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Dustin South, Recreation Manager <br /> Travis Anderson, Recreation Coordinator <br /> Forest Lands and Washington Park Report: <br /> On this Christmas Eve, I reach out to the Commission with thankfulness and appreciation. It was great to <br /> reconnect in December, and am hoping 2021 will eventually put us all back in the same meeting room. <br /> Libby Grage from Planning was able to get our draft impact fee report into the Department of Commerce <br /> comment prism, so that timeline is under way. As discussed at the December meeting, Jonn is reaching out to <br /> the Mayor and Council, so we will eventually get the report onto a Council agenda. <br /> Our homeless camping grant project at Washington Park continues its successful run. The partnership with the <br /> Family Center and the Police Department has proven to be very effective, and more importantly, very <br /> supportive of the campers. We will be continuing the program thru February, with one of the hopes being to <br /> take some of the burden off of the Winter Shelter Program in town. <br /> There has been a fairly public discussion the last few weeks regarding seasonal decoration of publicly owned <br /> trees in the parks and forest lands. We were able to come up with a plan for the Loop Road that appears to be <br /> working for most. We also have some sanctioned decorating at Pickett Pocket Park and the Heart of <br /> Anacortes. We continue to remove any decorations found the ACFL. I envision this discussion coming to the <br /> Parks Commission in the near future. <br /> Work continues on the Cap Sante Rotary Park trail and viewpoint project. Had a great site visit with Rotary <br /> Club project team and Libby &Tess from Planning. We should have some materials for Parks Commission <br /> review shortly. Parks Manager Johnston has been working with a variety of Rotary Club volunteers on park <br /> projects, and we are looking forward to expanding this onto the Cap Sante trail system. <br /> Guemes Channel Trail: most of the work on this front has involved discussions with various home owners who <br /> live along the railroad grade. We are also working on normal maintenance permitting and delivery. <br /> Along these lines, the Planning Commission held its public hearing on the Shoreline Master Program, and <br /> Planning staff will be processing and preparing for review all the public comments for a January meeting. We <br /> look forward to our continued work with Planning as well as the community on any projects appropriately <br /> partnered with the SMP. <br /> It has been a quiet month for tree evaluations around town. The new system we have put together involving <br /> Planning and Public Works has really helped divide up the work, and puts Planning back in the regulatory lead. <br /> Special thanks to the Parks & Recreation staff for the incredible journey that has been 2020. Everyone took <br /> their roles, the safety of others, and the joy of parks & recreation to levels we have never seen before. We <br /> look forward to continuing to provide safe and accessible opportunities for our community, and those <br /> fortunate enough to come visit us. <br /> Bob Vaux, Assistant Director <br /> Dec 24, 2020 <br />