Parks staff: Meridian dog park remains closed while drainage, reseeding and irrigation testing continue; CIP updates include Central Riverside playground work

Marjorie Fleming, a neighborhood resident, told the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board she and other neighbors are "getting a little impatient" waiting for Meridian Dog Park to reopen and asked when the park would be finished and available.

Park staff and project managers told the board the Meridian Dog Park remains closed because of drainage issues and recently completed reseeding; opening will depend on grass establishment and weather. "It has some drainage issues that we had to resolve," a park staff member said. "Just gotta wait on mother nature to grow that grass to get it to a point where it's not just gonna be demolished when the first set of dogs go out." The staff member added that the irrigation system has been pressure-tested and will be tested again once temperatures avoid freeze risk, because putting water in the system now would require blowing it out again if freezing occurs.

Staff said the department plans to coordinate openings for Meridian and two other dog parks so all three have mature turf and maintenance completed before public use. The parks named in discussion included Country Acres and one referred to in testimony as "Clapham" (names as spoken in the meeting). Staff said they have been working with the contractor to smooth drainage areas and address low spots and that a final opening date is not yet set.

In a broader briefing, Tim Fellowes, principal planner and landscape architect in Public Works and Utilities, reviewed how the City's Capital Improvement Program (CIP) is structured and how park projects move from identification through initiation to construction. Fellowes said CIP line items are often programmatic "bucket" funds (for example, playground rehab, athletic-field renovation and park signage) and that individual projects are initiated and scheduled as funds and design work are available. He said the department intends to combine 2025 and 2026 playground funds for a larger Central Riverside playground project because a single year's allocation ("we get $450,000," Fellowes said) is not sufficient for a major, unique playground at a heavily used park.

A member of the public outlined a proposal to renovate the historic pagoda at Central Riverside Park. That presenter said a private entity would raise funds to rehabilitate the structure for classroom and rental use, similar in structure to another private partnership the city permitted. Planning staff described the proposed arrangement as following the model used for another park rehabilitation: a private group raises funds for remodel and ongoing maintenance while the city retains ownership.

Staff also reported other CIP items in active work or nearing construction: park-signage replacement bids returned lower than expected, downtown restrooms and hydration station installations in downtown parks, roof work at Orchard Park, athletic court bids that were negotiated back toward engineer estimates, and several playground/athletic-field projects moving toward in-progress status. Staff said the department increases inspection and safety work (including certified playground-safety inspector training for parks staff) and continues high-frequency graffiti removal and illegal-dump cleanup operations.

Multiple residents urged more maintenance and ADA improvements at Central Riverside rather than new capital projects alone. Staff said the department will do community engagement specifically for the Central Riverside playground project, submit an RFQ for design consultants, and return with more detailed scheduling and community-involvement timelines. Fellowes said he expects several projects to move into in-progress or completed status by the next quarterly update in June.