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Finance Committee forwards Don Sakihini playground ordinance for assembly introduction
Summary
The committee voted to introduce an ordinance funding site preparation and safety surfacing for the Don Sakihini (Glentagahine) playground after earlier bond and design discussions; the item returns to the full assembly for consideration.
The Assembly Finance Committee on Aug. 6 voted to introduce an ordinance that would fund site preparation and safety surfacing for the Don Sakihini (Glentagahine) school playground.
The item returned to the committee after earlier budget debate and a failed bond measure. Committee staff said the ordinance reflects a joint school-board and assembly committee recommendation reached during earlier work sessions. The ordinance presented covers site prep and playground surfacing; playground equipment and layout will be addressed separately by the school district.
Committee discussion traced the project’s history: an earlier design estimate substantially exceeded the committee’s initial budget guidance, prompting the project to be reworked. Committee members and staff noted the difference between “design to a budget” and “design to the full wish list,” and several members said clearer cost expectations earlier in the design process would have reduced back-and-forth.
School and community representatives told the committee the Glentagahine campus does not have a usable playground. One representative summarized the impact: “These students do not have a playground. They have a field that turns into mud and an ice rink so that they are playing on the graveled path in front of the building during the winter. It is a priority for their physical health, their emotional health. They need a playground.”
The packet cites a $660,000 project cost for site preparation and surfacing, with an additional fencing estimate of about $70,000 given in committee discussion; the total for those items was presented to the committee as roughly $730,000. Chair Wall and staff clarified that the ordinance under consideration would not purchase playground equipment; equipment selection and placement are expected to proceed through the school district’s separate process.
Assemblymember Smith moved ordinance 2025-01BF (Don Sakihini playground site prep and surfacing) for introduction at the next regular assembly meeting and asked unanimous consent; no objections were raised and the motion passed without recorded dissent.
The ordinance will be introduced to the full assembly for a formal public hearing and vote in the regular meeting cycle.
