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Parks Commission reports $67,100 in small-park improvements, outlines 2025 work plan
Summary
Parks Commissioner Kyle Braun reported Jan. 7 that the Parks Commission spent about $67,100 on small park improvements in 2024 and presented priorities for 2025 including shoreline access planning, bicycle improvements, and observation for a proposed dog park site at Dahlgren Family Park.
Parks Commissioner Kyle Braun told the council Jan. 7 that the Parks Commission spent approximately $67,100 from its small-park improvement budget in 2024 and presented a work plan for 2025 focused on trail connectivity, signage, and coordination with other city efforts.
Braun said the commission’s expenditures supported projects across the city including two new sets of bike racks along downtown North Bend Way, two new dog-waste dispensers, directional blade signs at roughly 88 park locations, four public parking signs behind Phoenix Plaza near the pump track, and professional photographic artwork for downtown trash and recycling containers funded through a prior decision card. Braun said the containers will be installed next year.
The commission reviewed and made recommendations on potential uses of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds for park-related projects, urban-forestry policies proposed for the city’s energy and sustainability element of the comprehensive plan, conceptual plans for the Ballarat Avenue (Balarat Avenue) terminus project, and conceptual options for the Middle Fork shoreline overlook.
Braun said the commission recommended a potential dog park location within the new Dahlgren Family Park but advised observing the site through a full winter season to assess feasibility given wet-site conditions. The commission also supported continued participation in the city’s shoreline-access planning work, engagement on the William Henry Taylor Park and Ballarat Avenue Plaza projects, and a proposal to work with the Economic Development Commission on a bicycle-improvements plan.
Commissioners noted public engagement activities in 2024 including two parks booths at the farmers market, an open house soliciting shoreline access feedback, and an Arbor Day planting event at Rybary Creek coordinated with Mountains of Sound; Braun credited City staff, specifically Mike McCarty in Public Works, for project support. Council members who commented praised the commission’s work and ribbon cuttings at Tenant Trailhead Park and Dahlgren Family Park.
The presentation was informational; the council did not take a formal vote on the report or the proposed work plan at the Jan. 7 meeting.
