Seattle Parks is working to determine the damage that may have been sustained at the Japanese Garden Gatehouse, and is conducting cleanup efforts throughout the Garden to support the opening day scheduled for Tuesday, February 14, 2012.

To confirm opening day and time please visit http://www.seattle.gov/parks/parkspaces/japanesegarden.htm or call the Japanese Garden at 206-684-4725.

The meeting agenda includes:

Park Board operations update.

The Board will hear a staff briefing on changes to the operations of the Board. They include an increase in the number of Board members from seven to nine; the selection of one member from the YMCA Get Engaged Program, which places young adults (18-29) on local boards and commissions: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=98278175552; and a new meeting schedule (pending City Council approval) under which, beginning in April 2012, the Board will meet once a month rather than twice. The Board will focus on long-term planning, budget and management issues and will create subcommittees to deal with significant operating issues. The Superintendent will also introduce two new Board appointees.

Community center operations update.

The Board will hear a staff briefing on the operations of the community centers under the new model approved in the 2012 budget. It comprises five geographically-based service areas, each with five community centers staffed by a team. Within each area the centers provide varying levels of service, and each team is led by a Senior Recreation Coordinator. Given the continuing financial issues facing the City, the alternative was to reduce hours and staffing at all centers to achieve budget savings. This operating model preserves services to the greatest extent possible by keeping the centers open with varying levels of service.

Green Seattle Partnership update.

Parks staff will brief the Board on the Green Seattle Partnership: http://greenseattle.org/, a unique Seattle initiative that began in 2004, under which the City and its partners are restoring 2,500 acres of urban forest by the year 2020, developing a strong, informed corps of forest stewards and volunteers, and carrying out a maintenance plan on restored acres that will ensure their health into the future.

The Seattle Board of Park Commissioners is a seven-member citizen board created by the City Charter. Three members are appointed by the Mayor and confirmed by the City Council; three members are appointed by the City Council; and one member is appointed by the Park Board. The Board meets the second and fourth Thursday of each month to advise the Parks and Recreation Superintendent, the Mayor, and the City Council on parks and recreation matters. For more information, please call Sandy Brooks at 206-684-5066 or email her at sandy.brooks@seattle.gov.

Parks and Recreation apologizes for the inconvenience.

Power to the ballfield lights is not affected, and will remain operational while the City Light work takes place.

The lighting project demolished the existing 40 year old wood poles and outmoded lighting system, and replaced it with a state-of-the-art system that features eight steel poles instead of 12 and is more energy efficient.

The project was funded through a 2006 Ballfield Lighting Upgrade program, implemented over six years from the Cumulative Reserve Fund. It provided for planning, design, and construction of the park lighting improvements.

For further information please visit: www.seattle.gov/parks/maintenance/ballfieldlighting.htm; or
email Kelly Davidson at kelly.davidson@seattle.gov or call her at 206-684-0998.

The 70” diameter, 1,260 lb stainless steel propeller is being donated to Parks by the University District Community Council and Philip Thiel, naval architect and Professor Emeritus of Architecture and Urban Design and Planning at the University of Washington. It was recently stolen from his backyard.

Seattle Parks is moving forward with installation plans for the propeller at North Passage Point Park located at 600 NE Northlake Way, Seattle WA 98105.

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These and other projects – a new driving range, cart paths and modifications to holes 10, 11 and 18 – were identified during the Golf Master Plan process which Seattle residents participated in during 2009. For more information on the Golf Master Plan please visit: http://seattle.gov/parks/projects/docs.htm#plans

Funding for the projects is being provided by 2011 Multi Purpose Limited Tax General Obligation Debt, Ord. #123442.

For information or to view comments from the first meeting held on November 9, 2011 please visit: http://www.seattle.gov/parks/projects/jackson_park/golf.htm. For additional information, please call Garrett Farrell, Project Manager, at 206-233-3040 or email him at Garrett.Farrell@seattle.gov.

Seattle Parks and Recreation’s Volunteer Naturalists provide hands-on learning opportunities for school groups and nature programs for families and adults at Discovery Stations, destination locations throughout parks that present visitors with a theme and natural objects that help them discover their backyard parks. For example, volunteers would have a spotting scope at Bald Eagle nest locations and at Green Lake Park so visitors could follow the nesting cycle of Bald Eagles or Pied Billed Grebes. Another is a station at Me Kwa Mooks Beach or Discovery Park Beach with shells and information about intertidal creatures. One could be a Forest Station to introduce people to the many plants, mammals and birds that make the forested parklands home.

Volunteers’ backgrounds are as varied as the students they teach – the common thread is their desire to share nature with the greater Seattle community.

The goal of the Seattle Volunteer Naturalist Program is to enhance, promote and foster appreciation of nature by connecting citizens and students with their Seattle parklands, by providing educational opportunities for all.

Training begins in March 8, 2012. Deadline for applications is February 10, 2012. For more information and to get an application, please email Penny Rose at penny.rose@seattle.gov or call her at 206-386-4250.

The event will feature 60 local students and six professional athletes from China. Spectators will get to see how the students train, from the youngest to the most advanced. The highlight of the evening will be an exhibition by the six Chinese professionals. These phenomenal players will put on a show full of lightning smashes, sky-high lobs, sizzling chops, and unbelievable athleticism. More information is available at www.glttc.org.

A limited number of free tickets are available for spectators. For more information, please call 425-644-7833 or email ttshowcasedebuts@gmail.com.

Event sponsors include Seattle Parks and Recreation, US National Table Tennis League, TableTennisOnly.com, Butterflyonline.com, USA Table Tennis, Paddle Palace, Pacific Sports Exchange, Pa Tang Table Tennis, and the Green Lake Advisory Council.

Professor Thiel and the missing propeller

Seattle Parks and Recreation is looking for a stolen propeller and is asking for the public’s help.

The University District Community Council and Philip Thiel, naval architect and Professor Emeritus of Architecture and Urban Design and Planning at the University of Washington, were preparing to donate a 70” diameter, stainless steel propeller to Parks as an installation in a north end park.

Unfortunately, thieves drove up an alley in the University District this morning and, managing to overcome the obstacles of both a retaining wall and a fence, lifted the 1,260 lb. propeller onto a truck and drive away with it. There were no witnesses. Neighbors heard a commotion and called the police, but the thieves were long gone.

A photo of Professor Thiel and the propeller is attached. If anyone has seen the propeller or knows where it is, please call Seattle Parks and Recreation at 206-684-7241.

Construction fencing is in place and the contractor, Orca Pacific, will use the pathway along the shoreline of Lincoln Park to move all materials and equipment associated with the project. The path to the pool will be busy with construction related traffic each weekday from 6 a.m. to 5 p.m., with possible work on weekends, through June 30, 2012. The contractor will be in control of this traffic and will maintain a high degree of awareness and customer service at all times.

The current phase of work addresses a variety of much needed large scale repairs, including replacement of part of the pool deck, pool gutters, and upper section of the pool shell. The contractor will also install a new plaster lining to increase the life expectancy of this gem.

After opening in 1941, Colman Pool has seen various improvements over the years; the last major renovation took place 20 years ago. It is Seattle’s only outdoor saltwater pool and a truly unique asset Seattle’s park system, and these investments will ensure it is available for the next generation of Seattle youth and adults.

For more information, please visit http://seattle.gov/parks/maintenance/colman_pool_renovations.htm or contact Garrett Farrell, Project Manager, at 206-233-7921 or garrett.farrell@seattle.gov. For after hours issues or emergencies, please contact the Parks Duty Officer at pager number 206- 982-4583.

There will be workshops on skills that transport us back to another day and help make life today more local and more sustainable, including basketry, bread making, knitting, food preservation, small electrical repairs, fruit tree pruning, repurposing clothes and materials, fermentation, soap making, plant propagation, tool repair and sharpening, bike repair, and how to make herbal lotions.

Other workshops focus on today’s technologies and sensibilities, including meditation and self-relaxation, resume improvement, 25 minute home practice yoga, building a solar cooker, and introduction to do it yourself solar water heat.

Parks will provide a free shuttle between the two centers so people can take advantage of the workshops at both sites.

Ravenna-Eckstein Community Center is located at 6535 Ravenna Ave. NE, phone 206-684-7534, and Meadowbrook Community Center is located at 10517 35th Ave. NE, phone 206-684-7522.

To see the full workshop schedule and to sign up, please go to http://transitionseattle.com/SustainableNESeattle/HandsOn/. Participants can pay the fee ($15 through February 8, $20 after February online at https://class.seattle.gov/parks/Start/Start.asp or in person/by phone at either community center.

For more information on Sustainable NE Seattle, please see http://sustainableneseattle.ning.com/.