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Keller park projects 64% complete; Mount Gilead trail could exhaust trail fund
Summary
Parks staff told the Park and Recreation Board the sports park is 64% complete, playground inspections are pending, and bids for the Mount Gilead hike-and-bike trail open next week. Staff said the city is budgeting $450,000 for trails this year but that Mount Gilead could use most or all of the fund balance.
At the May meeting of the Keller Park and Recreation Board, city parks staff provided a construction update saying the sports park is about 64% complete and that bids for the Mount Gilead hike-and-bike trail will open next week, with council review expected in June.
The status update matters because the trail and park work affects school access, neighborhood connectivity and near-term park budgets. Board members raised questions about how private development and design decisions now will affect the city’s ability to build a continuous 10-foot hike-and-bike trail in the future.
“Sports park, we're 64% complete. They were wrapping up the soccer parking lot today and should wrap up Equestrian tomorrow,” Cody (Parks staff) told the board, adding that synthetic fields are installed but grass for new baseball fields has been delayed by rain. Playground installations and shade structures are complete; staff said third‑party inspections were scheduled but may have been delayed by weather. The splash pad remains in underground work stages.
On trails, staff said the Mount Gilead project had a non‑mandatory pre‑bid meeting with eight companies in attendance and a bid opening scheduled next week. “When the bid comes in next week, we'll review those, based on the amount and based on how much we have in funding. We'll get it on a city council agenda, in June,” Cody said, adding that after council approval a pre‑construction meeting typically follows and construction could begin by mid‑summer.
Board members pressed staff on how private development affects trail continuity. A recent development near Johnson and Maine asked planners to defer constructing the hike‑and‑bike trail for a short, disconnected stretch; board members and staff said the city is seeking a permanent easement and asking developers to back trees away from future trail alignment so the city would not later have to remove mature trees to build the path. Staff said the standard requirement is a 20‑foot easement and construction of a 10‑foot trail when the site plan is approved.
The board discussed the local review process: Development Review Committee (DRC) comments, Unified Development Code (UDC) standards, and the city’s Future Land Use Plan (FLUP). Staff said variances to avoid trail construction can only be granted by council, not by staff at planning and zoning meetings.
On funding, staff said park projects are funded in part through the KDC half‑cent sales tax. “We started around 300,000, and we've slowly been escalating. We're putting in 450,000 this year. It just kinda goes into a reserve that then we can use for all trails. But this Mount Gilead that we're building will probably wipe out everything we've saved for the past several years,” Cody said. Staff also noted that park dedication fees collected from new development may be applied to trail construction.
Board members asked for annual review of the trail master plan and better cross‑department briefings so park board members understand how DRC, engineering, fire and planning comments shape final site plans. Staff said the city will review bids, present the Mount Gilead item to council in June and return to the board with the construction schedule after council action.
Next steps: bid review next week, council consideration in June, and staff follow‑up on easement language and tree placement for developments intersecting the trail plan.
