Parks staff warns of $113M backlog; urges funding strategies including impact fees and potential levy

Parks staff presented an updated capital priorities list that estimates roughly $113 million in needed projects across parks, facilities and systems. Staff contrasted that figure with the department's current annual capital appropriation of about $297,000 and said, "Divide 113 million by 297,000 gives you something like 200 or 2,000 or more years to get our capital projects list completed." The presentation identified critical maintenance and safety concerns including Dumas Bay Center utility and boiler systems, the deteriorating city hall roof and elevator, Steel Lake dock float integrity and aging sports‑field light poles at Sakajaia.

Staff highlighted steps already taken (a park impact fee was adopted last year) and urged the council to consider more durable funding sources to address deferred maintenance and capital needs: "Doing a parks levy as council member Koshmire suggests... if the voters want it, then putting it to a vote of the people," a staff speaker said. Council members discussed options (utility tax uses, leveraging overlay programs for park asphalt) and asked for comparative staffing and peer‑city funding levels; staff noted parks is understaffed relative to comparable cities and that program maintenance funding will also need increases to support new facilities.

Next steps: staff will continue to refine the capital priority list, coordinate with finance on funding options for the 2027–28 budget cycle and return with more data on feasibility and staging.