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Upland council reviews park funding, ties ADA fixes to future projects amid staffing limits
Summary
City staff outlined three park funding sources and proposed setting aside 30% of capital project estimates to cover ADA improvements, while council and staff flagged limited staffing and the need for on-call engineers to speed project delivery.
Upland's City Council reviewed available park funding and a proposed approach to address widespread accessibility improvements during a Sept. 9 special workshop.
Assistant City Manager Stephen Parker introduced Recreation and Community Services Manager Jessica Gandera, who described three funding streams for park capital and maintenance: development impact fees (DIF) that may be spent citywide, Quimby (QMB) fees restricted to parks within a half-mile of where the funds were collected, and recurring park lease revenues limited to the parks where they were generated. Gandera said a table before the council summarized roughly $9,900,000 in combined funding and noted $167,540 in currently unallocated funds.
On ADA needs, Gandera told the council the city is close to completing an ADA master plan and proposed that whenever capital improvements occur in a park staff would: (1) set aside an additional 30% of the estimated project cost to pay for ADA work and (2) complete at least 10% of outstanding ADA items at that site while the capital project is underway. "With the ADA needs now identified, the city is proposing to fix at least 10% of outstanding ADA needs in any park where capital improvements are occurring," Gandera said.
Council members pushed back on timing and scope, asking for a separate, park-by-park ADA budget and total sticker cost. Parker said the city currently lacks a dedicated ADA funding source and characterized the proposed approach as a way to "nibble away at this monstrous task." He provided a rough consolidated estimate, saying doing all ADA work in a single effort could come in "just under $7,000,000," but cautioned that actual costs could be several times higher when bid prices and scope are considered.
Council and staff also discussed how to limit delays on projects. Interim Public Works Director Chris Alanis and Parker said staffing capacity is a major constraint and noted the city recently approved several on-call engineering firms and added park and operations-and-maintenance project managers to speed delivery. Alanis said those outside resources and the new managers will allow the city to complete specialized work faster than internal capacity alone.
Parker told the council staff will consolidate the priorities collected during the meeting and return with recommendations for inclusion in the first-quarter budget update or a midyear adjustment; staff said they may call a follow-up workshop if more detail is required.
The council completed the exercise and adjourned prior to a scheduled closed session.
