San Benito commissioners discuss Veterans Memorial Park repairs, solar lighting and stakeholder meeting

SAN BENITO COUNTY — County commissioners, parks staff and residents spent the meeting’s public-comment and project-update segments focused on Veterans Memorial Park, where recent restroom work is finished and longer-term fixes — including resurfacing, lighting and security — remain unsettled.

Mondo Medina, a resident and youth-sports organizer, opened public comments by saying, “We’re here tonight to speak about our parks and commission programming that do a veteran’s motor park,” and listed damage and maintenance concerns at the park’s fields, parking lot and restrooms. Medina and other speakers urged clearer roles among leagues, the county and volunteer groups and requested a stakeholder meeting to coordinate repairs and operations.

The parks division reported that a restroom renovation near the skate building is complete and functional. A staff presentation said the county recently budgeted about $70,000 from park impact funds for a set of near-term repairs (door replacements, drain covers, wall repairs and painting) and will put that work out to bid. Staff also described a larger phase of work for the adjacent parking lot and ball fields; staff gave a total current cost estimate for the larger project in the meeting as about $1,000,000 and said available park-impact funds were limited, leaving a shortfall to be determined.

Why this matters: Veterans Memorial Park is heavily used by youth leagues and community groups. Speakers said safety, vandalism, field surfacing, garbage and lighting problems have reduced playability and public confidence; commissioners and staff said budget limits require prioritizing immediate fixes and coordinating outside partners.

Key details from the meeting: - Restroom work: staff reported the restroom building near the skate area is repaired, open and functioning, and described follow-up bids for doors, stall partitions and floor/drain work funded from park impact funds (staff estimate: about $70,000). Staff said minor repairs are expected to be completed within weeks, weather permitting. - Parking lot and field project: staff said a larger resurfacing and site-improvement package is planned; the meeting included a $1,000,000 ballpark-level estimate for that larger phase and discussion of possible funding sources. Staff said about $5.7 million remained in overall impact funds countywide, but only a portion is available for this site; final funding allocations are not specified. - Solar lighting: staff described vendor proposals for solar-powered ballfield/parking lighting. Staff said a vendor listed a minimum lighting package for the veterans’ park at roughly $2,000 (vendor minimum) but added that a realistic design-and-install package could reach roughly $30,000 when foundations, higher poles and battery storage are included. Commissioners asked whether battery-backed systems (more reliable than basic solar fixtures) had been priced; staff said battery systems increase cost but may reduce long-term outages and that vendors have recently offered combined solar-plus-battery units. - Access and security: public commenters reported people entering fields through gaps in fences, holes near restrooms and garbage overflow; one speaker proposed a locked gate with a shared combo box for authorized contractors. Staff said graffiti and periodic maintenance requests are handled by county crews and that staff will coordinate with leagues and vendors when problems are reported. - Partnerships and program support: speakers discussed the Giants’ junior program and Little League use of the fields, noting leagues currently maintain and pay for some field services. Commenters suggested fundraising, sponsorships or in-kind donations (materials or volunteer labor) to offset county costs. - Mural proposal: staff presented a proposal from a local artist (identified in the meeting as Ray Orobois) to paint a mural on a storage shed. Commissioners discussed paying for paint or accepting in-kind work and asked staff to confirm the building’s long-term status before committing county funds to a mural. - Stakeholder meeting requested: several speakers and commissioners asked staff to convene a special meeting with all league representatives, the parks department and other stakeholders to clarify responsibilities (maintenance, scheduling, vendor access, insurance) before committing to large capital work. Staff agreed to lead outreach and to prepare a focused agenda for a follow-up meeting.

Votes and formal action: during the meeting the commission voted to authorize a county agreement to allow a “tree-recycling” event (referred to in the record as a tree-cycle event) in January 2026 to use the parking lot at no cost to the event organizer. One commissioner moved to approve the authorizing agreement and the motion was seconded; the motion was adopted by voice vote with no recorded opposition.

What remained open: staff flagged that the large parking-lot/field resurfacing package requires additional funding and more detailed designs before a firm timeline can be set. Vendors’ guarantees for solar lighting uptime are limited by weather and technology; staff said vendors had guaranteed multiple days of operation but could not guarantee 100% uptime year-round. Several items — tree-removal impacts, the role of a county cell-tower revenue stream and the final wording of bylaws for a commission seat tied to veterans’ groups — were raised as topics for further research and for the stakeholder meeting.

Commissioners and staff asked residents who volunteered to help with outreach to provide contact lists and insurance documentation for groups or vendors that might operate at the park. Staff said they would circulate a draft agenda, gather league contacts and return with cost figures for solar-plus-battery options and revised estimates for the larger resurfacing package.

Ending: the commission closed the item by asking staff to schedule next steps, collect stakeholder contact information and bring budget and vendor options back to the commission for prioritization. The commission also approved the no-cost January 2026 tree-recycling event agreement.