By Kevin Hanson-The Courier-Herald

Sometime next week, after wires are strung and the paint dries, those in charge of Enumclaw's parks and recreation services will be comfortably ensconced in their new quarters at the Enumclaw Expo Center.

For those unfamiliar with the comings and goings at City Hall, that's the property formerly known as the King County Fairgrounds. The name change came about with the Jan. 1 transfer of ownership from the county to the city.

Larry Fetter - who heads the city's Department of Parks, Recreation and Cultural Services - said the official move-in day is Monday. But, he added, it may take a few days for all the wrinkles surrounding the move to be ironed out. He expects the moving process to be complete by Feb. 1.

The important thing, in Fetter's view, is there will be a minimal disruption of services. As the department's phone lines are being terminated in the City Hall offices, they'll be activated at the Expo Center.

There will be seven city employees occupying the offices that used to house King County's fairgrounds staff. Making the move are Fetter, department secretary Gwen Streeter, recreation manager Michelle Larson, cultural programs manager Gary LaTurner; cemetery manager Bill Swain and an assistant; and one key new employee, yet to be selected.

The new staff member will carry the title of Expo Center manager and will be charged with running day-to-day operations at the 72-acre site. (See accompanying story for details.)

Fetter is aware there may be complaints about the move from the convenient City Hall quarters to the new offices at the eastern edge of town. But it's becoming increasingly rare, he said, that people visit the office to sign up for programs. Many are handling that task by phone, he said, and the city is promoting online registration as well.

Fetter said the city didn't need to do any extensive remodeling to make the fairgrounds offices ready for the city operation. Rather, all the improvements were cosmetic - new paint, new carpeting and the like. Infrastructure improvements were required to make phone lines compatible with the city system and keep computer programs humming.

The department's phone number remains 360-825-3594 and days of operation are unchanged. The office will be staffed from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Kevin Hanson can be reached at khanson@courierherald.com.