adapt
30:54 but it just it gets tricky oh
30:57 enough said we've had a summit tomorrow
31:01 yeah
31:06 so the rules and regulations in like all
31:09 this like virtual attendance policy and
31:12 stuff does it just apply to the park
31:13 board or does it apply to like all the
31:15 other permissions in August
31:18 yeah that's a great question so each of
31:20 the city's advisory boards and the city
31:23 council they all have their own rules so
31:27 um you know and that is that is
31:30 that is one of the things that is
31:32 influencing this recommendation that I
31:34 spoke to earlier is earlier is our city
31:37 council has um felt that the in-person
31:40 attendance is important and so they are
31:43 only allowing themselves to participate
31:45 virtually during a declared emergency
31:47 and um
31:49 kind of for similar reasons that were
31:52 listed in this policy um
31:55 um but it is up to the individual boards
31:58 I've taken this policy into two of the
32:00 city's advisory boards that have pretty
32:02 much accepted it as as proposed but I
32:05 expect we'll have other
32:06 I expect multiple boards to request
32:10 changes to the the rules and that's
32:12 absolutely within your purview we're
32:15 just again representing some of some of
32:17 our observations I I did want to take
32:19 just a quick minute to identify some of
32:22 the mayor's rationale that she's shared
32:25 with us staff about that encouraging the
32:27 in-person attendance one of one of those
32:30 reasons is synergy of the group I think
32:33 during covid if we found that especially
32:35 bringing on new members it was harder
32:38 for the boards to develop a Synergy and
32:41 connect you know even that those few
32:43 moments before a meeting starts and you
32:45 can connect a little bit or after a
32:48 meeting and wanting to just try and
32:50 encourage
32:51 um that connection and feeling like some
32:53 in-person attendance really helps with
32:55 that and another another reason that
32:59 she's spoken to um and this isn't the
33:01 case tonight but you know we do still
33:03 have a number of residents who are
33:05 choosing to purchase participate in
33:07 person to provide their comments and
33:09 just so having those you know having
33:11 that face to look look to when you're
33:14 speaking I'm actually struggling with it
33:15 a little bit tonight to be honest with
33:17 you because I feel a little split
33:20 um but so so those are some of the those
33:23 are some of the
33:24 um things motivating this recommendation
33:26 but but absolutely the group of you five
33:30 of you need to ultimately agree on what
33:32 the the uh
33:35 what the requirements will be for the
33:37 park board and because you'll be the
33:39 ones living with it
33:42 thank you
33:44 um Katie
33:47 hi there yeah I I would like to have the
33:50 opportunity for um the board meeting to
33:53 be more flexible because you know some
33:55 of us we do not have nine to five jobs
33:57 like you know for me I'm a pharmacist
34:00 and so I have I don't have a nine to
34:03 five job so I work until you know six
34:06 o'clock and then commuting home or
34:08 trying to make it to the board meetings
34:11 on time and then um you know I also have
34:14 to go pick up my daughter you know just
34:16 a lot lots of logistics as to why
34:19 sometimes it's not feasible or possible
34:22 for me to be there
34:24 um those um so I feel like having the
34:26 virtual option it allows me to still
34:29 participate and
34:31 um you know and be part of the the board
34:34 um so
34:35 um so I just would like to say that I
34:38 would like to have that option to be
34:39 more flexible than than just in person I
34:42 mean if I if I could make it in person
34:44 trust me I would but but they're just
34:47 you know life happens jobs and
34:49 responsibilities and and I don't want to
34:52 always be reaching out to say well I
34:54 can't make it because of this because of
34:56 that and so um having the virtual
34:59 opportunity I was able to get on while
35:01 I'm driving home and then get home you
35:04 know and and participate
35:08 thank you
35:10 thank you Katie uh Brad
35:14 well I talk too much but sorry about
35:17 that it's just my nature good comments
35:20 from Katie
35:21 uh I just wanted to make one comment in
35:24 reference to what Jeff had to say
35:27 uh in terms of the 50 50 is more
35:29 difficult
35:31 you know when we first started doing
35:32 virtual meetings it was probably
35:33 difficult too but I think for the most
35:35 part we ended up really coming together
35:38 and making that a very effective way of
35:41 meeting with not only the board but also
35:44 for the community and so I do think that
35:46 with time a hybrid concept will get much
35:49 better and easier
35:51 one other thing I'd like to make comment
35:53 about is video production because a lot
35:55 of people especially from the community
35:57 actually look at these uh either on the
36:01 cable station or on YouTube and quite
36:03 frankly after looking at these uh the
36:07 video cameras that are set up in the
36:09 manner and at the steel room are not
36:12 very good they're not very good video
36:13 production so for someone you know the
36:16 cameras moving around trying to catch
36:18 somebody talking can't see it can't hear
36:20 it quite frankly from a production part
36:25 of it it actually is better virtually
36:27 you can see the screens that are put on
36:30 uh you know in terms of the
36:32 presentations
36:33 uh you can see the people you can hear
36:36 the people so the production wise which
36:39 is something we have to give
36:40 consideration to for the community is
36:44 actually done I think better virtually
36:46 than when it's in person
36:49 um my last comment is I totally agree
36:52 with the mayor and I talked to Jeff
36:54 about this too the Synergy is really a
36:57 very important factor of why you meet in
36:59 person it does help with relationship
37:02 building team building there is there's
37:05 clearly value in meeting in person but
37:08 we're in a new world and you know trying
37:10 to figure out this hybrid concept which
37:13 I think is here to stay uh and um you
37:17 know you know what's the best way of
37:19 splitting hairs so
37:21 well thanks and I'll shut up at this
37:23 point that's my last comment
37:27 uh Brenda and then Daniel
37:29 okay I think going on with that is
37:31 because we are such a unique board we
37:33 have a wonderful opportunity that we've
37:35 talked about in the past of meeting in
37:37 our parks where our community of those
37:40 Parks can come join us and feel closer
37:42 and we can communicate with them and
37:45 understand their needs better so if as a
37:48 Parks Board will Veer a little bit from
37:50 the city and look at on those special
37:52 opportunities of hopefully we will do
37:55 this two or three or four times a year
37:57 and then those will really emphasize
37:59 getting your board there but on the
38:02 regular meetings and if you want to go
38:04 virtual go virtual
38:07 thank you Brenda
38:09 yeah I'm sort of I'm wondering if it
38:12 ever it sounds to me like
38:15 um most people who have spoken up have
38:17 asked for more flexibility than having
38:19 five people in The Forum and so I'm
38:21 wondering if
38:24 if it would be a good time to just sort
38:26 of show a hand to see if people are
38:28 thinking that and if that's the case
38:30 then I think we should actually table
38:31 this for future meetings so we could
38:34 perhaps rewrite instead of trying to
38:37 make like little changes on the fly it
38:39 might be better to table this discussion
38:42 and come back with another proposal
38:44 yeah totally agree that was the intent
38:47 tonight is let's have a discussion let's
38:49 let's take a pulse and then yeah yeah so
38:52 I'm wondering there's more people
38:54 virtually tonight than not so I'm just
38:57 wondering if people can um
38:59 somehow indicate Maybe by raising their
39:03 hand virtually or in person or in person
39:06 um if they would like more flexibility
39:08 than the five person
39:10 need re requirement to be in Quorum
39:15 and if you would like more flexibility
39:17 then what's
39:19 come back
39:23 okay yeah it looks like yeah I think
39:25 through an informal show of hands that
39:27 appears as though uh that seems like
39:30 everybody's kind of in consensus that
39:32 we'll table this for the time being and
39:34 come back with the with perhaps some
39:37 revised verbiage on
39:39 so here are a couple of alternates
39:42 as well yeah I think okay
39:49 so I'm hearing interest in some
39:52 additional flexibility to I think we can
39:55 sort of take this discussion and propose
39:58 some
40:00 some language yes
40:03 um I'm thinking here about so I'm it
40:06 sounds as if uh
40:08 there's a desire to not only reduce the
40:12 or eliminate the required number of
40:14 people in the room but they need to not
40:16 have criteria for when you can attend
40:20 virtually and when you need to in attend
40:22 a person that's what I'm hearing from
40:24 the room and then I also feel like you
40:27 know I don't know if the five-day notice
40:30 is like hard and fast but that is also
40:33 something where you know if someone's
40:34 actually sick that's not viable right
40:37 like that's only works way better
40:39 that's like a free plan today's a great
40:42 example right I mean but hey I got a
40:45 cold this morning yeah yeah totally
40:48 understand
40:51 okay
40:54 I'd also like to just say I agree with
40:56 bro I mean in person is way better if we
40:58 can do it um yeah and I guess I would if
41:01 we can try to encourage maybe a couple
41:02 times a year to do that so we um I don't
41:06 know I think everybody in the world is
41:08 dealing with this right now right hybrid
41:11 virtual
41:12 power we're gonna do it yeah now so
41:15 appreciate the discussion
41:17 um I I would like to I I I and I think
41:20 whatever language we come up with I
41:22 think there is a point of emphasis and I
41:24 hope everyone understands this I think
41:26 having said language in there that the
41:28 preference is in person
41:30 that being said here's right here's the
41:33 virtual policy
41:35 um and as I said and as you all spoke
41:38 we're we're immensely adaptable to staff
41:41 but but just as long as you all
41:43 certainly understand hybrid brings a
41:46 whole different set of variables than
41:48 all virtual are all in person Brad I
41:50 think you said it well the the the
41:52 camera technology even is good in a
41:55 hybrid is going to be it just it is what
41:57 it is and it's it's different and it's a
42:00 little bit more challenging
42:02 um but we love a good challenge here in
42:04 the parks department so um
42:07 let's we'll bring it back in January
42:09 I love the discussion thanks everybody
42:13 thank you okay uh so I think we'll be
42:16 moving thank you yes thank you
42:20 all right I believe uh Jennifer has an
42:22 update on BlackBerry Park
42:26 just a quick moment here
42:29 share my screen
42:48 foreign
42:51 here today to give you a quick update on
42:54 BlackBerry Park
42:59 um as you may recall this park came to
43:02 the city in 2016
43:04 um from King County
43:06 this was a residential single-family lot
43:10 that sat on their Surplus land list
43:14 that neighbors
43:17 took their Time Blood Sweat and Tears
43:20 and finances and created a park on and
43:23 when that property came to the city in
43:25 2016 we met with the neighborhood to
43:29 talk through some of the different
43:30 challenges that the property had uh
43:33 because it wasn't up to some of our
43:34 safety codes and
43:37 um some improvements but also to see
43:39 what people wanted in the community as
43:41 for their neighborhood part
43:45 um to I know some of you are new into
43:47 kind of backtrack as to kind of where
43:51 this process has been uh after 2016
43:54 after we met with the community we also
43:57 in 2018 did our Park strategic Plan
44:00 update
44:01 um and then
44:03 um in early 21 we had funding to begin
44:08 this project Capital project and
44:12 um started additional engagement with
44:14 the community in February and in April
44:17 and by August of last year we had a
44:22 preferred concept that the community had
44:25 settled upon we had I'll kind of walk
44:27 through some of that as we look through
44:29 the process but
44:31 um last year October through March we
44:34 did our construction documents
44:37 and then late summer permitting
44:40 we went into late summer and we did our
44:44 permitting
44:45 and uh received our land use notice of
44:49 decision as well as our site work permit
44:52 and we bid an award and issued a notice
44:56 to proceed in March through July of last
44:59 year and at the beginning of August of
45:01 this year the Park closed for
45:03 construction
45:05 and the park hopefully will be opening
45:08 the end of November and that means a few
45:10 more days
45:12 um whether pending that we don't get a
45:15 massive snowstorm tonight
45:18 um to kind of back up a little bit as to
45:21 where we went through some of our public
45:23 engagement these are all slides from
45:25 prior presentation and Community
45:26 engagement opportunities but um look
45:30 here's what the
45:32 perk looked like back in the day
45:36 um in
45:37 2006 the neighborhood built the
45:40 playground and in 2016 it got
45:42 transferred to the city and in 2017 we
45:45 had met with the community
45:48 can I add one thing real fast yet
45:50 because I just a little bit of that
45:51 history so as Jen said the neighbors
45:54 really took it upon themselves to build
45:56 this
45:57 um I'm I'm going to be
45:59 Frank
46:01 um I'm still Jeff but I'll be frank
46:03 uh-huh um King County
46:07 um wasn't really happy that the
46:09 neighborhood built on this and built
46:11 just you know plenty elements that
46:14 weren't necessarily the public code and
46:16 so part of this transfer to the city
46:19 um was the county
46:22 didn't want to address the problem
46:23 anymore and so I just give that context
46:26 that is a as a parks department as we
46:28 have the chance to meet with the
46:30 neighbors early on this was really how
46:32 do we remedy this problem and how do we
46:35 honor and applaud the neighborhood that
46:37 turned this into a neighborhood park but
46:39 we need to get it up to public park code
46:42 so thanks Jen okay good background and
46:46 is to uh why some of the early
46:48 neighborhood meetings were oh we don't
46:50 want you to change things and it's and
46:52 it's educating and bringing the
46:53 understanding that
46:55 um we need to work not only for Public
46:57 Safety but
46:58 um you know for long-term viability of
47:01 the space as well
47:04 um so we went into some of the existing
47:06 conditions that play structure uh you
47:09 can see over in here there's been an
47:11 open lawn area there was a gazebo over
47:14 in here and there was old um cherry tree
47:17 that had to come down
47:19 and the community also built
47:21 um football Court
47:24 and through our public engagement
47:26 process this was from our April
47:28 engagement we proposed two different
47:31 themes of
47:33 um play and asked the community what
47:36 they really reflected with and what they
47:38 wanted to see
47:40 and through public comment it was um and
47:45 their preference came down to the
47:47 casters Castle
47:49 um which upon further refinement of the
47:51 design in order to meet budgets
47:54 be morphed into this final proposed
47:58 design and this is what we moved forward
48:00 with into Construction
48:04 now the fun part
48:06 so as we talked about here are some of
48:09 the before pictures of the site there
48:12 was also a mass of blackberries hence
48:14 the Park's neighborhood name
48:17 um that were on site on the pickleball
48:21 court had not been served as the
48:22 playground equipment was reaching end of
48:25 life
48:28 and now we're going through doing a
48:31 little walk through the during the
48:33 constructions
48:35 um you can see the play structure had
48:37 been removed put up our Banner for the
48:40 neighborhood and the sports park got
48:42 resurfaced this summer
48:47 and then demolition continued an
48:50 excavation continued and this is one of
48:52 the fun Parts I love demolition by the
48:55 way
48:57 seeing things get torn up and it's the
49:00 hope of what's coming on and so this is
49:02 really now I'm going to walk you through
49:03 some of the structure and some of the
49:04 things that started happening on site
49:06 you can see the concrete forms for the
49:11 borders around some of the play
49:13 structures we have these nice logs out
49:16 there that are part of the design
49:18 concept and here's some of the play
49:20 equipment in a big crate sitting on site
49:25 and then construction with the concrete
49:27 we've got a new accessible handicap
49:30 accessible pathway we have a new access
49:33 over to the um
49:36 uh Sport Court which was not there
49:38 previously we also have this nice
49:41 entrance
49:45 and the play equipment started going up
49:48 um last week we hit some weather we had
49:50 some very challenging uh conditions we
49:54 had to work through uh during this
49:56 project we um as we knew when we awarded
50:00 we were faced with potential supply
50:03 chain issues that got met with
50:06 contractor labor issues and so we had
50:08 some un uh unprecedented and
50:12 unanticipated uh challenges to the
50:15 project however in working with the
50:17 contractor we were able to
50:20 um figure out ways and in the last you
50:23 know four weeks we really
50:25 um taken quite a few strides and making
50:28 progress
50:29 um playground got installed and uh this
50:33 is a new slide that was not in your
50:35 packet these are pictures from today uh
50:39 when I was out on site we did got our
50:41 wood fiber is blown in we've got one
50:43 more load coming tomorrow we've got
50:46 um a sensory Circle for young ages to be
50:49 looking out on and
50:52 um hopefully this coming week we've got
50:56 a little bit more work to do we've got
50:58 hydroseed tomorrow additional lawn
51:01 prepare we've got a punch list walk we
51:04 need to go through and assuming all goes
51:06 swimmingly uh later this week we hope
51:10 the security fences will come down and
51:12 the park will be open for public use
51:16 there will be some unfinished elements
51:19 that we'll have to come back in the
51:21 spring and address
51:23 which let me go back to the concept here
51:28 which is going to be this blue
51:30 underneath the swing set area the
51:32 rubberized poured in place concrete are
51:35 important Place rubberized surfacing
51:37 that we've really hit some cold night
51:39 temperatures as of late and that it's
51:42 not a good time for that material to set
51:44 up so we'll come back and do that we've
51:47 got a small little piece of concrete
51:49 work in here that we're going to have to
51:50 do and there is a curved bench right
51:54 back here
51:55 it was not the right shape of curve they
51:59 built the bench off of the wrong
52:01 Dimension and so we're waiting for a new
52:03 bench
52:05 in order to do the port in place only a
52:07 few day closure given warmer weather we
52:10 should be able to get that done in no
52:12 time and only close that section of the
52:15 park in order to get that done other
52:17 work should not impact the department of
52:20 part of that solution Jan is is we're
52:23 putting chips in where that pork in
52:25 place is so as the community uses it
52:28 through the winter the swings will be
52:29 available and accessible we'll then
52:33 after we do the foreign
52:40 yep
52:45 so anyways
52:47 there you go look forward to finishing
52:51 it another project
52:53 any questions
52:57 so the first time that this park was
52:59 built was in like a neighborhood park
53:01 was it just divided by that neighborhood
53:04 and okay we're gonna go we're gonna
53:05 build a park and then was it claimed by
53:07 a king calculator
53:11 yeah so
53:13 King County owned the parcel on the
53:15 property
53:17 I'm not going to say the neighbors did
53:19 something they shouldn't have but the
53:20 neighbors basically put
53:23 stuff on public property that isn't
53:27 King County didn't like that
53:29 so it was it it sort of functioned as
53:32 this neighborhood part but it was kind
53:33 of a renegade Park and that the county
53:36 was trying to tell the neighbors hey you
53:38 need to take that stuff off so the
53:40 neighbors they built that one the
53:42 neighbors didn't the neighbors put in a
53:45 playset put in yeah put in elements and
53:48 so this yeah
53:52 they put it in but it was never
53:55 okay
53:56 for them to do it
53:58 so rather than the county saying hey you
54:01 need to take it all down the county said
54:03 hey City here
54:05 here you take this property and you fix
54:08 it yeah and so this is really part of
54:10 our
54:11 it is a residence that worked really
54:13 hard but as we take that stuff out let's
54:16 put in some neighborhood park amenities
54:19 and really let this be a wonderful
54:21 neighborhood party yeah
54:23 thank you
54:26 any other questions
54:31 all right I think we'll move forward to
54:34 the Northwest trolls uh Amy has a
54:37 presentation
54:42 and as Amy's doing that
54:44 um Amy Dukes our Arts uh administrator
54:47 is is joining us tonight I had the
54:50 privilege of joining Amy at the Arts
54:52 commission meeting last week is that
54:54 just last week maybe it was two weeks
54:56 ago it's a blur
54:58 um a little while ago Amy and I have
55:00 been working with a group for a number
55:03 of years now on what really is a pretty
55:06 exciting Arts opportunity uh this has
55:09 morphed as you'll hear and has morphed
55:12 into an opportunity for us to consider
55:14 this art installation in one of our city
55:17 parks so we thought it would be really
55:20 worthwhile to give you all an update on
55:22 this exciting opportunity get your
55:24 feedback we're still in process of
55:27 making a decision as a city we've got a
55:29 meeting here in the next week or two
55:31 with Snoqualmie tribe not to talk with
55:33 them before we make a final decision but
55:36 it's just a a fun project hats off to
55:39 Amy in the Arts commission really look
55:41 forward to getting all of your feedback
55:43 on on the opportunity
55:46 thanks Jeff thanks so much for having me
55:49 so again I made me do because of the
55:51 arts program administrator and the
55:53 liaison to the Arts commission and now
55:55 um as of two years ago part of the
55:57 Pakistan community services department
55:59 and I know for me the hardest part of a
56:02 hybrid meeting is wearing reading
56:04 glasses
56:06 so I'm sorry if I keep taking them I
56:09 don't know so right now we're calling
56:11 this project the northwest or we're not
56:13 calling it The organizers are calling me
56:15 at the Northwest nordict troll hunt
56:18 um and just to preface that it's because
56:20 there will be multiple locations around
56:23 um initially they thought maybe around
56:25 the state it now seems like they're
56:27 going to be around Puget Sound but right
56:29 now it looks like there might be as many
56:31 as seven or eight sites
56:33 um it is a hunt so they are hoping to
56:36 keep it fairly confidential until these
56:39 things start popping up around the
56:41 community so I um because remains
56:43 recorded I'm not going to list out who
56:46 might be working
56:47 um on this project but uh the Arts
56:50 commission is really exciting about it
56:51 and we hope that you guys are excited
56:52 about it you and just to let you know
56:55 the organizers or the Scan Design
56:56 Foundation they're based out of Seattle
56:59 but basically focused on sharing
57:03 Scandinavian culture in America they
57:06 have recruited a world-renowned artist
57:09 to work on this project with them and
57:12 then the Nordic Museum in Ballard is
57:15 also one of the organizing partners and
57:17 then these various sites of which
57:19 Issaquah may become one so the I think I
57:23 might have just told you everything
57:24 that's on this slide
57:26 um so that it's a large-scale public art
57:28 project it is featuring the artwork of
57:31 Nordic artists um or Danish our
57:34 environmental artist Thomas danbo
57:36 um you could Google him and find lots of
57:38 really cool
57:39 um YouTube videos and uh he's been in
57:42 National Geographic and on NPR and so I
57:46 totally encourage you to look more into
57:48 his story
57:49 um he uses entirely recycled materials
57:51 for these sculptures they are intended
57:55 to be temporary so temporary and public
57:58 art is usually somewhere between
58:02 um a few months and like five to seven
58:04 years so we think that if we do have a
58:07 troll in our park it will probably be in
58:09 that five to seven year range
58:12 um there are communities that have had
58:14 his work that have taken really taken
58:16 ownership of it and taken good care of
58:19 it and and made it last much longer than
58:21 that so it is possible that it could be
58:23 more
58:25 um or permanent than temporary I guess
58:29 um and then they're going to be this
58:31 slide says 10 sites they're still
58:33 working on the number of sites but right
58:35 now it looks like probably seven to
58:37 eight
58:39 and then as I mentioned
58:41 um Tom stand though is um
58:43 internationally acclaimed lots of awards
58:45 he's an environmental artist he
58:47 um likes his uh Works to tell an
58:50 environmental story and so these will
58:53 tell the story of
58:55 um The Watershed in our area and and he
58:58 will make each troll science specific
59:01 and tell the story of that place that it
59:05 um he has done this all over the world
59:08 um I don't know if the slave completely
59:10 up to date but I have 80 trolls listed
59:13 here and he's got several commissions
59:17 currently
59:18 um under this way including one on the
59:21 east coast so his plan is to come to the
59:25 Puget Sound region in the summer of 2023
59:29 and he's also working on the East Coast
59:31 as well in 2023 so it's going to bounce
59:34 back and forth with this team
59:36 and then the story that the trolls are
59:38 going to tell which is a huge part of
59:41 this project
59:42 um is going to be about Watershed
59:44 protection
59:45 repairing habitats and also about
59:48 honoring the land and the importance of
59:51 taking care of your land and he is in
59:55 conversations with various
59:57 um Coast Salish tribes and is making
1:00:01 arrangements right now to talk with the
1:00:02 smoke problems right so that was an
1:00:05 important component um to I think
1:00:08 everyone that's involved in this project
1:00:10 actually and all the communities kind of
1:00:12 requested that he make that dialogue
1:00:15 part of his process and there's some
1:00:17 conversation now about having perhaps
1:00:20 some native artists travel to work with
1:00:24 him in Europe and do some kind of
1:00:26 cultural exchange so that may become a
1:00:29 bigger component of a project then
1:00:32 so that's all I have right now there is
1:00:34 a lot of this is still kind of unfolding
1:00:37 um but because we wanted to have the
1:00:39 opportunity to move forward we did take
1:00:42 this to the Arts commission they're
1:00:44 super excited about it
1:00:46 um and basically uh made a motion to
1:00:49 support it
1:00:51 um whatever that might mean
1:00:54 um we don't know what the financial
1:00:55 commitment is going to be at this time
1:00:57 because the Nordic um the Scandal
1:01:00 snotting Foundation is actually actively
1:01:02 fundraising for the project so as much
1:01:04 money as they're able to contribute it
1:01:07 would reduce the amount that each of the
1:01:10 individual sites would have to commit
1:01:13 um so I don't have a dollar figure right
1:01:16 now but the parts commission did make a
1:01:18 motion at their last meeting to move
1:01:20 forward as much as we could commit
1:01:22 without
1:01:25 happy to take questions can I understand
1:01:28 a couple things I mean so appreciate
1:01:30 that over to you so a couple of
1:01:32 specifics but budget related as as uh
1:01:37 the city manages the Arts fund
1:01:40 um and as we've talked with the
1:01:41 administration about this opportunity
1:01:42 there's funding not only in the 2022
1:01:45 budget but some funding within the 2023
1:01:47 budget so so that there's some ability
1:01:50 for us to sort of respond to this
1:01:52 opportunity in terms of specific
1:01:55 location that we're looking here in
1:01:57 Issaquah so you know and some of you
1:01:59 might be aware
1:02:01 Amy and I were in discussions with this
1:02:04 group probably three years ago now
1:02:06 before the pandemic this was being just
1:02:09 sort of explored and what issaquah's
1:02:12 role might be in it at that time they
1:02:14 were also talking with the state park we
1:02:16 were in conversations with state parks
1:02:18 state parks
1:02:20 big ass state parks doctors Lake Sam
1:02:22 State Park but how could state parks
1:02:24 play a role in multiple sort of Puget
1:02:27 Sound areas that included Lake Sam State
1:02:30 Park we were taking a supportive role in
1:02:32 that sort of being a potential Issaquah
1:02:34 site through a number of
1:02:37 decisions earlier this year state parks
1:02:39 is not in a position to to play that
1:02:41 role and so we wanted to continue to
1:02:45 have this exploratory conversation with
1:02:47 this troll hunt opportunity and how
1:02:50 Issaquah could be a site and so what
1:02:53 we're looking at now and considering is
1:02:54 Confluence Park how might and and given
1:02:58 some of the goals that existed with Lake
1:03:00 stamp state park with the artists with
1:03:02 dambo in terms of
1:03:04 The Watershed role that is the Issaquah
1:03:08 Creek plays how could we still do that
1:03:11 same narrative and tell that story
1:03:12 within Confluence Park um any sighting
1:03:15 within Confluence Park we're talking
1:03:17 about would be outside the buffer uh we
1:03:20 would be looking at all of those
1:03:22 parameters as we look as we would with
1:03:25 any art installation but
1:03:27 um we certainly feel as we've had
1:03:29 conversations at the Arts commission as
1:03:31 we've had conversations with
1:03:32 Administration would love to get your
1:03:34 feedback we think Confluence Park it's
1:03:36 proximity to Old Town it's proximity to
1:03:39 Gilman Village I think the the marketing
1:03:42 opportunity that this trollhunt has that
1:03:44 if if if residents from all throughout
1:03:46 Puget Sound are coming to discover a
1:03:48 troll to be that much closer to
1:03:50 restaurants in Old Town Oregon Village
1:03:53 and really presents a pretty good cool
1:03:56 opportunity for parks to be a canvas for
1:04:00 an art project and what sort of
1:04:02 integrated art in the public space can
1:04:04 be and oh it can also be an economic
1:04:08 um sort of an economic economic
1:04:10 incubator so
1:04:13 thanks again Amy questions thoughts
1:04:15 comments
1:04:17 thank you how it looks like Andrew e
1:04:23 H yes uh thank you Amy for the
1:04:25 presentation
1:04:27 um I think
1:04:29 um and there is probably expectation on
1:04:34 high volume of tourists visit
1:04:37 the troll locations right so I'm curious
1:04:40 if there is any data around uh the
1:04:44 expected increase in traffic and how
1:04:47 Issaquah would be able to manage that
1:04:49 increase in traffic and like wearing the
1:04:53 Hat of someone who would who would live
1:04:56 in the area of potentially the location
1:04:58 Confluence Park I'm sure there will be
1:05:01 concerns from the uh neighboring area on
1:05:05 trash management or parking or being
1:05:09 overrun by tourists so I'm curious if um
1:05:13 there is any uh information around that
1:05:17 that has been collected so far
1:05:24 so we don't have specific data on this
1:05:27 is a little bit different than a lot of
1:05:30 the projects he's done which have been
1:05:31 and on private uh more private property
1:05:34 within like
1:05:36 um botanical gardens
1:05:39 sites that are more contained and this
1:05:42 project actually you know will have the
1:05:44 potential for people to visit multiple
1:05:47 sites throughout the region so in one
1:05:50 way that should disperse the amount of
1:05:53 traffic at any one time but I don't
1:05:57 really have comparable data to share
1:06:00 just for instance like at a Botanical
1:06:02 Garden yes it definitely increased their
1:06:05 visitation dramatically but it's hard to
1:06:08 say with it being in like eight
1:06:10 locations around and they will be rolled
1:06:13 out pretty uh quickly like week to week
1:06:19 um people would probably be visiting
1:06:21 them primarily in August September
1:06:25 October
1:06:26 um but not all at once so it's a great
1:06:30 question and it's and this this is good
1:06:32 feedback for me too because these are
1:06:34 questions that I can take back to the
1:06:36 organizers and say hey we presented this
1:06:38 to our prep boarding they do have
1:06:40 questions and would like more permission
1:06:42 so I will take that back to them and see
1:06:44 how they might be able to quantify it
1:06:46 and I can share that with Jeff to share
1:06:48 with all of you yeah it is a new model
1:06:50 Andrew but it's a great question it's
1:06:52 something even as we consider Confluence
1:06:55 making sure we have the adequate support
1:06:57 facilities there how would we you know
1:07:01 as if that as that site rolls out how
1:07:04 where and how will we encouraging people
1:07:06 to park
1:07:08 um how are we sort of encompassing that
1:07:11 as part of the the bigger media release
1:07:13 in terms of hey when you come visit
1:07:15 Issaquah here's where to park here's
1:07:18 you know how to come explore or come
1:07:21 find the find the troll in town I will
1:07:30 I will one summer we did hosta
1:07:32 Shakespeare in the park
1:07:34 um Confluence Park
1:07:36 um I believe that Seattle shakespear
1:07:38 counted the attendance and about 400
1:07:40 people and um the park accommodated them
1:07:43 really really well granted that was just
1:07:45 for one a one-time event but I wouldn't
1:07:48 anticipate that there would be 400
1:07:50 people coming to see the tool at the
1:07:52 exact same moment so
1:07:54 um I do know that the perking was able
1:07:57 to accommodate that many people for a
1:07:59 one-time event but again I know probably
1:08:02 not quite the day guys that you're
1:08:03 looking for so I'll try to get more more
1:08:07 thank you Andrew uh Garcia
1:08:10 so I'll actually have two questions so
1:08:12 first I'm like you said well how much 78
1:08:15 trolls how long would it take for like
1:08:17 one Troll And um also like has this
1:08:20 project already begun or are you guys
1:08:23 so a lot of the planning has already
1:08:26 happened
1:08:27 um and some of the sites have committed
1:08:30 to be
1:08:31 um to be
1:08:32 parents versus page but a lot of the
1:08:35 sites have questions like we do and want
1:08:37 there to be conversations with the tribe
1:08:38 and other things so not all those
1:08:40 conditions have been met
1:08:41 um so I'd say they only have maybe four
1:08:44 sites committed right now
1:08:47 um but they're hoping by the end of the
1:08:48 calendar year to pretty much have
1:08:50 everybody committed and then the artist
1:08:52 already made some field trips to the
1:08:54 area and came up with some concepts for
1:08:57 the trolls and so once everyone commits
1:09:00 then he will begin the process of the
1:09:02 design process
1:09:04 um and he builds the large heads portion
1:09:08 of the sculptures indica's studio in
1:09:12 Denmark and ships them and then the rest
1:09:15 of the troll is built on site primarily
1:09:18 with volunteers as a program community
1:09:21 building project so
1:09:24 um so the process will be they're
1:09:26 looking for commitment you know late
1:09:29 this year early next year
1:09:32 um will begin to think we decide to
1:09:34 participate we'll begin that design
1:09:36 process through the spring and
1:09:38 um into probably just spring and then he
1:09:43 would come over in the summer time and
1:09:45 begin the installation and they told us
1:09:48 that the installation really only takes
1:09:50 about a week
1:09:52 um once he is on site with the large
1:09:56 head so the head of the troll is really
1:09:58 the more intricate part that takes time
1:10:00 yeah and just to clarify one thing too
1:10:02 is it while would host one troll yeah
1:10:05 seven or eight would be through while
1:10:07 the Puget Sound area so from you know
1:10:10 within probably a 40 to 50 mile radius
1:10:14 so truly a very broad hunt yeah
1:10:19 well actually so as far as like where
1:10:24 the trolls are being placed is it going
1:10:26 to be placed in like
1:10:28 um like a trail type area like in the
1:10:31 middle of my you know woods and such
1:10:33 like in the pictures that you were
1:10:35 showing or is it gonna be
1:10:37 um somewhere near like a boardwalk or
1:10:39 like a road where it's just you could
1:10:41 see it as you're passing by you don't
1:10:42 have to like you know go inside a trail
1:10:44 to go look for it yeah that's a great
1:10:45 question
1:10:46 um because it's actually something that
1:10:47 the artist considers very significantly
1:10:50 and he wants there to be a mix of um
1:10:54 trolls that are more easily discoverable
1:10:57 as well as ones that are maybe tucked in
1:10:59 to the landscape a little more so
1:11:01 they'll all be very dependent upon the
1:11:03 site that is chosen
1:11:05 um and initially I you know it's so
1:11:08 interesting to go through this process
1:11:10 as Jeff said we've been talking with
1:11:12 this group for almost three years
1:11:14 initially it was like there will be 25
1:11:16 sites and you will hike to the top of
1:11:18 them now and then
1:11:19 that's right
1:11:21 um they were like oh wow you know tiger
1:11:23 type of tiger Mount Cooper Point that
1:11:25 would be really cool you know but then
1:11:26 the reality of getting things created
1:11:30 and all of the logistics that are
1:11:32 required
1:11:33 um have have led them to like a more
1:11:34 manageable set of sites
1:11:37 um but there will be some that are more
1:11:38 tucked in that you kind of have a
1:11:40 surprise moment and then ones that are
1:11:42 who are accessible name do you think
1:11:43 they want a decent number of them to be
1:11:45 acceptable so that people have Mobility
1:11:48 challenges are able to enjoy them too as
1:11:51 we consider Confluence Park we would
1:11:53 want accessibility along one of the
1:11:55 trails so again there's a maybe a a
1:11:59 happy medium of a little bit of a
1:12:01 peekaboo Discovery but it's not
1:12:04 um again it's it's probably a longer
1:12:06 Trail outside the buffer area
1:12:09 Etc and how tall do you share these
1:12:12 trolls yeah were they really vary um but
1:12:15 they can be you know
1:12:18 20 feet tall they could be eight feet
1:12:22 tall it depends on how they're
1:12:25 um you know developed like they might be
1:12:27 sitting versus standing I was able to
1:12:30 visit the main botanical garden and see
1:12:33 the exhibit that was there and some of
1:12:35 them were ignored as like tall as the
1:12:38 trees so it just depends on the site I
1:12:42 think we have surrounded questions with
1:12:43 the group yeah
1:12:47 uh thanks I'm really excited about this
1:12:49 I can't say enough good things about
1:12:51 supporting it uh I've known about it for
1:12:53 some time because my involvement with
1:12:55 the state park
1:12:56 um but I think that uh and it's just
1:12:59 perfect it's a win-win-win-win I mean
1:13:02 you know I mean I think it creates the
1:13:04 potential for Partnerships which is
1:13:06 really great uh the thing that I really
1:13:09 like not only is it you know an
1:13:11 outstanding art
1:13:12 aspect but it you know the the
1:13:15 intention or or mission of it also being
1:13:19 environmental uh being you know is a
1:13:21 huge issue
1:13:23 I think it's just perfect for the
1:13:25 Issaquah Creek Corridor I would not
1:13:27 necessarily rule out some other
1:13:29 potentials within this quiet Creek
1:13:31 Corridor you know a lot of that probably
1:13:33 has to do with what the artist might
1:13:34 want to do certainly Confluence I think
1:13:36 is is a great spot but there are others
1:13:39 I think being close to the Waterway or
1:13:42 Issaquah Creek would be an advantage
1:13:46 um I mean I just think this is just an
1:13:48 outstanding thing and I certainly hope
1:13:50 that the city agrees and supports it I I
1:13:54 see this as something that could really
1:13:55 be a catalyst for the Issa Creek
1:13:57 Corridor as we go as we move into
1:14:02 you know planning strategic planning for
1:14:05 the corridor I think that this could
1:14:07 really be a catalyst and get the
1:14:08 community more engaged in the Issaquah
1:14:11 recorder concept
1:14:12 uh and so I don't know I can't say
1:14:14 enough good things about it so I'll stop
1:14:16 there but
1:14:17 um you got my vote 10 times on this one
1:14:21 thanks Brad
1:14:22 uh Andrew
1:14:24 yeah likewise want to say uh thank you
1:14:27 Amy for bringing this together it's
1:14:29 super cool to learn about this project
1:14:31 and excited to hopefully this squad can
1:14:34 be a part of it would love to see it
1:14:35 happen
1:14:36 um out of curiosity I was just wondering
1:14:38 about the nature of the conversation
1:14:39 with the tribes and what any potential
1:14:42 you know concerns or
1:14:45 uh questions might come up through that
1:14:46 process
1:14:54 developments already what
1:14:56 what some other tribes not this no help
1:14:58 me tribe that have gone really well
1:15:01 um I'm not really sure what the I think
1:15:03 he his intention is to let the tribe
1:15:06 lead the conversation
1:15:08 um and so I can certainly report back
1:15:10 after he has the conversation with snow
1:15:12 Plumbing
1:15:13 yeah if I could add to that you know we
1:15:16 as we've reached out and developed a
1:15:20 clear relationships with us Snoqualmie
1:15:23 tribe and their intergovernmental team
1:15:24 you know we we're the ones that wanted
1:15:26 to make that connection as well so so
1:15:29 Amy and I'll be part of that discussion
1:15:31 as well so even uh you know it sounds
1:15:34 like the artist really has a respect and
1:15:37 understanding for ancestral lands
1:15:41 um and and recognizing that
1:15:43 um yeah I really I think this first
1:15:45 discussion this first meeting is going
1:15:46 to be more listening than uh than
1:15:49 anything so we'll keep you all posted
1:15:52 and again I think it's really really
1:15:53 important for us as a city to to
1:15:55 understand uh from that listening before
1:15:59 we make a final decision as a city
1:16:01 whether we want to do this or not so
1:16:03 more to come
1:16:08 will be like tailored to like the just
1:16:12 overall beings of Issaquah just being
1:16:14 like uh you know salmon obviously being
1:16:17 a very introvert part of the city and
1:16:19 everything like how much will the troll
1:16:21 um yeah I think it'll be very site
1:16:24 specific and there's that larger story
1:16:27 that's being told about our watershed
1:16:29 area that I think it will be relating
1:16:32 directly to the site so if it is in
1:16:35 Confluence Park say you know the the
1:16:36 creek would be an important component
1:16:43 great thing
1:16:45 I think Chris Smith
1:16:47 wanted a comment I saw him to add
1:16:50 something to the chat a while ago Chris
1:16:54 there you go thank you yeah
1:16:58 I have a cold so I muted myself while I
1:17:00 sneezed really loud to not disturb all
1:17:02 of you and then I had to get unmuted
1:17:04 thank you
1:17:06 yeah uh you have my vote right as is
1:17:10 some things I think would be great to
1:17:12 consider is how to incorporate the you
1:17:14 know the tribal uh connection to the
1:17:19 and I think that's important and then
1:17:22 the other question is not really for for
1:17:25 you Amy I don't think but if anybody is
1:17:27 aware of the timeline
1:17:30 of course propose additional parking
1:17:32 spots along the Holly Street side of
1:17:36 Confluence Park you know how far out is
1:17:38 that uh with respect to this
1:17:42 you know I think that's somebody else's
1:17:44 that's somebody else's budget but that
1:17:47 certainly would help with uh you know
1:17:49 Anders uh question he raised absolutely
1:17:53 yeah Chris I don't know you know that's
1:17:55 a that's a right-of-way project that I
1:17:58 don't even know shows up on the
1:17:59 transportation Improvement plan the
1:18:02 six-year plan so it's the 16th not on
1:18:04 the sixth year so that's you know 10 8
1:18:06 10 years likely
1:18:09 um like Amy said and I I appreciate you
1:18:11 know the Shakespeare in the Park event
1:18:13 was a really good test for us and
1:18:15 knowing that Confluence there's a lot of
1:18:17 interest in having events this wouldn't
1:18:19 be a singular event but you know to know
1:18:22 that there were the 400 people there and
1:18:24 I think the communication that the
1:18:26 theater group sent out in terms of where
1:18:28 to park and encouraging people to park
1:18:30 it it really
1:18:32 we didn't see those
1:18:34 troubling conflicts
1:18:37 with that event
1:18:39 um when you have that event not just for
1:18:41 parking but just other like restaurants
1:18:44 it did did we bring in additional
1:18:47 facilities or like porta potties or yeah
1:18:51 we do you know we we did not in
1:18:56 uh we should have but we did I don't
1:18:58 know we just don't know what's the limit
1:19:00 on the number of people
1:19:02 um because it was actually a much larger
1:19:04 turnout than we anticipated
1:19:07 um but we did not and we just made sure
1:19:09 that those open longer and that they
1:19:12 didn't block
1:19:14 um after the summer yeah so we've had
1:19:16 yeah I think yeah I would think people
1:19:18 aren't going to be you know they would
1:19:21 be visiting the troll but not
1:19:22 necessarily you know hanging out I'm
1:19:24 just thinking like the first week or you
1:19:26 know like so you might maybe leave some
1:19:29 stuff up we're stuck in more frequently
1:19:30 yeah I think we're going to want to
1:19:31 gauge that I think that's partnering
1:19:33 with the other and most of these are
1:19:35 other
1:19:37 public agencies I guess I'll speak to
1:19:39 that so we won't be the only one as a
1:19:41 public agency trying to manage this
1:19:43 installation so I think we're we're all
1:19:45 kind of leaning on each other in terms
1:19:46 of how do we learn what's up first week
1:19:48 look like yeah what's week four look
1:19:50 like right yeah hopefully we won't be
1:19:53 first so yeah and then I had a couple
1:19:56 other little questions
1:19:57 um well you mentioned that these are
1:20:00 um intended to be temporary
1:20:04 um I'm assuming though that it's not
1:20:05 like other public art that might rotate
1:20:07 to other locations like this would just
1:20:09 be here and it basically is just
1:20:11 temporary like once it wears out
1:20:13 basically it comes down that's correct
1:20:15 okay so as long as it's useful and safe
1:20:19 we would keep it up
1:20:21 um but we're not under an obligation to
1:20:24 keep it there and then are these trolls
1:20:28 do people climb on them like are they
1:20:30 like they're they're designed to sort of
1:20:32 a comment like deal like have people
1:20:35 touching them and climbing on them okay
1:20:39 I love it I think it's super cool
1:20:42 I don't know if you need us to
1:20:44 officially make a recommendation
1:20:47 not necessarily again you know art
1:20:49 commission-led project we just thought
1:20:51 again this you know it's so great to
1:20:53 have Arts within the department and how
1:20:55 do we
1:20:56 sort of celebrate this you know so often
1:21:00 parks are the canvas or these Arts
1:21:02 projects so I think just getting keeping
1:21:05 you updated
1:21:07 um I agree I think
1:21:09 perhaps January as we know more
1:21:10 information perhaps having an action
1:21:12 item and giving you all the opportunity
1:21:14 to you know sort of give up Linda a
1:21:16 supportive thumbs up would be would be
1:21:18 great so we'll plan on we'll have a lot
1:21:20 more information come that January
1:21:22 meeting so more to come
1:21:25 thanks for thanks again for having me
1:21:27 you know the Arts commission is always
1:21:29 really
1:21:29 wanting to connect with the hard Sports
1:21:32 season this would be a nice opportunity
1:21:41 the other uh any other questions
1:21:43 concerns
1:21:45 thanks for the thumbs up Brenda
1:21:50 all right
1:21:52 um I guess with that said we'll move on
1:21:54 to uh the reports
1:21:56 so start off with uh with my
1:21:59 chairperson's report
1:22:01 um just uh kind of wanted to uh make a
1:22:05 an announce that that's kind of exciting
1:22:07 to me as a Ultra Runner
1:22:09 um that is a glob will be hosting a
1:22:11 run-up for air or Rupa event on March
1:22:15 11th um basically doing uh laps up to
1:22:19 Tiger Tiger Mountain and what this is
1:22:21 basically a program that's uh
1:22:25 endurance events are empowering
1:22:27 non-profits to basically address air
1:22:30 quality and climate change issues and in
1:22:32 your local communities so typically
1:22:36 these events have been in Utah Colorado
1:22:37 and Tiger Mountain will be Washington's
1:22:40 first uh in this event which is pretty
1:22:44 exciting
1:22:46 um when you say Ultra this isn't this is
1:22:48 like a 5K
1:22:52 up to 24 hours so as much as you can
1:22:55 number in that in that time and wow
1:22:58 that's awesome
1:23:00 um so uh it's a fun event coming out the
1:23:04 next spring
1:23:06 um and uh also I've been doing some uh
1:23:09 volunteering for uh the Box slip surveys
1:23:12 um not necessarily Issaquah but although
1:23:16 uh Larry sweaters who's in charge of it
1:23:18 is lives in Issaquah and um actually one
1:23:21 of the main chimneys that's a nesting
1:23:23 point for the Box slips or like um as
1:23:26 their southern migration uh is in salic
1:23:29 um and uh basically this last year and
1:23:33 there's also other chimneys around
1:23:34 Western Washington like Monroe Wagner is
1:23:37 one of the main ones but all the way
1:23:39 down the coast and uh 1.6 million Swifts
1:23:43 were counted uh in this southbound
1:23:45 migration including 43 000 which were
1:23:48 the selling uh
1:23:49 Schoolhouse chimney just just down the
1:23:52 road from Issaquah if you're interested
1:23:54 in volunteering in that you can reach
1:23:58 happenings.org and then just a quick
1:24:01 count on the Chinook salmon uh here's
1:24:03 4600 adults have returned and about 3.4
1:24:07 million eggs collected to this point I
1:24:10 know the salmon hatchery is always
1:24:12 looking for volunteers for egg picking
1:24:15 which is a a pretty fun project it
1:24:19 always get the chance to maybe spot the
1:24:22 little tiny salmon swimming in the uh in
1:24:24 the eggs once it reaches a certain point
1:24:27 so it's a fun opportunity to sort of uh
1:24:30 you know give back to the the sound and
1:24:34 the community in that way so if
1:24:36 someone's interested in volunteering the
1:24:38 proof of a contest uh I believe uh that
1:24:41 will be the friends uh fish
1:24:45 for instance friends of Issaquah salmon
1:24:48 hatchery yes yeah and uh there's a sign
1:24:52 up sheet for that and um you know uh
1:24:55 several opportunities available usually
1:24:57 it's about a three or four hour shift
1:25:00 it's a lot of fun
1:25:02 uh that's all for me
1:25:06 so yes
1:25:07 have an opportunity to share please
1:25:12 so starting off when one of that
1:25:15 um we have a lot of the new new threats
1:25:18 on all these different boards now
1:25:21 starting with the park board and we have
1:25:23 uh two other youth board reps who will
1:25:25 be alternating with at meetings
1:25:28 um we have these board reps having Arts
1:25:30 commission the sister cities commission
1:25:32 which I'm also on uh the environmental
1:25:35 board the equity board
1:25:37 um as just mentioned the friends of the
1:25:39 Issaquah solid Hatchery the fish
1:25:42 committee
1:25:43 and the Human Services Commission
1:25:47 a lot more than last year experience
1:25:52 of the year which is going to be a Harry
1:25:55 Potter night we're gonna have a bunch of
1:25:58 like elementary school kids come on uh
1:26:01 February 3rd and we're going to have a
1:26:04 lot of like um
1:26:06 eating foods like quidditch potion
1:26:09 making stuff like that and yeah it's
1:26:11 just gonna be a couple hours of fun and
1:26:14 that'll be at the community center yeah
1:26:15 awesome
1:26:21 and then as for our next event which is
1:26:24 the dog will endurance event so we
1:26:26 reached out to the Issaquah police
1:26:29 department and we are looking to partner
1:26:31 with them for this you know dodgeball
1:26:34 and donuts event which will this will
1:26:36 now be the second time that we've done
1:26:40 um so basically just a bit so that
1:26:42 during it's just a dodgeball tournament
1:26:44 where five high school students are
1:26:47 paired with one police officer and they
1:26:50 just compete in DodgeBall and get to eat
1:26:52 donuts
1:26:56 and we have an animal
1:26:58 um conference about um behavior of
1:27:01 health issues called state of mind which
1:27:04 will continue in place in March
1:27:09 um we're starting to work with council
1:27:12 members Hall and
1:27:14 uh council member Hall to plan an event
1:27:17 to provide promote some youth Civic
1:27:19 engagement uh specific youth board and
1:27:22 possibly
1:27:23 not only for like other people outside
1:27:26 of that she's maybe high school and
1:27:28 middle school or People Like Us
1:27:31 um and we're also um fitting some sort
1:27:34 of pet adoption event and
1:27:37 um late spring April
1:27:40 and then finally we have our annual easy
1:27:43 kids triathlon that date has been
1:27:45 settled for June 4th we haven't worked
1:27:46 on it yet but we know it's gonna happen
1:27:49 that's that's all we have
1:27:52 thank you so much
1:27:53 outstanding job thank you so much
1:27:56 uh director's report a couple of items
1:27:59 to touch on uh first off uh happy
1:28:02 holidays everyone here we are November
1:28:04 28th pardon to believe as we're winding
1:28:06 down a little housekeeping what this
1:28:09 means is you know historically we choose
1:28:12 not to meet around the December 24th
1:28:14 25th timeline so this is likely our last
1:28:18 meeting of the year
1:28:19 um with that I I shared with you all an
1:28:23 email earlier this afternoon I hope you
1:28:25 have a chance to look at it it's an
1:28:26 email I sent out to the department after
1:28:29 um our department team after the budget
1:28:31 was adopted
1:28:32 um it highlights not only uh sort of our
1:28:36 core level of service uh elements that
1:28:39 were within the budget but some of the
1:28:40 key highlights of some added resources
1:28:44 um uh throughout the uh throughout the
1:28:46 department so
1:28:48 um it represents the first two-year
1:28:50 budget that the council adopted so that
1:28:52 means uh 2023 and 2024 budgets were
1:28:56 adopted in early November
1:28:59 it doesn't mean we necessarily
1:29:02 have flexibility in spending 24 month 20
1:29:05 24 money in 2023 it's still it's still
1:29:09 two distinct years worth of budgets uh
1:29:12 there is a midpoint budget check that
1:29:16 will happen next year but it won't be as
1:29:18 exhaustive
1:29:20 of a budget process each and every year
1:29:23 lots of capital projects are certainly
1:29:26 represented within uh within that budget
1:29:29 so we will have a certainly busy and
1:29:32 exciting year so many staff editions
1:29:36 including a real Focus within our park
1:29:39 operations team on urban forestry and
1:29:41 bringing our board and urban Forest
1:29:43 supervisor
1:29:44 looking at the terrific work that gen
1:29:48 Fink has done as one Park planning
1:29:50 person and really looking at a park
1:29:52 Planning and Development Division as we
1:29:54 start looking at our as our Capital
1:29:56 goals so
1:29:58 some real opportunities there for
1:30:02 that recruitment of Staffing as in years
1:30:06 past now the budget is adopted My Hope
1:30:09 Is and plan is that that January meeting
1:30:11 in part four that agenda is filling up
1:30:13 quite a bit it sounds like but um I'll
1:30:16 plan on bringing forward our work plans
1:30:19 or the major projects work plan uh we'll
1:30:21 have a chance to talk with Zach and
1:30:23 Marlene as chair and vice chair as to
1:30:26 really helping to set priorities and
1:30:28 work plan priorities for the park board
1:30:30 as we as we look into 2023 so more to
1:30:35 come as that's developed I'll probably
1:30:37 send that out to all of you as an email
1:30:38 so you have a chance to to see that
1:30:40 major major project work plan prior to
1:30:44 the January meeting I was looking at
1:30:47 um and you're you're right whoever made
1:30:48 this comment I think Tisha did it's
1:30:50 interesting and hybrid I don't know
1:30:51 where to look I sincerely don't know
1:30:53 where to look because it's really kind
1:30:55 of interesting but anyways
1:30:58 um I don't know if you can see you can't
1:31:00 see this at all but this is sort of the
1:31:02 2020 two major work plan items and this
1:31:06 is my traveling copy that always goes
1:31:08 with me so it's it's quite tattered but
1:31:10 it really is an important tracking piece
1:31:13 for me as as sort of looking at all the
1:31:15 divisions in the department and where
1:31:17 we're at what's the status of those 2022
1:31:20 was a very very productive year so I'll
1:31:23 also have a chance to highlight our
1:31:25 accomplishments from 2022 as we talked
1:31:27 about that in 2023
1:31:31 um one of our items
1:31:32 um how do I do it on time
1:31:34 that we are going to be highlighting as
1:31:37 we head into 2023 and I want to give you
1:31:39 all an update on his pickleball you
1:31:41 might recall
1:31:43 um going back to 2021 I'm sort of in the
1:31:46 midst of uh one of the covet variant
1:31:49 crisis crises uh the mayor had a fit and
1:31:54 fun initiative that incorporated some
1:31:56 elements within our Park system one of
1:31:58 those elements we piloted mid-summer was
1:32:02 getting more diversity within our on our
1:32:05 tennis courts and so we added in three
1:32:08 different locate park locations two
1:32:11 pickleball courts in three different
1:32:13 locations so a total of six pickleball
1:32:15 courts were were
1:32:17 created in mid-220 2021 as we went
1:32:22 through this last summer and had our
1:32:24 first full summer of pickleball use we
1:32:27 as staff sort of wanted to take a this
1:32:29 fall took a little bit of an evaluation
1:32:32 approach and how did that work what went
1:32:34 well what didn't necessarily go well if
1:32:38 any of you follow pickleball is crazy
1:32:40 right now
1:32:41 um I'm so glad we did that in 2021 the
1:32:44 community has very much enjoyed and
1:32:46 appreciated those six courts
1:32:49 but we had some learning to do and so
1:32:52 what we're doing with that evaluation
1:32:55 we're sort of operationally is looking
1:32:57 at making some modifications through
1:32:59 this uh through this winter and as we
1:33:02 head into spring start looking ahead to
1:33:04 spring summer 2023 we're going to bring
1:33:07 with it some operational modifications
1:33:10 related to pickleball we we think
1:33:13 there's some opportunities at those
1:33:14 locations to add some additional
1:33:16 striping and some of our Parks Tibbetts
1:33:19 Valley Park being one we had two courts
1:33:21 strike there we think there's
1:33:22 opportunity to to pretty much stripe all
1:33:25 the courts for for pickleball and allow
1:33:27 for for flexibility of tennis and
1:33:29 pickleball there similarly in Central
1:33:31 Park uh we have also taken a really
1:33:34 close look at how do we make sure we're
1:33:37 as we're incorporating pickleball into
1:33:39 our Park facilities we're also being a
1:33:42 really good neighbor
1:33:43 and where can we add some acoustical
1:33:46 screening or some other opportunities to
1:33:48 make sure from a proximity standpoint
1:33:51 where
1:33:53 diminishing noise issues and concerns
1:33:56 one of the park locations Muirwood Park
1:33:59 we've certainly found I think is just
1:34:01 flat out too close to residential
1:34:03 neighbors and any there's no real
1:34:06 acoustical solution there so as we're
1:34:08 adding courts
1:34:10 um at two of those locations we're going
1:34:12 to be not having pickleball at Muirwood
1:34:16 we're also timing this with the
1:34:20 improvements at Blackberry Park and that
1:34:21 historical pickleball court there within
1:34:24 that same neighborhood so in the end
1:34:27 we're really excited to I think be able
1:34:30 to respond to this desire for pickleball
1:34:35 we are not in a capital position to just
1:34:38 add a giant pickleball complex somewhere
1:34:41 we're not a land-rich community that's
1:34:43 able to just add new amenities so really
1:34:46 incorporating our existing facilities
1:34:48 and incorporating pickleball into it uh
1:34:52 where uh we'll be unveiling this again
1:34:54 uh through this winter
1:34:57 but in total where we had six courts
1:35:01 um this Summer that we're well loved and
1:35:03 well used we think we can reposition
1:35:06 some but still have what would be 12 or
1:35:09 13 pickleball courts Incorporated within
1:35:13 our within our systems so we'll be
1:35:17 sharing this news with the pickleball
1:35:19 community and with our neighbors via
1:35:21 website and other and other means so
1:35:23 much more to come there
1:35:28 and then lastly I touched on it I think
1:35:30 I saw a thumbs up but I just want to I
1:35:32 guess get a general sense before we
1:35:34 leave
1:35:35 um it feels like given again size
1:35:39 um I think work plan uh knowing we will
1:35:42 likely have general public that are
1:35:43 going to want to come in person uh that
1:35:45 the manor seems to be the a better
1:35:48 location for us as we venture into
1:35:51 meetings next year so
1:35:54 um Tisha I know we've had a chance to
1:35:56 look at calendar it looks like Tibbetts
1:35:58 um Manor is available would be available
1:36:00 to become our home base is there a
1:36:03 general sense of
1:36:05 thumbs up support for this being home
1:36:09 based
1:36:10 if so that's what we will
1:36:14 plan for heading into the new year so
1:36:18 happy holidays all happy New Year
1:36:21 I also love December just having a
1:36:24 chance to reach out to all of you
1:36:25 one-on-one so if you've got feedback you
1:36:28 want to give
1:36:29 new park board members old poor board
1:36:31 members as we start heading into 2023
1:36:33 let's find some time to grab some coffee
1:36:36 and chat as well so all right thanks
1:36:39 thanks Jeff uh looks like the next
1:36:42 meeting is currently scheduled for
1:36:43 January 23rd 2023 so with that we'll
1:36:48 close out the final meeting of 2022.
1:36:51 thank you everyone
1:36:54 thank you good night thanks everyone