Board hears strong support for new Lower Sellmeier playground; staff to bring renderings

Staff presented the public‑engagement results for the Lower Sellmeier Park playground project, reporting 37 in‑person attendees (not counting children and spouses) and a total of 64 responses across in‑person and online surveys. Staff told the board the engagement was unusually strong and that the single most common request on survey cards was a new playground (39 mentions)."The new playground obviously was a top one at 39," staff said during the presentation.

Board members pressed on design and budget details. Staff described preferred elements drawn from the engagement — lower‑level, ground‑based play features aimed at toddlers, more bench seating for caregivers, picnic and green‑space improvements, and ADA‑compliant synthetic surfacing to reduce maintenance. Staff said two playground vendors will be asked to produce multiple renderings and rough‑order‑of‑magnitude (ROM) cost estimates, and that those renderings and costs would be returned to the board for a recommendation to council. Staff noted the project is linked to the city's 2020 bond and cited the bond amount listed in materials.

Several board members questioned whether the bond allocation would cover a new playground. Documents in the packet list the bond total (for the broader bond program) as $14,040,000 and staff referenced a currently allocated line item of $140,000 for the Lower Sellmeier playground. Staff said additional funding could be explored, and asked the board to provide a directional cap for vendors so renderings include options within budget and options up to roughly 25%–30% above the existing allocation for comparison. The board requested three price tiers (in‑budget, midrange and higher option) when staff returns renderings.