Kenmore parks supervisor outlines daily maintenance, vandalism costs and smart irrigation

Quinn Prophet, Kenmore's parks and streetscapes supervisor, described daily routines, staffing limits and recent maintenance priorities for the city's parks during an interview on the Let's Talk Kenmore podcast. He said crews spend several labor-hours every morning opening and checking parks, respond regularly to vandalism and graffiti, and are using remote monitoring tools to reduce water use and costs.

Prophet said the parks team logs roughly "about 6, 7 labor hours to to just touch and get eyes on everything" each morning to complete the opening routine for the city's parks. He told host Amber Clifton that the parks group currently includes four full-time workers and that seasonal workers are added when available.

The details matter because routine work and recurring problems tie up staff time and budget. Prophet said vandalism and graffiti impose direct costs and extra labor: "it just takes a lot. It's a waste of money and a waste of...what we could be doing elsewhere in this community," he said. He described past incidents in which restrooms and trash cans were burned or damaged and noted replacement items and repairs run into thousands of dollars.

Beyond vandalism, staff manage wildlife and visitor behavior that affect upkeep. Prophet described beaver damage to live willow plantings and said crews are changing planting choices (for example, Pacific ninebark and Douglas spirea) to reduce losses. He also described frequent droppings from Canada geese at waterfront docks, saying the team sometimes spends 20 minutes daily cleaning docks after heavy use.

On water use, Prophet described a migration toward data-driven irrigation. He said Kenmore uses a WeatherTrak system that applies evapotranspiration data, soil type and plant root depth for each controller and zone to decide when and how long to run irrigation. "It won't water during the middle of the day...it will hold off until that cup drops down to 50%," Prophet said, explaining how the system reduces unnecessary watering. He also described a booster pump (a 3-horsepower unit) that increases pressure for the large Rain Bird heads on the city ball field and said some zones deliver about 50 gallons a minute when operating.

Prophet also discussed shorter-term, labor-intensive maintenance tied to community uses: maintaining a youth ball field requires daily dragging and raking during season, and crews have added safety nets and backstop screens after observing balls reaching adjacent play areas. He described planting and propagation work at Rhododendron Park, including an air-layering trial done with Master Gardeners to clone older rhododendron specimens.

The podcast episode is discussion and explanation, not a city action meeting: no motions, votes or formal policy changes were made on the program topics described. Prophet asked residents to help by using garbage cans, picking up pet waste and reporting damage: "If you see something, say something," he said. Host Amber Clifton told listeners they can send comments to communications@kenmorewa.gov.

While Prophet described several technical and operational details (hours, staffing, irrigation hardware and monitoring), he did not announce new budget allocations, ordinances or formal changes to park policy during the interview. The conversation identifies recurring costs and operational pressures that city staff may factor into future budget or maintenance planning, and it calls for community cooperation to reduce preventable damage.