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Bowmont staff outline $25M Terrell Park vision, pool and playground upgrades and bond‑timing shifts
Summary
Staff presented a multi‑year parks and recreation CIP including Terrell Park transformation (~$25M), pool modernizations, playground and restroom replacements, and athletic complex work; many larger park projects were highlighted as potential GO bond items and shifted to FY29 as placeholders.
City staff presented the parks and recreation portion of the five‑year Capital Improvement Program, detailing a set of projects intended to modernize amenities and expand capacity for events and youth programming.
Kenneth and other staff described immediate and multi‑year projects: rehabilitation of athletic complex parking lots (~$1.6M) and restroom and parking upgrades at athletic complexes; installation of neighborhood park shade pavilions (multi‑year, ~$2.9M) with an installation pace of roughly two pavilions per year; pool upgrades at Magnolia and Alice Keith parks (~$2.3M) including ADA improvements and system replacement; splash pad renovations (~$367,000) to replace underground equipment with above‑ground systems and reduce downtime; playground replacement and shade additions (~$3.3M); and restroom renovations across ~20 park restrooms (~$2.0M phased over multiple years.
Staff highlighted a proposed transformative Terrell Park project (described in the presentation at an estimated cost of ~$25M) that would add walking trails, nature play areas, a splash pad and regulation‑size fields; the CIP lists this as a major regional park investment. The Babes of Harris complex parking expansion (~$1.4M) would add roughly 275 spaces and address roadside parking concerns for high‑attendance soccer events.
Jimmy Neil reviewed recreation projects including pickleball courts at the Municipal Tennis Center (~$971,000), a fitness court (~$200,000) with a potential $50,000 Blue Cross Blue Shield grant, a driving range net at the golf course, and two scales of athletic complex renovation (a full turf renovation previously estimated at ~$7.4M and a smaller turf‑infield approach near $2M). Neil said the larger golf‑course renovation proposals priced at ~$14M and ~$19M created concern about project affordability.
Molly and other staff explained that several park projects originally proposed in a bond package are being retained as 'placeholders' and shifted to later years (FY29) to preserve flexibility; council members were asked to consider whether items should be accelerated, retained for bonding, or removed from the CIP as staff refines fiscal options. Staff emphasized grants and non‑debt funding as alternatives for some projects. "If council sees some of these and wants to revisit them in a future bond issue, you can decide to push them to future consideration or pull them out," staff said.
