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Committee pitches picnic-area concept to limit costs for Ford Field restroom project
Summary
A Portola Valley parks committee member urged a shift from an expensive new building to a prefab-supported Dorothy Ford picnic area with flush restrooms and concessions, after two landscape-architect bids suggested narrowing scope to control planning and construction costs. Council has set $40,000 for a phase-one study.
Karen, a Parks & Recreation committee member, presented alternatives for Ford Field infrastructure, urging a change in approach that would favor a multi-use picnic area over a large new building. "Instead of thinking about just constructing a building at Ford, maybe we should think about how to create an inviting area," she said, showing example prefab concession/restroom units and a site sketch near existing utility hookups.
The presentation summarized two responses to the project RFP and flagged cost risks: both firms warned that broad scopes and full-park surveys could drive planning costs up and lead to an expensive, multi-million-dollar build. Karen said narrowing the study area and adhering to Alpine Road setback lines would reduce survey and permitting expenses and ease community acceptance. She told the committee she had instructed designers that "we do not want a million dollar bathroom and that includes any planning costs."
The picnic-area idea would place a modest prefab concession and flush-restroom structure close to existing utilities, add picnic tables, bike racks and a water bottle filler, and include screening plantings and optional netting to protect users from stray balls. Committee members noted trade-offs: the plan could reduce informal gathering space used by parents who park near the field, and two ADA parking spaces plus a concrete walkway would be required. David Bailey said a protective net would likely be needed if the facility sits near the field; David Cardinal emphasized that replanting opportunities exist where stressed trees currently stand.
Committee members discussed funding and process. Staff and members confirmed the Town Council previously allocated $40,000 for phase one of the Ford Field bathroom/design study; the committee agreed that Karen should coordinate with Darcy (town staff) and the two landscape firms to narrow the scope, request cost-reduction options (for example, three-tier "good/better/best" proposals), and confirm whether grants tied to the Alpine Road Trail designation are available. Members also suggested volunteer plantings or Eagle Scout projects to reduce implementation costs.
The committee asked staff to return with refined scope options and clearer cost estimates before issuing or awarding a feasibility-study contract. Karen said she would circulate the slide deck and follow up with Darcy. The committee did not take a formal, binding vote on a final design but supported advancing a narrowed feasibility study and community-engagement work as the next step.
