Parks and Recreation Advisory Board

## MODULE S1: STUDY GUIDE **Meeting ID:** BEL-PRB-2026-01-14 ### Meeting Overview The Bellingham Parks and Recreation Advisory Board met on January 14, 2026, to review draft chapters of the Parks, Recreation and Open Space (PROS) Plan and hear updates on storm damage from December's atmospheric river event. The meeting featured extensive public comment from ice sports advocates requesting additional ice sheets at the Sportsplex. ### Key Terms and Concepts **PROS Plan:** Parks, Recreation and Open Space Plan - a comprehensive 20-year planning document that guides the city's parks and recreation services, facility development, and resource allocation. **WSR (Whatcom Sports and Recreation):** The nonprofit organization that operates the Bellingham Sportsplex under a lease agreement with the city. WSR manages ice scheduling, maintenance, and programming for hockey and figure skating. **Cost Recovery Program:** A strategy where recreation programs are priced differently based on their public benefit - general community programs are subsidized while specialized classes aim to recover their full costs. **Stewardship Program:** A volunteer program where community members adopt specific parks for regular maintenance and beautification work. Currently facing capacity constraints due to staff reductions. **Atmospheric River:** A weather phenomenon that brings intense rainfall and flooding, which caused significant damage to local parks in mid-December 2025. **Civic Field Master Plan:** A comprehensive planning process for redeveloping the Civic Athletic Complex and surrounding area, which includes space reserved for potential ice expansion. **Special Use Sites:** Parks with unique characteristics or purposes that don't fit standard park classifications, such as Lee Memorial Park downtown. **FTE (Full-Time Equivalent):** A measurement used to calculate staffing needs - the plan estimates 2.2 FTE needed per community park and 0.4 FTE per neighborhood park. ### Key People at This Meeting | Name | Role / Affiliation | |---|---| | Scott Pratschner | PRAB Chair | | Nicole Oliver | Parks and Recreation Director | | Peter Gill | Parks Planning Manager | | Melissa Bianconi | Parks Operations Manager | | Steve Janiszewski | Parks Operations Staff | | Corina Cheever | Cascade Cross Board Member | | Julia Brim | Bellingham Figure Skating Club | | Georgia Eiford | Parent of figure skater and hockey player | | Heidi Buck | 14-year-old competitive figure skater | | Tammy Dixon | Bellingham Figure Skating Club | | Dana Buck | Adult hockey league participant | | Peter Vieth | Youth hockey coach | | Brian Armstrong | Park steward and volunteer program advocate | | Annette Bagley | Bellingham Public Library representative | ### Background Context Bellingham is in the midst of updating its Parks, Recreation and Open Space Plan - a comprehensive document that hasn't seen a complete rewrite in years. This plan will guide the next 20 years of parks development and operations in the city. The planning process comes at a time when the city is grappling with increased demand for services, budget constraints, and the need to maintain an expanding park system. The meeting highlighted a significant issue: demand for ice sports far exceeds current capacity at the Sportsplex. Multiple speakers described losing players to other communities with better facilities, long waitlists, and families having to choose homeschooling to get more ice time. This reflects broader challenges facing growing communities - how to balance expanding amenities with fiscal responsibility. The December 2025 storm damage discussion illustrates the ongoing challenge of climate resilience. While Bellingham fared better than surrounding areas, the city still faces regular maintenance and emergency repair costs that strain budgets and resources. ### What Happened — The Short Version The board received presentations on two draft chapters of the new PROS Plan covering recreation programs and park operations. The recreation chapter showed significant waitlists for popular programs like swimming lessons and camps. The operations chapter revealed that Bellingham has higher staffing levels than comparable cities but still struggles to maintain its extensive park system. Public comment was dominated by ice sports advocates. Eight speakers requested additional ice sheets at the Sportsplex, describing how current capacity forces families to travel to Canada or other cities for adequate ice time. Staff explained that the city owns the Sportsplex but WSR operates it, and any expansion would require partnership. Staff reported on December storm damage, including a sinkhole at Squalicum Creek pier that will cost about $15,000 to repair temporarily. The city is applying for FEMA reimbursement for storm-related damages. Board members shared reflections on 2025 highlights, with many citing the opening of Little Squalicum Creek pier as a signature accomplishment. Looking ahead to 2026, members expressed hopes for progress on major projects like Salish Landing cleanup and the Storybrook Park opening. The director announced that most Parks and Recreation staff will move from City Hall to the Pacific Street Operations Center in February, consolidating operations in one location. ### What to Watch Next - Written feedback on PROS Plan chapters due January 21st to Peter Gill - Parks and trails chapters of the PROS Plan will be presented at the next meeting - Hot Spot Sauna Club contract finalization for mobile sauna services at Bloedel Donovan Park - Department relocation to Pacific Street Operations Center scheduled for week of February 9th ---