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Director outlines Prop W parks projects, cites strong water-park revenue
Summary
The parks director summarized progress on Prop W-funded projects — new rec-center features, Ivory Crockett splash pad/restrooms RFQ, a multi-use pavilion and a reconfigured skate park — and said the recently opened water park took in nearly $24,000 during its first three days of operation.
The Director provided a wide-ranging update on parks projects funded through Prop W and other city resources, reporting that the city’s newly reopened water park generated nearly $24,000 in admission and concession revenue over its first three operating days and that peak attendance was under the facility’s bather-load capacity.
The Director said the city launched a new mobile-friendly parks website last week, completed concrete and handrail work at the water-park entry, and added bike and scooter racks plus a designated golf-cart parking area. Cabanas are now available for rent at $20 per hour. “We opened on Saturday… the first three days we were open brought in almost $24,000 in daily rates and concession stand,” the Director said.
On capital projects, the Director said staff will soon issue RFQs for design services at Ivory Crockett, where new restrooms and a splash pad are planned. The RFQ will bundle design work so the city can select a design firm before soliciting construction bids.
The Director also described plans for a multi-use performance pavilion behind the ice rink, which will be rent-ready for concerts and community performances, and a reconfiguration of the skate-park and inline-rink layout. A recent planning and design studio estimate for the performance park came in around $1.7 million, the Director said, under an earlier $2.5 million figure from prior studies.
Other near-term projects mentioned include roofing repairs at the ice arena (a prerequisite for planned solar panels on the arena roof and adjacent stadium seating), installation of six high-efficiency rooftop units above the fitness center (estimated to save roughly $20,000 over five years plus an Ameren rebate of about $20,000), replacement of automatic flushers in park restrooms, ADA-door upgrades, and meeting-room partition work for roughly $75,000 versus an earlier $135,000 estimate.
The Director said Oxford Bend Park is slated to open in late July/around Aug. 1, weather permitting, and that the proposed skate-park expansion would increase skating surface to roughly 11,000 square feet with about 2,000 square feet of added area. The Director said $400,000 is budgeted in FY27 for ADA playground features to add accessible equipment across neighborhood parks, a distributed approach staff prefers over building a single large destination playground.
The Director told members staff will circulate diagrams and project plans (including a layout for the pavilion and ball-field area) before the next council agenda and that RFQs for several Prop W projects should be released in the coming weeks. Council review and budget approval remain required steps: the Director reminded members that the city’s fiscal year begins July 1 and that design and contractor selections will follow the council’s approvals.
Plans and procurement schedules will be shared with board members; the Director said he will report back at future meetings with updated timelines and cost details.
