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Blaine parks staff outlines 2026 CIP: $450,000 for trails, $5.05M for Osmond’s shelter and baseball‑complex ADA fixes
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Summary
Parks staff told the board the 2026 parks CIP includes $450,000 for trail maintenance, $115,000 for Jefferson Park, and $5,050,000 for Osmond’s shelter; staff described ADA restroom rework at the Blaine Baseball Complex and ordered new adult changing tables after state rule changes.
Jerome, a parks staff member, presented the department’s 2026 parks capital improvement projects and facility repairs to the Blaine Parks and Recreation Advisory Board during the March 9 meeting.
“’26 is happening for sure,” Jerome said, noting the 2026 budget was adopted by council in December. He described several line items on the board’s CIP: $450,000 for trail maintenance, $115,000 for Jefferson Park, $35,000 for siding and building repair at Osmond’s Park, and a $5,050,000 line for the Osmond’s shelter project.
Jerome gave a detailed update on the Blaine Baseball Complex: exterior railings and ADA push‑button door controls have been installed but require programming; both restrooms were stripped to replace fixtures and partitions because the existing layout did not meet current ADA spacing standards. He said contractors will build bump‑outs and install new ADA‑compliant toilets and waterproof wall finishes before the fields open.
On adult changing tables purchased with an Anoka County grant, Jerome said the department returned the initial units to the vendor after learning they did not conform to newly interpreted ADA rules. “We had to send them back to Alabama … We got credit for them and so we had to order new ones,” he said, adding the replacement tables ordered are larger (48‑inch width) to meet guidance.
Jerome also described Jim Peterson site improvements: a parking expansion and blacktop overlay, an infiltration pond to meet watershed requirements, and a small warming house with family‑style restrooms and a packaged‑goods concession area. He said overhead power lines constrained some options and the design seeks to keep costs down, including considering a stick‑built structure on a concrete slab.
The department has ordered five new scoreboards for BBC fields 2–6 to replace aging units; the new boards will be managed by a mobile app rather than legacy handheld controllers. Jerome said Osmond’s Park buildings (constructed in the 1970s) need re‑siding and re‑shingling and that staff will seek contractor estimates to complete that work this year.
Other items covered included trail maintenance priorities (an estimated two miles of trail work within the $450,000 allocation), outdoor rink attendance statistics (totaling about 7,870 skater visits across sites for the season), community garden occupancy and the upcoming Blaine Festival (June 26–28). Several board members asked about restroom access and liability at Osmond’s and about concession licensing; Jerome said packaged goods require licenses but not a full commercial kitchen setup unless on‑site cooking occurs.
No formal votes were taken on CIP items at this meeting; Jerome asked the board to review the printed budget sheets and provide feedback as spring site visits proceed.
