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Rec & Park reports 2000--2012 bond progress, outlines planning for a $255 million 2020 bond
Summary
Recreation and Parks staff told the oversight committee that the 2000 bond is closed, 2008 work is nearly complete, and 2012 projects continue; staff previewed a $255,000,000 allocation in planning documents for a 2020 bond and described an asset-management database showing roughly $950 million in deferred maintenance needs.
Toxi Chike, director of capital planning for the Recreation and Parks Department, told the committee that the city's long-running park bond programs are moving toward completion and that staff are preparing for a new bond cycle. "The 2000 bond is officially closed. Final reconciliation is complete," Chike said, and she noted about 87 projects came out of that earlier program.
Chike said the 2008 bond is "substantially complete" with a small remaining set of projects being finished by leveraging 2012 bond funds; the department expects the last major neighborhood park projects and pools to open by spring 2020. The department has implemented an asset-management system to prioritize repairs and renewals and reported that its most recent assessment identified approximately $950,000,000 in deferred maintenance needs across parks and facilities.
Antonio Guerra, capital finance manager, summarized Port-related activity in the 2012 bond, saying the Port completed its final 2012 issuance and that funds are available for Port projects in the eastern/southeast city. Committee members pressed staff on delays at specific projects (for example Raymond Kimball playground and Crane Cove Park) and on what "entitlement" meant in practice; staff explained entitlement includes CEQA and planning approvals and that additional community engagement and scope reconciliation had delayed some projects.
Members asked how staff will tighten delivery schedules for a proposed 2020 bond. Chike said the department will build more robust timelines for each phase, do more scoping early using existing funds, and move entitlement work earlier in the schedule so estimated and actual completion dates align more closely. She said a bond working group will meet 20 to 30 times over the coming months to develop project priorities for presentation to the Recreation and Park Commission and then the Board of Supervisors for a June 2020 ballot placement.
Controlleroffice staff confirmed they have audit authority over Port projects and that the Controller's audit plan includes park-bond groups in their sample for future construction audits. Several members expressed disappointment the Port did not attend and asked that Port staff be specifically calendared for the committee's January meeting so the committee can review detailed, bond-style reporting from the Port.
The committee did not take a new formal action on the 2020 bond during the meeting; staff said the draft bond plan in the 10-year capital plan currently allocates $255,000,000 for parks and related programs and that the bond working group will recommend the final split between named projects and programmatic funds.
