Chair Nathan Sticks called the Community Activities Commission meeting to order and opened the evening’s substantive discussion with a debrief of Newcastle Days, the city’s annual community event. Commissioners and staff agreed the event drew large attendance and multiple sponsors, but they identified actionable improvements for next year.

The nut graf: Commissioners said the festival succeeded in attendance and programming — “it was a fantastic event,” one commissioner said — but they urged the parks and events team to address vendor mix, volunteer refreshment logistics, parking/load‑in procedures and single‑use debris before the next festival.

Commissioners and staff described the event layout and vendor allocation process. Events staff said there were roughly 70 booth spaces, of which three were city booths and about 20 were reserved for sponsors; remaining spaces were filled from applicants and a wait list. Staff estimated that approximately 25 percent of applicants were hand‑crafters and artisans and that a few artisans who had been invited later dropped out and were replaced from the wait list.

Several commissioners and vendors reported that public demand exceeded the event’s volunteer refreshment supplies. Events staff said the single cooler used for volunteer refreshments emptied early while visiting about six booths, and recommended two wagons and two large coolers next year. Commissioners asked that future volunteer stations be marked “for volunteers only” to avoid public crowding at those supplies.

Food vendors were generally popular; commissioners singled out the barbecue vendor’s portions as large and well received but noted some attendees said prices seemed high. There was also feedback that an ice‑cream vendor was absent and would be a welcome addition.

Commissioners raised operational concerns about parking and parade staging. Staff said Renton School District granted access to three lots at Risen Middle School for vendor and team parking; the commissioners nonetheless recommended earlier arrival by staging volunteers (scouts/explorers) to direct vehicles so parade cars could be lined efficiently and loading times would not run past 9:30 a.m.

Environmental and fairness issues surfaced in public comments and commissioner discussion. Multiple speakers described seeing many helium balloons released during the day and asked the commission to prohibit balloons and other items that can become lake pollution. Staff said they also would prohibit bubbles and would tighten vendor footprint enforcement. Commissioners raised a fairness concern when some groups offered free face‑painting while a paying vendor offered the same service; staff said the free activities tended to be associated with nonprofit fundraisers and have not historically driven vendors away but agreed to monitor impacts.

Staff and commissioners discussed vendor composition and placement. In past years the city placed art vendors in more isolated locations and received complaints; this year artisans were mixed with other vendors, and many artisans reported they liked their locations. Several commissioners suggested the city refine outreach to attract more painters and ceramicists if that is desired by attendees.

The commission discussed participant amenities and next‑steps: add clearer volunteer signage; increase volunteer refreshment capacity; consider a refillable water station to reduce single‑use plastic; add a price‑range question to the food‑vendor application; encourage carpooling and use of Risen Middle School lots; and consider offering smaller tasting portions so attendees can sample multiple vendors' food. Staff said they will incorporate these topics into the formal event debrief and logistics checklist for 2026.

Discussion only: no formal motion or ordinance was introduced during the debrief. The commission kept the discussion to operational improvements and directed staff to incorporate feedback into next year’s planning.