To: Honorable Mayor and Members of Town Council
From: Through: David L. Corliss, Town Manager
From: Jeff Brauer, Director of Parks and Recreation
Title
Resolution Approving a Grant Application to the Land and Water Conservation Fund for Improvements at Centennial Park [22 N. Gilbert St.]
Body
________________________________________________________________________________
Executive Summary
The purpose of this agenda item is to seek Town Council approval by resolution of a grant application to the Land and Water Conservation Fund for improvements to upgrade and renovate deteriorating conditions to the basketball and tennis courts at Centennial Park.
The Town‘s oldest park was acquired in the 1970’s and is home to Burgess Pool, an athletic field, playground, picnic areas, tennis courts, basketball and open space. The 10-acre site has undergone several renovations including replacement of the playground, reconstruction of Burgess Pool and pool house and reconstruction of the athletic field area as a part of Craig and Gould streetscape and drainage improvements. The tennis and basketball court area is the only part of the park that has not been improved.
The courts are now approximately 40 years old and the underlying asphalt courts have significant damage and show more deterioration than any other park facility in Town. A plastic tile product placed in the 1990’s to improve court condition has also reached the end of its useful lifespan.
Centennial court replacement is included in the five-year capital improvement plan and scheduled for 2025. The courts were also identified in the Town of Castle Rock ADA Transition Plan as requiring significant accessibility improvements. Design work required for a detailed cost estimate is not scheduled until 2024; however, preliminary estimates drawn from similar projects indicate that approximately $1.75 million will be required to fund replacement and accessibility improvements.
Initial court construction was partially funded through a Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) grant. The current LWCF grant cycle, administered by Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW), is oriented toward the replacement of facilities previously funded by the LWCF. If received, the award would replace the asphalt courts with post-tension concrete. The initial project plan would be to convert one of the three tennis courts to a pickleball court - as requested by several neighborhood residents - replace two of the existing tennis courts and replace the basketball court. New fencing would be provided, along with accessible walkways, retaining walls, seating and shade structures.
Discussions with CPW staff indicate that Centennial project may be a good candidate for the program. If awarded, the Town would have 3 years to complete the project, which falls within the Town’s proposed project schedule.
Notification and Outreach Efforts
Ongoing public process will inform the final design. Town staff have solicited public feedback through various engagement activities at public events including a free concert at the Amphitheater at Philip S. Miller Park in July, a First Friday event at Festival Park in early August and a public open house event at Centennial Park on August 23. Residents have been able to provide direct feedback on park use, the existing court conditions and proposed improvements using an online questionnaire, available in both English and Spanish, that has been open between July 20 and August 31, which was also mailed directly in postcard format to more than 1,700 residents surrounding Centennial Park. Additionally, updates about the proposed park improvement project, open house information and a link to the public questionnaire are available online at CRgov.com/ParkImprovements. In general, survey results have been positive, aligning with the project goals and in agreement with the need for court replacement and additional shade and seating.
Budget Impact
Staff has prepared a grant application seeking $800,000 or slightly less than half of the estimated $1.75 million project cost. The Conservation Trust/Douglas County Shareback Fund could fund the remainder project costs not covered through the grant award.
Staff Recommendation
Parks and Recreation staff are recommending the approval of the Resolution to take advantage of the current LWCF emphasis on replacement projects. CPW requires a Town Council Resolution of support for the grant application (Attachment A), which is due October 3, 2023. Notice of award of a grant is scheduled to occur in the spring but all ground-disturbing work can begin only after all contracts with CPW have been finalized, which generally occur twelve months from application submission. Project design is planned to occur in 2024 with construction planned for 2025.
Proposed Motion
“I move to approve the resolution as introduced by title.”
Alternative motions:
“I move to approve the Resolution as introduced by title, with the following conditions: (list conditions).”
“I move to continue this item to the Town Council meeting on (date) to allow additional time to (list information needed).”
Attachments
Resolution
Attachment A - Application