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Port Orchard council members urge a comprehensive parks plan to address aging playgrounds and funding
Summary
Council members flagged deteriorating playground equipment at Van Zee and Paul Powers parks, discussed pump-track and disc-golf site options, and asked staff to prioritize parks, update the parks plan to pursue RCO grants, and develop level-of-service and funding analyses for potential levies.
Council members at the Port Orchard Land Use Committee on July 8 pressed staff to take a citywide look at parks after members described aging playground equipment, missing swings and accessibility shortfalls at Van Zee and Paul Powers parks.
"There's remnants of play equipment ... There's nothing for kids to do there except for the jungle gym," Council member Scott Dehner said of Van Zee Park, urging an assessment of play features and the disc-golf course’s clear zones. Public Works Director Dennis Ryan described parts shortages, accessibility barriers and a limited maintenance budget: "Pea gravel is still acceptable in some situations. It is not assessable. It is not ADA." Ryan said the city had put $50,000 in the budget for repairs but that rebuilding play areas to modern safety and ADA standards is expensive.
Community Development Director Nick Bond told the committee the city’s parks plan is due for an update and encouraged completion of park master plans to qualify for Recreation and Conservation Office (RCO) grants that typically require a 50% local match. Bond said a full parks-plan update is a 12–16 month process and that staff planned to propose funding in the 2027 budget cycle.
Members discussed prioritizing a small set of parks for immediate work rather than a large, costly overhaul. Dehner suggested focusing on the three or four highest-priority parks to meet grant timelines; Dennis Ryan recommended an expanded assessment and said an additional $100,000 might be needed to get a full sense of condition and costs. Committee members also raised Givens community center concerns and whether county plans to sell or demolish the facility could affect seniors’ services; Scott Dehner estimated high rehabilitation costs and urged monitoring of the county process.
The committee asked staff to fold these needs into a more holistic parks planning effort and to prepare information on options, costs, and grant opportunities for council review.
