BPR

www.cob.org/parks • (360) 778-7000 1 www.cob.org/parks • (360) 778-7000 1 Hello everyone! Welcome to the Winter Playbook. November brought an enormous historic rainfall event that caused devastating flooding to areas north of Bellingham, and our thoughts are with our northern community members as they recover and rebuild. Our City parks and trails sustained considerable damage and those repairs are still underway, but luckily nothing was very severe or substantial. I want to thank our park staff who responded to this emergency; your efforts were very much appreciated. A special shout out to the City Park arborists who helped the Washington Department of Transportation re-open I-5. A few other updates to share: • The City has negotiated a no-cost transfer of the former industrial pier at Little Squalicum Park to the City. Securing this asset for the public was a priority goal for many years, and we are thrilled to pursue design and permits for the environmental and structural improvements that will make it a safe and accessible public overwater walkway in the north end of Bellingham Bay. • Two studies are underway to help Parks determine the best way to improve equity for our facilities and programs. The first is the Recreational Needs Assessment — make sure to take the survey about your favorite programs and your willingness to pay for them! The second is a cost recovery study that will take all our costs, including staff time, materials, utilities, everything, that are required to provide all our different services and programs, and compare those costs to the revenues we receive. This study will help us ensure equity and responsible cost recovery and help inform our future planning. • The planning effort for the 100-Acre Woods/Chuckanut Community Forest is well underway. A public engagement opportunity will be happening in January to get feedback on some of the core plan directions thus far, including trail improvements, continuing to keep dogs on leash, providing trails for bikes, wayfinding, and access improvements. The core goals of the plan remain restoration, protection, education and access. For details, see the project website. • We said goodbye to two stellar staff members, Darla Smith, our Administrative Coordinator, and Amy Brown, our Volunteer Coordinator. Both Darla and Amy have provided excellent public service to our department and the citizens of Bellingham. I want to wish them both great luck in their next endeavors, and I know we will miss their incredible dedication and hard work for our department. I wish you a warm and peaceful New Year. Nicole C. Oliver Parks & Recreation Director WINTER IS HERE! Director's Letter "Whatcom Creek on November 16." Photo by Nicole Oliver "No BBQ today." Photo by Anna MacKinnon

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