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Real Briefings

Parks and Recreation Committee

BEL-PRC-2024-10-21 October 21, 2024 Parks & Recreation Committee City of Bellingham 27 min
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The Parks and Recreation Committee approved an $835,355 contract for Boulevard Park shoreline improvements and received an update on the ambitious Civic Athletic Complex master planning process that could reshape the city's central recreation hub. The Boulevard Park project represents state-of-the-art coastal resilience engineering, having earned the #1 grant ranking statewide and leveraging a successful 2013 beach creation as a model. The Civic Athletic Complex planning presents a once-in-four-decades opportunity to reimagine 72,000 monthly visitors' experience while potentially integrating elementary school relocation with expanded recreational facilities. Both projects showcase Bellingham's commitment to climate-resilient infrastructure and innovative public-private partnerships. The Boulevard Park enhancement will create two new beach areas using "soft" shoreline protection that better serves both habitat and human access than traditional rock revetments. The Civic Complex planning involves unprecedented community engagement through user consortiums and will present three development scenarios for public input in November. The committee demonstrated strong support for staff's technical expertise, asking detailed questions about project scope and timelines while expressing confidence in the collaborative approaches being used. Both initiatives reflect long-term strategic thinking about how Bellingham's recreational assets can serve growing community needs while adapting to environmental challenges.

**AB 24296 - Boulevard Park Shoreline Enhancement Contract (APPROVED 3-0)** - **Award:** Premium Services, Inc. contract for $835,355.84 - **Project scope:** Creation of two beach areas, removal of failing rock revetments, trail stabilization, educational signage, and native plantings - **Funding:** $500,000 RCO grant plus $335,355 from Greenways funds - **Timeline:** Construction to begin following contract execu…

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**Boulevard Park Shoreline Resilience Strategy** The Boulevard Park project represents a sophisticated approach to coastal protection that prioritizes ecological function alongside human access. Park Project Engineer Gina Austin detailed how the 2013 beach creation project has successfully weathered king tides and storm surges, demonstrating superior performance compared to traditional hardened shorelines. The new project will extend this "soft" protection model, using fish-compatible gravel and native vegetation to create resilient shorelines that adapt to sea level rise rather than fighting it. The engineering approach removes failed rock armor and revetments that have become erosion hazards, replacing them with carefully graded beaches that dissipate wave energy naturally. Educational signage will explain these processes to visitors, making the park a demonstration site for climate adaptation strategies. The project's state #1 ranking reflects both its technical merit and replicability as other Puget Sound communities face similar shoreline challenges. **Civic Athletic Complex Long-term Vision** The master planning proc…
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**City Staff (Nicole Oliver, Parks & Recreation Director):** Emphasized innovative community engagement through user consortiums and the strategic importance of the Civic Complex planning timeline. Expressed confidence in the collaborative approach with school district and consultant team. **City Staff (Gina Austin, Park Project Engineer):** Provided detailed technical explanation of Boulevard Park's engineering approach, emphasizing the success of the 2013 beach project as a model for climate-resilient shoreline protection. Advocated for educational components to demonstrate ec…
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**Gina Austin, on Boulevard Park's climate resilience:** "This is a king tide in a storm surge where the rest of the park is flooded. But our 2013 beach project that we created functions very well. It dissipates the energy, and that's what this new beach will do that we create." **Gina Austin, on the engineering approach:** "These new soft beaches are resilient and preferred and better for habitat and people than just a rock revetment or a concrete wall." **Nicole Oliver, on Civic Complex p…
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**Boulevard Park Project Implementation** - Contract execution with Premium Services, Inc. - Construction commencement following permits and mobilization - Project completion expected within construction season - Educational signage installation and interpretive programming **Civic Athletic Complex Master Planning Timeline** - October 29th: Second consortium meeting with user groups - November 6th: Public meeting at Bloedel Donovan Commun…

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The Boulevard Park shoreline enhancement project moved from planning to implementation with contract award, representing a $835,355 commitment to state-of-the-art coastal resilience infrastructure. The Civic Athletic Complex planning advanced from internal analysis to active community engagement, with six potential development sites identified and public input sessions scheduled. The committee demonstrated strong confidence in staff expertise and innovative approaches, particularly the user consortium engagement model f…
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# Building Bridges to Bellingham's Shoreline and Athletic Future ## Meeting Overview On a crisp autumn afternoon, October 21, 2024, the City of Bellingham's Parks and Recreation Committee convened in City Hall's council chambers to tackle two significant projects that would shape the city's recreational landscape for years to come. Committee Chair Edwin "Skip" Williams presided over the 3:55 PM meeting, joined by committee members Hollie Huthman and Jace Cotton. The agenda carried weight beyond its brevity—two items that collectively represented millions of dollars in public investment and ambitious visions for enhancing public access to Bellingham's natural assets. The meeting would prove to be a study in contrasts: one item involved a concrete, shovel-ready project to restore and enhance beloved waterfront access at Boulevard Park, while the other opened a window into the complex, evolving master planning process for the massive Civic Athletic Complex. Together, they illustrated the city's dual commitment to preserving existing treasures while reimagining spaces for future generations. What made this gathering particularly notable was the seamless blend of technical engineering expertise and community-centered planning philosophy that would unfold over the next twenty-six minutes. The committee would navigate from the specifics of rock revetments and beach nourishment to the broader questions of how a 1980s-era athletic complex might be transformed to serve a growing, changing community. ## Boulevard Park Shoreline Restoration: A $835,000 Investment in Public Access Committee Chair Williams opened the substantive portion of the meeting by introducing Agenda Bill 24296, a contract award for Boulevard Park shoreline and public access enhancements that would prove to be both strategically important and technically fascinating. The project, carrying bid number 64B-2024, represented the culmination of years of planning triggered by significant shoreline erosion during the devastating 2021 storm season. "The project includes a creation and enhancement of two beach areas to improve public access and access, and to address ongoing erosion along the Boulevard Park shoreline," Williams explained, setting the stage for what would emerge as a sophisticated approach to coastal resilience. The scope was ambitious: removing rock armor from beaches, dismantling failing revetments, adding stable trails, installing educational signage, and establishing back shore p…
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### Meeting Overview The Parks and Recreation Committee met on October 21, 2024, with Chair Edwin "Skip" Williams, Committee Members Hollie Huthman and Jace Cotton present. The committee addressed two major items: approving a contract for Boulevard Park shoreline improvements and receiving an update on master planning for the Civic Athletic Complex. ### Key Terms and Concepts **Rock Revetment:** Stone walls or structures built along shorelines to prevent erosion, which can fail over time and need replacement with more natural solutions. **Beach Nourishment:** The process of adding sand, gravel, or other materials to beaches to restore them and improve access while supporting marine habitat. **Master Planning:** A comprehensive long-term planning process that evaluates current conditions and creates a vision for future development of a site or facility. **High Intensity Development:** Significant construction projects with large footprints, such as community recreation centers, schools, or major athletic facilities. **Recreation and Conservation Office (RCO):** Washington State agency that provides grants for parks, recreation, and conservation projects. **Civic Athletic Complex:** Bellingham's central recreational park that includes multiple sports fields, the aquatic center, ice arena, and other athletic facilities. **Fish Mix Gravel:** Specific types of gravel suitable for fish habitat that are used in beach restoration projects. **Carl Cozier Elementary:** An aging elementary school located within the Civic Athletic Complex that may be relocated as part of the master planning process. ### Key People at This Meeting | Name | Role / Affiliation | |---|---| | Edwin "Skip" Williams | Committee Chair | | Hollie Huthman | Committee Member | | Jace Cotton | Committee Member | | Nicole Oliver | Director of Parks & Recreation | | Gina Austin…
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Parks & Recreation Environmental Transportation & Infrastructure Government Operations AB 24296 AB 24297 Bellingham Public Schools Carl Cozier Elementary Premium Services Inc Washington Recreation Conservation Office Edwin Williams Gina Austin Hollie Huthman Jace Cotton Lisa Anderson Nicole Oliver Skip Williams Climate Action Comprehensive Plan Flood Mitigation Infrastructure Investment Parks Recreation