Friends of Marymoor Park

January 25th, 2012 Meeting Summary

-- see also the November 16, 2011 meeting summary 

1.    Happy New Year! Welcome and Introductions:  Norah Gaynor – King County; Christina Merten – FOMP Board member and MCGA; Herb Bone – FOMP Board member and MARC; Lise Place – SRA president; Glenn Eades – Eastside Audubon; Harley Scheffield – Velodrome

 New SRA exec director Jennifer Proby will join us later in the meeting.   

2.    Sammamish Rowing Association – Lise Place and  Jenny Proby

SRA representatives passed out an information packet with photos of the new boathouse that will be delivered this Friday morning.  Last February their Board decided to go forward with a pre-manufactured metal building.  They cleared this design change with the City of Redmond and the footprint is exactly the same as what was originally approved.  The design drawings were updated and revised permits were issued in October.  They were able to pour foundation in November.  The group’s goal is for building construction between now and May.  There needs to be electrical and fire safety system in place before the boats may be moved in.  In order to complete the second floor, the group needs to raise more money for completion in late 2012 or 2013.

Steve Thompson is in charge of the wetland mitigation for SRA.  They are doing mitigation on approximately 3 acres on site.  They have removed invasives and installed approximately 50% of the total plants.  The remainder of the planting should be completed by the end of March 2012.  They have also partnered with King County and AmeriCorps for completion of the project.  Once the plants are in the ground the monitoring period will begin, which is required for 5 years.  They are required to retain 80% plant survival over those 5 years.  They will be irrigating during that time.  The group has updated their website with a write-up about the project and the mitigation project. http://sammamishrowing.org/newboathouse

Norah received an e-mail about the bike lanes.  The SRA is having that re-worked within the next few weeks.  There was a mistake in the measurements of paint application.  They are working with the City of Redmond to be sure that the re-worked area will meet specifications. 

3.    CIP/Project/Facility Updates:            Norah Gaynor, Parks

a.    Birdloop – Flattening of Lot G dump pile.  The park grounds crew will work on implementing the diagram that FOMP looked at last meeting.  They are waiting for dry weather.  The Audubon Group is supportive of the project.  Ella is recommending a native seed mix.  Through conversation with the Park, the option of having weedblock put on the pile was not chosen.  The Audubon group would like to request that the hydroseeding be paid for by the Park.  The Park will be able to apply the hydroseed, but payment will need to be discussed once the seed mix is recommended.  The pile’s invasives and natives will need to be managed and maintained either by mowing or by weeding.  This will be a good experiment in the control of invasives.  Norah would like to move forward with the plan and discuss with Audubon about payment for the material.  Glenn will send an e-mail to Norah about the decision and how the group will move forward with the Park.  Norah also mentioned that the Park will need to put split rail fencing on the edge near the parking lot so that parking in that area can be more organized. 

The Audubon group is also looking at bringing in some sand to level out the east meadow trail. There is also a sign that has been agreed on for the trail re-route.  It’s difficult now to determine if people are following the detour. 

b.    Garden Loosestrife Control Project  - Spraying done early September. Inventory in spring.

c.    Community Garden – Donations to HopeLink for 2011 totaled 6,831 pounds which beat the previous record year of 2007 by 248 pounds.  Jack sent an e-mail to the Park and FOMP back in November to request information on controlling the voles and moles. The Park hasn’t been able to find a method or application that really works.  What they use at this time is CastorOil, but needs to be applied weekly.  Norah can send information on the company that they are using who supplies the oil and applies it to areas in the park.  Christina will then forward that to the MCGA Board for consideration.

d.    Boathouse project     (See guests above) http://sammamishrowing.org/newboathouse  

e.    East Lake Sammamish Trail –  http://www.kingcounty.gov/operations/capitalImprovements/parkscip/projects/eastlakesammamishtrail.aspx

Redmond portion of the project finished early and under budget.  The Issaquah section is the next section that will be constructed in 2012.  Hopefully over the next year there will be a schedule released for completion of the Sammamish portion of the trail.

f.      Interpretive Lot (Lot G) improvements – Review proposed lookout (see a. above).

g.    North playground – Improvements scheduled for Winter 2012. Some updates/repairs to existing. Possible addition of tot- section and adult fitness equipment if funds allow. Improved accessibility.

4.  Event/Activities Updates See next pages.  Velodrome association has found a sponsor for the annual Grand Prix event – UW will be the sponsor for 2012.  R/C club is working on their schedule for 2012 events. 

5.  Other – FOMP Sponsored Tree Report is now linked on the marymoor.org website: http://www.marymoor.org/treeplan.htm

 Greg sent an e-mail earlier in the month about a possible grant opportunity.  The attendees to the meeting had not reviewed the information and agreed to discuss it at the next meeting if Greg was able to attend.

Next Meeting: Wednesday February 22, 2012, 7pm Marymoor Art Barn

These notes do not constitute an official record of the meeting.  They may have inaccuracies and omissions.  If anyone has any complaints about the content of these notes, they should direct them to Michael Hobbs at fomp@marymoor.org, and he will endeavor to correct them.