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City seeks community input on hardscaping Civic Park’s center plaza; tight timeline for Winter Wonderland
Summary
City staff asked council for direction to pursue community engagement and feasibility on converting the 4,000‑square‑foot lawn at Civic Park to hardscape (pavers, stamped concrete or lithocrete). Staff said a compressed schedule is needed to implement work before the ice rink foundation is built in November.
City staff told the City Council on Sept. 16 that converting the center rectangle at Civic Park — an iconic 4,000‑square‑foot lawn framed by walkways in front of the Civic Auditorium — to a hardscaped plaza would reduce annual damage from heavy event use and could cut recurring resodding costs (staff estimated roughly $67,000 a year to resod the site after Winter Wonderland). The council asked staff to run an expedited public‑engagement effort on design options.
Director of Engineering Frank Zenteno and Communications Manager Brian Johnson outlined three tiers of hardscape under consideration: permeable pavers, stamped/stained concrete and lithocrete (a custom, artist‑friendly surfacing). Each option carries tradeoffs — cost, longevity and aesthetics — and staff presented rough cost estimates for each tier. Staff emphasized that the site must both support heavy vehicle loads (ice‑rink equipment) and endure deep, annual freeze cycles caused by rink operations.
Staff proposed a two‑phase community engagement approach: an online Balancing Act survey with images and prioritization, followed by an on‑site meeting to review options and solicit hand sketches or designs. Because the Thursday night market season ends in late October and the rink foundation is built in early November, the schedule is compressed; staff said community outreach should begin within days and that design concepts could be returned to council in October for direction if council agreed.
Council members expressed a mix of views in the discussion. Some favored keeping the grass and preserving green space; others supported hardscaping to create a flexible “town square” that withstands event wear and reduces annual resodding. Several council members urged the public outreach to include a plain concrete option and a “leave it as is” choice, along with pavers, stamped concrete and lithocrete, so the community can weigh tradeoffs.
Several members noted the Hanford Heritage Trust had previously litigated proposed changes to Civic Park in the 1990s and asked staff to ensure any change respects the park’s historic context and to coordinate with heritage stakeholders.
Council gave direction to proceed with the proposed outreach and to return with results and design concepts; no final decision to alter the park’s surface was made that night.
