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Colona parks committee pushes for formal capital improvement plan, debates campground accounting and grant strategy
Summary
At a public parks committee meeting, members agreed to formalize a prioritized capital improvement plan for Scott Family Park to strengthen grant applications, while debating whether campground operations should be accounted for separately from Colona's public park assets; the committee set a June 25 work session and tasked staff to improve cost-tracking.
The Colona Parks Committee met to discuss a formal capital improvement plan (CIP) for Scott Family Park and other town parks, aiming to prioritize repairs, produce grant-ready cost estimates and establish clearer accounting between the campground business and municipal park assets.
Mayor Johnson urged the committee to create "a fullfledged plan" that lists needs in priority order and links projects to funding, saying prioritizing work "goes a long way" with state grantmakers and legislators and helps justify future rate or levy decisions. Committee members agreed the plan should include estimated costs, projected fiscal years for work and the staff-hours or contractor estimates grant applications require.
The committee debated whether the campground should be treated as a business distinct from Colona's public amenities such as the pool and clubhouse. Members said current accounting is commingled, making it difficult to tell if the campground generates net revenue or requires subsidy. The group discussed installing separate electric and water meters, apportioning public-works staff time between campground and park work and reviewing invoices to establish a baseline allocation for budgeting.
Committee members also prioritized preparing numbers for a roughly $300,000 grant and an OLED (described in the meeting as a 50/50 matching) opportunity. The committee targeted compiling the CIP and cost estimates within 60 to 90 days and aiming to have materials ready for DCEO submission by the end of August to support a fiscal-year 27-28 implementation timeline.
Brett Gard, a Level Acres resident who spoke during public comment, asked the committee to coordinate volunteer projects at Sullivan Park and "invite that dialogue going forward" so community efforts align with city priorities.
Next steps: the committee scheduled a 9 a.m. work session on Thursday, June 25, for staff to put numbers into the spreadsheet and for members to refine the CIP before returning a public draft to the full council. The committee did not take any formal policy votes on park funding at the meeting beyond routine approvals of prior minutes and adjournment.
