Park staff outline $2.3M skate park, playground and other 2026 projects; commission approves donation-funded baseball upgrades and event permits

Rick, parks staff lead, presented a slate of 25 anticipated 2026 park and forestry projects at the Feb. 26 West Bend City Park and Recreation Commission meeting and summarized budgets, grant awards and timelines.

Rick opened the project overview saying the slide deck listed 25 projects the department expects to pursue this year. The presentation highlighted several items: completion of a roof replacement at the Ridgerun White family cabin ($15,000 budgeted); interior remodel work at the camp lodge; an All Abilities Playground designed 2020–22 with a 2026 construction target and a revised estimate of about $2.35 million (up from a previously cited $1.65 million because of inflation and added site work); and a proposed world‑class skate park estimated at roughly $2.315 million for three phases, with a verbal commitment from a community member for a six‑figure donation to kickstart fundraising.

Staff also described smaller capital needs and grants: ADA improvements and an accessible parking area for the archery range (a DNR/US Fish & Wildlife grant will cover 75% of construction costs, with the remainder paid by the city), new bullpens and batting‑tunnel work at Carl Cus Field, and a planned air‑conditioning installation at Riverside Park Pavilion ($20,874 from city capital projects funding). Rick said the department expects to plant 223 trees under a contract with Dan Larson Construction and handle free‑replacement requests for 94 street trees.

Cybersecurity for RecTr@k: staff reported that web‑site ticketing and registration systems suffered bot attacks in 2025 that led to fraudulent purchase attempts; IT has installed a targeted web application firewall to block automated attacks and web scraping at a recurring cost of about $7,000 a year. Staff argued the protection is necessary given more than $90,000 in facility reservation revenue on the platform in the last year.

Donations, motions and events: the commission voted to approve $44,000 in additional Westman Baseball Association donations for Carl Cus Field improvements (motion made, seconded and passed by voice). The commission also accepted $280 in memorial donations for the Special Olympics, $1,250 from Delta Defense for the Dirty Ninja Mud Run, and $1,500 from the West Bend Community Foundation for a new AED at Regnar Beach House; staff noted the prior AED and its training media were obsolete. The commission approved a list of no‑fee community events and a separate list of fee‑related events (including music concerts and tournaments) after a discussion about how Kilborn Avenue construction will be coordinated to maintain access for July 4th events.

What comes next: many of the larger projects will require further design, grants, fundraising or council approvals. Staff said the department will return with bids, final cost estimates and requests for council permission to bid as needed.