The Coronado City Council tentatively approved a controversial Cays Park Master Plan at its Oct. 1 meeting, but not before trimming $4.6 million from the previous price tag of $31.2 million, and placing some items under a bid alternative – meaning there is room for change within the master plan as the new city council gets voted in in November and the project goes up for bid.
The plan has come under fire from some city residents – as well as mayoral and council candidates – who say the project is too expensive, with too many frills.
We’re trying to make this a park. Right now it’s a field. As it’s been pointed out, we’ve added these (amenities) based on the feedback from the public … We keep hearing, ‘Nobody wants this.’ I don’t believe that.
Council member Mike Donovan
“We’re trying to make this a park. Right now it’s a field,” council member Mike Donovan said during the meeting. “As it’s been pointed out, we’ve added these (amenities) based on the feedback from the public … We keep hearing, ‘Nobody wants this.’ I don’t believe that.”
Cays Park is a 16-acre recreation area that hasn’t had any major updates since it was completed in the late 1970s. The adopted plan is, for the most part, the same as the one initially approved by the City Council on May 21.
It will maintain 75% of the fields for active programmed use — such as soccer practice — leaving 25% for free use. Fencing will be added to the existing dog park and a playground (accessible to people with disabilities) will be installed, among other upgrades.
Dropping costs
Schmidt Design Group, which has been overseeing this project, came to the Oct. 1 meeting with a revised plan that would bring the total cost of the renovation from $31.2 million down to $28 million. Schmidt Design also offered an additional $1.78 million that could be saved by choosing less expensive design options.
Out of the project’s $28 million price tag, city staff reported nearly half – $13 million – will cover necessary maintenance of the park, including replacing the current irrigation system, resodding the entire grounds and building new restrooms.
Council members all agreed that nothing should be amended in the list of necessary maintenance jobs.
The proposed $15 million in new design features includes seating areas, a native garden and a view deck.
And among the $1.78 million additional cost saving options were: removal of some shade structures, modification of pier-like bridges, replacement of sod with hydroseed lawns and delayed funding for public art works.
Bid alternatives
The council voted unanimously to approve the revised plan of $28 million and also approved most of the additional cost saving options, bringing the grand total of the project to $26.6 million. But there were a few adjustments such as adding some of the design elements as a bid alternative.
The aspects included in a bid alternative were the removal of the native garden and sunset hill, the view deck and the plaza.
The city’s communications officer, Andrea McCullough, stressed that the cost-reduction measures “will be part of the design process, and will be listed as optional when bid.
“The bid results will be shared with City Council (members) after the design process has been completed,” she added, “and they will make a determination at that time as to whether or not they would like to include those amenities in the project budget.”
The council members also wanted to look into the possibility of keeping the playground where it was originally next to the parking lot, but upgrading it to be more accessible and inclusive.
With direction given to the city staff, Schmidt Design Group will develop and engineer a final master plan. According to City Manager Tina Friend, developing the final master plan wouldn’t get started until 2025 and would most likely take a year to complete.
