Council confirms Nova Heaton as public works director and appoints parks volunteer; parks board outlines 2026 work plan

The Lake Forest Park City Council on Feb. 12 confirmed Nova Heaton as the city’s public works director and appointed long‑time volunteer Mike Vetersnick to the Parks & Recreation Advisory Board.

Nova Heaton told the council she will balance needs with available funding and emphasized experience preparing complete‑streets policies and local road safety plans. Heaton said short‑term “gap” projects near schools can be effective and described building projects in previous cities by assembling fundable, phased packages. The city administrator noted Heaton’s anticipated start date of Feb. 23; council members voted to waive the three‑touch rule to expedite confirmation.

On appointments, the council moved and unanimously approved the confirmation of Mike (position 7) to the parks board; Mike described decades of volunteer work in city parks and recommended focusing on maintenance needs before adding new parks.

Tyler Dittman, chair of the Parks & Recreation Advisory Board, presented the board’s 2026 work plan, which highlighted six priorities: advancing the new lakefront park design and interpretive features, improving communications (park spotlights), expanding recreation (pickleball, story walks, yoga), mapping community walking routes, participating in community events, and updating park maps and information. The parks board said it will partner with the tree board, Shoreline Historical Museum and other local organizations for outreach and programming.

Separately, staff introduced Resolution 26‑20‑63 to extend the Phase 2 lakefront park design contract while a SEPA appeal proceeds; staff said the extension postpones potential funding requests until after the hearing, and the council voted to place the item on the Feb. 26 consent calendar.