Dear Green Trail Readers -

You’ve all heard about the rising obesity statistics across America. It is happening right here in King County as well. Believe it or not, 54% of King County adults were deemed overweight in 2004! This is up from 37% in 1987. As you are probably all aware, obesity can lead to significant health problems including diabetes, increased risk for certain types of cancer, and heart disease. However, just 30 minutes of moderate exercise most days of the week, combined with a healthier diet, can be enough to make a difference.

Seattle Parks and Recreation offers residents endless opportunities to achieve those 30 minutes of moderate exercise—trails, playgrounds, gyms, swimming pools, fitness and cooking classes, athletic fields, beaches—and the list goes on. We’ve decided to capitalize on this natural fit and do more to encourage residents to use our public system of parks, pools, community centers, ballfields, and golf courses to get fit. We’re calling this initiative Healthy Parks, Healthy You and it will all kick off at Green Lake on Saturday, August 23.

The August 23 event begins at 9 a.m. with a Family 5K Fun Run around Green Lake, followed by opening remarks from Mayor Nickels at 11 a.m. From 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., you’ll be able to try out activities including yoga, kayaking, ultimate Frisbee, and a lot more at stations around the lake. You can register for the Fun Run online, at any community center until August 15, or at the event.

In conjunction with the kickoff event, we are offering $2 fitness classes at all of our community centers in September. This special deal will give you chance to drop in at your neighborhood center and try out some new activities. We are hosting health and wellness fairs on September 20 at Delridge Community Center and October 18 at Rainier Community Center. We will also offer a whole range of new healthy lifestyle classes, including healthy cooking. And we are promoting our volunteer program as a way to burn “green calories.” These are calories burned while doing something to enrich the environment.

HealthyParks, Healthy You kicks off at GreenLake on August 23.		We hope to see you at the Healthy Parks, Healthy You kickoff event or at  one of our “Try it for $2!” classes this fall. We are seeking community partners to help us implement this initiative—so if you have ideas for potential partners, please contact Brenda Kramer at Brenda.kramer@seattle.gov. Information about this initiative is available at: www.seattle.gov/parks/healthyparks

Health and fitness is something that is very important to me personally and I’m excited to work in an organization that has so much to do with it. I believe that through the offerings of Healthy Parks, Healthy You, we will positively impact the lives of many Seattleites. In my view, a healthy city is a happy city. I look forward to working with you on this!

Sincerely,
Tim Gallagher

Strategic Action Plan Update

Ever since I came on board with Seattle Parks and Recreation, completing the Strategic Action Plan has been a top priority. I’m proud to say that we can just about almost nearly probably check it off as complete. After months of hard work by staff, consultants and public participants, this 5-year planning document responds to a Statement of Legislative Intent from the City Council, and will be included in my accountability agreement with the Mayor.

After receiving 1,500 online surveys, 400 comment cards, received either thorough email or our 70 public meetings, and 200 typed pages of staff comments, we have come up with six high-level goals and a series of more detailed actions steps.

Our six goals are:

• Steward Seattle’s parks and open spaces for long-term sustainability
• Provide recreation and learning opportunities
• Actively engage and build relationships with Seattle’s diverse population
• Maintain Parks and Recreation’s land and facilities
• Develop team capacity and organizational culture
• Strengthen organizational systems and structures

Each goal is supported by strategic initiatives and action strategies. The more detailed action steps include a timeline and identify resources necessary to carry out the goals. Of course, the challenge is finding the resources to do all the great work laid out in this document. However, we can accomplish many elements of the plan with existing resources. The rest will require new resources but knowing what we want to do and how to go about it makes finding resources a bit easier. You can view the plan online at: http://www.seattle.gov/parks/Publications/ParksActionPlan.htm.

Although this document is done, we still want to hear from you. The Strategic Action Plan is merely a guideline for a continually evolving planning process that involves you every step of the way. As we move forward into implementation of the Plan, please email me with concerns or ideas about our parks system at timothy.gallagher@seattle.gov.   

New Leadership for Divisions

After doing a national search and a rigorous and unique screening process, we’ve hired three new directors and one deputy director for the three major divisions of Seattle Parks and Recreation. Please welcome Sue Goodwin as Director of Recreation, Robb Courtney as Director of Parks (all maintenance of activities), Kevin Stoops as Director of Planning and Development, and Michael Shiosaki as Deputy Director of Planning and Development. The “unique” screening process that I referred to earlier included subjecting the final candidates to an evening of schmoozing with members of the public plus key staff within Parks and the City. Although stressful for the candidates, this activity really enabled a larger group of stakeholders learn more about them and get involved in the process.

On August 4, Robb Courtney will join us as Director of the Parks Division. He comes from the City of Gresham, Oregon, where he served as the Parks and Recreation Manager. Robb brings 20 years experience in parks and recreation, and has managed capital projects, large operating budgets, and collaborative relationships with public and private partners.

Longtime Seattle Parks manager Kevin Stoops is the new Planning and Development Director. Kevin started his career as a planning intern for Parks and Recreation way back in 1976, earned a Master’s of Urban Planning degree in 1981, and has since moved through the ranks as a planner, capital project manager, planning manager, and interim Planning and Development Director. Given the seemingly constant state of change around here, Kevin’s institutional memory is an invaluable asset for us all.

Michael Shiosaki has rejoined Seattle Parks and Recreation as the Deputy Director of Planning and Development. Michael, a former member of the Seattle Board of Park Commissioners and former manager of the Pro Parks Levy program, will provide strong support to Parks’ acquisition and property development and management functions. We’re happy to have lured Michael back from the dark side, ahem, the City of Sammamish, where he served as Director of Parks and Recreation.

In an effort to provide the best possible and most efficient management of our resources, and to respond to many recommendations in the proposed Strategic Action Plan, we have created a new Natural Resources Management Unit. This unit will enhance our image as an environmental leader by bridging the gap between our best management practices for maintenance and our responsibility to protect and preserve park habitat for urban wildlife.

The new unit will serve as a central clearinghouse for the collection and management of data related to Parks efforts ranging from the Climate Action Now initiative to fuel conservation strategies. It will include the environmental learning centers and their associated grounds staff, and the utility conservation management program.

Melinda Nichols, who is now serving as the Interim Parks Division Director, will lead the new unit. I’ve been impressed with her passion and commitment to environmental issues, and I know she can make a successful transition and bring the components of the new unit together.
 
I am excited to have such a gifted and experienced group of leaders to work with. Hopefully you will run into these energetic individuals in the course of your interactions with Seattle Parks and Recreation. Please do introduce yourselves and say hello. All five of them welcome interaction with the public and encourage you to email them directly about any issues that relate to their area of focus: sue.goodwin@seattle.gov, robb.courtney@seattle.gov, kevin.stoops@seattle.gov, michael.shiosaki@seattle.gov, melinda.nichols@seattle.gov.   

Summer Impacts

With a recession dangling over our heads and gas prices and airfares sky high, many families are choosing to spend their summer vacation close to home. Lucky for us, Seattle is a great place to be and you don’t even need to leave the city limits to have a good time thanks to our extensive system of parks, beaches, golf courses and pools. However, this means higher impacts on all of our facilities this summer. Given that resources do not necessarily parallel attendance, Parks and Recreation staff are stretched a little thinner than usual right now.

While it’s wonderful that so many residents are enjoying our parks this summer, the effects play out in many different ways. For example, at Golden Gardens we’ve seen an increase of beach fires this summer. The downside of this high use is more trash, alcohol consumption, noise, and illegal fires on the sand because fire rings are consistently full. To accommodate the higher level of use, we’ve added two more fire rings on the north end of the beach, and sent more maintenance staff out to clean up in the mornings.

While our staff are doing the best they can to keep up with the increase in use throughout the system, we are also asking you to please do your part in keeping our parks clean, safe, and enjoyable for all. If you notice something that needs to be fixed in any of our parks or facilities, please call the Parks Maintenance Request Line at 206-684-7250. If you see any type of illegal activity taking place in a park, please call 911 or the police non-emergency line at 206-625-5011.

Dogs in Parks

As we head into the dog days of summer, we know Seattle dogs, and their owners, are itching to get outside and enjoy our parks. We welcome dogs on leashes in just about all of our parks, and off-leash in 11 off-leash areas. Dog walkers are some of our most frequent park users and we want to make sure that they are on good terms with everyone else and everyone else is on good terms with them.

Magnuson Park Off-Leash Area

Our parks get very busy during the summer months, so please make sure to keep your dog on a leash except in the off-leash areas, and of course, pick up and throw away their waste. Dogs are not allowed, even on a leash, on beaches, in children’s play areas, or on organized athletic fields.

If you notice people not observing the dog rules, you can report them to Seattle Animal Shelter at 206-386-PETS.

Summer Discount for Room Rentals at Parks Facilities

Ever thought about holding your next retreat or party at Golden Gardens bathhouse on the shores of the Puget Sound? Why not schedule your next meeting at the Discovery Park Environmental Learning Center? Or throw a grand party at Alki Bathhouse. We have more than 40 indoor facilities ranging from community center meeting rooms to gyms to converted historic bathhouses with waterfront views available for hourly rental.

Northgate Community Center

Room rentals at our indoor facilities arranged or booked for at least two hours between July 1 and September 30 qualify for a discount of an additional free hour. These indoor spaces vary in size and the amenities they offer, including full kitchens, and are unique and reasonable venues for meetings, retreats, parties, reunions, and weddings.

Facility descriptions and fees can be found by visiting: www.seattle.gov/parks/facilities. To book a room, please call the facility at which you want to rent a room.

Employee Thoughts on Open Space and Maintenance

Every Friday I send what is intended to be a witty and engaging message to all 1,000 plus employees of Seattle Parks and Recreation. I often ask for responses to questions related to our mission, and then publish one of the better responses the following week. Despite the fact that my emails are perhaps not quite as witty or engaging as I am led to believe, people do respond in great numbers to the questions. I am thrilled to get ideas and input from so many employees. I’ve included below responses to two questions—one on open space and one on maintenance—that I thought were exceptional. Both came from Seattle Conservation Corps Field Supervisor John Toczek.

A "place" is made either by landmarks (which can be trees - which are great for enhancing the function of the lungs), or events, or the diversity of people who visit, or the activities possible, or site history, or even the degree of privacy and solitude.  In short, a place is made when a space offers opportunities for people to find relaxation, or excitement, or reverence, or learning, or "opportunity" or anything else that satisfies a need, or needs, and provides some measure of comfort, satisfaction and enjoyment.   

Maintenance Planning
“Maintenance must be built into the budget (and incorporated into the design process) from the earliest concept/design stages for the good of the post-construction life of the "project" which can potentially span many decades, or longer.”

“Maintenance costs can be reduced by good design that anticipates future maintenance issues and mitigates them by applying experience and understanding of the use of the facility.”

What is an acceptable level of maintenance?
“Each person's needs and desires deserve to be equally well served within any City space. Ensuring a pleasant experience within a space minimally used by few people is just as important as ensuring the same for a space used at or near its capacity by many more people. Public attitude about public spaces is collective. Thus a CONSISTENT level of maintenance should be system-wide.”

“An acceptable level of maintenance ensures safe, long-term use of facilities.”

“An acceptable level of maintenance is to some degree dependent on the individual characteristics/attributes/functions/program of a site/facility/amenity. Safety and legal mandates also dictate what constitutes an acceptable level of maintenance and play a part in determining appropriate functions for a site.” 

Under what conditions can we or can we not reduce that level of maintenance?   
“Infrastructure is inherently fragile and in constant need of care. Major disruptions can be more costly in the short term, collectively, than proper maintenance for the long term.” 

“If a project/structure/facility/amenity is worth the initial cost of design and construction then it is worthy of long-term maintenance.”

“It would be preferable to have fewer, well maintained institutions, structures, and amenities than more poorly, or inappropriately maintained of the same.” 

How do green practices affect our level of maintenance?
“Green practices, environmentally responsible design, sustainability - all of these concepts present an image of a somehow gentler approach to using, or building on, or altering a site.” 

“It is not enough for green practices to merely be ‘earth friendly’ but they must also be no more difficult, or expensive to maintain than ‘conventional’ design.  If the site informs the design and the program, then taking the design to the next level of ’green-ness’ should naturally follow.”

“The ‘City’ is all of its citizens, not just City employees. The City should reach out and strongly embrace anyone who desires a ‘part of the action’ in helping to maintain the facilities that contribute to the well being of everyone.”

Park Rangers Out in Full Force

From left to right: Aaron Belt, Corby Christenson, Larry Campbell, Cyril Ishem, Sandra Wilcox, Mark Farmer

Sporting classic khaki shirts and green pants, our seven park rangers are now hitting the downtown parks pavement every day. The rangers offer assistance, provide information, monitor safety issues, and help solve problems that arise. The rangers cannot give citations, but they are in close contact with the police.

After being subject to skepticism and distrust for the first few weeks, the rangers have won the support of many park users with a combination of good humor and authority. Several news media stories in the last month depicted the new rangers as a solid and positive presence in the parks, and illustrated examples of the rangers providing excellent assistance to park patrons.

Although the rangers will hit all Center City parks, they will spend the most time in the following parks:

• City Hall
• Freeway
• Hing Hay
• Occidental
• Waterfront
• Pier 62-63
• Westlake
• Victor Steinbrueck
• Lake Union
• Cal Anderson

We will conduct a survey on the park ranger program soon. Until then, please send your impressions of the rangers to Center City Manager Victoria Schoenburg at Victoria.schoenburg@seattle.gov. We’d love to get your feedback on this new program.

Summer Programming in Center City Parks

Lion Dance at HingHayPark

Summer is absolutely the busiest time of year for Seattle Parks and Recreation. Our community centers are brimming with toddlers, grandmas, and everyone in between for yoga, basketball, printmaking, cooking and a whole lot more. Our beaches are jam packed with swimmers of all ages splashing around in water wings, swimming laps, and jumping off the diving board. Our downtown parks are now attracting families to experience a whole range of neat activities.

Our Center City park offerings include:

• Outdoor movies
• Lunchtime concerts
• Street fairs
• Urban gardening classes
• Thursday evening dancing at Freeway Park
• Street performers

For details of the fun activities now happening downtown, visit www.seattle.gov/parks/centercity. To browse or register for classes or programs throughout the system, visit SPARC  I hope that everyone reading this email goes to at least one Parks program this summer…and hopefully more than one. Have fun!  

Upcoming Public Meetings

We hold public meetings to get community input for all of our park development projects and for many of our long-term plans. Following are upcoming public meetings. Please visit the Parks website for details about future meetings. 

Lake Washington Boulevard Vegetation Management Plan Public Hearing
August 14, 7 p.m. (at Board of Parks Commissioner Meeting)
Rainier Community Center, 4600 38th Ave S.
http://www.seattle.gov/parks/Horticulture/VMP/LakeWashingtonBlvd.htm

John & Summit Park (Capitol Hill)
Wednesday, September 10, 7-8:30 p.m.
Capitol Hill Presbyterian – 1729 Harvard Ave
http://www.seattle.gov/parks/proparks/projects/JohnSummitParkDevelopment.htm

Lake Union Loop
Thursday, September 11, 5-7 p.m.
South Lake Union Armory – 860 Terry Ave N
http://www.seattle.gov/parks/lakeunionloop/

Seward Park Playground (Meeting #2)
Wednesday, September 17, 6:30 p.m.
Location TBA
http://columbiacitizens.net/sppif:welcome

Upcoming Meetings Not Yet Scheduled:

Northshore Recreation: Phase Two – Meeting in September
http://www.seattle.gov/parks/Magnuson/northshoredevelopment.htm

Miller Playfield Resurfacing – Meeting in September/October

Rainier Playfield Lighting - Meeting in September/October

It’s a Walk in the Park proposed program – Meeting sometime in late Fall 
This proposed program would close some park roads to cars on designated days next summer to offer a fitness opportunity to walkers and cyclists.
http://www.seattle.gov/parks/walk.htm

The Board of Park Commissioners, a volunteer advisory board, consults with and makes recommendations to department staff, City Council, and the Mayor regarding Parks and Recreation's policies for the planning, development and use of the City's park and recreation facilities. The Board meets at 7 p.m. at 100 Dexter Ave N. on the second and fourth Tuesday of the month (although the August 14 meeting will be at Rainier Community Center). For agendas and information on this public meeting, visit http://www.seattle.gov/parks/parkboard/default.asp

Want The Green Trail e-Newsletter delivered directly to your e-mail? Contact Malia Langworthy at malia.langworthy@seattle.gov.