Plans for the long-awaited Southeast Neighborhood Park that
residents have been pushing for have been completed and are ready
to go out to bidders for construction, the City Council decided
Monday night, and the park itself should end up costing the city
far less than expected.
Hollister – Plans for the long-awaited Southeast Neighborhood Park that residents have been pushing for have been completed and are ready to go out to bidders for construction, the City Council decided Monday night, and the park itself should end up costing the city far less than expected.
The park, which has been in the works for years and was not scheduled to begin construction for several more, is coming to fruition earlier than expected thanks to a surge in public support, said Mayor Tony Bruscia Monday.
“This is good to see. It’s about time,” said Council member Brian Conroy when the plans were approved for bidding.
Southeast neighborhood residents spoke up about their desire for a park, which will be in the Valley View subdivision, at community meetings and past council meetings.
“This is a perfect example of what you can do if you get involved with City Council,” Bruscia said.
The city’s 2002 general plan had called for a park to be built in the Valley View subdivision sometime between 2007 and 2012, according to project manager David Rubcic, but after holding several well-attended community meetings, it was evident the park was a bigger priority than expected.
Bruscia said Tuesday the delays in getting the park built were also due to lack of population in the Southeast neighborhood.
“The park has been in the plan for many, many years, but the plan was to wait until the homes were built around it,” Bruscia said. “The KB homes were built there in the ’90s, and we had planned for a five- or six-acre park once the Award homes were built. But now, we all know what a disaster that’s turned out to be, so the city was faced with the dilemma of not having the people around for the park,” he said.
The council approved plans that called for a smaller park than originally planned – 2.5 acres – but size has been swapped for timeliness.
“I’m really glad this is going to happen, because the people out there really need it,” said Councilwoman Pauline Valdivia. She added the specifications allow for expansion of the park in the future if the need arises.
Construction is now slated to begin in January and continue through the end of June, said Rubcic. The park should be ready for use by July.
One surprise at Monday’s council meeting was the announcement that the city should be able to use about $411,000 in state grants for the $530,000 project. The council supplemented the state money with enough funding to bump the park’s budget up to $600,000. This should give planners the leeway to put back into the specifications elements that were nixed because of budget shortages. These cuts would have included consolidating some play structures, deferring others to be built later, and eliminating benches and trails, according to Rubcic.
The $411,000 will come as a result of a measure approved by voters two years ago that provides money for recreation and parks to cities. Hollister applied for a grant and though the money isn’t in-hand yet, the city is set to get it, Bruscia said.
The injection of state money means there will be about $350,000 left in the city’s park fund, Rubcic said.
Dist. 5 Council member-elect Monica Johnson, who mentioned getting the Southeast Neighborhood park built as one of her priorities during her campaign, said Tuesday she was glad to hear that progress should soon be made.
“I was excited to hear about the park, but I was way more excited to hear about the grant, because we’re not going to have just the money for the park. I know there were residents from that area who were concerned because this is not the park they initially agreed with. But hopefully with the extra money, they can add back in some of the features the residents want, like a water play area with fountains for the kids,” Johnson said.
Jessica Quandt is a staff writer for the Free Lance. Reach her at 831-637-5566 ext. 330 or at jq*****@fr***********.com.
