Nampa parks director outlines FY26 capital requests, highlights $5 million Centennial irrigation project

Cody, Parks and Recreation director, told the Nampa City Council during a workshop that the department’s FY26 requests center on replacing aging infrastructure and filling one maintenance position while pursuing grants and partnerships to limit taxpayer subsidy. “We want to improve, maintain, advocate for parks, green space and recreational opportunities for citizens of Nampa and future generations,” Cody said.

The presentation flagged a multi‑year, high‑cost irrigation replacement at Centennial Golf Course estimated at $5,000,000 as the largest capital need. Cody said the project would be funded from the golf enterprise’s fund balance; the department’s capital requests total about $5,580,000 against a projected starting fund balance of roughly $5,200,000, which would leave an estimated $558,000 if all requests are approved. Department staff and Council discussed that the golf fund’s minimum desired reserve is $1,000,000 and that the Centennial project would create a one‑year dip below that target.

The update covered all five divisions of Parks and Recreation and emphasized deferred maintenance across the system, shortfalls in irrigation systems, and the department’s strategy of using seasonal staff and volunteers to reduce costs. Cody said the department employs more than 400 people overall and that 84% are temporary or seasonal; volunteers contributed more than 15,000 hours in FY24, the department estimated, which it equated to roughly 7.4 full‑time equivalent positions in unpaid labor.

Major projects and near‑term items discussed included: - Centennial Golf Course: a planned multi‑year irrigation replacement (estimated $5 million; additional $500,000 noted for FY27) identified as the department’s primary capital priority. - Midway Park Phase 3: under construction and expected to add additional tournament fields, which the department said will improve functionality for larger events. - Ourobrant Park Phase 3: reported substantially complete in January 2025, with new courts and park amenities now greened up. - Maplewood Park: in‑house installation of a new irrigation system nearing completion. - Lakeview Pool: a $166,000 gunite (pool surface) renovation request to extend the pool shell’s service life. - Scattering Garden at the cemetery: design and a FY26 request for $368,000 to complete phase 1 construction. - Amity Dog Park: drainage repairs tied to a high water table funded in part by event proceeds.

Jennifer Ayala, business manager for Parks and Recreation, summarized the Recreation Department’s scope: “The Recreation Department consists of all of our outdoor programming, our T‑ball, baseball, softball, our Nampa Youth basketball for kids, adult softball, includes our outdoor pools, and all of our special events,” and explained a FY24 subsidy figure of $468,000 for those recreation programs. Cody and Ayala also presented per‑capita subsidy figures: about $3.93 per person for recreation and $26.92 per person for parks, for a combined general‑fund subsidy of about $30.85 per capita (population base used in the slides: 119,000).

Council members asked clarifying questions on several topics. Councilman Bills suggested exploring Treasure Valley Transit or other regional providers to serve ADA transportation needs for special events rather than buying a dedicated ADA bus; Cody said the department would explore that option. Council members also asked about organizational and communication efficiency, prompting the director to describe monthly coordination between recreation schedulers and parks maintenance crews and reliance on cell phones for field communications.

The department noted several funding sources it uses or seeks: general fund subsidies for park maintenance and programming, enterprise fund balances for golf and the recreation center, impact fees for park development (used historically for Midway and Ourobrant), and grant funding for specific projects. Cody and staff said one federal grant tied to a cemetery tree project was suspended after the city received half of the award; staff reported $500,000 was received of a $1,000,000 award and that the second half would not be disbursed.

The update was descriptive and advisory; no motions or votes were taken during the workshop. Cody closed by reminding Council that the capital review meeting in June will present formal budget and capital‑project recommendations for Council consideration.