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...Good News and Bad News continued

On September 15th I sent an email and hard copy of our letter to the Port of Everett commissioners, with a cc to the CEO. Tuesday, September 19th, I got a call from Cat Soper who extended an invitation to us to use the park on a quarterly basis.

I expressed our disinterest in that and suggested a monthly arrangement. I know we are used to using the park any time we want, but please consider this a first step. They are getting to know us and understand the differences between us and the people who get their kites caught in the power lines. 

Cat really liked the letter and mentioned a couple of things she liked best about it. First she said that she liked that our approach was cooperative towards both the port and the public. It was important to her that we were willing to work with them and be flexible. What I think she liked most was the fact that we now have insurance. I got the impression in the past that this was important and that is why you saw my efforts in becoming an American Kiteflier Association (AKA) affiliated club.

Cat's co-worker, Alexa, will be in touch with me about setting up the reservations. Cat will come up with some potential dates for next year. This is where we can be flexible and also get what works best for us. Events get booked months in advance, so they are going to have a mix of Saturdays and Sundays that work for them. I know some of you can't do Saturdays, and others can't do Sundays, so I plan to let her come up with the initial schedule. As soon as she comes back to us with the schedule I'm going to hit her up for a couple of days for THIS year.

So the good news is that we are going to get to use the park again. The bad news is that it won't be as often and there will also be a cost. The insurance that we have for the club through the AKA was not free. The material I read said that it was $50/year. In the application it said $75. However, when I spoke with Daniel, the executive director of the AKA, he informed me that their website was out of date and that the cost was now $200/year. 

The other surprise I got from Daniel was that the insurance only covers members of our club who are also members of the AKA. A basic membership is $48 and family members are an additional $8. Having insurance for our members is very important to the port, and our letter stated that our club members are insured.

The other cost will be that the port has asked that we reserve the park like we did for our last pot luck. The reservation fee is $25. I got clarification that this would be a one time cost and not one we had to pay every monthly.

PS: When we became an affiliated club of the AKA, the club became a little  more formal. I changed our name from Boxcar Park Kite Flyers to Boxcar Park Kitefliers. Google, and C.J., inform me that "fliers" are things that fly, and "flyers" are pamphlets. Also, the AKA wanted my title, and a secondary contact/title. I will be president, although you can refer to me as "your highness." I asked Rob Villahermosa to be VP. If you are unable to contact me, please reach out to Rob. 

PPS: Please leave your name and thoughts in a comment so I know you were here. Thanks!