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Council moves ahead with parks renovation projects
By Kara Chalmers
The Saratoga City Council unanimously approved five of the six recommendations of the Parks and Recreation Commission on how to spend the $2.4 million in park development funds, at the City Council's Oct. 26 joint meeting with the commission. The funds are for purchasing or renovating existing parks, fields and buildings.
Since council members need more time to decide how much money to allocate to renovating the community center, they directed city staff to look into the matter and report back in 90 days.
"I feel the council is behind these decisions," said commissioner Kay Whitney after the meeting. "Unless we have their support, the community can't benefit from these projects."
The commission presented a list to the council of prioritized recommendations that the commission decided on at its Oct 18 meeting. In creating the list, the commission followed a community wish list created in 1996, and based priorities on the projects that are closest to completion.
The council voted to move ahead with the Kevin Moran and Gardiner Park playground equipment improvements, on which the commission suggested spending $200,000; the Wildwood and Congress Springs Park restroom renovation, which are estimated to total $130,000; trails improvements totaling $100,000; Congress Springs Park playfields improvements totaling $600,000; and El Quito Park restrooms renovations totaling $33,000.
Council members and commissioners discussed the Congress Springs playfields issue at length, and came up with ideas on what to do when the overused Congress Springs Park playfields are refurbished in the future.
In general, the council members agreed that Congress Springs playfields are in bad shape and need immediate attention.
"There are two issues with Congress Springs," City Manager Larry Perlin said. "The first issue is 'what do you with the park while it's being renovated, where do the user groups go?' And the second issue is 'what do you do when the user groups return so the park doesn't deteriorate as rapidly as it will if we don't find another location?"
Perlin recommended that the council proceed with the playground equipment and the three restroom projects, and begin the Congress Springs playfields renovation, bringing in design consultants. In the meantime, he suggested, keep working on the two issues he mentioned. Perlin said the city supports the amount allocated for the trails and the community center.
The commission's recommendation that $1.3 million be spent on the Community Center (not including the senior center) was discussed after a representative from the architecture firm presented three options for renovating the center, which was built in 1968. Option A is a minimal renovation costing $733,115; option B is a remodel totaling over $1.3 million; and option C is a new building estimated to cost $4.4 million.
Council members differed in their concerns over the amount the commission recommended for the renovation, option B at $1.3 million.
While John Mehaffey said he is not yet comfortable spending such a large amount of money, Nick Streit was concerned that the recommended allocation might not be enough to serve all the future needs of the community center. He said he is concerned that within a few years the center would run out of space again.
Since there was some disagreement, Perlin said city staff would explore financing option C and report back within 90 days.
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Saratoga, California Since 1955
