Parks Comm PKT 08-07-2014g:\parks comm mtg notes\2014\agendas and minutes\080714 agenda.doc
City of Federal Way
PARKS, RECREATION AND CULTURAL SERVICES
PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION
August 7, 2014 City Hall
6:30 p.m. Hylebos Conference Room
MEETING AGENDA
1. CALL TO ORDER
2. PUBLIC COMMENT (3 minutes)
Please limit comments to 3 minutes. The Chair may ask citizen to briefly summarize comments that
continue too long.
3. APPROVAL OF MINUTES – June 5, 2014; Regular Meeting Minutes.
4. COMMISSION BUSINESS
Topic Title/Description Presenter
A.
Town Square Park
1. Shade
2. Play Structure
3. Mural
4. Water Feature
Mayor Ferrell
5. STAFF REPORTS
Topic Title/Description Presenter
A. Lakota Park Update Koppang
B.
Panther Lake Update
Ikerd
C. Karl Grosch Field Update Hutton
D. Red, White & Blues Recap Hutton
6. OTHER BUSINESS
7. FUTURE MEETINGS/AGENDA ITEMS: The next PRHSPSC Committee meeting will be held Tuesday, August 12, at 5:00
PM in the Hylebos Conference Room.
8. AGENDA SETTING
9. ADJOURNMENT
THE NEXT MEETING IS
September 4, 2014
g:\parks comm mtg notes\2014\agendas and minutes\060514 minutes.doc
CITY OF FEDERAL WAY
PARKS, RECREATION AND CULTURAL SERVICES
PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION
Thursday, June 5, 2014 Patrick Maher Room
6:30 p.m. City Hall
MEETING MINUTES
Chair Koppang called the meeting to order at 6:35pm.
Present: Chair Koppang, Vice Chair Mike Hoefel, Laura Belvin, David Wilson, George Pfeiffer, PK Thumbi,
David Berger and Lynda Jenkins
Staff: Mayor Jim Ferrell, Chief of Staff Brian Wilson, Communication and Government Affairs Chris Carrel,
Interim Parks Director Ken Miller, Parks & Facilities Manager Steve Ikerd, Recreation Supervisor John
Hutton, and Parks Administrative Assistant II Mary Jaenicke.
Council member in attendance: Martin Moore
Guests in Attendance: State Representative Roger Freeman, Mike Johnson, Clay Williams, Steve Anderson,
there was also a total of 72 citizens representing Lakota
PUBLIC FORUM
Chair Koppang thanked everyone for coming to the Parks Commission meeting. He stated that the Parks
Commission is passionate about seeing Lakota Park becoming the park that it can be. He a lso said that they
are looking for a partnership to accomplish the goals that we have as a city.
Mayor Ferrell stated that Council is fully aware of this issue. He stated that he was in attendance to listen to
their comments, and stated that they are awa re and looking at this issue.
Clay Williams presented a power point presentation which showed the inequities of Lakota Park in
comparison with the other parks in Federal Way. The parks highlighted were Celebration, Saghalie,
Sacajawea and Steel Lake. The presentation also showed the year the parks were constructed and renovated,
and the amount of money that was used for the construction and renovation of those parks. Mr. Williams
stated that Lakota Park was Master Planned in 1996 for a cost of $33,000, and it was Master Planned in 2003.
In 2012 there were improvements to the north fields and restroom. Mr. Williams stated that the major
problems were in the outfields, and they are still experiencing the same problems. There has been under
$200,000 spent on Lakota in the past 18 years. Lakota Park has not received any of the amenities that the
other parks have received. He stated that they want to move forward on the renovation of this park.
Mike Johnson stated that they want a comprehensive plan that would be transparent, and that the plan be
available for the community to look at. They would like community input, and a blueprint Master Plan of the
park. They would like to see this in six months, break ground within a year, and have a billboard of the
renovation plans showing what the park will look like and a timeline at the park site.
Mike Johnson also spoke regarding the recent article that discussed the 32 million dollars being used for the
PACC and the recent boom in the region.
Parks and Recreation Commission, June 5, 2014 Page 2
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Steve Anderson is the track coach at Lakota. He spoke about a large sink hole and it there as a result of
drainage that is not working right. This is a safety concern.
Council member Moore stated that on behalf of the City Council he thanked everyone for being here. He is a
former Lakota student, and he was very happy to see young people at the meeting lobbying for what was
important to them. He has had good conversations with the Mayor and Chief of Staff. He is committed to
fighting for and getting this park built.
State Representative Roger Freeman, stated that when he was on Council he stated that he would not vote for
another budget that did not include Lakota. He has a daughter that went to Lakota and a son that will be
attending next year. He said it is hurtful to the kids that they don’t have a park that they can have pride in.
They do not have what other schools have.
Chair Koppang expressed his appreciation to all of citizens and addressed the students in particular to
make sure they left with two important lessons: 1. The people who get things done are the ones who show
up. 2. Know what you want and ask for it. These are lessons that apply to every aspect of your life.
Katie Ashton, a 6th grader at Lakota gave a speech regarding the amenities that she would like at the Park.
Some of the items listed were Softball fields, football field, rubber track , paved trails and water fountains. She
would like them to be able to have home games at their school.
Gino White II: Stated that he did not want to talk about all the things they don’t have, he wanted to talk about
what they do have. He stated that this park represents their perseverance and strength. Every day they find a
way to work out and work hard on the track. They find a way to keep smiling. He stated th at this new park is
very important to them because they all want something new at the school to make it better. If they don’t get to
play on it, they know that future students will be able to.
Jill Moller, PE Department Head at Lakota, spoke regarding the safety issues at Lakota. She also spoke
regarding the restrooms being locked, the lack of working water fountains, and having to travel to other
schools to play their games.
Council member Moore encouraged the group to go to the School Board meetings and advocate for their
fields. It is going to take a partnership. Everybody needs to hear their stories.
Chair Koppang discussed the successful partnership between the City and Park Pals for the off -leash dog park
at French Lake Park. The commission is committed and this will be kept on their agenda.
Gino White asked when will there be a date for a plan. Mayor Ferrell stated that he will be calling the
superintendent for Federal Way Public Schools tomorrow to schedule a meeting. In regards to the PACC, he
stated that there was a vision for this many years ago and there was a group that was committed to this and
they kept showing up and being heard. This is a budget year, and he encouraged them to watch the process
carefully. He asked the group to make sur e city staff has their email addresses so staff can communicate with
them. At this time there is $391,000.00 in an account for this project.
Minutes from the April Parks and Recreation Commission regular meeting were approved as written. Motion
by Berger to approve the minutes as written, Seconded by Hoefel. Motion passes.
Parks and Recreation Commission, June 5, 2014 Page 3
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COMMISSION BUSINESS
A. Lakota Park: Pfeiffer stated that the commission has been talking about Lakota Park for years, but
the funding has never been available. The commission had to do the best that they could with what
they were given. The problems with the fields are correctable. Pfeifer suggested improving the track
with the money that is currently available. Commission Berger would like there to be a sub-committee
for Lakota Park. Berger will be the Chair of the sub-committee. Commissioners Wilson and Pfeiffer
will also be a part of the sub-committee. Vice Chair Heofel stated that the information needs to get
back to Mike Johnson so he can disseminate it to the appropriate people. Ikerd discussed the
maintenance and operation needs. He stated that the School District is responsible for the track at
Lakota, and they are supposed to be maintaining it. The Interlocal Agreement was discussed. Berger
stated that there needs to be a formal Joint Use Agreement with the School District or things will fall
between the cracks. The sub-committee will meet, and report back to the Commission in August.
B. Town Square Park: Mayor Ferrell stated that he had been talking about a downtown park for 10
years, and they have been trying to activate this piece of land for the past eight years , and his thought
was to make sure they could activate this piece of land right away. He asked the commission for their
assistance and input for the park. The Mayor stated that looking back at the process; he realized that he
should have come to the commission first. In the future, as they move forward, he will go to the
commission first. For the long term they are going to pursue more development for that s ight. They
will be looking for ways to program the park. The Mayor wants to get people active in the downtown
area. There has never been a permanent location for the Farmers Market. The Mayor discussed several
ideas for the future of that park. He felt that it was very important to send a message to the developers
in the region and to the community that the city is ready to go with a park. This will not be an interim
park. The grand opening for the park is scheduled for July 12. Commissioner Berger asked what the
plan was to get families to the park. The Mayor stated that there will be programs at the park, and they
are working on this. It will evolve over time. Vice Chair Hoefel stated that he thinks this is a great
idea, and it is very much needed. He asked if the Parks Department will get more money in the budget
to maintain the park. The Mayor answered that it will be included in the budget process, and will be a
new program request. Hoefel also asked about lighting. The Mayor answered that the p ark will close at
dusk. Public Works does have portable lights for late night programs, but the goal is to keep the
majority of the programs occurring during the day. Chief of Staff Wilson stated that ¾ of the park is
remaining asphalt. The city is developing this park for a lot less money than what the “Cadillac” plan
would be for a park. They wanted this park to be available for use by Summer time. The goal was to
maximize the space, make it look as nice as possible. There will more elements for the lon g term plan.
They believe that there will be a lot of foot traffic from the Transit Center. They would like to have
food trucks and programming for lunch time. Commissioner Berger stated that the park needs to be
programmed correctly at the very beginning for the park to have a positive reputation. Commissioner
Belvin requested that the Mayor look at the City of Redmond to see how they are getting the
community involved in their parks.
C. 4th of July: Ms. Jaenicke will be getting the Trail Mix. Pfeiffer suggested having pictures of Town
Square at the booth. Hutton suggested putting up a list of ideas for programs at the park, and ask
people what types of programs they would like to see at Town Square. Commissioner’s Koppang and
Berger will be working the early shift, and Hoeffel and Thumbi will work the late shift. Trail maps
will also be available at the booth. Hutton stated that they will be putting Sani -Cans and more
trashcans on the BPA trail. Belvin would like there to be a picture of Funland at the Parks
Commission booth for the community to see the progress.
Parks and Recreation Commission, June 5, 2014 Page 4
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STAFF REPORTS
FAMILY FUNLAND
Ikerd reported that the Target for the grand opening is June 20 at 12:00pm. The Ability Whirl has been
installed, but they are still waiting for the rubber to be installed. Chair Koppang encouraged the Commission
to be there. Commissioner Berger asked if staff had thought about notifying disabled advocacy groups. Ikerd
answered that they are working on this. Hutton stated that there are two inclusive prof essionals at the Federal
Way Community Center, and they have provided Mr. Carrel a list of names. Commissioner Berger stated that
the current Miss Wheelchair USA was instrumental with the Rotary Club getting donations, and that she
should be notified.
PANTHER LAKE UPDATE
Ikerd has spoken with King County; they have said that they prefer that the money be spent by the end of the
year, but if there is a project that is currently being worked on, then they are ok with extending it into next
year. This project will be brought back to the commission in August.
PORTABLE TOILETS
Ikerd stated that there are 30 parks in Federal Way. 19 of those parks are neighborhood parks. Currently there
are portable toilets at the community parks. The practice has been to place portable toilets at the larger
community parks. Currently the budget to rent equipment is $11,507.00, that budget is used for the rental of
portable toilets, and lifts to reach the ball field lights. Commissioner Belvin stated that she had brought this
up because in the spring she had a group of home schooled children, and she wanted to use a community park
for P.E. classes, but they were not available. She was going to use a neighborhood park for a six week period,
and had requested that a portable toilet be placed at that park. Commissioner Pfeiffer state d that they don’t
normally have restrooms at the neighborhood parks, because the users of those parks live close by. Chair
Koppang stated that this needs to be looked at as a policy issue, not as an individual issue, it would send the
wrong message to create a policy for a commissioner. At this time the solution would be to apply for a special
use permit. Chair Koppang also stated that the community needs to have some involvement and awareness.
Some communities may not want a bathroom at the neighborhood parks, and some may not care.
Commissioner Pfeiffer stated that in the past there was a problem with vandalism at the parks. Ikerd stated that
typically the neighborhood parks don’t get rented very often.
NEXT MEETING/AGENDA ITEMS
Items for the August 7, 2014 meeting are:
Lakota Park
Panther Lake Update – Budget Numbers
Town Square Park
ADJOURNMENT
Motion by Belvin, Second by Wilson to adjourn the meeting.
Chair Koppang adjourned the meeting at 9:05 pm.