Parks Comm Mins 01-08-2015g:\parks comm mtg notes\2015\01-08-2015 minutes.doc
CITY OF FEDERAL WAY
PARKS, RECREATION AND CULTURAL SERVICES
PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION
Thursday, January 8, 2015 Hylebos Conference Room
6:30 p.m. City Hall
MEETING MINUTES
Chair Koppang called the meeting to order at 6:30pm.
Present: Chair Mark Koppang, Vice Chair Mike Hoefel, David Berger, Laura Belvin and Lynda Jenkins,
George Pfeiffer, Dawn Coggins, Anthony Murrieta, David Wilson
Excused: P.K. Thumbi
Guests: Edd Burkhardt – Park Pals, Diana Noble-Gulliford – Historical Society
Staff: Parks Director John Hutton, Deputy Parks Director Steve Ikerd, and Parks Administrative Assistant II
Mary Jaenicke.
PUBLIC FORUM
Mr. Burkhardt stated that he was at the meeting on behalf of Park Pals. Mr. Burkhardt reviewed the 2015
Parks Commission Work Plan and saw that French Lake Park was not on the Work Plan. He wanted to know
if there were any plans for work at the park. He is concerned about the drainage issues at the front entrance.
The drain gets plugged during the wet season, and he would like a plan in place to address the issue. Mr. Ikerd
responded that there is a plan in place and that the Parks Department will be redoing the drain and connect ing
it to a small pipe in the small dog area. They will also pour crushed rock over the entire entry area. They
cannot do this until the soil dries out. Chair Koppang stated that the Parks Commission is aware of French
Lake Park, and the reason it’s not on the work plan because it’s not a major project. The work that needs to
occur at French Lake Park is maintenance and the Parks Department is very involv ed in doing what they can
with the constraints of the weather. Mr. Burkhardt asked for a timetable, Ikerd responded that there is
combination of new projects that have come up, and that their attention is focused on getting West Hylebos
Wetland Park reopened. Work at French Lake Park will continue when the soil dries.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
Minutes from the December Parks and Recreation Commission regular meeting were approved as written.
Motion by Hoeffel to approve the minutes as written, seconded by Belvin. Motion passes.
COMMISSION BUSINESS
None
STAFF REPORTS
PANTHER LAKE UPDATE
Ikerd distributed a report that he received from Huitt-Zollars. They found $375,000 in options that could be
eliminated from the project. The design adjustments are 1) Modify the berm trail section. 2) Remove gravel
borrow from trail section. 3) Minimize pit run import materials for trail embankment fill. 4) Revise mitigation
soil amendment quantities. There is currently 1 million in funds; there also needs to be a 10% contingency.
Ikerd stated that it would be a challenge to manage the project, and staff may hire Huitt -Zollars to manage the
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construction portion of the project. This could put the project back to over $1 million; they won’t know until
they receive the bids. The cost estimate of $915,000 is a high estimate. Ikerd would like to bid the project
with 40 stalls, and have the option to deduct out the number of stalls if the bids come in high. Commissioner
Berger asked if Surface Water Management funds could also be used. Ikerd answered that he would re-ask the
question. Ikerd reviewed the Panther Lake Design project. Vice -Chair Hoeffel asked if they have considered
something else besides asphalt. He is concerned about some of the trees along the trails, and their roots
uplifting the asphalt. Ikerd stated that they have spoken with the consultants and are considering including
root barriers in the wooded area as a line item option in the bid. Commissioner Murrietta asked if staff had
considered having an 8ft path instead of a 10ft path to save costs. Ikerd responded that they selected 10ft as a
standard because that is the minimum you would want to have to accommodate both pedestrians and
bicyclists. The commission would like staff to ask the consultant about a de duct in the asphalt, and using
gravel instead. Chair Koppang opened discussion on moving this project forward onto Committee for their
review and then Council. Commissioner Pfeiffer motioned to move forward the Panther Lake Trail
Project to Committee for discussion on the 80% design recommendations. Hoeffel seconded. Motion
passed.
TRAIL REPORT
Mr. Ikerd reported that the next goal is to count how many linear square ft. there is for asphalt patching. The
higher use parks will be completed first. West Campus will be the highest priority. The work will be
contracted out. Commissioner Murrietta asked if a cost analysis had been done on doing the work in -house vs.
going out to bid. Ikerd answered that this has not been done because they do not have a cost estimate from a
contractor. Commissioner Berger stated that it would be too big of a project to do in -house; it would take staff
away from performing maintenance tasks on our parks and facilities. Ikerd added that we try to do some
projects in-house, but with the West Hylebos project and needing to prepare for the upcoming ball season it
would make it hard to do in 2015. Vice-Chair Hoeffel asked if there was a Trail Maintenance and
Management system in place. Ikerd answered that they do not. Commissio ner Berger stated that he has had
some citizens raise concern regarding the safety on some of the trails. Vice-Chair Hoeffel would like the staff
to bring the analysis back to the commission and they can review which areas should b e asphalt and which
areas should be gravel. The priorities for asphalt patching are West Campus, Sacajawea and Alderbrook.
WEST HYLEBOS WETLANDS PARK – STORM DAMAGE UPDATE
Mr. Ikerd reported on the damage of the West Hylebos Park. There are three major areas that were damaged .
Approximately 90-100ft of the Boardwalk is uplifted. A 12ft section is still up in the air. Some of the sections
are recoverable. Mr. Ikerd will be talking with the Army Corps of Engineers and the Department of Ecology
regarding re-routing a section of the boardwalk. The caretakers, staff and AmeriCorps volunteers have
cleaned the debris off of the boardwalk. A volunteer event is planned for January 16 and 19. AmeriCorps,
volunteers and Park Maintenance staff will be rebuilding some of the sections. They will also be using this
opportunity to do some other repair and maintenance projects at this site. The project will be re-evaluated
after the event. The company that installed the boardwalk is no longer in business. Ms. Diana Noble -
Gulliford offered to contact the local LDS Churches for volunteers. Mr. Ikerd is anticipating that he will most
likely need their help in the future.
COPPER WIRE UPDATE
Mr. Hutton reported that we are experiencing problems with copper wire theft at our parks again. Park
Maintenance staff have been doing a lot of work on trying to protect the lights. Mr. Ikerd and Mr. Gerwen
have developed a protection scheme using angle iron, concrete and welded lids over large boxes. We also
have an electrician that is trying to develop a protection system. This system would connect directly to the
Police Department, and alert them when the wire is being cut.
OTHER BUSINESS
Commissioner Belvin stated that she tried to attend the Christmas Tree Lighting event at Town Square Park ,
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but was unable to find a parking spot. She said that if this is going to be an event park, there needs to be
enough parking stalls. Mr. Hutton suggested parking at the Transit Center. Vice-Chair Hoeffel stated that he
parked at the Transit Center and that it is a great place to park, but there is not a crosswalk. Mr. Hutton
responded that they are putting a crosswalk in. Over 500 people attended the event, which is well over the
attendance last year. Ms. Belvin is concerned that if the parking is removed at Town Square Park there is
going to be problems. Mr. Hutton stated that the Parks Commission made a strong suggestion to use as much
of the park as possible, and to reduce the parking. Nakano Associates will be providing three plans. Each plan
will have a different amount of parking stalls. There is ample parking in the surrounding area. Nakano
Associates will be presenting the three plans at the City Council Retreat on January 31. The Parks
Commission was invited to attend. Commissioner Murrietta stated that at the Council meeting there was
discussion on less parking, and the ultimate goal is to have residents in the surrounding area use the park; that
is the concept of a downtown park. Mr. Hutton stated that with the addition of more grass and trees, it will
feel much more like a park.
NEXT MEETING/AGENDA ITEMS
The next meeting is scheduled for February 5, 2015.
Items for the February 5, 2015 meeting are:
Commission Business
Town Square Park
Staff Reports
West Hylebos Wetlands Park Storm Damage Update
Adelaide Park Play Structure
ADJOURNMENT
Motion by Berger, second by Wilson to adjourn the meeting.
Chair Koppang adjourned the meeting at 8:03 pm.