RCO and COAFF Updates

Good Friday Morning to WRPA Executive Board & Exec. Director; LEG Chair & LEG Committee Members; and full LEG Distribution List: With apologies if you’ve seen any of this – I’m catching up with week from several badly-needed post-2022 Session vacation days, and wanted to ensure you all have a few pieces of information and a link to a survey you may wish to complete. In order:

WA State Recreation & Conservation Plan Survey – RCO is updating this plan and as part and parcel of the update, an Eastern Washington University faculty member (Jeremy Jostad) is conducting a survey where people can indicate their usage of outdoor recreation facilities and spaces over the last 12 months.  In the event you wish to participate, the survey takes about 15 minutes to complete and has 75 questions and you can access it here:

Washington State Recreation and Conservation Plan Survey (surveymonkey.com)

RCO Names “Community Outdoor Athletic Facility Fund Advisory Committee” (COAFF) Members – including two WRPA/Parks Director representatives – will help make recommendations on best way to utilize a one-time, $42 million leftover funding allocation from the Paul Allen Seahawks Stadium/Youth Sports Initiative: We have noted a few times this $42 million allocation and a tremendous opportunity for WRPA to help shape how it is used toward youth needs, fields, equity, and access, etc.  The RCO has been taking our input and will ultimately work with the Governor’s Office and OFM on a formal plan for distribution/use of these funds – with the hope of finalizing that later this year. Meanwhile, the “Community Outdoor Athletic Facility Fund Advisory Committee” (COAFF), made up of 20 members (one seat vacant) from parks and recreation, local governments, outdoor and conservation organizations, and professional sports teams, will meet several times and help to advise RCO.  The first meeting of the “COAFF” is 3 p.m. on April 18 and the Recreation and Conservation Funding Board (RCFB) will be briefed on all of this at its April 26 Board meeting. See more information below. 

My Contact Information is in an email from Adam Cole of RCO that among other things provides all the names of the COAFF. Paul Simmons of Olympia Parks and Recreation and Ken Wilkinson of Yakima Parks & Recreation are the two local parks reps on the advisory committee. You will also see that local government representatives from Thurston and Chelan counties and the cities of SeaTac and Othello are involved, as are two state legislators (Rep. Cindy Ryu, D-Shoreline; and Rep. Alex Ybarra, R-Quincy).  I will be attending the initial April 18, 3 p.m. meeting.

 

Appropriations letters to House and Senate coordinated by Puget Sound Trails Access Network:  These letters (1,2) were sent off last week and urged our U.S. Senators and U.S. House Members to consider green infrastructure investments including outdoor recreation and trails. Nine (9) organizations signed on.  This may well have been something we at WRPA could have joined in signing, but the solicitations went out while I was gone. So this is simply an “FYI” for all of you.

 

As always, folks, if you have questions, just holler!
Doug Levy, Owner
Outcomes By Levy, LLC
(425)922-3999 – work/cell
[email protected] (Work E-mail)
[email protected]; [email protected] (Personal E-Mails)

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