Juneau committee directs staff to draft mid-range options for Kahini playground after ADA, funding concerns

Chair Wall, chair of the joint assembly–Juneau School District Facilities Committee, opened the committee’s discussion of the Kahini playground project and asked staff to develop additional design-and-construction options between the lowest-budget package and a higher-cost plan.

The committee voted, by unanimous consent, to direct staff to prepare additional options that fall between the $575,000 total package (the $75,000 design CIP plus a $500,000 construction allocation) and a $1.8 million option presented in the packet. Chair Wall said the additional options should “more completely…solve us care for the goals that we've discussed today” and the motion passed without a recorded roll-call vote.

The move follows months of planning and a range of proposals for the playground at the site variously referred to in the meeting as Dezantecahini or Zontakihini. Sheryl Koch, project manager with CBJ Engineering and Public Works, summarized the project history, saying the assembly previously allocated $75,000 for design and that public works and the school district had been working with a consultant, Corvus Design, on site options.

Committee members and district officials pressed staff on three recurring issues: Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) access, whether the playground could be built in phases, and how a possible regulation change from the Alaska Department of Education and Early Development (DEED) could affect local funding. Jean Ren, chief architect for CBJ Engineering and Public Works, told the group, “Yes. There should be some ADA access. The intent is that the playground itself is going to be accessible.” Ren added that constructing a sidewalk is the longest-lasting way to meet access and maintenance goals.

Several school board members said the lowest-cost option would not meet ADA standards and might not provide usable playground equipment for much of the year. “Of the three reduced proposals that were in front of our committee, two of them did not reach ADA compliance, and the only option that did does not even meet the definition of playground,” said Mr. Muldoon, a member of the Juneau School District facilities committee. Member Christy Sorensen and others argued that partial “piecemeal” builds have left other sites incomplete for years and urged a more substantive solution that serves a broad age range.

Superintendent Hauser advised the committee on timing and district impacts, warning that a transfer of funds and necessary assembly approvals would likely push any full construction well beyond the coming school year. “So we're really talking about the beginning of…two school years from now,” Hauser said, describing the realistic schedule if the assembly moves forward through its normal budget and transfer process.

Members discussed community support sources, including informal contacts with service clubs such as Rotary, but no firm outside fundraising arrangements were reported. Mayor Weldon and other assembly members noted current borough budget pressures, including flood recovery and other capital needs, and said a parks bond could be a potential route for broader funding if pursued in a future ballot cycle.

By consensus the committee set a process: staff will prepare mid-range options (staff suggested examples such as roughly $750,000 and $1.25 million alternatives), those options will go to the Juneau School District board for comment, and the packet would then be forwarded to the full assembly for budget consideration. Staff and committee members agreed that, under that timeline, construction would not begin this fall.

The meeting record shows no formal roll-call vote on the motion; the directive to staff passed by unanimous consent. The committee did not adopt a preferred design or commit specific additional funding; it asked staff to return with clearer, ADA-compliant options at intermediate price points for the district and the assembly to review.