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Council backs pickleball/park improvements at Coiner Park; skatepark location study to continue
Summary
Councilors directed staff to pursue additional pickleball courts, picnic and restroom improvements at Coiner Park and to continue studying siting options for a new skatepark after divided discussion on location and potential neighborhood impacts.
The Cottage Grove City Council on Oct. 13 signaled support for conceptual improvements at Coiner Park while stopping short of a final decision on a skateboard facility.
Public Works Director Faye Stewart presented conceptual layouts showing where a second restroom and additional picnic facilities could be added near the tennis and pickleball courts, and where up to eight additional pickleball courts could fit on existing park land without expanding into city streets. Stewart said the concepts are conceptual and not budgeted; she also said pickleball users have offered to assist with fundraising and seeking grant funds.
Council discussion was robust and split on a proposed 10,000-square-foot skatepark. Several councilors and residents urged placing a skate facility in a more isolated location to reduce noise and vandalism concerns; others said putting recreational amenities in Coiner Park would bring more "eyes on the park" and make the area safer. Councilors asked staff to keep exploring options, including more remote sites and multiuse covered facilities, and to study design approaches that have reduced nuisance behavior in other communities.
Stewart said staff is already planning security-camera and access-control installations at park restrooms and will factor vandalism mitigation into any restroom or facility upgrades. Council instructed staff to pursue the picnic/restroom/pickleball work and to continue evaluating skatepark siting and design; no funds were approved at the meeting.
Ending
Staff will return with cost estimates, potential grant sources and recommended timelines for Coiner Park improvements, and councilors requested that community stakeholders be part of future design conversations.
