Wasco leaders outline park upgrades and pursue state, federal grants for Annan and Cormac parks

Wasco City and Wasco Recreation and Park District leaders used a joint meeting to review recent park improvements and describe next steps for two grant-funded projects at Annan Park and Cormac Park.

The Wasco Recreation and Park District’s general manager, Chris Serna, summarized recent completed upgrades at Westside Park, Barker Park and Fifteenth Street Park and described new play structures and facility repairs funded through Measure X and other grants. Wanya, a consultant for the district, gave the most detailed updates on the two major grant projects: Annan Park and Cormac Park.

Wanya said the Annan Park project must first meet a compliance process required by the state and federal grant program and that the review “may still take 6 months” because the district must work with a project officer, the state and then federal reviewers. She also said the district is exploring whether to “trade or sell Annan Park, purchase a better location that will serve the community better, and build a new park.” She noted that any build option would require matching funds and that many of the available grants require a local match.

On Cormac Park, Wanya said the original 2019 grant estimate was $1.7 million but later cost updates raised the estimate to about $2.7 million. She said district staff and consultants “have spent time whittling” the project to meet grant goals while reducing scope and that the district has produced documentation to justify a reduced project cost back to $1.7 million for the state. Wanya said the state has signaled a willingness to work with Wasco but that final approval remains with state and federal reviewers.

District and council members discussed grant match requirements and potential funding scales. Wanya said a common grant the district targets requires a 50% match and gave a land-cost example: at about $1.3 million per acre, an 11-acre site could imply a multi‑million‑dollar land cost that would drive a roughly $7 million local match for a full build. She characterized those numbers as illustrative of the scale of funding that would be needed for a large new regional facility.

Wasco Recreation and Parks Board Chair David Martin and board member Erica Marin emphasized that the district has completed several recent projects, including pool and community hall improvements and fencing and dugout upgrades at ballfields, and said the board sees Annan and Cormac as the next major priorities. Marin credited past Measure X funding and recent district work for restoring Fifteenth Street Park from a situation with encampments to a reopened, fenced and furnished community space.

City Manager Scott Erlbert and Carrie (community development director) described the city’s planning and budget context, saying the city’s annual strategic workshop yields top priorities that guide budgeting. Erlbert said parks, recreation and active transportation appear among the city’s top five priorities and noted the city had appropriated $550,000 (a carryover amount) this fiscal cycle for park improvements. He also noted ongoing work to close escrow on land for a new police facility and an unrelated negotiations process with a private company, Unwired, to bring fiber infrastructure to town; those items were presented as separate but potentially synergistic capital priorities.

What this means: Annan and Cormac remain active, multistep grant projects. Annan requires grant compliance work before major construction or disposition decisions; district staff estimate a six‑month window for compliance and next‑step decisions. Cormac has been re-scoped to align with the grant award amount the district will present to the state. District members and staff repeatedly emphasized that securing matching funds and planning for ongoing maintenance (estimated roughly $150,000–$200,000 per year depending on size) will be part of future budgeting discussions.

Votes at a glance

• Approval of the meeting agenda — Motion by Councilmember Vince Martinez; second by Councilmember Gilbert Reyna. Vote: Mayor Valentin Medina — yes; Councilmember Vince Martinez — yes; Councilmember Miguel Raya — yes; Councilmember Gilbert Reyna — yes. Outcome: approved (4–0; Mayor Pro Tem Eduardo Saldana absent).

The meeting produced no binding decisions about selling or trading park land, nor final state approvals; district leaders said those remain dependent on the state/federal grant review and on identifying local matching funds.