May 22, 2013 FOMP Meeting Summary

May 22, 2013 Meeting Summary

1) Introductions: Herb Bone, Marymoor R/C Club, FOMP Board; Norah Robinson, King County Parks; Michael Hobbs, Eastside Audubon, FOMP Secretary; Glenn Eades, Eastside Audubon

2) Clise Mansion and Windmill Facelift:

Clise Kitchen bump-out – The Clise kitchen has not been remodeled since the early 1980’s; old pressboard cupboards, sagging floor, etc. Plan is to remove all of the existing cupboards and counters, replacing them with stainless steel racks. They need a new refrigerator to replace two old ones. They'll take out the old oven/stovetop and put in two multi-rack convection ovens. They want to widen exterior kitchen door (too small and not to code). To make room for the reconfiguration and additional refrigerator, they want to bump the south wall of the kitchen out by three feet (which is less than the overhang of the eaves). As part of this work, they’ll upgrade the electrical service to 200 amps. The plan has been approved by the Landmarks Commission. With the new floor, the new stainless steel counters and sinks, better lighting, etc., it should be much easier to maintain required levels of cleanliness. Overall maintenance should also be greatly lessened. Work (assuming funding) will take place in October, after the concert season.

Windmill siding and window sill repairs – The windmill needs repainting and repairs. They need to eliminate soil/siding contact at the bottom of the windmill, where the garden beds are too high. Lower siding will be replaced as necessary. Rotten window sills will be replaced. There are discussions with the Landmarks Commission about whether it might be possible to change from boarded-up windows to something that looks more like the original glass windows (without glass). Parks doesn’t want real glass, for fear it would be a target for vandals, but the Commission doesn't want plexiglass. Planter around windmill – there is talk of removal of the garden around the windmill. It was a later addition. The brickwork is too tall, leading to soil/siding contact, but Norah believes it could be lowered, retaining the garden. The Landmarks Commission is okay either way.

Paint Color – the existing brown color fades in an inconsistent manner. There is discussion of repainting the windmill and the mansion in a lighter color. There are some historical photos (from the ‘30’s?) that show them being, perhaps, white. A gray or a beige are being considered. This led to a discussion of the color and presentation of the mansion. Glenn and Michael both expressed a feeling that the mansion looks rather dark, shabby, and overgrown, and that it would look better with some of the foundation plants reduced in size, opening up views from inside the mansion. Michael expressed that the historic area has now a more private feeling than it did 20 years ago, and therefore there is less need to shield the interior from the busy park via foundation plantings. A fresher look to the mansion could make the mansion look more like the great historic building it is.

4) CIP Project/Facility Updates:

Birdloop – Eastside Audubon removed a fair chunk of the Poison Hemlock. The Parks noxious weed people have removed most of the rest, and hopefully with a little bit of additional effort, they can be controlled. Glenn is also concerned about the thistles; it was suggested that cutting before the thistles go to seed could help with long-term control. Glenn also talked about removal of some of the European Hawthorns at the south end of the East Meadow. There are a lot of small seedlings coming in that Glenn would like to get rid of. Furthermore, there are about 3 times more hawthorns than were present 20 years ago. Michael would like about 1/3 of the larger trees removed to maintain the meadow aspect of that area. September would be a good time to do that work. Norah also mentioned removal of a lot of the Scotts Broom just west of the model airplane parking lot. Michael suggested that the dozen “old-growth” Scotts Brooms that are just south of the graffitied picnic shelter south of the windmill.
East Lake Sammamish Trail – Issaquah section – Estimated completion date: mid-June, 2013. North Sammamish Segment design started in November 2012. See their website.
Lot G Drainage – Some analysis is being done for Lot G. They are looking into a set of French drains, possibly surrounding the parking lot, and/or possibly some “water gardens” where water is directed into low, vegetated areas where the water is out of the way and can percolate down into the ground. Proposals will be forthcoming.
Sammamish River Transition Zone – King County Water and Land Management will hold a public meeting, June 27th, at the Clise Mansion, to discuss moving forward with the remeander of the Sammamish River, using the area west of the Transition Zone to wind the river in a less channelized way. Michael did raise the issue of whether this would change the status of the river such that it would no longer be navigable, and if so, whether the Corps of Engineers would object.

4) Events:

Major events warning for August 10, with large 5K fun runs (waves of runners starting every 20 minutes from 8:00 to 10:00), with probably 9000 runners / 3000 cars in total. Just as the last of them leave, concert attendees will be arriving for the concert (gates open at noon, first act at 1:00 p.m.). Additionally, there will be a model airplane demonstration with a coordinated fund raiser, at the model airplane field starting at 1:00 p.m. This is a good day to avoid the park if you aren't participating in one of those events.

Next Meeting: June 26, 2013, 7:00 pm at the 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.