City of Bellingham Parks and Recreation Advisory Board

Bellingham's Parks and Recreation Advisory Board held its first meeting of 2025, marking both a transition and the launch of ambitious planning work. Board member Maggie was honored in her final meeting after years of dedicated service, while member Brian Williams rejoined the board for another term. The meeting introduced significant changes to board appointment processes under Mayor's direction while launching intensive work on the Parks, Recreation & Open Space (PROS) Plan update. The centerpiece of the meeting was a workshop session on the PROS Plan update, led by planning staff Peter. Board members completed comprehensive surveys about park system priorities and participated in extensive discussion about what they value most in Bellingham's park system. The planning timeline is aggressive, aiming to complete the parks chapter of the comprehensive plan by April 2025 and send recommendations to Planning Commission in May. Two significant public comments highlighted ongoing tensions around park use. Joel Donnell raised concerns about damage to Cornwall Park from cyclocross events, calling for better protection of natural areas and questioning potential conflicts of interest among board members with cycling business connections. Stan Snap, a former board member, announced his candidacy for the upcoming board vacancy. Administrative updates included progress on the Bloedel Donovan boat launch security project, with new gates and fee systems planned to protect Lake Whatcom from invasive species. The Sportsplex lease negotiation is nearing completion with a 4-year extension while the city takes responsibility for the building envelope after investing $3.5 million in facility improvements. The board grappled with Mayor's new policy requiring staff-led interviews for board appointments rather than board-conducted interviews, expressing concerns about maintaining board engagement in the selection process while understanding the goal of system-wide consistency and increased public participation opportunities.

**Meeting Minutes Approval:** - December 2024 meeting minutes approved unanimously - Vote count: All in favor, none opposed - No amendments or discussion **PROS Plan Workshop Participation:** - All present members completed comprehensive priority surveys - Staff recommendation: Full board engagement in 4-month planning process - Council action: Participated as requested - Timeline confirmed: April 2025 draft completion target **Board Appointment Process Discussion:** - No formal vote taken - Staff presented new Mayor's policy requiring staff-led interviews - Board expressed concerns about reduced engagement in candidate selection - Agreement to explore hybrid approach with candidate introductions at meetings

**Nicole Oliver, on the PROS Plan timeline:** "2025 is now here. So we are doing it for real." **Joel Donnell, on Cornwall Park damage:** "They completely destroyed these little social trails... 4 hours in 4 hours. They've destroyed, you know, years of use of this park." **Joel Donnell, on appropriate park uses:** "I don't ski in Cornwall Park. I don't ride my bike because those are not the designated things for this park." **Maggie, on board functionality:** "I feel so good about leaving this Board in the State that it's in... I feel like it's a really engaged board and a really confident board." **Steve Walker, on board appointment changes:** "The whole concept of the Advisory Board is, I think, to have some checks and balances... So it does consolidate more of the power within the bureaucracy if the staff are choosing the people who are advising them." **Nicole Oliver, on Bellingham's saltwater access:** "We are part of the 3rd largest estuary in the world, and so protecting our waterfront is incredibly important because our water quality in the bay is not good."