Morris Park BID secures another year for Loreto lighting; committee urged to add Loreto renovation to capital requests

CAMILLA, representing the Morris Park Business Improvement District, told the Community Board 11 Parks Committee on June 12 that the district secured a one-year permit to reinstall lighting at Loreto Park and will redesign the installation to qualify as a new permit.

Camilla said the lighting installation previously operated under an expired permit; the BID obtained another year of permission by modifying the design. She reported that heavy rain events recently left a catchment basin in the alley behind the park restrooms flooded, creating standing water overnight on at least one visit she described. "It was an ocean, and then the next day in the morning, it was a smaller ocean," Camilla said, recounting observations at night and in the morning.

Camilla asked the parks committee to support a formal request to include a renovation of Loreto's central open area in the community board's statements of need and capital requests. She said the project is seeking state downtown revitalization funds that typically require some local matching contribution and noted that no capital projects for Loreto appeared in the city capital-project database she checked. The committee's chair suggested placing the request into the annual community board requests so it appears persistently in budget and capital pleas.

Camilla also announced a public event: a concert on June 18 featuring Councilmember Omar moretto (as referenced in the meeting), and asked the committee to help publicize the event and the permit work.

Committee procedure: The Parks Committee did not have quorum and recorded that no motions or votes took place. The committee noted the permit extension and the drainage concerns but took no formal action during the June 12 meeting.

Ending

Camilla said she would follow up in writing and requested that the board include Loreto renovation in its annual community needs and capital requests to increase the project's chances of funding and completion.