Gladstone parks director updates board on summer work, Nature Park trail bid and staffing

Silas Richardson, Gladstone public works director, told the Parks and Recreation Board on Sept. 8 that crews had kept parks well maintained through the summer with regular trash pickup, weekly mowing of irrigated fields and biweekly mowing of non-irrigated areas. He said staff addressed graffiti, completed a large cleanup at Meldrum Bar Park and painted restrooms at Max Patterson ahead of community events.

Richardson updated the board on the Nature Park paved loop trail project, saying a bid opening produced a low bidder identified in the meeting as “KNO.” He said the bid amount reported in the discussion was “around 94,000” and that a staff report recommending that council award the contract was scheduled for the council meeting the following day. "As soon as we get that approved tomorrow, we'll move forward with the rest of the contract and get that moving with the hopes that we're done by maybe the end of October or November," Richardson said.

Richardson also reported the parks division recently added one full-time parks maintenance employee, bringing the department to three full-time staff for parks maintenance in addition to seasonal workers. He described the seasonal hiring window as roughly May through October and said the extra full-time position was intended to support ongoing maintenance and reduce reliance on short-term seasonal labor.

On capital funding, Richardson pointed to two line items in the council packet: a Metro local share grant designated for the restroom and picnic shelter at Nature Park and a Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) grant tied to the loop trail. He told the board those capital grants were included in the packet’s capital outlay section and invited members to raise questions before council consideration.

The board did not take a formal vote on the trail at the parks meeting; Richardson said the council would consider the staff recommendation at its next meeting.