Lakeport City Council approves using reserves to cover Lakefront Park development cost increases
- Elizabeth Larson
- Posted On
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The Lakeport City Council has voted to shift more than $800,000 from city reserves to cover additional costs of developing the new Lakefront Park.
The council, in a 4-0 vote, approved the proposal from city staff at its Nov. 3 meeting. Councilwoman Stacey Mattina recused herself from the discussion because she owns property nearby.
The seven-acre Lakefront Park is located at 800 and 810 N. Main St.
The city received a $5.9 million state grant in April that included funds to cover the purchase of the two properties for the park, including an acre and a half the city purchased from the Hotaling family for $50,000 and a 5.3-acre parcel purchased for $660,000 from the Lakeport Unified School District in late spring.
City Manager Kevin Ingram went to the council on Nov. 3 to ask for its direction on next steps.
The city had approved the park site plan in August. Key amenities include a lakeside promenade, basketball court, ninja gym, amphitheater, splash pad, skate park, multiuse lawn area, large sheltered picnic area, bathroom/concession building, public art, parking lot, landscaping and lighting. It also sets aside an area that would eventually be the location of a boathouse for the Clear Lake Scullers.
Ingram explained in his written report that city staff, in working with SSA Landscape Architects – the firm the city hired to work on the park’s planning, design, engineering and project management – discovered that it was going to exceed the $4.5 million in the grant to cover construction.
Ingram’s report attributed the cost overruns to factors including “extremely high construction costs and unfavorable geotechnical issues.”
Staff and SSA reevaluated the plan and came up with ways of bringing the project back within its budget, but that would mean curtailing some amenities, such as the skatepark, which was set for a 35-percent cutback, a reduction of about $124,000.
Other park amenities also were slated for cutbacks totaling just over $585,000. The only items not slated for cuts, and which were proposed for increases, included landscaping and pathways, the amphitheater, basketball court, public art and the boat ramp renovation. Ingram said the fitness park was completely removed from those scaled-back plans.
However, Ingram offered another option – using general fund reserves of up to $805,570 to restore some of the amenities.
Ingram told the council at the Nov. 3 meeting that even with proposed cuts, it will still be a great park.
“This is a one-time project. It’s a very exciting project,” he said.
While using reserves is a sticky issue, Ingram said the city has a very healthy level of reserves – about $5 million – and the park is a special project that rises to the level of consideration for use of those funds.
“Parks are economic drivers. They do help us grow our revenues,” he said, noting that they act as anchors for the city’s downtown area.
He also pointed out that the council had been prepared to purchase the property for the park with general fund money before it knew that the grant would cover it.
Councilman Kenny Parlet noted during the discussion, as he has in previous matters relating to capital projects, that putting them off only costs the city more money in the long run.
“I believe that anything we don’t do now is lost forever,” Parlet said, adding that every time they wait even six months, the cost of construction often doubles.
Parlet said he’d spoken with city Finance Director Nick Walker who told him that the city has extremely healthy reserves.
“I believe that we should do everything that we can to put this thing together in its entirety,” even if it requires tapping into reserves, Parlet said.
Parlet said the economy overall is expected to be extremely robust for the coming decade and that the park will be good for the local economy.
Ingram also told the council during the meeting that timing was an issue, that they needed to be able to get the project bid out in time to meet the state grant’s deadline to be open to the public. That was the driving factor for bringing it forward this month for discussion.
Like Ingram, Parlet noted that the city hadn’t expected to get the money to cover the property purchase.
“We knew that this was a great investment,” Parlet said. “We were going to buy that property come hell or high water.”
Councilwoman Mireya Turner moved to approve spending $805,570 in reserves to cover the increased expenses and to amend the budget, which Parlet seconded and the council approved 4-0.
At the same meeting, the council also voted to rename the city’s downtown walking trail in honor of Ann Blue, who worked tirelessly to establish it; and voted to relocate the two 20-minute designated parking spaces adjacent to City Hall from Park Street to Second Street, along with adopting revisions to the Green Zones, or limited parking areas, and two-hour parking resolutions to reflect the changes.
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