UPDATED: Council Member David Carson Urges Access & Enhancement to "String of Pearls" Park Properties

CM David Carson

Council Member David Carson says....

"When I joined the Redmond City Council in 2008, I fully expected that park properties along Redmond’s eastern edge (collectively known as the “String of Pearls”) would be, at the very least, made available to Redmond’s citizenry to enjoy since they’ve been in our inventory for now more than 50 years. That unfortunately has not happened, and budgets don’t seem to be getting any easier to afford city-developed projects. Leveraging of our civic pride is a way to do this and involve our residents. It would be a real achievement to make these beautiful properties available to our hiking and recreating public.  

Below, are David's thoughts:

For all the things that Redmond has going for it, the one thing it seems to be lacking is the direct engagement of our civic organizations to harness the volunteerism that exists but is underutilized to the detriment of the community. My proposal is designed to directly involve our community organizations in the betterment of our municipal assets. 

Adding a Program Manager position to spearhead coordination of community-integrated projects is recommended. This position would be a direct connection to the community to enable volunteer projects and programs within the Redmond community to be undertaken. The aim of this position is to engage community organizations to benefit the community's recreation opportunities and ecological function in Redmond. 

A basic list of the projects this program could entertain is, as follows:  

 • Generally engaging with community organizations like Kiwanis/Key Clubs, Rotary International, Redmond Historical Society, LWYSA/Crossfire, cultural and horticultural organizations, and private industry. 

• Coordinating Gold Award and Eagle Scout projects in our parks and utility properties.

• Coordinate Redmond’s Road and Trail litter pick-up program. 

• Furthering relationships with Lake Washington Youth Soccer (and other sports groups like Baseball, Cricket and Lacrosse) to facilitate investments in fields on city and partner (LWSD) properties. 

• Plan for pilot projects like off-leash dog parks and opening park inventory properties to basic access. 

• Refurbishment of city-owned properties where the scope is modest enough for a civic organization to do. 

• Budgeting for hard costs (materials, permits, etc.) of projects in-scope for the next biennium. 

The bulk of the work would be focused on enhancing ecological function and adding access to park properties that have long been in inventory but have been closed to residents like "String of Pearls." With removal of invasive plant species/native species replacement and building access points and footbridges as necessary to gain basic access to the property, many acres of inventoried property could be made available to residents."

-- Council Member David Carson, White Paper, Council Study Session memo of 1/10/2023. Abridged and edited.