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Advisory board weighs capital priorities; Dungeness trail environmental study eyed as separate line item
Summary
Board members recommended prioritizing a short list of capital projects for 2026 funding, proposed splitting a Dungeness trail project into environmental/permitting and construction phases, and asked staff for field visits and clearer cost breakdowns before committing funds.
The Parks Advisory Board on April 29 discussed the parks five-year capital plan and recommended focusing 2026 funding on a short list of projects while leaving other items for REET-backed grants or later years.
Why it matters: The board must prioritize limited capital funds; decisions determine which projects—repairs, ADA upgrades, trails or painting projects—move forward and how environmental reviews and permitting are budgeted.
Board members proposed funding three projects from the parks CIP in 2026 and using Real Estate Excise Tax (REET) for others. Peter (board member) suggested deferring a proposed new trail at Dungeness until staff can provide a survey, map and public input; he also recommended breaking the Dungeness trail line into two budget lines: one for environmental delineation, permitting and outreach (estimated by staff at about $55,000) and one for construction (about $30,000), so that permitting costs would not be committed to construction until environmental results allow it.
Staff said Tom (parks staff) had previously estimated $30,000 for trail construction while other permitting and permitting-related work accounted for the higher figure. Several board members asked for a site visit to Dungeness to review the proposed alignment, user benefits and staff rationale. One board member asked staff to bring maps and a clear explanation of who would use the new trail and what visitor benefits it would deliver.
Board discussion also covered trade-offs: whether to use park CIP for visible user-facing items (parking, restrooms, campground improvements) versus maintenance tasks such as lodge painting. A board member proposed reserving REET to support larger Dungeness-site projects while using the parks CIP for more immediate, visible repairs that demonstrate public benefit.
What's next: The board asked staff to arrange a field trip to Dungeness before finalizing the 2026 capital list, to separate environmental/permitting costs from construction in budget proposals, and to provide clearer cost breakdowns and maps so the board can recommend priorities at its next meeting.
