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Pensacola parks board to workshop Tippin Park accessibility after resident urges restoring funds
Summary
A resident told the Parks and Recreation Board the city removed funding tied to a 2019 accessibility priority for Tippin Park; the board agreed to workshop the project, gather design and cost estimates, and aim to deliver a council recommendation by July.
Sherry Myers, a Pensacola resident, told the City of Pensacola Parks and Recreation Board that Tippin Park needs to be rebuilt as an inclusive playground for people with physical disabilities and urged the board to press city council to restore funding. "I'm going to keep insisting that we put that money back into Tippin Park," Myers said during the meeting.
Myers cited a 2019 legislative-priority document that she said estimated roughly $1,000,000 would be required to make the park fully inclusive and said about $650,000 was removed from that allocation. She said the 2019 priorities were submitted under a previous mayor and that the board should treat the issue as a civil-rights and accessibility concern.
Board members and Director Tanya Bird acknowledged the importance of an inclusive playground but noted the parks board is advisory. One member said the $1,000,000 figure in the handout had not been funded to the city and that current funding for related work appeared to be about $450,000, with two contractors engaged to provide playground options. Director Bird said staff had surveyed local elementary schools and sent those requirements to playground manufacturers to solicit designs and price quotes.
The board voted to bring Tippin Park forward as a new-business workshop item, with members agreeing to study the original intent of the 2019 legislative priorities, review site constraints (including limited parking and county right-of-way issues), and ask the city arborist to inspect trees at the site. Members set a target to produce a formal recommendation to city council by July after gathering design options, cost estimates and feasibility details.
Board members stressed that the Parks and Recreation Board can advise council but cannot appropriate funds; any funding change would be a council decision. The workshop will aim to produce language and a motion the board can forward to council. Next steps include staff providing survey results and manufacturer quotes and the board scheduling the workshop in a future meeting cycle.
