Acting city manager says parks bond work is underway; inflation forcing trade-offs

Acting City Manager Ben Rogers told the Fort Lauderdale Parks & Recreation Advisory Board on Thursday that work on several of the city’s bond-funded "signature parks" is progressing but that inflation and rising construction costs have forced the city to re-evaluate some project scopes and schedules.

Rogers said the parks team was reorganized to report directly to the city manager’s office to “push things and work through and navigate the city system,” and that he will appear regularly before the advisory board to provide updates and answer questions. He said construction has started at the Jimmy Evert Tennis Center and that the city received bids for Bass Park and Mills Pond; he expects those contracts to be awarded in March. Rogers said the Holiday Park phase 2 solicitation should be issued soon.

The update comes as the board pressed staff for details about several high-profile parks, including Carter Park and joint-use projects at neighborhood schools. “We were some behind a little bit,” Rogers said, adding that staff had prepared a funding plan to present to the city commission in March. On Carter Park he said, “I wanna say off memory, it was somewhere around $34,000,000. We have about $25.26,000,000 dollars,” and that he was meeting with commissioners about scenarios to close the gap.

Board members repeatedly raised concerns that amenities promised in prior planning — particularly at joint-use parks adjacent to schools — may be reduced or delayed. Several members asked staff for a focused presentation at the next meeting so newer board members could get up to speed. Rogers agreed, saying he would return in March with a funding plan for the signature parks program.

Staff described scoping decisions already underway at Holiday Park, where the long-term plan includes a parking garage north of the main entry but commissioners asked staff to examine a shorter-term surface parking option on the south side to address muddy, flooded conditions. Rogers said staff will prepare a roughly 30% design for a surface lot and include two raised crosswalks and lighting as part of that short-term improvement.

On park amenities, Recreation Deputy Director Amy Jean Baptiste confirmed scheduling and event planning for upcoming city events but did not alter project budgets. Parks operations staff, citing recent inflation, said they are exploring additional consulting resources and procurement approaches to deliver as much of the bond program as possible. Rogers told the board the bond was approved in 2019 and that higher prices since then are a primary cause of current gaps.

The tenor of the discussion was procedural rather than policy-making; Rogers repeatedly framed March’s commission presentation as the point at which funding decisions — including potential reductions or phased deliverables — will be finalized. He and parks staff said they would circulate project documents and contract award details to the advisory board where those materials already exist.

Rogers and staff also answered several site-specific questions: Carl Williams of Parks and Recreation confirmed the outdoor beachfront fitness area known locally as Muscle Beach “is staying” and “is gonna have an upgrade,” and staff said the YMCA’s planned facility adjacent to Holiday Park remains part of the concept and that the YMCA has expressed interest in leasing the gymnasium. Rogers said the Holiday Park playground and other features remain in the current delivery plan, subject to funding adjustments.

The board asked for clearer, written clarifications on a number of points — including exact contract award amounts, the list of amenities at each joint-use park, and a precise accounting of the bond funds already allocated versus available funds. Rogers and staff agreed to provide those details and a slide presentation at the board’s next meeting.

The board did not take any formal votes on parks projects during the discussion; staff characterized the meeting as an informational update and a step toward the March commission presentation where decisions on funding and scope will be made.