It's against them.
BPRC Boardroom: Alright. Can you hear me over there, Jessica?
BPRC Boardroom: Also.
BPRC Boardroom: Okay, we'll go ahead and follow this meeting into order. Welcome to the December towards Team Vprc. Meeting.
BPRC Boardroom: before we do introductions, I'll go ahead and do lantern account, and then we could go around room as well as online commissioners and staff.
BPRC Boardroom: So for the land, acknowledgments, Seattle parks and recreation acknowledges and affirms the indigenous coast salish as the original caretakers of our waters and landscape
BPRC Boardroom: we nurture and shape today's parkland.
BPRC Boardroom: we honor their legacy of gratitude and appreciation, will safeguard their knowledge and stewardship as enduring treasures to promote community welfare, cultivate inclusive expressions of nature, recreation, and commit to land and offer for each ensuing generation.
BPRC Boardroom: That said, I'll be doing.
BPRC Boardroom: Oh, we do have fire and awesome awesome
BPRC Boardroom: perfect. That means we have many forms. So before we go in for set agenda, let's go around the room and do introduction, and I'll go just that way, Jenson, and we've got District one. Co-chair
BPRC Boardroom: Stafford May's district. 7,
BPRC Boardroom: Marla Herrera district, 3. Co-chair
BPRC Boardroom: online. Jessica. Would you lead us off, please?
Jessica Farmer: Hi, there, Jessica, farmer. I am a board of Park and Recreation commissioners at large. Member
BPRC Boardroom: Lauren.
BPRC Boardroom: Can you hear us, Lauren?
Lauren Lanham: Yes, I can. So I'm a board of parks and recreation, the engaged Cohort Commission
BPRC Boardroom: excellent joining us. So we do have 5 commissioners between the room and online. So we can forum.
BPRC Boardroom: So at this point I would like to motion to approve the consent. Agenda consent agenda items which are last meeting minutes as well as today's meeting agenda
BPRC Boardroom: all in favor. Say, aye, comment
Jessica Farmer: aye.
BPRC Boardroom: any opposed man. and abstain
BPRC Boardroom: awesome. So consent agenda items have been approved
BPRC Boardroom: right? So now to make some time, let's go ahead and shift over to public comment. Okay, great. We have 10 folks signed up for public comment today. So we'll try to due to our time limits today. First up, so everyone will have 2 min to speak. And I'll be keeping time
BPRC Boardroom: as well as calling you up.
So first up we have Marilyn bard
BPRC Boardroom: and I do not see Marilyn Bard
BPRC Boardroom: in the room or online.
BPRC Boardroom: Just a few chats
BPRC Boardroom: yes, chat just on for analysts, just for the board.
BPRC Boardroom: So we'll go ahead and move on.
BPRC Boardroom: We can always come back. And just a reminder that if we do skip over you, you are free to to send in public comments through me. Benjamin Berzos
BPRC Boardroom: at seattle.gov. And those will get to the Commissioners as well. Next up on our list is Greg Carroll
BPRC Boardroom: Greg Carroll. I do not see in the room or online.
BPRC Boardroom: so we'll skip Greg for now.
BPRC Boardroom: So third on our list is Kathy
BPRC Boardroom: and Kathy. I'm going to give you permission to talk, so go ahead and unmute.
Kathy Colombo: and you are free to talk. You'll have 2 min. Great. Thank you so much. My name is Kathy Colombo, and I you probably recognize me. I don't know if you can see me, but you might recognize my name. I've been here with
Kathy Colombo: the Beacon Hill Council, as well as with first date in July, and then I was here again in the end of October to speak to you.
Kathy Colombo: as a Beacon Hill Council member and a Co. Facilitator of the Bill Wright, William Bill Wright, Renaming
Kathy Colombo: Committee. We had an event on October tenth with over 55 participants who are very excited about renaming Jefferson Park golf course to the William Bill ride complex.
Kathy Colombo: And I would just like to share some information about Bill. Did you know that in the 19 fifties people of color had limited access to Seattle Park's public golf courses.
Kathy Colombo: Did you also know that Bill Wright played several sports when he lived in South Seattle, but fell in love with golf. and also had limited access and opportunities to participate and
Kathy Colombo: compete.
Kathy Colombo: and the sport that he loved. even though he still had limited access. It did not stop him from practising and perfecting his skills. He wanted to compete nationally as a young man
Kathy Colombo: in what at that time was called the public Links tournament, that is now known as the Wash, the Us. G. 8. Tournament, but was not allowed to, because he did not have a handicap in order to get a handicapped. You had to join a golf club, and as a person of color he was not allowed to join any of the white only
Kathy Colombo: clubs. His parents, along with other black golfers in the South End started first State specifically for young people to be able to participate in tournaments.
Kathy Colombo: Bill did gain a handicap, but still had limited access to Jefferson Park
Kathy Colombo: golf course at the time, and so his parents solicited support from at the time. Governor Rosalini, who then directly sent a message to Seattle parks and recreation and
Kathy Colombo: scolded basically, Seattle parks and recreation for not allowing him to have full public access
to the golf course.
BPRC Boardroom: Okay, thank you, Kathy. That was your 2 min.
BPRC Boardroom: Remember you are free to send follow-up comments to the board, and we'll make sure that those get to them
BPRC Boardroom: next up. We have, Jennifer.
BPRC Boardroom: Yeah, thank you. Yep.
BPRC Boardroom: and go ahead. My name is Jennifer Bidham. I've rented for 15 years on Capitol Hill last month. The Board heard many stakeholders who want the Black Lives Memorial Garden to stay in Philanderson Park in the summer. I support the garden for its historic importance and values of the neighborhood and region. The garden arose from the brave actions of working class. People seeking to access natural spaces.
BPRC Boardroom: Neighbors of all classes come together in the garden to engage with the land, learn and care for one another. In warm months the stewarding community grows plants, and in the full month makes medicines from them and plans next year's plantings.
BPRC Boardroom: I also want parks to stop sweeping my unhoused neighbors, particularly during the winter. Cold parks, is neglecting infrastructure, but spending big, sweeping PAL multiple rooms a week without meaningful housing outreach
BPRC Boardroom: in canned responses. The community members and the city Council members who just gave his office regarding the Lmg. Are, since the views to cite the flaw late 2020 feedback and not specify alternative location, offers. My public records. Request for this completion list will not be met until the end of February.
BPRC Boardroom: Calendars and Sun Bowl was designed for impromptu performance that can share space with the garden. The 90 98 Park master Plan asserts a variety of dynamic spaces and uses which can accommodate passive or unscheduled active activities, makes the park a more usable welcoming space.
BPRC Boardroom: The shelter, hunts, and design for gathering the parks continues to keep it locked and accessible for the neighborhood. After spending funds on its renovation recently
BPRC Boardroom: 90 98 Capitol Hill Neighborhood Plan calls for strengthening informal sources of support and socialization and developing community gathering places to promote connectiveness. Yeah. And G has been delivering on long met unmet community needs at the garden, sharing food, social support, and environmental education through the season.
BPRC Boardroom: The Board of Commissioners web claims, asserts that black lives matter, however, a statement without continued action is performed.
BPRC Boardroom: Any changes to the garden location must come from an inclusive public engagement process.
BPRC Boardroom: You love Professor Jeff Howe is teaching a course on Dlm. In winter 2024. That will include data collection and the Dlm collected have overly done the community feedback process.
BPRC Boardroom: So I call for public clarity of parks, plans for community feedback and protection for the garden throughout the feedback process. And so.
BPRC Boardroom: thank you, Nicole.
BPRC Boardroom: Okay, next up. Elisa Chavez.
BPRC Boardroom: Were you on the webinar? Okay, yep.
BPRC Boardroom: Alisa. I'm going to allow you to talk and unmute yourself. and you'll have 2 min.
elisa chavez (she/her): All right. Thank you. Good evening. My name's Alyssa Chavez. I'm a Capitol Hill resident of 10 years. I spoke at a previous board of Park Commissioners, meeting to express my support for the Black Lives Memorial Garden, staying in its current location.
elisa chavez (she/her): At that meeting the Board mentioned receiving hundreds of letters of support for Blm. From across Seattle. However, there has been no indication either at that meeting or in the week since the Parks is willing to alter its policy towards the garden. If a community outcry of this level isn't considered significant enough to save the garden, I'd like to learn as a community member, what is enough? Do we need to send thousands of letters, start a ballot initiative, or maybe offer a substantial anonymous donation.
elisa chavez (she/her): At the last Board of Commissioner's meeting I attended several board members made a point of thanking the Parks Department for their sensitivity and responsiveness to the community regarding the L. Mg. this puzzled me.
The Parks Department has been asked about their black Lives memorial garden community engagement process and has been unable or unwilling to release any engagement efforts that date later than 2021.
elisa chavez (she/her): I'm sure this is not what the Board believes constitutes responsiveness. But II just have. That appears to be the case. I'll end with a story from Blng last week, after complaints and right wing trolling concerning the public bathrooms, and Calla Anderson Park sent workers to weld them shut.
elisa chavez (she/her): I can't think of an apt or metaphor for the way Parks has handled Blm. G. And its supporters. They've literally closed the door on community members who rely on our public spaces for connection, dignity, and safety. So I think that we deserve a little transparency and genuine responsiveness from parks on this issue. Thank you.
BPRC Boardroom: Thank you.
BPRC Boardroom: Next up is bees
BPRC Boardroom: right need
BPRC Boardroom: let me catch up here. Alright. BI will unmute you here, allow you to talk, and you will have
BPRC Boardroom: 2 min. Go ahead.
B: My name is Bee. That's all. You'll get out of me as far as identification. And commissioners, I address you.
B: not you, but the sweep teams whose behaviors in which you are directly complicit. I implore all of you to look me in the eyes as SPR. Enters the Black Lives Memorial garden
B: every single day to steal tents, throw away clothing, and arrest our community members, and tell me you are doing the right thing.
B: Do you go to sleep at night, thinking you've made the world a better place when you wake up in the morning for another so-called suite of a place where living. breathing human beings are simply trying to exist as you have
B: every single day for weeks. Now, what do you tell yourselves to justify taking away everything our community members have.
B: You've attempted to bulldoze a garden that provides food and medicine and community without thought to exist to its existence, or even
B: any offer to feed the people that it nourishes. The garden is a place of protest.
B: and every day you return to destroy it. and those who call it home. you justify its existence.
BPRC Boardroom: Thank you very much, Pete.
BPRC Boardroom: Alright. Next up we have d powers. I will give you permission to talk, and you'll have 2 min. Go ahead.
Dee Powers (They/them) Be:Seattle: Thank you. Good evening. My name is Dee Powers, and I live in Capitol Hill.
Dee Powers (They/them) Be:Seattle: First off, I'd like to thank you for protecting the interests of the queer community by halting installation of the playground at Denny Blane.
Dee Powers (They/them) Be:Seattle: That park has historically been a clothing optional gathering place for nature since the seventies, and protecting the diversity and character of this city is important as we move into the future
Dee Powers (They/them) Be:Seattle: along similar lines, I have a request to save another historic space in Capitol Hill.
Dee Powers (They/them) Be:Seattle: The Black Lives Memorial Garden is a community space that's from up organically in 2020 as a safe area to recharge and learn something new.
Dee Powers (They/them) Be:Seattle: The garden at Calanderson, much like the beach at Denny Blane. are now colourful and unique parts of Seattle's history, and neither location deserves to be gentrified out of existence.
Dee Powers (They/them) Be:Seattle: When I went to sign in to comment today, I found a letter supporting the Black Lives Matter movement at the very top of your meeting page
Dee Powers (They/them) Be:Seattle: in that document you asked, and I quote.
Dee Powers (They/them) Be:Seattle: how can we best invest our dollars to support equity, justice, and inclusion?
Dee Powers (They/them) Be:Seattle: My answer is, how about
Dee Powers (They/them) Be:Seattle: taking away the dollars you're wasting repeatedly, trying to destroy a garden and using it somewhere else more constructive.
Dee Powers (They/them) Be:Seattle: You also said that your 2020 through 2032 strategic plan
Dee Powers (They/them) Be:Seattle: is embedded in pathways to equity and dismantling white supremacy culture.
Dee Powers (They/them) Be:Seattle: Well, that culture includes demolishing the Black Lives Memorial Garden because you don't want to use tall Anderson's North Meadow for events. White supremacy culture also includes trying to relocate that garden to the south end of the city.
Dee Powers (They/them) Be:Seattle: Do better, please
Dee Powers (They/them) Be:Seattle: please leave the Black Lives Memorial Garden right where it is.
Dee Powers (They/them) Be:Seattle: That garden is a resource hub and gathering place for many, and is a net positive for the character of our community. Thank you.
BPRC Boardroom: Thank you.
BPRC Boardroom: All right. Next up we have Katherine.
BPRC Boardroom: Hi! My name is Kay. My pronouns are they? And them, and I want to talk about my experience this morning. I am a resident of Capitol Hill. I've lived on the hill for quite a while, and this morning I went to bring some breakfast to folks at Cali. Anderson Black Lives Memorial Garden.
BPRC Boardroom: I arrived around 7 45 at 805. Enter the space with Parks Department. At 8 10 they established a perimeter. There were 10 plus community members that were in the perimeter zone when they first arrived when they first put up the perimeter. By 8 12 2 of my friends and neighbors were violently arrested, shelved to the ground for not moving out of the perimeter zone. Within 2 min
BPRC Boardroom: one of those people was disabled. So within 10 min Seattle Police Department had escalated to use of force that reportedly caused his disabled friend to be hospitalized. I say reportedly, because this friend has still not been located.
BPRC Boardroom: Then Spd and the Parks team took critical infrastructure, including including the only source of reliable heat in the space, and a variety of coverings to prevent rain,
BPRC Boardroom: and personal property, including a cart that I use every day to bring food and laundry to people living in the park and living in the environment around the park.
BPRC Boardroom: They repeatedly refuse to give forms to people to reclaim their possessions. I have no way to reclaim my heart.
BPRC Boardroom: And furthermore, Spd once again forced folks living in tents in the park to move, and threw away their personal belongings for the third time this week the shelters are full, so sweeps solely serve to rob disempowered, and marginalized people of their belongings without giving them any alternative sweep skill, especially in the winter.
BPRC Boardroom: My question is, what is Seattle Parks Department's plan to de-escalate tensions and work with the community at Cali, Anderson, Blackwell, Memorial Garden, and in for sweeps in general. How will you de-escalate sweeps, especially now when the shelters are full and the weather is deadly. Stop sweeps.
BPRC Boardroom: Okay, thank you. Ken.
BPRC Boardroom: Next up is Erica
BPRC Boardroom: great Erica? You have permission to talk, and you will have 2 min.
Erica: Okay. Hello! Can you hear me?
Erica: Yes. Okay. Great.
Erica: Yeah. I'm here today to support the Black Lives Memorial Garden, continuing to remain in its current location at Cala Anderson Park. This garden has been a hub of mutual aid, native plants and food plants and community since 2020
Erica: specifically to the Board of Parks and Recreation Commissioners in your 2020 letter on the Black Lives Matter Movement, you pledge not to forget. Quote black and brown lives lost to a racist criminal justice system here in Seattle we admit that our institution is complicit in that system, and we know we can do better unquote
Erica: commissioners. If you believe those words that were written speak up against Parke's plan to destroy the one physical manifestation in Seattle parks of the movement for black and brown lives of 2020. This garden, which is a memorial for black and brown, lives lost.
Erica: In that letter you also invited Seattle lights to come to Parks, to quote, grieve to make yourself heard, or to find a moment of peace unquote.
Erica: In addition to the many beautiful plants in this space. That is exactly what Black lives. Memorial Garden is for. So let the garden stay. Use your voice
Erica: to any parks officials that are here tonight. Please put the kind of genuine effort into community engagement and listening for BLMT. That you did with Denny Glane. Public surveys from 2020 or 2021 that no one involved with the garden community ever took are not representative. Near daily sweeps of homeless people trying to find respite in the garden along with destruction and confiscation of people's personal property, as you have heard, are not conducive to building that community engagement.
Erica: Listen to people who use this space. Let the black Lives Memorial garden. Stay!
BPRC Boardroom: Great. thank you.
BPRC Boardroom: And next up is Ella. Ella. I'm going to give you permission to talk. You may unmute yourself, and you'll have 2 min.
Ella Gomez: Thank you. Good evening, Commissioners. My name is Ella. I'm a constituent of Capital Hill. Black Lives memorial Garden is important to me as a constituent, because it's a communal space to steward native and edible plants. It's been a source of joy for me and many others during the summer fall days, and it represents the reclaiming and rematriating of land in an urban scape that does not require me to apply for pea patch approval.
Ella Gomez: It's accessible to those on house and house folks. It represents the remnant of summer 2020, when George Floyd was murdered by the State.
Ella Gomez: and it remembers his life and many other black and indigenous people. It's a Testament that as people we can bring awareness to the past, so the future does not repeat itself.
Ella Gomez: It's relevant for future constituents to witness a wild garden instead of a manicured colonial aesthetic that deems it a nuance and ugly. Bl. Mg. Provides events and food for everyone.
Ella Gomez: We story tell, we grief and we rejoice. I need the space in my life, since living in Capitol Hill and accounting, removing the garden and those who camp beside it would be displacing and dehumanizing our right to accessible edible plants and community. This is my home, and to many others, so please
Ella Gomez: make a decision, and consider continuing to keep
Ella Gomez: the garden in the space where it currently is and where it was intended to be.
Ella Gomez: like many others, have voiced. This is our space. and if you are also have an opportunity to go and check it out. please do. So.
Ella Gomez: This is part of our identity in the city. Thank you.
BPRC Boardroom: Okay. thank you very much, Ella. All right, circling back. I just want to double check. Is Marilyn here? Marilyn Barr.
okay.
BPRC Boardroom: Did not see Mary Lynn and Greg Carroll.
BPRC Boardroom: Greg Carroll has not joined us. Okay, then, with that we're going to finish up public comment. Thank you.
BPRC Boardroom: Next up is the superintendent's report. Did you want to take some time your home before you get absolutely thank you. To everyone who signed up as a
BPRC Boardroom: for the public period. I want to start with Kathy Colombo, Kathy, it's good to know that you are still around out there.
BPRC Boardroom: We think naming or renaming
BPRC Boardroom: the Jefferson. That portion of Jefferson golf course is a good idea.
BPRC Boardroom: There are several steps in the renaming process that we still need to go through.
BPRC Boardroom: but this is on our radar screen.
BPRC Boardroom: I think it will have a lot of community support.
BPRC Boardroom: We just need to work through
BPRC Boardroom: renaming process, and those recommendations will come back to this body.
BPRC Boardroom: But we hear where you're coming from.
BPRC Boardroom: She knew Bill right. Think that would be a great honor for him.
BPRC Boardroom: this family,
BPRC Boardroom: And then, I think collectively, to the
BPRC Boardroom: people who came out and spoke about the Black Lives Memorial. Black Lives Memorial Garden at Kelly Anderson.
BPRC Boardroom: We are
looking at the idea
BPRC Boardroom: in January
BPRC Boardroom: of coming to the community with a Town Hall style public meeting.
BPRC Boardroom: We recognize that there's a lot of passion on all sides of this issue, and and there really are many faceted points of view. And it's been sides on this issue. So
BPRC Boardroom: we think, creating some transparency and visibility
BPRC Boardroom: around. That is probably the right next step.
BPRC Boardroom: And think you could be
BPRC Boardroom: maybe looking for a public meeting. Notice announcement sometime from January. The other thing I wanted to call out
BPRC Boardroom: is what led to the public rest. Rooms in calendar
BPRC Boardroom: being welded shut.
BPRC Boardroom: not pointing a finger at any groove
BPRC Boardroom: but the Vandal. The restrooms were vandalized to an extent that caused them to be unusable to the public.
BPRC Boardroom: In fact, it was such a level of vandalism that it exceeded our current budget capability to restore those restaurant stations.
BPRC Boardroom: In response to that, to prevent further vandalism, we did close them
BPRC Boardroom: and secure them, and and they were welded shut because of the extensive vandalism as a response. We have brought mobile hygiene stations and restrooms to the park.
BPRC Boardroom: recognizing that people need to have a place to relieve themselves need to have a place to wash their hands. The mobile hygiene station serves that purpose.
But I wanted to
BPRC Boardroom: call that out
BPRC Boardroom: And finally, we do get the passion related to
BPRC Boardroom: the Black Lives Matter Garden. we want to be sensitive to
sort of the underlying meaning for that garden. and how we respond to the community
BPRC Boardroom: that is here really speaking to the passion
BPRC Boardroom: about that. So we are not indifferent to that. The homeless issue is a kind of a separate set of city policy issues outside of the direct control of the Zeal Park and Recreation Department.
BPRC Boardroom: So I think that is important, too.
BPRC Boardroom: You know there's still a whole cause right there and get into the superintendent report.
BPRC Boardroom: Thank you. Very good.
BPRC Boardroom: Okay, well, thank you. Commissioners, for coming out. We understand the traffic was really bad. happy holidays to you and your families, and everyone who showed up Thursday night.
BPRC Boardroom: This is a special time of year for our department. There are many beautiful decorations.
BPRC Boardroom: You have a picture of Dean Park here. This is a recurring donation from Amazon price properties that I negotiated back in 2,000
BPRC Boardroom: 11 or 12, and they've been paying for the lighting out here ever since. This is the volunteer Park conservatory
BPRC Boardroom: This conservatory is actually very beautiful. It's decorated
BPRC Boardroom: with poinsettas it was constructed in 1912 the first the same year that we can sign. So it's
BPRC Boardroom: there. There are all kinds of holiday. That's the thing on the park system to get you on the move and path. But the pathway of lights.
BPRC Boardroom: Was last Saturday.
BPRC Boardroom: And of course you saw the Guinea Park lighting as we proven here today.
BPRC Boardroom: Add a book.
BPRC Boardroom: Parks goes through several seasonal situations and wet weather brings about special and seasonal considerations. Where city built up 7 hills.
BPRC Boardroom: and therefore
BPRC Boardroom: landslides. Mudslides down trees are a big part of the system. During this time of year
BPRC Boardroom: we've had land slides on the Birktown Trail, which happens perennial perennially every year Lake Washington Boulevard
BPRC Boardroom: and the numerous trees fall down. Come down this year with the oh. heavy rain. So we're we're dealing with.
BPRC Boardroom: The mayor recently signed the 2024 mid biennial budget is approved by the city Council. This budget totals 7.8 million dollars. The budget adopted by the city councils reflects the core priorities for Mayor Darrell's proposed budget, including a 300 million dollars
BPRC Boardroom: budget for Seattle parks. Recreation.
BPRC Boardroom: When I you know, just as I know here, when I first started in the city, the city's budget was 1 billion dollars.
BPRC Boardroom: It's amazing that it's grown to 7.8 billion dollars. But you know, 31 years.
BPRC Boardroom: City council meetings.
BPRC Boardroom: I gave 2 presentations at the December sixth, 2023,
BPRC Boardroom: meaning
BPRC Boardroom: our race and Social justice team made a stellar report highlighting the Department's accomplishments over the past year the area of race and social justice. We also discussed a pipeline Easement orders which is going to grant
BPRC Boardroom: SPU. Underground access to
BPRC Boardroom: parkland that we don't believe will impact future development. Property
BPRC Boardroom: transactions are always something we care a lot about. We don't want to give away property right by allowing utilities in parks. But utilities are forming. I. 42.
BPRC Boardroom: Feast for Parker.
BPRC Boardroom: You've heard some of the presenters talk about the Dd blank
BPRC Boardroom: play area proposal. Several of us, including Mike, myself Andy, were at that meeting here a couple of weeks ago. There must have been 500 people at that meeting.
BPRC Boardroom: I've been here 31 years and ever since. But people so asked show up about an issue people care about.
BPRC Boardroom: And
BPRC Boardroom: almost immediately following that meeting.
BPRC Boardroom: how
BPRC Boardroom: we rescinded a proposal for the Plank area project.
BPRC Boardroom: I'd like to take the opportunity here to talk about okay. back to ocean. This donation knowledge donations are not unusual.
BPRC Boardroom: We have a current stomach in Elle Bay Park.
BPRC Boardroom: Part of language, part of VR. Redevelop
BPRC Boardroom: 4
BPRC Boardroom: was also
BPRC Boardroom: usually the condition of someone who
BPRC Boardroom: must make an amount of students that we think
BPRC Boardroom: and one of the things we said is, you know.
BPRC Boardroom: order for
BPRC Boardroom: this project to be realized, we need to engage the community a public engagement process right up front.
BPRC Boardroom: particularly because the project
click contingency that
BPRC Boardroom: yeah, don't forget it's money
BPRC Boardroom: for any reason we couldn't build this project, we'd have to pay that.
BPRC Boardroom: So we didn't want to get way down the road.
BPRC Boardroom: Spend a lot of the donor money then, later discovered through public engagement process.
BPRC Boardroom: Yeah. So oh, the community really important project. So
BPRC Boardroom: we started in very early on the public engagement process here. For that reason
BPRC Boardroom: that process, probably theoretically, would have been several months now. But again
BPRC Boardroom: we want to spend a lot of dollars
BPRC Boardroom: and not understand. So I think this worked out. I think the
BPRC Boardroom: public engagement process did exactly what it was supposed to do
BPRC Boardroom: our role is to listen to people and to make decisions that are influenced with feedback. And I think the other thing I'll say here is that there was no
BPRC Boardroom: attempt, I guess, by the department.
BPRC Boardroom: you know. I
BPRC Boardroom: I guess the Department was really ignorant from the standpoint
BPRC Boardroom: of understanding.
BPRC Boardroom: how public Unity
BPRC Boardroom: Lgbtq
BPRC Boardroom: sort of merge together. So that was a way to progress.
BPRC Boardroom: We're gonna go back and reconvene with the LGBT community.
BPRC Boardroom: Just ask some questions about how we can better serve that community.
BPRC Boardroom: So there was a learning opportunity. I think we
BPRC Boardroom: landed on the right out because that project has been a day.
BPRC Boardroom: Cal. Anderson Park Black Lives Matter Memorial Park, and
BPRC Boardroom: we are contemplating some kind of public engagement. January.
BPRC Boardroom: More details will follow about. There's been Aids. but I think if you would like to do that
slide? 3.
BPRC Boardroom: Okay, so winter recreation programs, Seattle parks and recreation winter 24 program brochures are now available in person drop and virtual opportunities.
BPRC Boardroom: One of the winter recreational programs. We provide this new basketball. We are the largest in basketball program in the cities.
BPRC Boardroom: and we have thousands of kids and families that enjoy
BPRC Boardroom: basketball because of the time of year. We're and we're also prepping for winnerization a lot of our conversations outside bathrooms.
BPRC Boardroom: waterfound roots. areas that have exposed pipes, so we have to lock them up.
BPRC Boardroom: insulate those pipes, wrap them to prevent them freezing, breaking.
BPRC Boardroom: So
BPRC Boardroom: a lot of the closure of of conversations that don't have insulation by valleys has already begun, and
BPRC Boardroom: we'll we'll start de-winnerizing these spaces in March
BPRC Boardroom: of next year. So
BPRC Boardroom: we are working, however, to keep our 129
BPRC Boardroom: conversations opened up year round back. There was money in the Park district budget
BPRC Boardroom: to make our conversations accessible year round. But
BPRC Boardroom: okay, and this is a mural Sandel park. Part of our effort to address and prevent. Graffiti includes hiring artists to paint your host
BPRC Boardroom: on our facilities and parks, including this restroom building at Sando Park. Murals will be painted on 18 park locations 2020.
BPRC Boardroom: This is a great partnership with the Office of arts and culture
BPRC Boardroom: fill drop-in. We're doing more to encourage Bill. Drop-in use unscheduled views of this program. Provide community members
BPRC Boardroom: with the opportunity to drop them for free at designated athletic bills. To play unscheduled games.
BPRC Boardroom: Friends and families normally build use requires a paid reservation.
BPRC Boardroom: and I think, in terms of saving rather serving the community. One of the things we always need to be considering is, we are not serving the unintended consequence of too many
BPRC Boardroom: schedule fee. Driven reservations creates an unintended exclusionary consequence for life, I think we know.
BPRC Boardroom: can't you know?
BPRC Boardroom: Next slide?
BPRC Boardroom: Okay? So here's a sampling of some of the recent grounds maintenance work to utify our parts. You know the wintertime is important time for grounds. Main support work, because this is a time of year. Can you prepare
BPRC Boardroom: lawn areas.
BPRC Boardroom: Shrub bends look beautiful in the spring. A lot of that work is occurring right now. This is a photograph of I feel, and some erosion restoration work being done by the turf crew.
BPRC Boardroom: but they moved a hundred yards of top soil onto the heavy, the heavily eroded slope there
BPRC Boardroom: and then in the lower right photo. This is the before and after restoration work at Tenfc. Clayville, at Ringner Community Center. See there
BPRC Boardroom: install a new bed of 80 big chips there are top right
BPRC Boardroom: next slide.
BPRC Boardroom: Excuse me.
BPRC Boardroom: As I mentioned earlier, there are a ton of upcoming events. That
BPRC Boardroom: people can take their families
BPRC Boardroom: due to this time of year. We recently have the holidays
BPRC Boardroom: tree lighting, and West Lake and Boston Park.
BPRC Boardroom: let's see some of the things that have
BPRC Boardroom: already happening, Cap, and then we'll continue to happen. We have a program called
BPRC Boardroom: Married Movie Matinees at City Hall Park. These movies begin at noon. run from roughly the end of
BPRC Boardroom: November, and we'll go through the nineteenth of December.
BPRC Boardroom: We have holiday buskers at Westlake Park for anyone who doesn't know a busker is a street performer. and then on Wednesdays we have buskers right here in any park.
BPRC Boardroom: Every Wednesday
BPRC Boardroom: we have holiday busking and City Hall Park.
BPRC Boardroom: and then on Thursdays we have a fire bed
BPRC Boardroom: that here's 62
BPRC Boardroom: we also have a program. We're calling Festival Fridays that begins from 40'clock in the afternoon to 5 30 pm.
BPRC Boardroom: And it's a program that clean staff
performers like dancer and prancer and
BPRC Boardroom: Page Turner.
BPRC Boardroom: they have someone's name, page term and then high. See brands. These are various groups that will be performed.
BPRC Boardroom: and our downtown parks.
BPRC Boardroom: and then we have snowy, sweet, snowy Saturdays and
BPRC Boardroom: noon until 2 Pm. Each Saturday from now through Christmas. see here.
BPRC Boardroom: Okay. And then in December of this month, we continue with the annual Seattle tradition of Christmas shift
BPRC Boardroom: parade of brightly lit boats cruise from pews and sound to Lake Campbell. I've been out on Lake Washington, stopping at pre-planned locations.
BPRC Boardroom: the lead ship posts, an onboard chorus of singers
BPRC Boardroom: who, as the boat cruises have very close to the near shore environment on Lake Washington. you've had a Caroline group on the front end of the boat, and Saints Christmas carol. So
BPRC Boardroom: as they drive by homes, people come out on their deck and listen to the Christmas carol, the Carolers.
BPRC Boardroom: Then they go to a beach. Let someone with folks on the boat off and have a beach fire and our staff provide
BPRC Boardroom: blankets. A bonfire pineapple cider. All those things do make it quite the memorable festive event.
BPRC Boardroom: January first. We have the annual polar Bear Point. and this occurs at Matthews Beach each year.
BPRC Boardroom: Where it's usually hundreds of people
BPRC Boardroom: tending faith and plenching into Lake Washington, and usually very cold in that camp against polar bear plunge.
BPRC Boardroom: But that is kind of a sampling of the winter programs we have. And I will pause right there to take any questions. People
BPRC Boardroom: email line completely different.
BPRC Boardroom: Only question, is Christopher? Was there a Town hall, or the
BPRC Boardroom: Danny?
BPRC Boardroom: Oh, so there was one for that first.
BPRC Boardroom: I think
so much
BPRC Boardroom: showing
BPRC Boardroom: up with one place on T one issue at 30%.
We're talking.
BPRC Boardroom: You put it on the website. So people don't know. Yeah, II think that did make the website that we did.
BPRC Boardroom: they have to demonstrate it was behavior.
BPRC Boardroom: Let the public know that the occurrence display
BPRC Boardroom: a lot of African-americans
BPRC Boardroom: very broadly at the bus. A lot of local and
BPRC Boardroom: right. let's call for comments
BPRC Boardroom: online. We're moving the room.
BPRC Boardroom: So let's go ahead and move on to the next agenda. Which is the Ecrc subcommittee. Report out Marlon. I think we got about.
BPRC Boardroom: and why we got about 10 min to tell us something
BPRC Boardroom: about 5 min that you cover on each side.
BPRC Boardroom: So I will provide for the Park Community Fund program process
BPRC Boardroom: we had met back, I believe.
BPRC Boardroom: Let's see.
BPRC Boardroom: back in November. Sorry. I'm kind of still on baby brain. Just had a third kid. But thank you. Yeah, we spent time talking about kind of program process.
BPRC Boardroom: You know, our community partners, our goals, how collect ideas, how we will be selecting projects. And so we still have a a couple of outstanding items that we're still working on to tease all the stuff out on that and I believe that will be looking and kind of finalizing that process and bringing our recommendations for that to the
BPRC Boardroom: I guess the next January, the Prc meeting. So we're scheduled. We're trying to select the date sometime in early January to finalize those in that subcommittee, but date after that
BPRC Boardroom: awesome. So I can report out on the oversight Subcommittee. Reminder about one of our responsibilities as to the Board is provide. Oversight of the Department specifically
BPRC Boardroom: through the Park district is where we inherited that responsibility. And since we launched the oversight Committee with this board. That's not our responsibility.
BPRC Boardroom: This month we got oriented with the city's race and social justice initiative as well as the racial bank toolkits that we use in the past. There's a lot of new commissioners on our committee. So that was a great way to introduce how we really do that work there parks and how that applies to the policy process. We reviewed planning process that resulted in the park district through financial plan which is, you know 50 million more additional funding for the department.
BPRC Boardroom: and reviewing how those line items, how the promises we made in the park district actually funded by great variety of different sources. So talking just park district doesn't make any sense. And you know, thinking twice, too, about how we're gonna do metrics based on what we promise to the City Council developers.
BPRC Boardroom: And then we reviewed and adopted a work plan for us to move forward. It's acknowledges that things might change. We're a startup feature. But there's 3 phases, phase, one building or shared knowledge more and more phase, 2. Reviewing, 2023 performance and financial data and then creating the final report. And then, phase 3, we're gonna take a step back, reflect and see how that process went and adopt a lot of it.
BPRC Boardroom: Cadence produced in this yearly.
BPRC Boardroom: and you know, as we kind of wrap up that agenda, and I just also want to give those to both commissioners as well as staff, because, you know, we're pulling double triple duty trying to get these meetings in review. These things, you know, between people's lunchtime
BPRC Boardroom: at night, you know, they're cooking dinner for their kids, and then they're jabbing back to the screen to do more meetings at night. So really appreciate everyone's hard work on this. And hopefully, we'll we'll get something going, maybe keep watching next year to show all the people
BPRC Boardroom: any questions from those online regarding those 2 updates.
BPRC Boardroom: right? Alright. So let's go ahead. And we want the next agenda item free, can it be wrap up?
BPRC Boardroom: Is also big area.
BPRC Boardroom: Big Gap
practice.
BPRC Boardroom: The city added
BPRC Boardroom: lots of new funding for tree replacement again. Here's some of that stuff yourself, and we have
BPRC Boardroom: this 20 year long commitment called the Green Seattle partnership. In this initiative with Gsp.
basically.
BPRC Boardroom: our department is literally screens have an obligation. Take care of them. They provide enormous
BPRC Boardroom: ecological services to the people who live here. So Stephanie is our
BPRC Boardroom: stellar
BPRC Boardroom: permit, or both advantage. She's gonna tell you all the balance between
BPRC Boardroom: brands on George.
thank you for having me here today. I'm really excited to kind of give some updates.
BPRC Boardroom: also. Thank you. I'm really excited.
BPRC Boardroom: We had urban forestry teams our ecology team, which includes video partnership, our heavy equipment programs, which is so
BPRC Boardroom: here to talk about some of our Twitter.
BPRC Boardroom: So a little couple of context setting slides just to get us started. Every 5 years the City Association cover and how we're doing towards working towards our 30%. Kennedy goals.
BPRC Boardroom: So in 2021. So between 2016 and 2021
BPRC Boardroom: unfortunately, what we experience was actually rather than positive moves towards our role, a monthly 7% decrease. And this is city wide, which works
BPRC Boardroom: 1.7% decrease in
BPRC Boardroom: so we wanted to dig into the areas that we manage in Perth, and how? What the losses look like in those zones. So couple of different landscape types both developed for us. And both of those areas experience losses and development.
BPRC Boardroom: So I think we know what we always appreciate trees for their beauty and aesthetic quality. We're increasingly having to evaluate what we call ecosystem services that trees provide. And so these are critical functions of humans living in cities. So things like
BPRC Boardroom: carbon sequestration and stormwater retention, air quality and also key indications on our radar during events and our our summers.
BPRC Boardroom: So
BPRC Boardroom: we also know, kind of harder to quantify. But something we're talking about more now is like human health benefits from trees, both mental and physical.
BPRC Boardroom: And we know that because we have decreased areas of canopy and historically disinvested areas that these impacts for fund resistance and help impact disadvantaged communities at a higher rate.
BPRC Boardroom: So another slide to kind of dig into that. What the data showed us is that from the last 5 years is that we started with less canvas in these zones, and we're seeing greater overtime. So we we really need to.
BPRC Boardroom: One of the key buttons that we have in putting us as line managers is, why.
BPRC Boardroom: where are we seeing these losses? Particularly? We've been investing in our natural area resources for several decades.
BPRC Boardroom: The answer is probably a couple hours of couple of our talks. So I'm just gonna at a really high level. Say that we have an aging urban forest. and that the losses that we're seeing are exactly by climate change diseases incurring
BPRC Boardroom: and also we have a timeline from some of our resource investments. When we plant small trees in our urban forests. It takes many decades for the canopy and to start sewing up.
BPRC Boardroom: Oh, we also have not invested in some key areas, including some of our developers that really addresses those losses.
BPRC Boardroom: So again, we're really in a good place. Coming with this new data, we already had some funding that was lined up to start this work in 2023. So I was really excited to hit the ground running when I started my position. And we've got a couple of different programs with a couple of different new revenue streams. So I'm gonna talk about what we've been doing with this money and our programs. I'm gonna talk about
BPRC Boardroom: our forestry team and our internal partnership program which works in natural areas.
BPRC Boardroom: So just a quick overview of what our urban forestry team does. Christopher talked about storm response.
BPRC Boardroom: Our team of arborists really is is kind of reactive in many ways. We chase trees, hazard cleanings. We do tree inspections based on community policy and interest.
BPRC Boardroom: We do some preventative pruning work, and we have strictly tried to do tree planting. But we don't have a dedicated team of that that does this work or that does follow through for trees. And that's been a gap in our program.
BPRC Boardroom: So with this new funding this year, we with the grab running at the end of quarter one. We are just finished hiring for new ft. Positions. For what they named themselves, plus. So that's 4 new main slavers and our urban cultural family leading that team. We put a program in place to kind of pilot. This year. We set some goals so that we would be accountable around that for how many trees we're gonna plant
BPRC Boardroom: and also the follow up care that we are going to provide, and that we also have some monitoring in place so that you can practice revival time. Handheld field mapping devices so they can record the work activities they do. And this is something plant and trees that they water. So all this data can get aggregated and we can track it and know how we're doing over time. Accountability is really important to me as manager.
BPRC Boardroom: So how are we doing? We are in the middle of planting season right now. Our planting season ramps up at the end of October, and it goes through and out of February. So we have a 300 tree poll. This number probably moved today. We're averaging about 20 trees a week.
and all the trees that we've been planting. I think I've breezed over this factory, we have an 80% target for tree plants. And then what we call historically disinvested communities.
BPRC Boardroom: So to date, we're hitting like 90% tree planting in those new groups. And this is Mark alone with one of our 3 tree truck deliveries this year. These are big trees. It takes a lot of equipment to move these around. We wanna plant 2 inch soccer balls and all the other work uses that we have
BPRC Boardroom: to me. This is a really critical piece that we have not historically have funded, but I feel really excited about is we know that in urban places. You can't just plant a tree and walk away and expect it to to persist and grow. Can be so
BPRC Boardroom: the bulk of our funding is actually so. All the new trees that we plan to part of this program have good funding to provide watering, indulging, structural pruning, and collect data to see how we're doing. So really excited about this.
BPRC Boardroom: I believe we're gonna be much more successful.
BPRC Boardroom: Some of the results that are just from this year watering 500 over 500 trees water weekly over a 17 week period rain. And we need that 5 years establishing the trees to be successful.
BPRC Boardroom: We kind of did ways to get that watering to happen through Seattle Conservation Corps or in-house crew through separate contracts. And then, as I mentioned, we're tracking this book as you go.
BPRC Boardroom: and it was
BPRC Boardroom: so. The other team I'm going to talk about is our Green Seattle partnership. As Christopher mentioned. They're on year 18 of a 20 Year Plan. They work from our natural areas. And it's
BPRC Boardroom: an incredible program with a huge reputation. Even outside the community. They do community building and forestry with a tiny team, the works of volunteers and community groups across the city to do forest restoration
BPRC Boardroom: their partnerships are really critical. They have 14 partner organizations. They were passed through to use on the ground in this work, and they organized 4 stories across the city.
BPRC Boardroom: around some of the new funding streams that we received this year we set some goals going into 2023. We wanted to increase free services to pre pandemic levels.
BPRC Boardroom: We wanted to be working in a Thursday area that we've not strictly worked in and we wanted to direct more funding towards bypass load organization
BPRC Boardroom: our last hire of the 5 entity funded positions we just made a couple of months ago. I'm really excited to have Danielle on board. She joins us as a junior urbanology analyst in the new entity position, and she works across teams in first
BPRC Boardroom: looking for ways to track metrics. She's working on some Dmr grant funding proposals for we can get technologies. She's just been great working customs and making this be successful.
BPRC Boardroom: Here's some of the spaces that we've been in. I wanna call our interviews. And you play one of the new 30 acre spaces. This is an area in the city that's experiencing really covered with blackberry, and it represents the kind of opportunity of a space that we need to restore with current trees in order to number that
BPRC Boardroom: again, a couple of the new organizations that we're working with in 2023, including reopening Washington, which works in Versailles Park and the Sishanica teachers rising and physic center and discovery.
BPRC Boardroom: And they do so many events. They have really successful. First week. Everyone. There's a couple pictures from that.
BPRC Boardroom: And this is my last slide, just a round up of both teams accomplishments for 2023. I'll put better graphics together once we've got all of our data in for the year, but we hired an onboarded 5 ft. Use mainly. We were the urban panelist.
BPRC Boardroom: We started a new planting team that's planted I was gonna hit our 300 tree goal this year with water to the needs. We got our
BPRC Boardroom: during season program up and running
BPRC Boardroom: we've added new acres and a Gsp program, including 9,000 trees. And we've collaborated across the city with other departments through our urban force before team just to collaborate on grant programs. And you know, current strategy around climate change. And just to get coordinated and really excited.
BPRC Boardroom: That's all. I if you have questions
BPRC Boardroom: stick off that I got it.
BPRC Boardroom: One or 2 things written down here. First of all, great presentation. I appreciate it. One thing I really appreciate is the emphasis on collecting data.
BPRC Boardroom: Not
BPRC Boardroom: so. I always appreciate when we take a look at that, collect all that before we go out. Sorry to work so kudos on that. I'm familiar with establishment periods working in public transit, and things go through places. They always have established periods and a lot of times that that's where we'll see trees not make it to help me. Better understand when we do those new plantings out in our spaces.
BPRC Boardroom: How old are those trees? Because it? I think it's good to get that perspective in terms of how long does it take to get these trees ready to move, and then we put them there, and we're not taking care of them all that time to nurture them. Lost? Right?
BPRC Boardroom: Yeah. So we we have. And this is actually part of the
BPRC Boardroom: every 500 initiatives
BPRC Boardroom: check that box at a good point.
BPRC Boardroom: So next question today.
BPRC Boardroom: can you also say a little something to this group about when we lose trees, but our policy is not replacing trees.
BPRC Boardroom: It's 2 to one. If it's a hazard place, there's a couple of double details.
BPRC Boardroom: so
BPRC Boardroom: yeah, so we definitely have that in place. I think we haven't done a great job historically, tracking our true removals across all of our different programs. So we're doing a better job tracking that to make sure we're accountable.
BPRC Boardroom: I will say that. You know, it takes through this what we call a temporal block period when you plant a new baby tree when it's providing the kind of canopy canopy for, like a couple of decades.
BPRC Boardroom: appreciate the response on that, because I know it's very, very hard work. And yeah, so I know I was thinking a lot about when a new tree becomes cannabis.
BPRC Boardroom: When do you think prevents you are around? The loss of can be? It's a great question. And you know, over 50% overland areas. Non public users residential can be anywhere from every 20 years thrown out there, I think, for mature
BPRC Boardroom: 30 and 50 years. Okay.
BPRC Boardroom: hard to search for. Exactly
BPRC Boardroom: right. Right? I know it's always
BPRC Boardroom: and grade one, too. I run so, but awesome.
BPRC Boardroom: awesome. But I'm sorry. But
BPRC Boardroom: check for some transfers on my phone.
BPRC Boardroom: So many people.
Amy Brockhaus: Okay, may I just jump into?
Amy Brockhaus: Mostly say so. Thank you to Stephanie.
Amy Brockhaus: Really appreciate the report and the planting of large trees. I know how much harder that is, and the care for them. And congratulations on exceeding goals in planting and disinvest in communities.
Amy Brockhaus: It's so clearly needed in Seattle. And so I'm really glad to to see that. So, thanks for being here today.
BPRC Boardroom: Thank you.
BPRC Boardroom: The job stepped up. Thank you.
BPRC Boardroom: And then the Id.
BPRC Boardroom: I know it's time. Did you want to be familiar? I will introduce this next topic.
BPRC Boardroom: So the Department has all these lines of business recreation programs to grounds maintenance programs. But
BPRC Boardroom: I can't think of an area of the verb where
BPRC Boardroom: the question is, is, are we going to build projects on the budget.
BPRC Boardroom: There is a lot of pressure on the orientation. Unfortunately, Mike is carrying all of that pressure, and
BPRC Boardroom: I think, do a good job get his organization ready to deliver on all of these capital projects. It's a big
BPRC Boardroom: undertaking, because it's not just delivering the projects, but there is kind of a culture shift in mindset. Shift the urgency around. This work of deliberate
so
BPRC Boardroom: presentation.
BPRC Boardroom: He wants to walk you through.
BPRC Boardroom: and I've warned that we've got 2 people here who work at capital project delivery. So probably a lot of questions. Today.
BPRC Boardroom: I'm excited to be here.
BPRC Boardroom: we have a lot of fantastic construction updates to share and project updates.
BPRC Boardroom: Happy to share that progress of our team, wanted to start with our mainly with our planning team related to our public engagement and our grants teams part of our planning unit
BPRC Boardroom: as well as our total project instruction. It's more of our Pms project delivery and overlaps with and an engineering design team
BPRC Boardroom: talk a little bit about our ramp up and our hiring it hired 11 folks this year. New positions. And it's really been instrumental to our success and continued growth of the branch and meeting our spending goals
some specific program violence.
BPRC Boardroom: So our planning unit has grown nearly 20 folks strong now, and that includes our communications team, and they have been busy being out in the community. We've added some groundbreaking in addition to opening events for some of our projects.
BPRC Boardroom: We do a lot of meeting community where they're at. And at 18 different community events, where we've gone to farmers, markets, or existing community events. And then we have
BPRC Boardroom: some more traditional open houses, public meetings that also have online version in most cases. And we're recording a lot of our presentations and 28 of those this year.
BPRC Boardroom: And you know, we collect feedback, and we really try and report back what we're hearing to the community and our planners and our designers work hard to gather that data and then really make it clear how that's being incorporated into designs. So it's just an example from a play area project. And some of the ways that we collect that data and make sure that it shows up when folks see a complete project
BPRC Boardroom: we also wanna make sure that the community knows all the work that's coming their way and so expanding our project signs on site, utilizing graphics, Mag design to project renderings when possible, to try and highlight that work developing stronger graphics. For using grant applications and without a lot of success there.
BPRC Boardroom: I wanted to just briefly highlight the Park community fund. I'm not gonna go through all this because you all know, and have been partnering with us, and we wanted to say, Thank you for subcommittee, and helping bring that lens and be walking through that development of that new program together. Excited to see as that launches and 2024 new projects that we can
BPRC Boardroom: support that the community brings forward.
BPRC Boardroom: one of our other initiatives is our elevate design initiative, and this has been experimental and
BPRC Boardroom: We went out to the community, and Dr. Jose Resolve Park, and had a call for community desires to bring forth the design, and we now have paired up. That expense was selected
BPRC Boardroom: with a professional design firm. And we're moving through the process to see what that yields and look forward to implementing those design ideas in a new way. And we want to take some of the lessons that we learned through the elevator design initiative that we piloted this last year
BPRC Boardroom: at a new site where they planning to select that site early 2024.
BPRC Boardroom: I want to talk a little bit about grants. We've had a lot of success.
BPRC Boardroom: and, as you can see 2,022 was a banner year. We now have brought the
BPRC Boardroom: the 2 staff that we have dedicated to applying for grants into our branch, they previously were actually different unit. And so that's really helping us to make sure that we're aligning our schedules for our projects along with grant timelines, and I think we have a little bit of learning curve on that had some situations where they didn't quite line up, and it took a little longer to work through the Grant awards
BPRC Boardroom: executing the contract, getting the funds appropriated. But I think we're gonna continue to see progress and make sure we align those schedules?
BPRC Boardroom: and you can see here we had 14 million grants in 2022, and
BPRC Boardroom: we're on two-year cycle with the Washington State Recreation and conservation office, which is one of our largest granters. So we expect 24 to also be a significant year, and really helps us to
BPRC Boardroom: expand what we can deliver to our communities.
BPRC Boardroom: I'm excited to report that we have met our couple of project spending goal for the year was set at 90 million we are now. I just checked today. We're now over 95 for the year
BPRC Boardroom: and related to that. We have put out 21 projects for public works been
BPRC Boardroom: execute projects, variety, different ways. But
BPRC Boardroom: one of the main ways is through public works, and this year we started doing more packaging. So we had 3 play area pack
BPRC Boardroom: packaged together. One public works contract this last year.
BPRC Boardroom: Here's the I'm expecting to be able to read this or go through all all of the listed projects. But I just wanted to share. You know. You can kind of see how it's metered out over the year. These are the 21 projects that we had this year.
BPRC Boardroom: And some are a little over. Engineers estimate, and some are under. But you can see in the lower right overall. The the net differential is 1.1 million. And you know, when we're talking about 95 million dollars. Actually, this, this totals up to about 45 million.
BPRC Boardroom: that's pretty good percentage. And yeah, the contingency, you know, to be able to address that as well as through Grant funds is helping make up that gap as well.
BPRC Boardroom: and I wanted to share some some great project. Photos! So Greenlake, small Craft Center is in the home stretch, and we expect to have an opening event in the first quarter next year
BPRC Boardroom: some one of our larger projects, and then at Victor Steinbrook park. This is the waterproofing layer going in and it's been a little bit slower progress, because all the infrastructure has to go in and make sure we get that right foundation a little bit faster here in the New Year and coming months.
BPRC Boardroom: Here's 2 brand new park sites at the north, near land bank site on the left.
BPRC Boardroom: That's a fantastic story of our acquisitions team working together to pull
BPRC Boardroom: multiple parcels together to make that a 1.2 5 acre New Park Development, and then a little Saigon. A queue passed by. They yesterday or this week, installed a 25 foot tall frames for the park work.
BPRC Boardroom: the the public work, worship for the arts. Let's go now.
BPRC Boardroom: This is some images at Pathways Park. It will be our Markey play area. We are
BPRC Boardroom: most inclusive play area that's in large part to community partnerships. And grant funding that allows us to really push the boundaries of what a universal adaptive play area is.
BPRC Boardroom: And so we'll be really excited to bring that online, that to be Burke Gilman Park, near Children's Hospital. their their like restroom and play area. proceeding along
BPRC Boardroom: on schedule
BPRC Boardroom: at Beershiva, a phone restoration create new community spaces. In the area right next to Atlantic City, and there'll be a subsequent phase related to this park project that will
BPRC Boardroom: build upon this foundation, making all these spaces fully accessible and really creating strong gathering spaces. And then we've got a lot of big projects coming up that will be starting construction in the first quarter South Park Community Center, and Playfield is advertised for bid and bid. Opening is the next week
BPRC Boardroom: South Park Plaza Landbank site instruction will start right in the beginning of the new year that was awarded a few weeks ago.
BPRC Boardroom: Bradner Gardens Restroom was bid, and we'll be starting construction as well as high. Wat, the community center, which is advertised bid right now, and bid opening would be
BPRC Boardroom: early in 2024.
BPRC Boardroom: Here's just a summary of some of our
BPRC Boardroom: accomplishments. 23 public Works construction planning study projects were completed, a few more planning to come by the end of the year
BPRC Boardroom: 19 ongoing program projects completed that that includes corporate surfacing projects, and then, we hit exceed our goal for
BPRC Boardroom: addressing barriers to accessibility. We had a target of 175 barriers addressed, and we addressed 363
BPRC Boardroom: renovated 6 play areas.
BPRC Boardroom: Here's a little bit of a summary. I covered a few of those, but I'll add in the 5 Synthetic got turf fields replace. They replaced on about 12 year cycle and make sure that they're safe and playable, mentioned the play areas. A few emergency public works contracts over. We had some failures and urgent work. Mentioned the accessibility projects. And I'll show some more images of those
BPRC Boardroom: welfare lighting replacement projects, basic infrastructure roofs.
BPRC Boardroom: All sorts of things that that we get to touch. We have quite the correct in our work.
BPRC Boardroom: here's a couple of the accessibility improvement projects. This is both on site and in these facilities. So the types of barriers really range from the parking lot not being level or having settled differentially. To grants being not in compliance.
BPRC Boardroom: when your community center particularly a challenge because it's built on Land Bill. So we had room differential setting at that site.
BPRC Boardroom: But yeah, 363 barriers addressed this year. And then thanks and community center, we really have renovated that space and created additional community Mendel's. And I don't know if we've been. But it looks spectacular. Yeah.
BPRC Boardroom: more accessibility. It's a cornerstone of our work. We really have upped our game at gasworks, East Entry and the new Restroom renovated restroom building there.
BPRC Boardroom: Will be online coming weeks. And earlier this year. We open there.
BPRC Boardroom: New Cubota gardens, restrooms.
BPRC Boardroom: 6 play areas. There's a couple of highlights Spruce Street. Mini Park is pretty spectacular. It's a great collaboration with culture. There's a fantastic neural. That site and savvy terrace was a part of a 3 package
BPRC Boardroom: the 3 players that were into one package.
BPRC Boardroom: Here's the synthetic turf.
BPRC Boardroom: Replace this
BPRC Boardroom: long Beach was completed last year, but we just got up installed the first rainbow sign with sales place name, and we hope to continue that practice and expand that practice we have upcoming in January.
BPRC Boardroom: a additional tribal summit. But
BPRC Boardroom: sale parks and recreation staff at
BPRC Boardroom: look for additional ways to continue to
BPRC Boardroom: recognize Darren, digest
BPRC Boardroom: population, and then some highlights from the ramp up and I'll get touched into the program. Highlights as well.
BPRC Boardroom: I talked a little bit about packaging the third bullet point there.
BPRC Boardroom: Really, has to do with by asset type play area, but also by geographic location, or
BPRC Boardroom: like specific. So like specific example, might be like a Jetkins park doing 2 restrooms that along with the play area.
BPRC Boardroom: some of the connections there. we started about a year ago, really working hard on implementation strategy. And that's how we kind of arrived at some of these packages and really looking at all, you know
BPRC Boardroom: several 100 different projects. And what can we move up in our asset management plan to try and align and gain efficiencies? And
BPRC Boardroom: I would say, we've we've moved things around to be able to gain sufficiencies. We're excited to use alternative delivery methods for several of our major projects. And we're looking at
BPRC Boardroom: that for Green Lake Community Center for Laurel Heights Community Center and then design build with our decarbonization work.
BPRC Boardroom: And I've had meetings with
BPRC Boardroom: fas and city purchasing to prove that we are proceeding through their process appropriately, and they've reviewed our application and hiring
BPRC Boardroom: the consultants that can help guide us, because that's a new preference for us.
BPRC Boardroom: And then I talked a little bit about
BPRC Boardroom: making sure that we have contingency and increasing our program and project reserves to make sure that we are nimble and able to respond, and still award bids that come in higher than expected.
BPRC Boardroom: We also are utilizing our stage gate oversight Committee, which is bride of all the deputies and our management. To look at projects a little bit earlier, since
BPRC Boardroom: we historically looked right. Pre bid. And after bid to adjust, project budget or scope. And now we're doing that earlier in schematic and making sure that we're catching things earlier. And so
BPRC Boardroom: until we get to the point of Fifth.
BPRC Boardroom: here's a zoom in on a couple of our our programs. We do quite a few play areas and we are very much on target for our 6 year cycle where we completed 6 this year.
BPRC Boardroom: We've got quite a few already in the works coming up, and you can see our goal of 33
BPRC Boardroom: and then for our
BPRC Boardroom: restroom
BPRC Boardroom: program, we are a little bit behind where we would like to be, and I think that is a reflection of not having as many hopper as we did with the players, thanks to the increase in funding, was pretty dramatic at 133. So in 2024 we will be initiating 11 new projects, at least 5 of those will be combined to one project package.
BPRC Boardroom: Go, Aaron.
BPRC Boardroom: thank you, Mike.
bye.
BPRC Boardroom: Last time here, turn off where they start.
BPRC Boardroom: You're a busy guy, and I'm a busy team of 70 people that do incredible work.
BPRC Boardroom: Thank you, Mike. I know you got a lot of pressure under you. And I was very impressed, I have to say, with getting to one on one products out to bid, and you only have 1 million over the ees for a 45 million dollar program. So I mean, not only are you estimating right? You're creating high quality documents. My question to is.
BPRC Boardroom: what are you doing right. We've we've made some adjustments, I think. Early on we saw projects that came in higher than we were expecting.
BPRC Boardroom: We changed our consulting contract, I think, in like February or March to require a project that has instruction contract, and that's 7, $50,000 or more must have certified.
BPRC Boardroom: plus estimator on their project team.
BPRC Boardroom: And you know, I think we're we're starting to see some of that. But it's it's a practice that I think will definitely help us.
BPRC Boardroom: That's 1 one small piece. please give my Buddha serial thing. Yeah. Well, thank you.
BPRC Boardroom: With all those small pieces of the end, especially when you have a portfolio.
BPRC Boardroom: So to to continue on with the Marlin really happy to hear about making sure that we're appropriating money appropriate.
BPRC Boardroom: really? Because a lot of times what we've seen in Mega portfolios where
BPRC Boardroom: lose track of time on these grants and then get to a point where you're under spent. And that's not a good look. So who knows on that?
BPRC Boardroom: Because I'm a district one guy risk level of all the things I'm seeing out there, especially for South Park. It's an area that's been needed some support for quite a while, so I'm happy to hear that they're they're getting some love back to the city.
BPRC Boardroom: kind of waiting it out for him. So happy to hear that.
BPRC Boardroom: here!
BPRC Boardroom: So one thing is.
Christopher, would it be possible for us to at least kind of get some annual updates of the Vcrc. You know, building off of this great presentation just to see kind of how we're trending, maybe even quarter
BPRC Boardroom: challenge where it was saved.
BPRC Boardroom: Couple of challenges that your staff is running. I think
BPRC Boardroom: one of the things that we understand, and Mike knows all too well is that here does late
BPRC Boardroom: project deliveries chain on you. They express their
BPRC Boardroom: there's just so many areas out of the project manager, troll side project delivery.
It would be great
BPRC Boardroom: experience to sound established.
BPRC Boardroom: but challenges. You guys face you can deal with them for work.
BPRC Boardroom: Absolutely. Yes, good segue from that is what you see has been your biggest challenges so far. I know we're talking about some new product delivery types I know, having been with a couple of different agencies and a couple of different organizations where they take on alternative product delivery for first time, and the challenging, so help me understand? Is it procurement times, you know. Is it funding contractors? Is it new product delivery types? Well, what does you feel like your biggest challenge right now
BPRC Boardroom: there are a number of challenges like you certainly touched on you of them. I think one of the areas where I wanna make sure that we're staying on track, and I feel like we're touch behind on. It's some of those Major Gccm projects, and some of that is making sure that we have all of the pieces. Direction in place. And Green Lake has been one of those areas where we wanna make sure that we're getting into that with the correct plan and scope involved.
BPRC Boardroom: That's that's one area, I think.
BPRC Boardroom: working with purchasing, contracting to reduce front end time, review, and background time working for rewarding us to proceed in another area where we just you know.
BPRC Boardroom: my my analogy is frequently in backpacking comes to turn to pounds, you know, we just turned months
BPRC Boardroom: and you can keep trimming them down it makes a difference. Get those?
BPRC Boardroom: all that's good stuff
BPRC Boardroom: data, good repair work. You touched on some major emergency stuff. Is this also under your umbrella work? For
BPRC Boardroom: no ongoing capital repairs like turf renovation. Right? You have a program of things that have this
BPRC Boardroom: end of useful life. So is that also within the middle of things. So how do you feel like that? Balance is going well? Because if you're posting the head on
BPRC Boardroom: capital expansion projects or or new things, but you're also looking at this amount and steady good repair work. Speak for that a little bit. We we have a really strong dedicated budget for race.
BPRC Boardroom: Sexy, it's
BPRC Boardroom: and grants infrastructure. We do have them are
BPRC Boardroom: our planning team, and really looks carefully using our asset management work order system and making sure that that's integrated with that plan. So that we're keeping track on where assets are coming.
BPRC Boardroom: Thank you, Jessica. Did you have questions as well?
Jessica Farmer: Yeah, I guess more of a more of a comment than a question. So you're off the hook for the moment. Mike.
Jessica Farmer: you know. Just really
Jessica Farmer: you know an acknowledgement both in your presentation, Mike, and in Stephanie's of the tremendous amount of work that's happening on the ground.
Jessica Farmer: And I think that
Jessica Farmer: you know a lot of the things that come up to us in public comment and things that catch the news attention and the media. You know, it's those are important issues, and they deserve
Jessica Farmer: adequate attention and space for public input and at the same time, I think it's really important that we recognize the tremendous amount of work that's happening across a really big system that's serving
Jessica Farmer: a really big population in this city. And and how important it is.
Jessica Farmer: That all that's happening, too. So thank you for your work. Really appreciate
Jessica Farmer: seeing just the incredible and the hiring. I know hiring's been
Jessica Farmer: you know, hard everywhere. There's always
Jessica Farmer: too much work and not enough people and so just kudos to both of you for for what you've done and shared with us tonight.
BPRC Boardroom: Alright, any other questions from Mike.
BPRC Boardroom: Thank you so much, Michael.
BPRC Boardroom: closing words before we can start wrapping up.
BPRC Boardroom: Drive down here, show up at your homes. Virtually
BPRC Boardroom: we really appreciate it, and I want to give a big shout out to
BPRC Boardroom: good.
BPRC Boardroom: We did some engineering here.
BPRC Boardroom: Goldberg situation over here. all right. So anything for old and new business.
Jessica Farmer: Pretty good. All right. Sorry I'm gonna jump in real quick.
Jessica Farmer: Did I miss a meeting, or is this Lauren's first meeting with us?
Jessica Farmer: Lauren has been with us for a few meetings, but but has not been in the room yet with us. Okay, and I'm usually in the room. So my apologies, Lauren. But you all saw a note pop up in the chat, and that was just me welcoming her so look forward to seeing you in the room at some point.
Lauren Lanham: Thank you for the welcome. Yes, yes, I have joined online. I guess I didn't know about how I could go in person. I should have asked that question originally, actually
Lauren Lanham: So I'll go and see. I'll look and see if there's for the address now. And to be there with you guys next time in person. Lauren.
Lauren Lanham: Okay, thank you. I appreciate that. I did have a
Lauren Lanham: quick question for you, Justin. I didn't hear. If
Lauren Lanham: if you had talked about this because I got a little disconnected during the subcommittee report out. I know, Rachel.
Lauren Lanham: Oh, I'm sorry, that's my dog.
Lauren Lanham: II did get a question from Rachel for the whole for the Parks and Recreation Commissioners
Lauren Lanham: about the per community Fund. Did you? Had you brought that up? I just got disconnected, so I wanted to check.
BPRC Boardroom: Yeah, we spoke a little bit. We kind of thorned up our updates based on the time flow earlier the meeting. But we give a give a high review where we're at. And I also reminded folks that we're meeting backup. We're trying to schedule a meeting in January to firm all those questions up that Rachel I kicked out for us so definitely welcome your feedback in that email chain so that we could bring that recommendation back to full commission.
Lauren Lanham: Okay, thank you for that.
BPRC Boardroom: of course.
BPRC Boardroom: Okay, I guess the last full point here. Ben, do we want to talk about 2024. Because, yeah. And I'm happy to to kind of introduce this. This is a proposed schedule. So don't have.
BPRC Boardroom: Don't have this
BPRC Boardroom: specifically, you know this is your meetings, not mine.
BPRC Boardroom: But this follows the the schedule that we've viewed to over the past several years. So generally, we give you the first meeting off in January. So you can have that kind of a winter break
BPRC Boardroom: and then June, July, August. We usually give you the second meeting date, that for Thursday, as kind of a summer break, also tends to be one of the busier times for parks and recreation, and one of the quieter times for Seattle lights, as it's a better web for people around
and park staff and working hard.
BPRC Boardroom: We also generally take the fourth Thursday off in November, and then the fourth Thursday off in December for the holidays.
BPRC Boardroom: So obviously we don't need to approve this. We can discuss this, you know. Kind of offline and kind of come back. Talk about it in January. But right now the plan is to meet January 20 fifth as the next meeting. And we'll we'll kind of operate unless there's a huge objection in the room. We'll operate with that at the point.
Jessica Farmer: Yeah, I would just. I would just ask that. If that is the case, and there is going to be public engagement around the Black Lives Memorial Garden in January that that's just communicate to us by email. So we can participate or attend those things. If we'd like.
BPRC Boardroom: think that sounds good, absolutely doable and reasonable.
Amy Brockhaus: may jump in with one quick comment. I think today is the hard day to get people here that certainly looks like it, anyway, would would we meet twice in January, but not at all in December? Would you
Amy Brockhaus: switch it for something?
BPRC Boardroom: This is a proposed schedule. So if there's something that you want to talk about. This is time to do it.
BPRC Boardroom: And at 60'clock.
BPRC Boardroom: because some of you guys have been here all day, some of us that don't
BPRC Boardroom: you know. If if you just wanna get home to your family and stuff right? I mean, you don't need to get off of 5.
BPRC Boardroom: See? I'm retired, so I don't.
BPRC Boardroom: Apologies. Have you sent this out for review?
BPRC Boardroom: And I would just take the pressure off. You could decide next year back in October.
BPRC Boardroom: This is not part of the operating principles of the of the this is this is part of the of the boards, and it's traditions rather than anything else.
BPRC Boardroom: Well, appreciate it. Yeah, everyone. all commissioners, please take a peek at this. Provide your feedback. Everyone has.
BPRC Boardroom: We have your full time, job, and you got your life together and going on. So we wanna make sure that we have dates that will bring as many of us together as possible while supporting the great work that
BPRC Boardroom: do not get any comments.
BPRC Boardroom: My question for you is how we plan to de escalate on the ground conditions to reiterate de escalating
BPRC Boardroom: versus giving
BPRC Boardroom: comprehensive response to that right now. Frankly, I don't have the answer to that right now. I think the best response to that is that this is an issue that goes beyond just Seattle Parks recreation. We're dealing with a city wide policies influence by the mayor's office by several other city organizations. So
BPRC Boardroom: Parks can't just stop
BPRC Boardroom: doing something that is a citywide policy. So I think we would be better prepared to respond to that if we can.
BPRC Boardroom: More time to prepare for that.
BPRC Boardroom: I don't want me to contact you.
BPRC Boardroom: I witnessed and experienced like pretty significant. So yes and no.
BPRC Boardroom: We operate under a vision call one Seattle so that Seattle parks and recreation is acting uniformly
BPRC Boardroom: with other city departments across the city, and, by the way.
opposite police accountability as a process.
BPRC Boardroom: hear from people that have complaints
like the one you talked about here. So
BPRC Boardroom: I think if you went online, you could access that process completely route.
Well.
BPRC Boardroom: so you said you said yes and no, we do, and do not have power to to stop. What's this week that are happening right now? So so really the intention I thought you were gonna make, you know, it's not appropriate to
BPRC Boardroom: have a back and forth. Conversation at this meeting. So from a comment standpoint we hear you, I hear you.
BPRC Boardroom: and we want to be better prepared to respond to
BPRC Boardroom: your questions by the time we get into.
BPRC Boardroom: So
BPRC Boardroom: they don't have much more comprehensive information for you
BPRC Boardroom: than to
BPRC Boardroom: guys. Think of this one savings, are you?
BPRC Boardroom: And are you?
BPRC Boardroom: But yeah, I mean hearing from from
BPRC Boardroom: you know how many details.
BPRC Boardroom: and supporting the people and pollinators?
BPRC Boardroom: So when you do this feedback session. This needs to be really interested.
BPRC Boardroom: And then how will you integrate your
okay? So
BPRC Boardroom: those are great comments I do not have as in-depth of response to you that matches your question.
BPRC Boardroom: We will be prepared to
BPRC Boardroom: and connect those points when we have account
BPRC Boardroom: people thank you
BPRC Boardroom: so much. With that time, and
BPRC Boardroom: thank you for showing up tonight. And meeting. Is Joe awesome.