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Commission endorses water‑filling stations, sand volleyball upgrades as top uses for sugar‑sweetened beverage tax funds
Summary
Parks commissioners on May 8 advanced recommendations to use Albany's sugar‑sweetened beverage tax revenue for water-bottle filling stations at Ocean View Park and the greenway plus improvements to a sand-volleyball court and accessibility upgrades.
The Parks and Recreation Commission on May 8 endorsed staff recommendations to prioritize water-bottle filling stations and upgrades to a sand‑volleyball facility as uses for Albany’s sugar‑sweetened beverage tax revenue.
Staff presented three priority projects: (1) replace an aging fountain near the pickleball courts at Ocean View Park with a water‑bottle filling station; (2) add a bottle‑filling station along the Greenway/Linear Park to supplement an older decorative drinking fountain; and (3) complete a more fully scoped sand‑volleyball court upgrade, including improved access paths and site work.
"This is an old aggregate water fountain that kinda works, but mostly doesn't," the presenter said of the Ocean View Park fountain, noting the intention to relocate and replace it with an ADA‑accessible bottle filler and a pet water bowl at a more convenient location for court and field users.
Staff estimated the sand‑volleyball project as the largest item and priced a more complete version of the project at about $125,000. The sand court proposal would include upgraded pathways to improve ADA access and address tree‑root damage in existing paved approaches.
For the Greenway, staff said there is an existing decorative fountain whose plumbing is accessible, making a bottle‑filling retrofit a workable option near active exercise areas. When drains are not available, staff said they would install a dry well to manage wastewater from the new fixtures, as done at prior sites.
Commissioners said the projects fit prior commission direction and would be included in materials for an upcoming City Council study session. Staff said the commission need not make a formal presentation to council but members may attend the study session if they wish to speak.
No formal appropriation was made at the meeting; staff will incorporate the commission’s priorities into the city’s presentation to council and into the capital-improvement planning process. The commission recommended moving forward with the water‑filling stations as the primary priority, with the sand‑volleyball site as a secondary capital candidate.
