Parks and Recreation staff asked the CRA board to fund phased, durable improvements at Curtis Hixon Park, including pavement remediation, restroom upgrades and additional canopy trees along Ashley Street, but members split on whether the CRA should pay for what some described as routine city park maintenance.

Tony Monk, Parks and Recreation planning and design, said the park’s condition "has not improved in a year and a half" and walked the board through primary priorities, a proposed design‑build RFQ and a strategy to add shade while preserving the event lawn. "If we're chewing up the pavement, we want to add shade," Monk said, describing changes intended to make the park more maintainable and resilient.

Some board members said Curtis Hixon is a signature downtown park and argued for investing now; others said CRA funds are intended for transformational work and that patching a citywide maintenance shortfall with CRA dollars would be unfair to neighborhoods without CRA districts. "This is a city asset...I would like to see this kind of budgeted into general funds for upkeep," Board member Clendenin said. Board member Carlson stressed the practical constraint that the annual city budget is typically "baked" before council consideration.

Staff and board discussed phasing, timing and how the RFQ would be structured to avoid interfering with the event season. Monk estimated an RFQ within one to two months, design/permitting during the following months and main construction after the event season—conservative notice to proceed likely in late fall with main work the next summer.

To allow more context and individual briefings, the board voted to continue the item to the January 15 meeting and directed staff to hold individual briefings with board members beforehand. The board also asked staff to present pending applications at the January meeting and agreed to consider competing priorities when the CRA budget is reviewed.

What's next: Staff will provide individual briefings to board members and return with additional financial context, a design‑build approach and potential alternate funding options for consideration on January 15.