County parks staff reported progress on small capital and maintenance items at Thursday’s County Property meeting, including a newly poured concrete pad for bus drop-off and handicap parking, a pending ADA ramp delivery, and successful native-seeding efforts at two parks.

Ken (parks staff member) showed a photo of the newly installed concrete pad and said the ADA ramp “should be delivered... maybe Friday or early next week,” and he told the committee he expects the ramp to be installed by the next meeting. Ken said the crew will use the new ramp for bus drop-off and accessible parking adjacent to the shelter.

Ken also described vehicle and equipment issues. He reported that a county Ram van will not start and that he found several severed wires in multiple transmission and sensor harnesses; he said the starter itself spun but did not engage after tests and that he plans to repair wiring and continue diagnosing the problem. “I found several broken wires on all the sensors of the transmission, the reverse lights, the overdrive sensor, and the speed sensor,” Ken said.

On landscaping, Ken said native seedings at both parks are showing strong germination: “All the native grasses look good. All the native forbs that are germinating look good.” He said some oats used as a cover crop showed signs of disease but that the natives were unaffected. Ken credited volunteer groups for much of the new plantings and said staff will supply a list of volunteer names so the committee can send thank‑you notes.

Why it matters: ADA access improvements change how visitors can use shelters and bus drop-offs, and volunteer-driven plantings reduce staff costs. Vehicle downtime affects maintenance and support operations.

Next steps: Ken will order or repair tables and chairs as needed, pursue grant opportunities when open, return with ramp installation photos at the next meeting, and provide a volunteer contact list for acknowledgement. No grant awards or outside contracts were approved during the report.