When presented with two conceptual designs for a regional park based on input from community workshops, the San Benito County parks and recreation commissioners decided to go back to consultants to request a third option.
The commissioners held a public workshop on Sept. 13 to gather input from community members about what they would like to see in the regional park and how they would like to see the segment of the river parkway from Nash to Union Roads connect with the regional park. About 30 residents attended the meeting.
Janelle Cox, a county management analyst, presented the conclusion from that meeting to commissioners on Sept. 18 and asked them to review the two conceptual designs created by consultants from SSA Landscape Architects before making a recommendation to the county board of supervisors. Cox said the goal of the evening was to make a recommendation that would go to the supervisors Tuesday and then before the San Benito High School trustees on Wednesday, with the consultants to bring back a finalized design in December.
The park is proposed to be adjacent to the high school. But commissioners decided to delay a vote so that they could ask the consultants to design a third alternative.
Cox reviewed the amenities requested from community members.
“At the regional park, they are asking for a nature or community center,” Cox said. “They want large learning labs that integrate agriculture.”
The conceptual design for alternative A called for a nature center, learning labs such as a community garden or orchard, an off-leash dog park, a play structure for children, an amphitheater and expansive open areas for picnics.
In alternative B, the consultants incorporated some of the other elements residents had requested such as aquatic facilities, soccer fields and a large community center.
“Alternative B has several large items that will require construction and ongoing maintenance,” Cox said. “There is a substantial cost and we would have to find ongoing partnerships.”
After the presentation, Cox invited the handful of community members to take a closer look at the conceptual designs and select a preferred alternative. The commissioners were also asked to do the same.
Ray Pierce, a county planning commissioner in attendance, spoke during the presentation and public comment period to urge the commissioners to seek an alternate C that would create a “festival park.” He suggested removing an open space of walking trails to include more amenities because the river parkway would serve as the “quiet and serene” part of the park.
When the commissioners reconvened, a majority expressed a desire for an alternate C design that would include more sports-related elements such as baseball diamonds, basketball courts, football fields and soccer fields. Commissioner Chairman Don Kelley stressed that the goal of the regional park is to increase economic opportunities in San Benito County.
Cox reminded the commissioners to keep in mind the input from community members at prior public meetings as they made their recommendation.
“Community members wanted more opportunities for family gatherings,” she said. “They wanted some recreation opportunities. Think about reserving how much space you want for a picnic and play area or seniors. It sounds like so far you want to request more sports fields, but identify how much you want for the general community.”
Commissioner Daniel Dungy said he wanted to see more sports fields.
“If we put in a lot of passive area that we already have with the trail, we won’t have an opportunity to accrue revenue,” he said. “We could have cross country in the passive areas, but we could also have soccer tournaments or a baseball stadium in conjunction with the high school.”
Commissioner Don Pidd said he was concerned that alternative C might turn into a sports complex instead of a regional park. He also suggested coming up with a way to get out-of-town visitors to use more amenities at the park than just the sports fields, such as having parking situated in such a way that they would have to walk through a visitor center to get to the fields.
The commissioners agreed to delay a recommendation and to create an ad-hoc committee to work with the consultants on a third design alternative to be presented at a future meeting. It is unclear with the alternative design will add to the cost of the contract, as staff members had not yet met with the consultants to discuss the scope of work as of press time.
“We want to put in the elements from the community input, but we want to include the opportunity for partnerships,” Kelley said.
