Englewood Parks staff outline March bond sale timeline and 2024 program gains; designers working on Cushing, Bellevue, Rotolo projects

City staff told the Englewood Parks & Recreation Commission on a regular meeting that the city will receive bond proceeds after a March bond sale, and that staff are using the interval before funds arrive to complete design work and prepare contractor requests for proposals.

Why it matters: the voter-approved parks bond will fund construction and upgrades across several parks and facilities; finishing designs and lining up contractors before the bond sale should allow the city to start work quickly once proceeds are released.

City staff said designs are in progress now for Cushing Park, Emerson and Rotolo, and that staff have also met with designers on Bellevue Park and Miller Park. Recreation-center upgrades and work at Pirates Cove will go out to bid; staff said RFPs are being drafted. Staff also described an internal steering committee that the department expects to launch in late February or early March; the committee will meet biweekly at first and include at least one Parks & Rec commissioner volunteer when commissioners sign up.

The commission heard specific results and 2025 priorities from department managers. Shannon Buccio, golf manager at Broken T Golf Course, said rounds totaled 78,262 in 2024, a 10 percent increase over 2023. Buccio reported driving-range sales topped $500,000 for the first time and merchandise sales exceeded $300,000. Buccio said a golf action plan created with outside consultants will guide 5–7 years of course improvements and that the course invested in a robotic mower and technology that improved turf-health scores by about 10 percent and reduced pump-station water use by roughly 15 percent. Buccio also noted roughly $20,000 invested in irrigation improvements and about $50,000 spent on cart-path repairs in 2024.

Nancy Baum, senior services manager at Malley Recreation Center, said the center served nearly 5,000 meals to older adults in 2024 through a Volunteers of America grant-funded lunch program and logged about 1,300 volunteer hours supporting the service. Baum said the center produced nine new special events last year, including a senior prom attended by almost 300 people, and that staff are preparing an RFP to hire a consultant to produce an "age-friendly action plan" focused on food security, nutrition, personal safety, cyber security, aging in place, and health and financial resources.

Sarah Stant, recreation manager, said participation across fitness, youth programming, annual-pass holders and rental users rose in 2024. Stant reported approximately 93,000 visitors to the city’s Farm & Train site (about 40,000 farm visitors and 50,000 train riders), noted the facility added an ADA-accessible train, and said the department sold more than 35,100 Holiday Express tickets and received its largest-ever cultural fund award from the scientific/cultural fund district.

Chris Davidson, aquatics manager, reported roughly 24,100 swim lessons delivered in 2024 and 206 lifeguards licensed across city pools. Davidson said Pirates Cove drew about 77,000 visitors last season, hosted 172 birthday parties and introduced premium cabanas and luxury loungers; the loungers produced about 384 reservations and roughly $19,000 in revenue. He added that adult-night ticketed events sold out three times (about 1,500 tickets across those events) and that staff have begun a strategic planning effort to increase attendance by 5 percent, boost season-pass and concession revenue, and complete behind-the-scenes mechanical and circulation-system upgrades before summer 2025.

Staff also summarized public engagement and site-level decisions made during recent public meetings. A December Cushing Park public meeting drew substantive resident feedback on pedestrian connectivity and dog-park fencing; staff said some suggestions exceed the bond scope but could be considered later from an a la carte list if contingency funds remain.

The commission approved routine minutes from the Nov. 14 meeting by voice vote; the minutes were adopted with no recorded roll-call tally. Staff said interviews for new commission members are scheduled for February and that the department will recap bond scope and steering-committee details again at the next meeting to bring newly appointed commissioners up to date.

Looking ahead, staff said they will post project updates on the city website and in the spring recreation guide. Designers and contractors will be in place following the March bond sale, and the department anticipates construction and increased public engagement across the specified parks during 2025.

Other notes: no public comments were offered at this meeting.