Primrose Park work advances; board presses for costs, timelines and parking agreements

Primrose Park’s Phase 2 work is well underway and the Parks Board on Sept. 12, 2025 pressed staff for clearer cost tracking, firm contractor quotes and a timeline for remaining items as the city moves toward an expected December completion.

At the meeting Richard Russell, the city council liaison, told the board the council adopted the fiscal 2026 budget and staff reported park-specific progress. Board members heard Phase 2 updates that included paved driveways and parking, irrigation installed in outfields, hydro-mulched ponds with established grass, poured concrete footings for dugouts and stadium lights, and sidewalks under construction. A staff member said the concession building has been installed and infield dirt has been delivered so the fields are visibly progressing.

Board members and staff focused on procurement and closeout details: a contractor is preparing a combined change order for batting cages and an AED pad; staff is awaiting the contractor’s price for batting cages to take to council; an updated quote for eight sets of bleachers was reported at about $4,000; and staff has two scoreboard quotes, proposed for Field 1 (main baseball) and Field 4 (flex/softball). Members also discussed pursuing sponsorships and donations to offset costs and asked staff to prepare a straightforward donor form to distribute to businesses.

The board debated parking and site layout after a developer’s request to buy into regional detention changed earlier plans. Staff described negotiations with Living Word Church about cross‑access and a potential memorandum of understanding so Primrose Park and the church could share parking for events. Staff said the city will not expand the park pond into the church parcel and, as a tradeoff, the city and the church would coordinate parking access rather than creating the previously planned right-of-way. Board members requested staff confirm the terms and warned that cross-access arrangements can be changed in the future unless formal easements are recorded.

Members also raised design questions. A staff member said the project team originally opted for concrete instead of asphalt for parking because of lifespan and maintenance considerations but that a city requirement for permeable pavers now exists and will likely be incorporated in Phase 3 to meet the ordinance. Board members asked staff to include permeable pavers in future designs where required.

Several members pressed for clearer fiscal reporting. One board member requested a simple project status chart showing dollars spent, percentage of work complete and amount remaining, similar to an “S-curve” or project-percent table used for other capital projects. Staff said they would ask finance to provide a breakdown (amount spent to date and percent complete) and bring a layout/map showing detention, the parcel lines and proposed access for the next meeting.

Timing and next steps: staff estimated the park could be complete by December and said they would return at the next meeting with updated quotes for batting cages, shade-structure footing timing and a funding/status chart. Board members said they expect procurement deadlines to be enforced so items such as batting cages and shade structures can be ordered without further delay.

Votes and formal actions at the meeting were limited. The board approved minutes from July 11 by motion and second; the minutes motion was carried by unanimous voice without a roll-call tally recorded in the transcript. The meeting adjourned by motion at the end of the session.

Because work remains on Phase 3 and some design or procurement items carry lead times, board members asked staff to return with specific vendor quotes, the requested financial progress report, and any drafted cross-access or memorandum-of-understanding documents for review.