Irondale Beach could soon benefit from a new, open-ended maintenance agreement between the Friends of Chimacum Creek and Jefferson County Parks and Recreation.

Matt Tyler, Parks and Recreation manager, reported on the agreement at the April 12 meeting of the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board, which also hashed out what could be done about unleashed dogs in county parks.

Tyler explained that by signing up the existing volunteer group to conduct long-term maintenance, it would free up resources for “the modest development of the trail,” including its interpretive signs, to encourage the park’s “highest potential use.”

Advisory Board chair Doug Huber added that Parks and Recreation also had a “conduit” to the Jefferson County Historical Society, to help with the park’s interpretive signs outlining the site’s history.

When Tyler noted that the prospective agreement with the Friends of Chimacum Creek is currently under review, Huber said that the group was perhaps anticipating a contract with fewer pages.

Fellow board member Greg Graves was the first to speak at the meeting about what he called the “incredible problem” of off-leash dogs at county parks.

“North Beach is awful,” board member Jane Storm said. “It seems like nobody uses a leash there.”

“We have signs posted, but with small print, and no one seems to follow them,” Graves said. “Do we need larger signs?”

Tyler was quick to point out that the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office has only one officer working animal control, “so we’re getting a good level of response, given the resources they have to work with.”

When Storm suggested inviting animal control officer Bruce Turner to the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board’s next meeting, Tyler floated the idea of extending the invitation to Sheriff Dave Stanko, so that Turner wouldn’t feel as though he were being put “on the spot” as much.

“They could supply us with guidance on how to respond when we receive complaints,” Graves said, agreeing.

When Tyler reported that “the number-one source of conflict” in county parks is dogs, Graves noted that Issaquah has, in the past, banned dogs altogether from some of its parks.

“I should note that even our most common complaint calls are maybe once a month,” Tyler said. “But the only way I see us beating this is to let animal control know. I see a dog at large in the park, it’s 911 for me.”

While Storm wondered whether adding a “report violators” line to the existing park signs, complete with a phone number that park visitors could call, might be useful, Tyler advocated more supervision and enforcement, possibly by park rangers.

BRIDGE PROJECT

The final bit of new business addressed during the April 12 meeting was a brief on the Kilisut Harbor bridge project, which involves removing the causeway between Marrowstone and Indian islands, along State Route 116 in Jefferson County, to install a bridge and culverts, creating a channel that would reconnect the harbor to Oak Bay.

“At last month’s meeting, about 90 percent of the design process was completed,” Graves said. “It’s close to 100 percent designed by now, after two years in progress.”

Although the new bridge would re-establish the traditional connection between Kilisut Harbor and Oak Bay, it would also isolate a quarter-mile of beach during high tide.

“Not too many people use that end of the beach anyway,” Graves said, adding that barriers would be built to protect the roots of the rare, indigenous Garry oaks from saltwater.

Graves noted that the U.S. Coast Guard would sign off on the final required permits, and the work is not expected to interfere with the isthmus.

“The regular road will stay open,” Graves said.

The Parks and Recreation Advisory Board’s next meeting is scheduled for 11 a.m., Wednesday, May 3 in the first-floor conference room of the Jefferson County Courthouse.