7a Memo Parks Renaming
COMMISSION AGENDA MEMORANDUM Item No. 7a ACTION ITEM Date of Meeting October 27, 2020 DATE: October 20, 2020 TO: Stephen P. Metruck, Executive Director FROM: Christina Billingsley, Sr. Program Manager, Environmental Engagement Stephanie Jones Stebbins, Director, Maritime Sally del Fierro, Director, Community Engagement Sandra Kilroy, Director, Maritime Environment and Sustainability Elizabeth Leavitt, Sr. Director, Engineering, Environment and Sustainability SUBJECT: New Names for Duwamish River Parks and Habitat Amount of this request: $0.00 Total estimated project cost: $0.00 ACTION REQUESTED Request Commission authorization for the Executive Director to adopt the new names for six Port-owned public access and habitat sites along the Duwamish River as determined through the community engagement project, "Incredible Parks Want Incredible Names." EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Port and Seattle Parks Foundation launched the "Incredible Parks Want Incredible Names" community engagement project this summer to rename six Port-owned parks and shoreline habitat sites along the Duwamish River. The six sites include: Terminal 1 05, Terminal 107, Terminal 108, 8th Ave South Street End, Turning Basin 3, and the currently under-construction Terminal 117. After a three-month public nomination and scoring process that engaged over 12,000 unique visitors through the project website, new names will be publicly "revealed" at the October 27th Commission meeting. Each of the new community-sourced names reflect the cultural, historical, and environmental significance of each site and satisfy the criteria set forth by the Commission and community partners at the start of the project. JUSTIFICATION The "Incredible Parks Want Incredible Names" (IPWIN) project connects Port-ownedpublic access sites along the Duwamish River to their ecological, cultural, and historical significance while raising awareness of the Port's Century Agenda goals supporting salmon recovery and river habitat. Launched during the 50th Anniversary of Earth Day, the Port has partnered with the Seattle Parks Foundation, a well-recognized public parks and greenspace non-profit, to design and implement the re-naming project with transparency and community involvement. Template revised January 10, 2019. COMMISSION AGENDA Action Item No. 7a Page 2 of 6 Meeting Date: October 27, 2020 The six parks, among the last remaining public access sites along the Duwamish River, are currently named after geographic markers or previous industrial purposes, including: Turning Basin #3, 8th Ave South Park, Terminal 117, Terminal 107 Park, Terminal 108/Diagonal Street Public Access, and Terminal 105 Park. The Park Profiles section of the IPWIN website offers information about each park and explains their connections to these languages and the communities who speak them. The selected names represent the diversity of people and their experience with each park, final community-sourced names appear in the English and Lushootseed languages and meet the community and Commission-supported criteria that it must reflect each site's cultural, historical and or environmental importance. The new names will be shared widely in public signage and Port outreach. In consultation with tribal historians, the Port will ensure linguistic accuracy, pronunciation and legibility for all names. A legend on how to read and pronounce the Lushootseed names is available below: Lushootseed Name Formatting Guide: Example: sbqwa Park & Shoreline Habitat (sbaqwah, "s-bah-qwah," "Great Blue Heron") 1. Lushootseed in Lushootseed Character Style 2. Lushootseed in Romanized Character Style 3. "English Phonetic Pronunciation of Lushootseed" 4. English translation of Lushootseed Former name New name Terminal 105 Park tulaltx Village Park & Shoreline Habitat (Toolalt, "t-oo-ah- lal-too-wx": Herring's House / A description of where herring live and spawn / Name of an old village site on the west bank of the Duwamish River) Terminal 107 Park hapus Village Park & Shoreline Habitat (haapoos, "ha-ah- poos": Name of a small stream draining across a flat on the west side of Duwamish River) Terminal 108 Park/Diagonal sbqwa Park & Shoreline Habitat (sbaqwah, "s-bah-qwah": Public Access Site Great Blue Heron) Terminal 117 Public Access Duwamish River People's Park & Shoreline Habitat and Shoreline Habitat Turning Basin #3 Salmon Cove Park & Shoreline Habitat 8th Ave South Street End tataucid Park and Shoreline Habitat (tathtathootseed, "t- ahth-t-ahth-oots-eed": Where there is something overhead, across the path / A description of logs or branches located above a path or trail) Template revised June 27, 2019 (Diversity in Contracting). COMMISSION AGENDA Action Item No. 7a Page 3 of 6 Meeting Date: October 27, 2020 As part of the announcement ceremony on October 27th, an exclusive weblink will be shared during the unveiling of the final park names for the video premiere of The Power of Our Stories, produced by Fern Renville and Roger Fernandes. Storytellers from the Suquamish, Muckleshoot, and Duwamish communities share Coast Salish stories conveying the importance of community, culture, the environment and the Duwamish River. These connections and values are shared in the six new park names. Diversity in Contracting NA DETAILS Project Overview: In Spring 2020, Seattle Parks Foundation and Port staff began a planning process centering inclusion, community voice, and empowerment and convened a Review Committee to influence the design of the project. In Summer, the project deployed videos, interactive-3D social media featuring community histories and fun facts of each park, distributed door-to-door print material in sync with community partner activities, and more to get out the word. The project collected over 3,500 name nominations from the public, which were screened for eligibility and then shortlisted by the Review Committee. In Fall, the project issued a call for public scores and collected rank-choice preferences from over 1,500 participants. Finally, the Review Committee analyzed the public scoring results, selection criteria, and Commissioner feedback to select final names for each park. Commissioners provided feedback throughout all three phases of the project and will have the opportunity to formally adopt the new names through passage of a Motion on October 27th. Phase 1 Planning for Inclusive Community Engagement From March to July, the Seattle Parks Foundation and Port staff project team designed an outreach strategy that centers equity. These actions included: Convened a Review Committee representing key park user perspectives: environmental stewards, historians, workers, Tribal and cultural heritage experts, youth, and neighboring community leaders. The Review Committee supported inclusive decision-making throughout the process. Committee meetings blended group discussion, "progressive stack" facilitation, with confidential scoring practices to ensure fair and free participation. Review Committee informed the name selection process, eligibility criteria, outreach plans, decision-making strategies, and other project processes. Development of racial equity best practices throughout the project. Stakeholder mapping and disaggregated census tract data to identify potential park stakeholders. Early consultation and ongoing dialogue with leaders from key community-based organizations, Indigenous leadership, and coordination with Port leadership. Active inclusion of communities of color histories and experiences related to each park or geographic area. Template revised June 27, 2019 (Diversity in Contracting). COMMISSION AGENDA Action Item No. 7a Page 4 of 6 Meeting Date: October 27, 2020 Accessible communications strategy to accommodate access needs for multilingual and multi-generational park users. Phase 2 - Public Nomination Period From July to September, the project implemented this strategy with the following actions: Deployment of videos and interactive, 3D social media featuring community histories and fun facts of each park. Translation of print materials in 4 languages: Spanish, Khmer, Somali, Vietnamese. Door-to-door drop-offs of nomination materials in synch with community partner activities. Set up of voicemail and text-based nomination options, enabling elders and others with digital literacy or internet access barriers the opportunity to participate. Outreach to industries, businesses, cultural and historical preservation organizations, environmental and community stakeholders connected to each park. Outreach to Port stakeholders including former Port Commissioners, select Employee Resource Groups, and Duwamish River-related project teams. Phase 3 Public Scoring Period After an eligibility check, names went through multiple rounds of scoring and evaluation by the Review Committee to best match the selection criteria (ie: demonstrate each site's cultural, historical or environmental importance). These names were shortlisted to a "top three" list in which the public participated in a rank-choice scoring opportunity. Over 1,500 people submitted their preferences. The Review Committee analyzed the public scoring results, selection criteria, and Commissioner feedback form to select final names for each park. Commissioners provided feedback throughout all three phases of the project and will have the opportunity to formally adopt the new names through passage of Motion 2020-20 on October 27th. FINDINGS: Public Involvement Period Significant Public Participation: At the close of the nomination phase on Sept 1st, the project received 3,366 nominations. Online platforms included names in Spanish, Vietnamese, Somali, and Khmer languages, 11 were received via voicemail, and 3 nominations were received via text. During the public scoring period, over 1500 individuals ranked the top three shortlisted names. Website traffic since the start of the project tracked 23,000 pageviews with over 12,000 unique visitors from July 24th to September 30th. Common Themes for New Names: The majority of nominations were for Duwamish and Indigenous heritage terms, words, or concepts. Notably, ancestral place names stood out, while other Lushootseed names depicting cultural, wildlife, and natural features were also popular. In addition, the following themes showed statistical significance: general northwest flora and fauna terms; salmon and salmon-related; "transformation" and "change over time" concepts; Template revised June 27, 2019 (Diversity in Contracting). COMMISSION AGENDA Action Item No. 7a Page 5 of 6 Meeting Date: October 27, 2020 river/spiritual names around the river cleanup; generational heroes; maritime names; and Spanish and Jewish cultural names. Common Themes for Park Value: The nomination form asked the public to describe what they value about the parks. Responses included themes such as: access to green space; connection to nature and wildlife (especially birds); connection to Indigenous heritage of the city; rejuvenation, hope, sense of peace; refuge in the city; appreciation of free and public access year round; loving the river, access to the river, riverfront, boating; unique, rich history of each site; well maintained; and the ecological stewardship, cleanup efforts, volunteering opportunities at the parks. Common Themes for Park Improvements: The nomination form asked the public to describe what they would like to see improved at the parks. This request for data was suggested by Commissioners early in the project design. Responses included themes such as: increased recognition at the parks regarding Coast Salish Indigenous and Duwamish heritage; returning land to the Duwamish and Indigenous peoples; more trees and native plants; good maintenance to improve and continue; better bike, public transit and pedestrian safety; connecting trails/signage, including a crosswalk to Longhouse at Terminal 107 Park; more signage about history and Indigenous rights; access to bathrooms that are clean and open all year; amenities like drinking water access, benches, and picnic tables. Scope of Work NA Schedule NA ALTERNATIVES AND IMPLICATIONS CONSIDERED NA FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS NA Annual Budget Status and Source of Funds NA Financial Analysis and Summary NA Template revised June 27, 2019 (Diversity in Contracting). COMMISSION AGENDA Action Item No. 7a Page 6 of 6 Meeting Date: October 27, 2020 Future Revenues and Expenses (Total cost of ownership) NA ATTACHMENTS TO THIS REQUEST (1) Motion 2020-20 (2) Presentation slides PREVIOUS COMMISSION ACTIONS OR BRIEFINGS NA Template revised June 27, 2019 (Diversity in Contracting).
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