City Council - Special Meeting

All right. Thank you so much. Um, I'd like to call this uh city council special meeting to order. Uh, this is for purposes of interviews for the uh, parks commission. And we will start with the pledge of allegiance. If you will stand up if possible. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

Thank you. I'm Susan Honda. I'm the council president and uh thank you for coming tonight. I'd like to excuse council member Lydia Dawson. She is uh she will be here as soon as she can get here. Councel President, I'm actually here online. Oh, awesome. So, I'm just I'm driving, so Okay. Um, I have my camera off, but I'm here. Uh, if you want to say something, please I don't see you, so just interrupt us if you if you'd like to say something. All right. Thank you.

And be careful. So, um the way that we have been doing interviews the last couple of years is that we invite uh you to the podium and you talk about yourself and why you want to be on the commission or why you want to be reappointed to the commission for uh two to five minutes and then council will ask you some questions if they have any questions and um then at the end of the meeting we'll discuss uh what our thoughts are and at the regular council meeting we will make the appointments. So we we're going to start today with uh Jeffrey Tani if he can come up to the podium and tell us a little bit about yourself and why you'd like to be on the commission.

Thank you, Council President. Good to see uh everybody. Good evening, council. Never been here this early. Um my name is Jeffrey Tani. Uh, but I grew up in Virginia, uh, Northern Virginia, Washington DC area, uh, in central Virginia as well. Uh, I came out here in 1993, uh, to the great Northwest. I was in the United States Army. I got sent here, uh, so I've been here ever since. I got out. Um, I served 13 years in the United States Army. Uh then I retire then I got out and I became an immigration officer. I retired in 19 god 2014. So I've been retired since 2014. Uh I like to be on the uh I like the the parks. You know I've I was telling someone earlier, you know, in Virginia it's just too hot in the summer and too cold in the winter to be outside at certain times of the year. But in the Northwest, you can conceivably be outside every single day of the year. That's what makes this area a very special area. If you haven't, you know, if you've lived in in the south, you know how bad how hot and how cold it can be. Um, so I love the parks. I I use them. And uh there is a lot of green spaces here. I think the city has done a phenomenal job. the mayor, the council, the city staff. Uh, these parks are really amazing and I enjoy I enjoy walking in in the parks.

Awesome. Thank you. Are there any questions? Council member Hamilton. Thanks, Jeff, for coming. I saw on your application that you have never served on a commission before, right? That's correct. Well, thank you for stepping up to the plate and putting your name out there. Uh we always like to see new people interested in commission uh volunteer work, but my question is what's your favorite park in Federal Way and why?

Um I'd have to say even though I haven't been there lately, well I went lately, but that Panther Lake um is really kind of cool because it goes in a complete circle. Um it goes it and it bumps up against you know the BPA trail and then Celebration Park. So, it's pretty amazing that you had that create they created the Panther Lake, you know, because you can go from there to other parks that BPA trail goes, as you all know, it goes a long way. I probably haven't been the whole done the whole thing, but um I kind of like the I mean, the BPL's BPA trail is nice, but I kind of like the uh Panther Lake Park.

Thank you. I rode my bike around Panther Lake yesterday and I've done that many many times. But, uh, with all the trees, you know, void of their leaves, it's amazing how big that lake really is. Yes, it's it was absolutely stunned yesterday. And all the green that's in the, you know, I don't know if that it what the uh the green growth that's on the lake. Yeah, it's pretty uh the Northwest really is a a beautiful and you don't appreciate it until you go back and it's really hot on the east coast. Then you come back here and it's like free air conditioning is really what it is.

Craz Oh, hi Jeff. Thank you for applying. So, um I know you've been around Fedway quite a bit. I'm wondering um you know, Council Member Walsh big thing every year was spring cleanup and cleaning up the parks. Is there any park that you think that should be we should be concentrating on? Uh let's see. I go to the I don't think the pack is considered technically a park. Is it the performing arts and events center? No.

No, it's not a park. Um you know, there's quite a few ga uh trash receptacles. That's a that's a key thing in a park because people need, you know, you're out and about and uh I think one thing the city does a good job of, there's a lot of trash receptacles

around. Um, you know, if I see trash, I pick it up unless it's a whole amount, a large amount, then I'll do the eyes on Federal Way. But I have that picker in my car because I feel it's a civic, it's not, oh, good job, Jeff. No, it's a civic responsibility. You see the trash, you know, you pick it up. So, I keep one of those pickers in my car and then if I'm in the pack or uh even though that's not a park, but if I'm around, I'll uh do my part. But if I see graffiti, I report it. It gets take the graffiti, mayor's right, it's taken care of within 24 to 48 hours. So, that's a good thing that I can't think of anything. Uh the pigota at the Panther Lake is amazing. Uh I was in I had fortunate to be I served two tours in South Korea and South Koreans are beautiful people and that's just an amazing uh relationship that you have with the South Korean government. Thumbs up on that.

Thank you. I I've always wondered if we shouldn't have something like adopt a park or adopt a trail or you know have community groups adopt an area so that they would go out and get involved in the litter pickup and the and I know you've done a lot of that. Yeah, that's a good point. I mean there's a lot of people that volunteer. I mean even before I got involved with standup I saw on KOMO this guy was on 320th picking up trash. You probably you all probably heard about it. this guy's he's all dressed up in a and he's picking up trash. It was amazing all along 320th I think it was. So, um yeah, I think the parks are really the kind of a shining star for Federal Way.

And I mean they I'm sure they can always be improved, but u uh yeah, you know, you got this you got the Stand Up Federal community side that does a lot of litter pickicss. Um, so, uh, I think people are so attentive when they see something they don't like, they'll I think, you know, they'll get involved. Yeah. We we used to have a lady named Linda Jenkins. It was Camille Wilson's mom and she used to walk along First Avenue South and picking up litter. I'm talking like 15 years ago where she would she just did that because she didn't like seeing the litter

all over. And she was a very frugal person who didn't like a lot of frufu kind of thing, but she didn't like the litter. And there were just some people who just feel very strongly that way. And right nice to bring them in and get them involved. Yeah.

Yeah. Even before I got involved volunteering, when they volunteering when they were building the senior the the shag right there across from Celebration Park, you know, I'd go over there and I'd be walking around and if I saw the trash, I would because I knew there was some problems here in Federal Way, you know, and so I yeah, I I feel it's a responsibility to pick it up because the the parks there's no charge to walk in the park. So, yeah, I like the Northwest. I the people are really nice. Um, yeah, it's a beautiful part of the country and uh that's why I've stayed here mainly because of the weather. Thank you, Jeff. Thank you, Cass Cassber. Walsh.

Yeah. Hey, Jeff, thank you for your contribution to the community. I know that you've done a lot of of picking up and cleaning up and and everything. And uh you know, on on the uh parks commission, I know that you'll be a workhorse on it, doing a lot. Are there any particular things that you hope to accomplish on the parks commission or any particular things you think that the park commission should be doing that perhaps right now they're not doing?

Um, I think I think they're doing a great job. You know, I I thanks for all the questions you're asking. I I think that uh you know, I'm a I've always been a team player. I think that's why I survived in the army so long because you have to be a good leader as well as a follower. And so I, you know, if it isn't broke, I I don't want to mess it up. But no, I understand the question and I just want to listen and hear what's going on and then over time, you know, if I feel like to bring something up, but I think it's the parks, John, great parks. All right. Thank you, Jeff. Yeah. All right. Any further questions? Nope. Well, thank you so much.

Yeah. Thanks for your time. I appreciate all of you. And next we have Karina Martin.

Hi Karina. Thank you. And uh once again just uh let us know a little bit about yourself.

Okay. All right. Well, thank you council. Uh my name is Karina Martin. I am a lead parillegal at Puget Law Group. I don't know if you've seen our billboards around, but [laughter] I uh work for their personal injury department. Uh I, you know, Federal Way is near and dear to my heart. I My whole entire family lives here. Uh I have a 2-year-old daughter, so we use the parks pretty frequently. Um Lake Grove City Park is near our house and we frequent it pretty often. Um, my daughter loves the swings and you know, I think that, uh, being a part of something bigger than myself is something that I can give to my daughter and give her the gift of lasting impact. And I, as I've grown older, I've wanted to kind of give back to my community. And so, this is the best way I think that I can do it.

Thank you. Are there any questions? Council member Hamilton. Thank you. And I saw on your application you also have not served on a commission before. Is that correct? Yeah, that's correct.

Okay. Well, again, thank you for your interest. We love new volunteers. And I'm pretty consistent with my questioning. So, what is your favorite uh park and why? So, I think uh Lake Grove is going to be my favorite park because it's so close to my house and because uh we've taken my daughter there since she was, you know, a little infant and so it's always going to be near and dear to me. Um I also really love Panther Lake. I love the trails and I also love the BPA trail. The BJA trail is my favorite and I think it's so scenic and I love that Federal Way kind of feels like you're secluded even though you're in the middle of the city. So that's so I I just love the city parks that we have here.

Thank you. Uh Council Member Coach. Well, I I like the idea that you're um associated with a law firm because I'm always worried about liability issues with regard to our parks because you never know. Yeah, you never know, [laughter] right? Um, but you know, we've talked before about um the fact that we don't really have an inclusive park for children with disabilities. Um, I what what do you think about that? Having a park where children with disabilities would be able to

Oh, I think that's fantastic. I would fully support that. I think that uh any way that we can make parks more inclusive for all children is we should strive for that. Uh I think that we can add more ramp access. We can flatten uh the area so that children will feel more comfortable instead of sawdust. We can do um the squishy old tires so that people with disabilities can feel freer to walk. Um, so I think those are just a few of the options that we could possibly do. Thank you, Susan. Sorry, just want to make sure you see it here.

Sure. Uh, he put his light on first. Okay. Uh, council member Walt.

Um, yeah. Uh, with the Are there any particular things that you hope to accomplish on the parks commission? And is there anything that you think the parks [clears throat] commission should be doing that it may not be doing? So I again I think the parks are wonderful and I love how many parks that we do have here. I think that some of the things that can be improved are uh just for example so I was walking in Lake Grove Park um a couple days ago and I noticed that the trash was kind of overflowing and there was some graffiti. So, I do think that, you know, having the city involved in, you know, making the parks better is a great way to kind of combat the graffiti because I think if you make the community a little bit more responsible for um the where they go that can kind of combat the the graffiti and all and all that,

right? Thank you. uh you know I think that one of the things I've been involved for the last 20 years coming come for everybody here April 18th is the annual uh parks appreciation day I hope that everyone in this room is there participating in it and especially uh parks commissioners should should be doing it but I think that one of the important things about it it does help bring a sense of pride uh those people who and and especially bringing families out yeah and and and kids volunteering in the parks it creates a sense of pride a sense of owner ownership for them. Yeah. So, thank you very much for uh for uh volunteering to be on the commission. Yeah, absolutely. Thank you, Council Member Bore.

Uh thank you so much. Um well, uh I appreciate um uh Karina, you applying for to be on this commission, and I particularly like your last name. I don't know why, but I do. Um uh so obviously, you know, you have a young kid, it sounds like. Yes, I have a 2-year-old.

Oh, that's wonderful. I have a 2-year-old as well. Uh, and so as you go to different parks, uh, and you've kind of answered this a little bit, but you know, is there something you kind of look at go, gosh, I wish we had this, you know, or uh, do you ever hear your your two year two-year-old saying, oh, like maybe their ideas. Um, you know, I say that cuz I I think there's always room and opportunities to think outside the box

and it's never a bad thing to hear uh ideas from a 2-year-old uh because they are they are smart, you know. Um, and so obviously I just kind of want to get your perspective on uh, you know, what's something that you would like to kind of see and and you know, have you heard your two-year-old uh, say something that they would like to kind of see or I don't know, ideas or something that may made you kind of think, "Oh, interesting."

Yeah. So, uh, you know, my two-year-old always goes for the most dangerous things. So, [laughter] uh, but I think my two-year-old loves the swing. So having more options for my child is small so the full swings are not um accessible to her. So having more options for child safe swings is a great idea. I love this accessible swing at Adelaide. I think that's a great idea. Uh and then I also love the idea of taking out sawdust because if anyone who has a small toddler knows that they take more of the park with them than they [laughter] go with. So, I'd love to see maybe more options for different ideas of um that avoid sawdust and then we don't have to replace it as much because I do notice that there's some areas where there's different levels of sawdust which could uh impact safety for children. So, that is one of my ideas and you know I think my daughter just loves the slide too. She loves the options for slides. So, maybe littleer slides for littleer kids.

That's great. I would also add uh no sawdust or rocks. Yes, exactly. [laughter] So, uh mine mine luckily I have not seen it land in the in the laundry [laughter] uh machine rather. So, uh but no, I I appreciate the the the ideas especially uh looking from a legal perspective too. Um I think that's um you mean I'm not sure how many lawyers we've had on that commission. I don't think we've I don't know if I remember any that we've had on there. So, this will be a nice little change and an addition quite frankly. So, thank you for applying. Thank you so much and thanks for your answers. Yeah, council member Cess. Yeah,

thank you very much for applying uh to be a part of the commission um I'm I'm wondering uh since you're you're a mom and you have a young one uh uh how and knowing that we have kicking in and fed her away uh coming FIFA. Um, how would you encourage uh young people to get involved in sports? Uh, we've got a multitude of beautiful fields and uh, Celebration Park and multiple other

uh, venues, but how would you encourage young people uh, like your daughter to get involved in that and and maybe even turn out for a special event like kicking in and fed her away? Mhm. Uh I think that just introduction is the most um the best way to do that. I think that getting them outside, getting them excited about sports, introducing them to the different options. I also think having community events like, you know, touch football or having a communitywide uh basketball tournament where maybe uh Mayor Frell comes and plays against people or the police. I think those are always great turnouts and they get people excited about the parks.

Perfect. Yeah, of course. Do you have another question? Yeah, I just uh one followup. I on your application, I noticed that you actually checked a number of commissions that you're interested in serving on. Yes. Which one or ones most appeal to you and why? Um I do think that the parks department I feel pretty passionate about. I think I could do a lot of good there, but I'm also open to wherever my uh needs are best served. So, where wherever the city of Federal Way feels like I belong, I'm happy to serve. Okay. All right. Thank you, Council Member Sephidosa. Do you have any questions?

I bet you. All right. So, thank you. Sorry, I couldn't unmute, but no, I don't have any questions. Okay. Thank you. Thank you. All right. Uh thank you, Karina. Yeah, of course. Thank you, Council. Our next uh participant is George Vino. How are you tonight? Uh good. Thank you, Council President. Uh just speak about myself a little bit. Yes, please.

So, uh I've been on the Parks and Recreation Commission since 2019 and I've been the chair of the commission since 2024. I've lived in Federal Way since 2001 or 2002. I keep getting them mixed up, but whatever's on the application, I think that's right. [laughter] And and and I was in uh uh I was in the second grade. And I went to all the schools here, graduated from Federal High School in 2012. I did take a four I did have to take a four-year break from Federal Way to go to college. And then in 2016 when I graduated, I uh came back and I've lived here uh ever since. And I've just been looking to get involved in the community. I originally applied to this commission in 2019 because I wanted to get more involved. and the parks uh and recreation commissions particularly interested me because I had and still have a uh part-time job with the uh city of federal way uh parks and community services departments and so um uh

Kirkland Kirkland did I say Federal Way? Yes. I did that the last time I interviewed with you all also. That's the second time in a row I've done that. I am so sorry. I was trying particularly difficult to particularly hard to not say that again and I did it. The city of Kirkland

the city of Kirkland parks department uh city of Kirkland's parks and community services department I've worked I've had a part-time job with them since uh 2017. And so when I was looking to get involved on a commission I already had some uh uh familiarity with the field and I thought that that would be a really good commission to apply for. and I've been able to apply things I've learned from that job to the commission and vice versa. So, um, uh, it's been a really, uh, interesting and fulfilling way to get involved in the community and learn about the city, and I would really like to be able to continue serving in this role.

Thank you very much, Council Member Hamilton. You know what's coming. [laughter] [gasps] Uh, well, first, thank you for serving for as long as you have. And um thank you also for being the chair. So I have two questions for you though. I'm going to throw you a curveball because you are the chair. I think you can handle it. But the first question will be what's your favorite park and why?

Saka Jawia Park because I live close by to it and I've walked there before. I've sledded down the hills there during the winter when I was a kid. I have a lot more experience. Uh when I was going to Sakajua Middle School, we would do go to that park for PE sometimes. Um I just have a lot of experience and a lot of memories at Sack Juia Park. So it's kind of a biased answer because it's the one I live by, but I would have to say uh Sack Juia Park. It's large. It has a lot of amenities. um the the roadway uh on it that goes to Fedway High School, I can't remember the name of the road that's been getting renovated and the pathway there has been drastically updated to be more accessible. So, I think it has a lot going forward.

All right. And then my second question is uh since the commissions are an advisory committee, what's the best advice you've given the council? the best advice would given to council. Um, one project I remember that stuck out to me, and this was years ago, we were looking at the the park regulations, and this was, I believe, before the pandemic. This was definitely before the pandemic. We were looking at the park regulations and rules, and we were looking through the legal documents and uh asking questions about it to to Director Hutton and any staff that was there. And uh we made some recommendations to the council of how they could change. Uh and then uh and since and if there was anything we thought could be improved or changed, we basically put a note on it and then we sent those recommendations to the council where the legal authority where 100% of the legal authority ultimately rests. But I really enjoyed uh having an advisory capacity over uh over over that and giving our two cents. I also like uh uh what was it called? the the the wind phone was was a really fun project that we were that we uh advocated for and uh that was really fun to to come up with the details and design it and and then ultimately sending it in an advisory capacity to the council where uh the ultimate decision lied and now it's in the Dumispay sanctuary and it's there for anyone to use and I think it's a really great accomplishment.

Thank you. Thank you so much for all your advisory uh work as well. And I love that wind phone as well. Council member Walsh, did you have your light on before? I have it on now. All right, go ahead. Uh George, thanks for your service for for so many years. I appreciate it. And your uh service in the community overall. Uh, are there any specific things that you think that the parks commission needs to to be working on more than what they have o over the next year or two?

Um, a particular thing for the parks commission to work on. Um, something that really interests me and it's come up when we do park tours is uh playgrounds. uh roughly every year or two uh uh director Hutton or deputy director Gerwin has taken us on uh tours to go look at the different playgrounds of the different parks and we've given advisory advice to the council about uh what park should be prioritized or not and honestly I would like to spend more time on that. I I find it really interesting. We've learned about the regulations and all the high amount of rules that are reasonably needed for things that kids play on rigorously. And I would like to look at those more. And uh I would like to I would like to focus on that more and advise more resources to that area of parks and recreation to to improve those facilities at a faster rate. And uh I mean a lot of them are fantastic, but some of them were missing pieces and some of them hadn't been updated in a very long time. And I found that topic really interesting and it's something I would like to work with more.

All right. Thank you, George. Yeah. Council member Coach Mark, is there any project that you Thank you, George, for applying again. Is there any project that you you really would like to have the city get involved in that you've been wondering about or thought is something we should do or we didn't have the money for or that would be good for the community or

um one thing that comes to mind that the parks commission has casually discussed is uh someone in the parks department a job or a position exists existing in the parks department where uh you could have somebody to coordinate volunteers. We have a lot of amazing coordinators in the in the Fedway Parks Department. One of them I worked with in the Kirkland Parks Department before she moved here and uh uh Abby, she's amazing. But we have talked before about wouldn't it be great if there was a person in the parks department who is mainly devoted to recruiting people for volunteers for great events like the uh the parks appreciation day which I'm looking forward to. I I think that would be a really big improvement. It would also be a very expensive improvement, but that's something that comes to mind as something that I think would really benefit everyone if that were potentially doable someday. And John walked out and I agree with you. [laughter]

He's he's listening. Cass says, "Yeah, [laughter] George, I've seen you around town on occasion and I I have to say I greatly admire you. I I believe that your leadership uh qualities are are numerous.

Thank you. I'm I'm curious to know uh what motivates you to serve again uh as the commission chair. I really like being involved in the community and if I've been seen around a lot just because I like to get involved with different groups and different volunteer roles and uh I would just I don't I'm just always looking for new ways to get involved and I've really enjoyed I've really enjoyed this particular position of involvement over the years. I've I it's I feel like I've been able to make a big difference. I feel like it's been frankly it's just been really fun. And so I would just love to love to continue it and uh advise on cool things like the wind phone and whatever else.

Council member Boore,

thank you so much. Um you know I don't really have questions. Uh George, um I just have a comment. Just want to say thank you for um applying again and and having the desire to serve our community. Um, I've watched you in various leadership capacities and uh [cough and clears throat] the way you deal with things uh the fact that you're um calm um and uh gentle with how uh how to approach things uh I think uh that really bodess well for you to be um on this commission and and quite frankly for you to be the chair of that commission. That's that speaks volumes to uh the type of leader you are and how you do your job as as a leader in that commission. So, uh, thanks for being an ambassador. I mean, uh, to being an advocate, um, might as well call you an ambassador of our parks, but I just appreciate, uh, how you do things and the fact that you have so much, um, commitment, uh, to and that you're pretty loyal to it as well. So, uh, thank you so much, George, and I look forward to having you continue to serve. Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you very much. We appreciate you being here. Next, we have Karen Bgato. Thank you, Karen. Hello, city council and President Honda. Um, I am Karen Bgado and I'm interviewing for a reappoint on the uh parks and rec commission. I am currently a vice chair under George. Um, and it is a lot of fun to serve under George and for this particular commission. Of course, we have Parks Appreciation Day that's coming up. Uh, we have the Red, White, and Blue Festival. I was always out there asking for people to fill out surveys. Um, we are always updating our pros plan, uh, which is parks and wreck open space plan, which is huge. Um we um also have um regular um um regular updates from uh Jason Gerwin who gives us uh what is going on with the Brook Lake House and its improvements, the joint operations maintenance facility and how that's going. Um and uh so I'm looking forward to all of that. It's is one of the feel-good uh commissions that really gets to handle a lot of things. Um and two, we get to plan playgrounds. I mean, how fun can that be? So, uh it is a lot of fun and I hope to get reappointed. Thanks.

Thank you, Karen. Uh Council Member Hamilton, [laughter] just call me a Miss Consistency. Yeah. Um okay, so thank you and thank you for serving as vice chair. So, I might throw you the same curveball because you have a leadership position, too. But first question, what is your favorite park and why?

Well, since I'm a Kanian, I should say Steel Lake Park where we will be having our 70th annual Salmon Bank on July 24th. Uh, but I think it is uh the BPA trail as it leads into Celebration Park. I walk that every week. Um, and I'm always amazed that it is clean and respected. Um, of course we go pretty early. We go out like 7:30 in the morning, but it's just wonderful to see, you know, the sun coming up and um that all the parks are there. During the summer, we see um um base the baseball being played down there and hear all the cheering. So, it's really a great place to be. BPA trail.

All right. And then the second question is commissions are advisory uh bodies and what's your uh what has been your your best advice in your opinion that you've given the council

or the the commission as a whole? Well, the commission I think um is when past commissioner Monty Stewart came up with the windphone idea and we were part of a subcommittee um and we came up with the idea and within a couple years it was built and constructed and I will say that the mirror had a great article about it um and that particular article uh I know it's weird to say but it won the most favored online article the mirror had it by thousands. It had like 20,000 hits by a certain point of time. It was the most popular article in the mirror. So, Monty should be happy with that.

Thank you and thank you for serving. Any other questions? Uh, council. Yeah. Hi, Karen. Thank you very much for reapplying. So, I know that you like to combine uh the commissions so that they can work together. Is there anything that you think the arts and the park should be working on this year?

I do. And in fact, we had a commissioner, parks commissioner, not me, but another one come up during um reviewing of all the parks and say, wouldn't it be interesting to cover that wall with art? It wasn't me, it was another person. But um so I have uh begun a subcommittee to look at art in the parks. Um and we have various ideas. Some of the ideas are that um we have paint that we could paint down on the asphalt itself and it is only activated when it rains and we thought well that could be something special. Oh that would be fun.

Yes. And some other various things that are are in the works. So there are other things that we have planned. Of course there's always Brook Lake House that could be changed into some artistic uh type [laughter] of thing too. But I I do think that arts and parks go together. Any other questions? K of every watch.

Uh Karen, so what what uh thank you for your service once again. And uh what are there any particular you may have just alluded to that just now, but any other particular things that you hope to uh accomplish in the next year or two? Well, there's really not a whole lot that the parks commission can actually advise on, but um the use of the Brook Lake House when it gets um revamped is something that I'm really looking forward to. Um there is um let me see the pros plan. Um Steel Lake Park when all of the parks and wreck and the and the public utilities move into the joint operation maintenance facility. I'm looking forward to Steel Lake Park being open um a lot more and not not everything back behind um a fence, having everything move over and redoing that park completely. That would be a whole lot of fun. Um, I noticed Amanda Miller was out in the other side of the park where the um the the house is out there redoing all of the wetlands that are out there the other day too during the historical the historical society open house too. So there is so much work going on in the parks that I I am so help um hopeful that everybody gets out April 18th and and works in the park. Thanks.

All right. Thank you, Council Member Cess. Uh, thank you, Karen, for uh agreeing to serve another term as vice chair. Uh, I I hope that, uh, that is going to go well and successful for you. U, but as a creative volunteer, you epitomize what I I feel a volunteer should be. You're creative, you're dynamic, you're charismatic. What would you say uh to a person who is contemplating joining the commission? Um what would you say to them to entice them to join?

Just get involved. Uh the ladies that are here tonight, they're enthusiastic. They're young. Oh my gosh, we we should put them to work right [laughter] now. It would be wonderful to get them actively involved and and knowing what um could be done and to look outside the box to see other things. It doesn't have to cost a fortune to do other things. Some of the parks I know have had graffiti and it's been mentioned tonight. Um what I would like to do is if we know that graffiti artist, hire them. I know that's not something that you're thinking about, but they have artists fingers and if we preapprove what they're going to be doing, it could be a big artistic thing up there which will not get tagged in the future. It's thinking outside the box like that that pays. Thanks.

Yes. Thank you. All right, no further questions. Thank you so much, Karen. Appreciate you being here. Thank you. And Michaela Burge. Thank you for coming tonight. It's good to see you.

Hi, thank you. Uh my name is Michaela Berg. Um I am a stay-at-home mom um to two um children. Um I have a daughter who will be turning three um later this month and then my son just turned one. Um so we are regularly at parks. That's how we spend most of our days. Um rain or shine, we're always outside. Um, and so when I saw that there was an opportunity to join the commission, I thought it would be a really good opportunity for myself. Um, I don't have experience on a commission. Um, this would be my first time. Um, but I feel like I would be able to bring a different sort of mindset um, with having young children, kind of having a different viewpoint in um, things that might be important or would be a good change to some of the parks. Um my daughter recently participated in the kid soccer um program uh the parent taught um class that they had at the community center um which I thought was awesome. Um there's not a lot of opportunities for kids that aren't that are under the age of four. Um and so I thought that was really cool to get her involved because I do think that is important um at a young age. Um I think one of the um other things that got me interested was I have a background in human resources. Um and in that experience I had the opportunity to do um special events. Um and one of the things at one of the companies was being involved in adopt a street. Um that was something that was not the company wasn't involved in. I got to research that, partner with the city of Kent um and adopt the street that was in front of our business um and coordinate weekly um kind of meetings. And then once a month we went out and clean the street out um in front of the business. And so

um as mentioned, some of the other um applicants had mentioned um litter at some of the parks, things like that. I think um a good opportunity would be to try and put together more programs to kind of get the community involved um and going out and cleaning. So, I just I I want to I guess be a voice to um voice some some new ideas. Thank you so much, uh Council Member Bore.

Uh thank you so much, uh Michaela, for applying. It It's always good to see um uh folks with young kids apply. Um, as I asked um another applicant earlier, uh, obviously um, and it's really cool, by the way, that you got, uh, your your child to be in that program, uh, for the soccer program, cuz you're right, there's not much for three-year-olds, there's not much for even two-year-olds. And I think there there could be an opportunity there. Um, but as you're going to all these parks, you know, um, is there something that you've kind of wished that you could see as as a mom of two young I I'm not sure why I said two, but of young kids? Uh, and, you know, have have you heard your kids kind of mentioning some fun little ideas uh, about our parks?

Yeah. So, thank you. Uh, my daughter loves swings. Um, and she we we tend to go to the parks now that have swings. Um, but not only that have swings, but have um options for her and her brother. Um, she can use the um I guess more traditional swing. Um, where her brother has still is young enough he uses the baby swing. Um, and not all of the parks have um both of those options. Um, and so I think ensuring that those are at all or if not majority of the parks. Um, and I think as discussed earlier, having more accessible options for even someone with disabilities um that maybe won't be able to use either of those um would be um important. Um, but then another thing is being a mom of two children of kind of different ages at the moment. um parks that have space um for it's hard to keep an eye on on two children at once or multiple children. And so some of the parks that we do like to go to um are a little bit spread out um which has its pros and cons um but kind of parks that maybe have some of the areas a little bit closer together um to fill up some of the space.

That's that's wonderful. Thank you for that. and I liked hearing about your background in terms of uh events and uh all that coordination. I know there's your your talent is awaited being awaited on on this commission. Um so uh thank you for for applying and for your ideas as well. Thank you, Council Member Hamilton. Thank you, Michaela, for stepping into the ring here. I saw that um you said you had not served on a commission, right? Okay. So, thank you for stepping up. And my question is, I'm sure you know by now, [laughter] what is your favorite park and why is it your favorite?

So, I would um have to say Steel Lake Park. Um we do live close to Steel Lake Park. Um but I enjoy that one because there are a variety of swings. Um so my daughter's happy with that. Um I also like the larger play structure. Um it gives the kids plenty of opportunity to climb around. There's different slides. Um there's just a variety and I think that's what I enjoy the most. Um but then in the summertime there's the beach area with the lake and then there's a large grassy area. So there's plenty of do to do within that um park area.

Thank you. And I agree. Family fun land is amazing. Amazing. All right. Any further questions? Council member Walch. Uh, yeah. Any particular things that you hope to to see done with the parks commission in the next year or two?

I would have to um say see park upgrades, which I do believe are um already kind of on the game plan for the commission. Um, whenever we do visit the different parks, um, I I've I've been taking note of things like, "Oh, I wish this was different or I wish, um, you know, they would replace this. It's looking really worn out." Um, things like that. So, I think, um, upgrades of parks either as a whole or just certain pieces of parks, right? All right. Thank you. And nobody mentioned my favorite part. My favorite park is is Hyobos Wetlands Park.

Oh. And uh you get in the middle of it and you can be there in the middle and with a little imagination you can think you're in the middle of nowhere and that little bit of roar of traffic just imagine it's a river roaring out there a ways away and uh you can be clear out and I'd love to take my grandkids on walks and look at birds and stuff there. But thank you for for applying. Thank you Council Member Coach Mark. Well, hi Michaela. I see that you have quite a variety of experiences in your work experience. And so did you just recently move from Isaqua to Federal Way or um we've lived in Federal Way. This will be year six for us. Okay. So I I commuted um to to Isaqua while I was working.

That's a long I can see the barkous and the Well, my favorite is Panera Bread obviously. Y [laughter] you learned how to bake all that but but thank you for applying. you've been very busy. So, thank you. Thank you for applying. Thank you. All right, that concludes our interviews. Thank you. Uh, Council Member Sephodasa, do you have anything?

Yeah. Thank you, Council President. Um, I loved everybody's response. Thank you for all the questions you asked. Uh, I I think everybody's phenomenal. So, yeah. So I'm sure we'll make the right decision and hopefully those who don't get appointed would find other means and other ways to stay engaged in federal way. So thank you for the applicants and thank you to the council members who asked um really meaningful questions. So yeah, I'm ready. Thank you. All right. Thank you. All right. So we have several positions open and we have five candidates. We have two that are applying for reappoint and uh who would like to start?

I'll start. Okay, go ahead. So, if I'm reading this correctly, it looks like two that interviewed are looking for reappoints and then uh the other three are new. And it appears that we do have three vacancies, but one of them looks like it expires this year. Am I reading that right? Position eight. Is position eight the one that was the two terms shortterm and long term? Okay.

So it looks like we have room for all three. It's just that one of them is a shortterm and a long term. Oh. Oh. Okay. Okay. So we would for both. Yes. Okay. So uh position 8 would start right away is my understanding. Okay. Got it. Position three and five. and eight would all start right away. All right. So, my go ahead. My my my suggestion is is is to, you know, reappoint the the uh ones that are are applying to

George Karen and George for the positions they're in now. And then with uh uh Jeff uh uh Jeff Karina and Michaela just probably position three, five and eight I think are the ones that Okay. Uh, Council Member Kochar,

and I was going to suggest that of the three, I agree with you on Karen and and, uh, George. Um, of the three, um, new folks, um, you know, Michaela and Karina are both very excellent folks, but Jess's been around for quite a while. So, I think that having him in position 8 and have maybe Michaela in position three might work a little better because position 8 is the one that starts right away and then goes to 2028. Council President on I I don't know if that's fair, Council Member Coach, because everybody there's a lot of new people that come in. I think if if that's what Council Member Jack Walsh is suggesting, I think that's fine. I think that's I don't think that doesn't matter at the end of the day.

They because they're all ready to serve. Wouldn't they can we get some clarification? Wouldn't they all be starting I mean with those positions starting now and all use your mic. There you go. Yeah. Wouldn't they all be starting immediately and ending at the same time? Um all in 20 They would begin immediately. Uh position three and five would expire in 28 and then position 8 uh would be filling the short and full term and expiring in 29. Okay. All right. So, I would support Could you wait until you're called on, please?

Okay. Wow. All right. Um, council services hasn't done talking, but Okay. Okay. Go ahead. Yeah. I would um advocate our most experienced commissioners to be appointed to and that would be George Vino and Karen Bugato to positions number six and eight respectively. let's keep them in office for because of their experience and their leadership uh until 2029. That's all I wanted to say

and council member Moore. So, Council Sass, you're saying that um Karen and and uh uh George would be uh six and seven. Six and eight. Six and eight. Six. So, positions three and five are the only ones that expire in 2028. The rest expire in 2029. So, uh, Karen's position is currently seven and George's is currently nine and they both expire in 29.

I the same position. [clears throat] What's that, John? Go ahead. Oh, sorry. I was just curious what John was saying. Um, so I I I would also concur since we're kind of discussing um six and eight uh for you know the two folks that are reapplying to be in there for for the longer positions because of their experience. Um you know so so that's six and eight. Um that's seven and nine. Oh sorry what what was that? Karen is at seven and George is in nine right now. I stand corrected there. It's okay. So, what was that number? Sorry. Seven and nine.

Oh, seven and nine. Oh, thank you. Okay. So, George seven and then Karen uh Karen nine. So, it appears that we're looking to put people into positions. So, we have two positions that expire in 2028. And uh council, can I can I jump in?

Well, let sorry if I may. I just want to finish a thought for a second and then happy to give it back. So, I think we have uh we have some moms that are currently visiting our parks every single day with their kids, and I would like to see them serve in in a longer capacity because if they bring that relevant day-to-day experience to the park systems, um you know, obviously Jeff's been around for a long time. I get that. That's fine. But um I think uh that the parents that that have young kids ought to have a seat at the table for a longer period of time and that's the only thing I would add with that. I'll I'll give it back. Thank you, Council President.

Go ahead. Uh Council Member Sephid Dawson. Yeah. Um just wanted to interject and say that I would rather not mess with um Commissioner Badino and uh Briato's positions. Let them leave them. Let's leave them where they're at. And then um I'm sorry, the second person we interviewed, I would like for her to be um her term to expire. Position eight for her. Um that would be my suggestion.

That would be I have a question for the city clerk. Uh position six is listed on um what is open and that position still has somebody listed. That's correct. That uh position would begin on May 1st. So position position six which expires in 2029. That's correct. So the if you were to choose someone to be in position six, they would not begin until May 1st and it would expire April 30th, 29.

Okay. Thank you so much. All right. So, Council Coach, go ahead and give us your opinion. We'll just go down the line. Well, I I'm fine. It's just and they're all going to be about the same length of time. It's just that one some may be longer than others. So I don't um if you want to put um Jeff Tempy in position three which would be until April 2028 and then um I think that Lydia just talked about the second one being Karina Martin I believe Karina Martin. Yes. Oh hi. Yes it was Karina. Yeah.

Yeah. And so you want a karina for position 8. That would be until uh 2029. Yes, that's what I would Okay. All right. And I'm fine with that. So um and so we've got Jeff in position three and then that leaves us with five and six. And so five um so you've got Michaela left. three, five, and six. Well, I I put Jeff in position three. Okay. So, five and six. You You have Michaela for one of those. And then I'm I think we ran out of people. [laughter]

May I? Yes. Um so I would add that we put um so we have five and seven that we're looking at. Three has already been filled, which I'm good with. So seven. So just again quick clarification. I apologize for repeating this over and over and over. Heather, when is that position start? Uh seven. When would it start? Would that start? It would start. It just continue.

It would start May 1st. However, uh current commissioners Karen Bgado is in position 7 and then commissioner George Vino is in position 9. So I believe I understood those positions were already spoken for. Um, at this point I would probably recommend um positions three, five, and eight be appointed because those would begin immediately. So, all right. And I think we mentioned Karina would Karina would be eight. So, five is five is the only one that's open. Is that what I No, we have six positions that are open. She's recommending that we do three, five, and eight right now.

Right. So, I heard council coach saying Jeff would be number three and then now I'm hearing number seven would be commissioner Vadino and I've also heard that number nine would be now Karen Bugato. Am I getting something wrong? Vice versa. You got that wrong. Yeah, vice versa. Oh, George is Karen and Karen is George. Geez. All right, council member. Wait, we're switching him around? I'm sorry. They're they're in their uh Karen and George would stay in their current positions seven and nine. All right. Seven. So Martin, did I hear you wrong? Then I I might be getting confused. There's so much scrap handwriting my thing.

So Lydia, what's going on is we have six open positions and we have five candidates, right? We have two positions that run until 2028 and the rest run until 2029. So that's what's going on. So which ones are open? Sorry. We have positions 3, five, 6, 7, 8, and nine open. The [snorts] clerk is recommending that we appoint to three, five, and eight. Seven and nine because of the reappoints. I I I agree with that. So, I'm going to call on um Council Member Hamilton. Thank you. Um so, the good thing is is we have room for everyone. [laughter] That is a good thing.

The the issue is we have more room. And so that's kind of I think where the confusion's coming. [clears throat] So it sounds to me like we are going to fill the vacant spots and we're going to fill position three with Jeff Tani, position five with Michaela, position eight with Karina, and then we're going to retain Karen Bado for position seven and position nine will be chair George Bino. That would be my recommendation.

And that is the recommendation that I'm hearing from everybody. So what h so what happens um to you guys we can't vote at at a special meeting. So our our council meeting starts at 6:30 and this is on the agenda for the council meeting at which time we will make a recommendation. Someone will make a motion and then we'll vote and then you will be contacted by the city clerk or the parks department uh probably pretty soon and you will be informed of what happened or you can stay. Uh we'd love for you to stay. Uh you can watch on YouTube or you can watch on channel 21 if you're a Comcast uh customer

and uh go ahead and we're going to expect great things out of all of you. Thank you. [laughter] Council member, you're going to be very busy. And right now, April 18th, 9 to noon, it's on your agenda. All right. Anything else? Uh, Council Member Safid Dawson. Okay, we will see you at 6:30. Uh, other than that, um, are we happy? All right, we are adjourned and our, uh, regular council meeting starts at 6:30. Thank you so much.