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Staff outlines phased designs and cost estimates for Palmer and Nicholas park improvements
Summary
Community Services Director Doug Storey told the Parks and Recreation Committee that 30% construction plans are complete for Palmer and Nicholas parks, showing phased work, preliminary cost estimates and a plan to relocate the Nicholas dog park to Palmer. Staff said more funding will be required and will return with options.
Community Services Director Doug Storey told the Parks and Recreation Committee that the design team has delivered 30% construction documents for upgrades at Palmer Park and Nicholas Park, beginning a review process with utility providers and internal departments.
The 30% plans mark the start of coordination with the Beaumont Cherry Valley Water District, the city—uilding, planning and public-works departments and public-safety reviewers, Storey said. "The 30% plans are usually the set of plans that you begin to send to those utility organizations," he said. He added the city will take 6 to 8 weeks to gather internal comments before moving to 60% and later bid documents.
The plans include relocating the existing dog park from Nicholas Park to Palmer Park, reconfiguring underused spaces at Nicholas to create lighted practice fields and other community-scale amenities, and a phased approach to construction designed to close gaps between available funding and estimated costs.
Why it matters: The project will reshape two parks in the Fairway Canyon area and requires more funding than the city currently has on hand. Storey said the project currently shows "just over $3,900,000 total for this project" in available funding, and staff presented three separate preliminary cost ranges to guide budgeting and future funding requests.
Key details and timeline
- Design and reviews: Staff received 30% plans and will circulate them to utilities and city departments; internal review is expected to take about 6 to 8 weeks. Comments will be incorporated before 60% and 90% submittals and eventual bid documents.
- Cost estimates and phasing: Storey provided the following preliminary ranges from the design team's cost estimates: Palmer Park improvements roughly $3,500,000 to $4,200,000; Nicholas Park phase 1 approximately $4,080,000 to $6,600,000; Nicholas Park phase 2 about $4,200,000 to $5,000,000. Staff said those 30% estimates include a contingency line at about 15% and a market-instability allowance for material price volatility.
- Funding approach: Storey said the city intends to pursue a phased build and to return to the City Council with funding options, including grants and partnerships, to close the gap between available funds and estimated costs.
Community feedback and pickleball discussion
A member of the public (listed in the record as Resident) raised concerns that pop-up outreach to neighbors showed predominantly negative reaction to installing pickleball courts and expressed frustration that "the city just does whatever they want." The commenter asked whether the pickleball courts would still proceed despite negative local feedback.
Storey replied that the project team is weighing popup feedback alongside citywide data gathered for the Parks Master Plan, including a GAPS analysis that maps amenities across the city. "Pickleball continues to... be a significant need and a significantly important part of the community," he said, noting heavy use of indoor and outdoor courts at the Recreation Center and systemwide survey responses that ranked pickleball near the top of amenity needs behind restrooms and shade.
Storey said Nicholas Park offers rare acreage suited to a larger, regional park with lighted fields and practice areas that can draw citywide users, while Palmer Park functions more as a neighborhood park.
Action taken
Committee members moved to accept the staff report on Nicholas and Palmer Park; the motion carried (vote recorded as "Aye" and "Motion carries").
What comes next
Storey said staff will gather utility and department comments, revise the plans, and return with 60% and later submittals. He said staff will present funding options to City Council as design advances and encouraged committee members and residents to review the parks master-plan draft when it is presented to the committee in April.
Ending
Staff emphasized the phased nature of the work and the need to pursue additional funding before full construction can proceed. The committee approved the staff report and directed staff to continue design and outreach work.
