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Duvall staff outline parks budget, grants and capital priorities; Big Rock expansion, shoreline work discussed
Summary
City public works staff told the new Duvall Parks Advisory Commission that parks operations run on roughly a $740,000 annual budget (about 70% staffing), that recent parks work totaled about $3.9 million (57% grant-funded), and that Big Rock and shoreline projects are on the capital horizon.
Public works staff told the Duvall Parks Advisory Commission on June 1 that parks operations are lean, capital needs are large and the city relies heavily on grants to advance projects.
"Parks operations itself has about a $740,000 annual budget. Seventy percent of that is staff," Steve Leneski, Duvall’s public works director, told commissioners as he walked through staffing and budgetary figures.
Leneski said the city manages about 240 acres of parks and open space, though only about 29 acres are maintained on a regular schedule. He described a small parks crew supplemented by seasonal and intern help and said the department is efficient on a per-FTE basis but constrained by scale as the city grows.
On capital work and grants, staff said the city completed about $3.9 million in parks work from 2022 through 2026 and that roughly 57% of that spending was supported by grant funding from county and state sources. The city’s capital improvement program documents an aggregated set of parks projects that staff noted would total roughly $72 million if all listed projects were built.
Big Rock Park was highlighted as a multi-parcel acquisition success: staff said the city expects the park to reach about 35 acres when all parcels and conservation purchases are complete, and staff hopes to begin construction in 2027 pending funding.
Staff also briefed the commission on McCormic Park’s shoreline losses during recent floods and said a FEMA emergency declaration means the city may pursue federal assistance for shore stabilization; staff provided a very preliminary estimate for shore work at over $1 million. "It was a declared emergency. So FEMA will be involved now," Cynthia McNav, the city administrator, said.
Commissioners and staff discussed funding strategies including grants through King County and the State Recreation and Conservation Office, possible foundation support, and the timing of borrowing and bonds for large projects. Staff encouraged commissioners to focus on projects that appear in the PTOS plan to improve competitiveness for grants.
The commission did not take formal votes on projects; staff requested the group’s input on priorities and outreach strategies at the next meeting on July 6.
