Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Park Budget Projects topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Park board approves project‑priority list for 2025–26 draft budget, asks aldermen to adopt priorities
Summary
The City of Pacific Park Board voted to recommend a prioritized projects list to the Board of Aldermen for the draft 2025–26 budget, highlighting Liberty Field parking, playground and backstop replacements, playground mulch and drainage, plaques, and pool maintenance as near‑term priorities.
The City of Pacific Park Board on May 12 voted to forward its prioritized project list for the 2025–26 draft budget to the Board of Aldermen, asking aldermen to consider the park board's ranking if cuts are required.
Board members said the project list should be read as an ordered priority for the upcoming fiscal year; the list places sealing the Liberty Field parking lot, baseball backstop replacements (fields 1 and 2), playground mulch and drainage repairs, new picnic tables at the Roulon Pavilion, aeration/overseeding/fertilization at Liberty Field, hand tools, a new playground at Liberty Field, and additional parking at Liberty Field (a rock base option was discussed) near the top.
Park Superintendent Mitch Fowler reviewed the projects and operations needs. He reported pool work is under way: "The pool's been repainted, recaulked. The whole bed's been recaulked. I still got a few places, small cracks to do. The pool's coming along good," Fowler said. Board members noted that planned pool improvements and parts should make pool operations more reliable this season but that a separate bathhouse grant application had been rejected.
The board discussed materials and accessibility for playgrounds (playground equipment must meet accessibility requirements); mulch options (wood mulch vs. rubber) and drainage fixes around the back playground; replacement of half the Liberty Field plaques because existing etching has worn shallow; and shade and water‑fountain options at the pool and dog park. On parking, the board discussed adding rock‑base parking north of Liberty Field, including grading and entrance options; one estimate figure of $81,000 was mentioned during the discussion as a planning number for additional parking, with questions about grading and layout.
Board members asked whether projects could be carried forward if the aldermen reduced the budget. Staff cautioned that unspent appropriations may not automatically carry as guaranteed funds year‑to‑year; the board was advised that funds would revert to the city and any carryover or reallocation would be up to the Board of Aldermen. The board discussed staging projects across years and prioritizing work likely to reduce future costs — for example, additional parking could reduce field damage and associated repair costs.
After discussion, a motion to forward the prioritized project list to the Board of Aldermen passed on a voice vote.
Background: the park master plan guides many of the line items; board members asked staff to update the master plan project list and circulate it before the next meeting. Several items are contingent on grant awards or future aldermanic approval.
