City staff outlines park safety and maintenance plan; seeks funding after inspection and insurance review

City of Willows staff presented an assessment of safety and maintenance needs at Jensen Park, Central Park and Sycamore Park and recommended a mix of immediate repairs and longer‑term capital work, with estimated costs and next steps.

Community Development and Services Director Joe Bentancourt told the council the review was requested by the mayor to identify park deficiencies in safety, infrastructure and maintenance. Staff inspected playground safety surfacing, benches, tables, fencing, a gazebo roof, bathrooms, storage sheds and site electrical at the three parks and provided photos showing deteriorated rubberized playground surfacing, rotting trees, exposed metal edges, split or warped picnic tables, and other trip and cut hazards.

Bentancourt said the parks operating budget lines most relevant to the work are a special department expense line ($5,500) and $1,500 for building maintenance, together totaling about $7,000 annually; utility costs are separate. He gave a specific example for Jensen Park: staff recommended adding four inches of crumb rubber across about 1,500 square yards of playground area (rough estimate), which would require about 46 2,000‑pound bags and cost roughly $16,000 if bought in those sacks. Bentancourt said crews have identified nine additional trees at Jensen Park that a public‑works superintendent is evaluating for removal due to rot and that replacement budgets will be needed.

For playground equipment, Bentancourt highlighted burn and cut hazards where rubberized coatings have deteriorated or caps are missing on metal tables and benches, and he recommended prioritized replacement or recoating; replacement benches run about $600–$800 and tables about $1,200 each in the examples shown. At Jensen Park the gazebo roof has holes and visible interior damage; roof replacement is a larger expense that would be budgeted in future years while fascia and repainting could be done sooner. He also recommended addressing tripping hazards from raised concrete pads under drinking fountains and repairing landscaping edging on street‑facing walkways.

Central Park needs are less extensive but include a weathered storage shed, vandalized tables and faded parking striping and handicap signage; Bentancourt noted one parking lot curb with exposed rebar he said crews would cut that week. Sycamore Park showed many of the same issues (deteriorated benches, splintering wood barriers used to keep cars out, fading signs and empty dog‑waste stations). Public works had already removed one hazardous bench seating element at Sycamore and cut protruding lag bolts.

Bentancourt said public works staff had already started addressing some items and that the city's insurance consultant, Sedgwick, will perform a full professional safety study of all parks in November to create a prioritized compliance checklist. He proposed bringing Sedgwick's report back to council with an implementation plan showing what staff has already completed and a recommended timeline for capital work. The consultant's safety study, Bentancourt said, is intended to establish the scope for required safety remediation and help the city prioritize expenditures to reduce liability.

Council members asked about the city pool project while parks were being discussed. Bentancourt said earlier engineering work is about 90% complete and the plans have been submitted to the city engineer and to environmental health for review; he estimated a 2–3 week environmental health review turnaround and an estimated 120 working days (roughly six months) for construction once plans are finalized and a contract is awarded, putting a target of opening around June (weather and bidding/contract timelines permitting).

Council discussion noted deferred maintenance linked to staffing and budget constraints; members thanked staff and community partners (Rotary and Little League) for prior cooperative work on maintenance projects and said they expect staff to return with the Sedgwick safety study and a prioritized budget request. Bentancourt said public works will continue to pursue partnerships and volunteer support for aesthetic improvements where feasible and will separate bathroom electrical from ballfield lighting where necessary so bathroom lighting no longer depends on field lights.

Ending: Staff will bring Sedgwick's safety report and a prioritized scope and budget to council for decision on capital funding; in the near term, public works will address obvious hazards identified during the inspection and prepare cost estimates for higher‑cost items such as playground surfacing and roof replacement.