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Record of Proceedings

Puyallup Parks & Recreation Board Meeting – September 14, 2026

City Council & Commissions — Monday, September 14, 2026
BodyPuyallup, Washington
SessionCity Council & Commissions
DateMonday, September 14, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 56:11

Original source
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0:07

All right.

0:08

Good evening, everyone.

0:10

And welcome to the uh September 14th 2026 Parks and Recreation Board meeting.

0:19

Um Aaron, if I can get a roll call, please.

0:22

Board member Cavizel and board member Martin are excused.

0:25

Board member tier two.

0:27

President.

0:28

Board member Reagan.

0:29

Present.

0:30

Board Member Spracklin.

0:32

President.

0:33

Vice Chair McKenna.

0:34

Present.

0:35

Chair Whiter?

0:36

Present.

0:36

We have a quorum.

0:38

Thank you, Erin.

0:39

If I could get a motion for the uh approval of the agenda.

0:42

Motion to approve the agenda.

0:45

Seconded.

0:46

All in favor?

0:48

Aye.

0:48

Any opposed?

0:50

Motion carries.

0:55

Motion to consider the minutes.

0:56

Second.

0:57

All in favor?

0:58

Hi.

0:59

Aye.

1:00

Any opposed?

1:02

Sounds like that carries also.

1:04

Aaron, do we have any minute public comments tonight?

1:06

Yes, we have one member of the public here.

1:08

Uh Zachary Sanders.

1:10

Thank you.

1:11

Welcome, Zachary.

1:14

You will just need to turn on your microphone.

1:16

It should, yeah.

1:17

There we go.

1:18

Okay.

1:20

Good evening, Chair and members of the board.

1:23

My name is Zach Sanders.

1:24

I live in Pewallop in District 2, and I've lived here my whole life.

1:27

Um, I plan to stay here and I want to help the city in any way I can just to become as good as good as it can be.

1:34

And um, I was here last time, the last meeting, and in July, during that benchmark presentation, we pass the flying colors almost everywhere.

1:42

More trail miles trail miles in the peer median, twice the playgrounds, more revenue per resident.

1:49

And those benchmarks aren't something we have to hit necessarily.

1:52

It's just to show what our peers do.

1:54

So we're already doing really well compared to the people around us.

1:58

One place we come up short, and that is aquatics and just outdoor pools, indoor aquatic centers, competitive pools, leisure and therapeutic.

2:06

And we have nothing to go through all of that.

2:09

We do have a splash pad, but that is on a different, it's not considered an aquatic facility per se.

2:16

And I put together a concept for what a pool could look like, broke down the numbers, pulled examples from other cities.

2:22

It's all at um swim peelup.com.

2:24

I put that up about two, three months ago.

2:27

And I uh put out a uh survey.

2:31

I just wanted to see what people think.

2:32

I got like only 25 responses.

2:34

But some people were for it, some people obviously don't really want to pay more taxes.

2:38

So it just depends on what we want as a city.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Parks and Recreation█████████████████████████████████████████████56%
Procedural███████████████████24%
Public Engagement█████6%
Transportation Safety█████6%
Grant Funding███4%
Budget Equity Analysis███4%
Summary of Proceedings

Puyallup Parks & Recreation Board Meeting – September 14, 2026

The Parks and Recreation Board met on Monday, September 14, 2026, at 5:00 PM in Council Chambers. The board considered the Parks, Recreation, and Open Space (PROS) Element of the Comprehensive Plan during a public hearing, approved the element for forwarding to City Council, and adjusted meeting times for November and January. Staff provided updates on the Puyallup Parks Foundation and summer recreation programs.

Consent Calendar

  • Approval of Agenda: Motion carried unanimously.
  • Consideration of Minutes: Motion to approve the July 13, 2026 minutes carried unanimously.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Zachary Sanders (District 2 resident) spoke twice: once during general public comment and again during the PROS public hearing. He advocated for including aquatics in the PROS plan to enable future pool development and grant eligibility. He noted his website swimpeullup.com, a survey with 25 responses, and an offer from an aquatics design firm to present to the board. He also suggested that future city surveys ask where residents travel for amenities not available locally.

Discussion Items

  • PROS Element Public Hearing: Consultant Alex presented the PROS Element of the Comprehensive Plan, explaining that the update aligns the PROS plan with the city’s 2024 Comprehensive Plan to extend grant eligibility from 6 to 10 years and place both documents on the same update cycle. The plan is based on public survey feedback (hundreds of responses) and an August open house. Board members discussed survey findings (73% of respondents did not participate in department-sponsored programs, attributed to question wording), the need for replacement reserves (not typically included), and potential aquatic partnerships with the Puyallup School District. No changes were requested; the board voted unanimously to forward the PROS Element to City Council for adoption by year-end.
  • Updated Meeting Time: Chair proposed changing the start time for the November and January meetings to 6 PM. After discussion, a revised motion to set the start time at 5:30 PM passed unanimously.

Staff Reports

  • Puyallup Parks Foundation Board Update: Brian reported that the revived foundation now has a solid board, regular meetings, and incoming funds. The foundation facilitated a Kiwanis contribution for summer kids’ activities and is receiving a Names Foundation grant to replace two scoreboards at the outdoor recreation facility. An MOU with the city is being finalized to enable co‑branding and promotion. The foundation will help fund the Bradley Lake project and pursue other grants.
  • Summer Recreation Update: Cody highlighted key summer 2026 programs:
    • Senior programs: Patriotic 250 party, picnic at Clark’s Creek, Harmony of Rock concert (500 attendees), inaugural Foothills Trail bike ride (12 participants).
    • Trips & tours: Expanded due to three bus drivers; a Leavenworth trip filled 20 seats with 28 on a waitlist.
    • Day camp: 1,000 registered children, 180 unique campers, 5,720 volunteer hours from the Counselor-in-Training program.
    • Specialty camps: Parkour, robotics, arts, dance, and sports camps.
    • Move Puyallup fitness program: 1,600 participants (up 300 from 2025).
    • Walk Puyallup: 600 participants, including walks with former mayor John Hopkins and a park ranger.
    • Other events: Soggy Doggy splash park event (50 dogs despite rain), Concerts in the Park (Journey tribute band drew over 4,000), Kiwanis Kids’ Days (4 events), Outdoor Cinema (nearly 1,000 attendees), and free summer meals partnership (2,000 meals distributed).
    • Bradley Lake grant: Application is above the cut line, expected to be fully funded at $500,000 if state funding continues.
    • Trail updates: WSDOT anticipates completing the SR 167 trail from Meridian to the Rec Center in fall 2028, and the full Puyallup-to-Tacoma trail in fall 2029. A pedestrian underpass will connect the Rec Center.
    • Skate park: Demolition of old ramps complete; construction expected to begin next week.
    • Wildwood Park: First public meeting scheduled for October 22, 2026 (5–7 PM) at the pavilion; concepts will be presented for community feedback.

Key Outcomes

  • Vote on PROS Element: Motion to approve and forward the PROS Element to City Council for adoption carried unanimously (all ayes).
  • Vote on Meeting Time Change: Motion to change start time for November and January meetings to 5:30 PM carried unanimously.
  • Next Meeting: Scheduled for November 8, 2026 (note: November meeting date may adjust based on board calendar).

Meeting Transcript

All right. Good evening, everyone. And welcome to the uh September 14th 2026 Parks and Recreation Board meeting. Um Aaron, if I can get a roll call, please. Board member Cavizel and board member Martin are excused. Board member tier two. President. Board member Reagan. Present. Board Member Spracklin. President. Vice Chair McKenna. Present. Chair Whiter? Present. We have a quorum. Thank you, Erin. If I could get a motion for the uh approval of the agenda. Motion to approve the agenda. Seconded. All in favor? Aye. Any opposed? Motion carries. Motion to consider the minutes. Second. All in favor? Hi. Aye. Any opposed? Sounds like that carries also. Aaron, do we have any minute public comments tonight? Yes, we have one member of the public here. Uh Zachary Sanders. Thank you. Welcome, Zachary. You will just need to turn on your microphone. It should, yeah. There we go. Okay. Good evening, Chair and members of the board. My name is Zach Sanders. I live in Pewallop in District 2, and I've lived here my whole life. Um, I plan to stay here and I want to help the city in any way I can just to become as good as good as it can be. And um, I was here last time, the last meeting, and in July, during that benchmark presentation, we pass the flying colors almost everywhere. More trail miles trail miles in the peer median, twice the playgrounds, more revenue per resident. And those benchmarks aren't something we have to hit necessarily. It's just to show what our peers do. So we're already doing really well compared to the people around us. One place we come up short, and that is aquatics and just outdoor pools, indoor aquatic centers, competitive pools, leisure and therapeutic.

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