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Operations and stewardship report: staffing, volunteers and growing portfolio
Summary
Parks operations managers reported expanded staff and assets, steady gains in trails and facilities, and strong volunteer contributions; stewardship staff outlined nursery capacity, wetland mitigation responsibilities and plans to reopen steward applications this summer.
Park operations staff briefed the committee on division growth, accomplishments and ongoing challenges, and stewardship staff presented volunteer and nursery statistics and 2026 program goals.
Steve Janiszewski, Park Operations Manager, said the department now maintains 57 parks, a little over 3,000 acres of park and open space, roughly 85 miles of trails and about 58 bridges/boardwalks/piers. “We’re up to 57 parks, and that includes special use sites such as Woodstock Farm, the golf course, the cemetery, and civic complex,” Janiszewski said, adding the division employs about 75 people, the majority full time.
Janiszewski described 2025 accomplishments including new playgrounds, restrooms, trail resurfacing (about two miles of limestone resurfacing per year), pier repairs and wetland mitigation plantings. He credited internal reorganizing and added field supervisors for improved span of control and retention, and noted cross‑department coordination through the city’s “one city” initiative.
Janiszewski also outlined operational challenges: recurring vandalism and graffiti (mitigation costs in the $10,000–$15,000 per year range), aquatic invasive species and blue‑green algae at Lake Padden, limited limestone resurfacing supplies, illegal off‑road electric motorcycles damaging turf and emerging issues with hydrofoil surfboards on Lake Padden where the city currently has no municipal code addressing their use. He said staff are working with Bellingham Police on enforcement and with Washington Department of Natural Resources on derelict vessel removals when boats break free of moorings.
Freya Freydenberg, Park Stewardship Supervisor, described the stewardship program’s portfolio: volunteer coordination, environmental education, the individual park steward program, wetland mitigation maintenance and a native plant nursery. She reported that in 2025 stewardship coordinated 162 work parties, recorded about 14,000 volunteer hours (which she said equals roughly seven full‑time employees), and had potted or housed about 7,200 native plants in the nursery ahead of planting. Freydenberg said the stewardship program plans to reopen individual park steward applications in June–July with a summer cohort onboarding and is piloting community garden and onsite compost projects at King Mountain.
Council members thanked staff and partners such as the Washington Conservation Corps for their work; Council Member Anderson asked about donating plant pots for the nursery and Freydenberg provided a contact email (fsfriedenberg@cob.org). Williams closed the discussion and adjourned the meeting to a lunch break; both agenda items were informational with no formal votes.
