Council debates parks projects, parking and heavy‑equipment needs as staff readies CO notice

Parks and fleet capital needs were the focus of an extended discussion as the Amarillo City Council weighed the timing and scope of proposed debt funding.

Parks and Recreation Director Michael Kashuba outlined proposed projects the department would like council to consider for debt funding, including park-wide lighting upgrades at Thompson, John Stiff and Memorial parks; three parking lots to serve John Stiff and Rick Klein; structural repairs and drainage work at the Memorial Park gazebo (a 1,500-square-foot facility with a basement); pump-station replacements at golf courses; and smaller equipment such as a hydrovac and a mini excavator. Kashuba presented conservative budgetary estimates and life-expectancy assumptions for each category.

Kashuba said lighting projects aim to increase safety and extend usable park hours and that some fixture types carry longer manufacturer warranties and longer useful lives. He described parking-lot proposals that would add roughly 210 spaces in one John Stiff location, 170 in another and about 360 spots at…