Lake Forest Park outlines $12.93 million lakefront park plan; $2.5 million funding gap expected to be decided in January

Lake Forest Park — City staff presented an update Thursday on the Lakefront Park project, telling the City Council the project’s full estimated cost is $12,930,000 and that the city has secured about $10,400,000 in grants to date while the city has spent roughly $1,400,000 on design and permitting.

The presentation said the final element of funding — roughly $2,500,000 tied to a trailhead grant program — is expected to be confirmed in January 2026 when the next round of applications opens. City staff said all other funds are currently secured and that staff will pursue backup options, including applying again to the Recreation and Conservation Office (RCO) if necessary.

Council members pressed staff about unresolved operational costs and site logistics. Councilmember Good said she was “concerned about the location with regard to safety and parking,” citing limits on on-site spaces and pedestrian circulation to adjacent parking. City staff responded that the proposed design includes 10 on-site parking spaces, three of them marked accessible, and that operational controls could restrict parking (for example issuing permits to renters) and that a parking study performed earlier in the project supports the proposed post-occupancy parking plan.

The nut graf: the project is largely grant-funded and advancing through permitting, but council members raised unresolved questions about operations and maintenance costs, insurance, security, utilities and…