Parks commission forms subcommittee to narrow playground design options after vendor presentations and budget questions

The Beaches, Parks and Recreation Commission reviewed six vendor proposals for two Capital Improvement Program playground replacements — the upper playground at Forester Ranch Park and the Tega Park playground — and unanimously voted to form a subcommittee to narrow options, confirm budgets and prepare a formal recommendation.

Parks and Recreation Director Samantha Wy summarized the RFQ process and said staff received eight proposals and deemed two non-responsive, leaving six bids for the commission to review. Wy told commissioners that the council has directed moving away from engineered wood fiber toward rubberized pour-in-place surfacing or artificial playground turf, both of which add substantial cost. "With the rising costs of absolutely everything, these playgrounds are becoming more and more expensive to replace," Wy said, noting the city allocated roughly $450,000 for equipment as part of a combined project budget just over $700,000 for both parks but that installation and surfacing will be bid as a public works contract and could push final costs higher.

Staff and vendors walked commissioners through design concepts from Compound, RJM, Zoom Recreation, Recreation Brands, Great West and Pacific Play Systems. Features discussed included separated age zones (2–5 and 5–12), slides down natural hills, multiple swing bays (commissioners emphasized retaining six swings), shaded swing structures, zipline elements at Forester and themed elements in some proposals. Vendors emphasized adherence to the $450,000 equipment constraint when possible; Mike Etcherson of Recreation Branch of Southern California said his firm designed to that constrained budget and recommended synthetic turf as one cost-effective surfacing choice. Christopher "KJ" Johnson of Great Western Recreation described design choices informed by the community survey and argued for intergenerational play elements.

Commissioners pressed staff on several technical points: sand cannot be the primary surfacing because it is not ADA-compliant; artificial turf requires potable water for irrigation; and fall zones for equipment drive playground footprint and surfacing area. Commissioners and members of the public also raised maintenance and health concerns about crumb rubber infill and discussed trade-offs between maximizing play equipment versus prioritizing compliance and durable surfacing.

A motion to recommend Great West's options was proposed but some commissioners expressed a desire for more detailed cost analysis and itemized reductions to meet budget constraints. Instead, the commission adopted a substitute motion to create a subcommittee charged with narrowing vendor options, confirming budget implications, and preparing a formal recommendation to the full commission (and to council if additional funding is requested). The motion named several commissioners to the subcommittee on the record (Commissioner McCann, Commissioner Delagowski and Commissioner Garcia) with an additional seat to be confirmed; the substitute motion passed unanimously. Staff set a target for subcommittee work to be completed by June 30 and said the subcommittee would have the option to interview vendors and propose specific element reductions to stay within budget.

Next steps: the subcommittee will refine one or more recommended options, clarify exact equipment vs. surfacing costs and present its recommendation to the full commission; if the package requires more funding for installation or surfacing, staff said the commission's recommendation would go to council for approval.