Summary of Dec. 3 board of directors meeting
December 4, 2024
The BPRD board of directors met on Dec. 3 and approved a construction contract for a new neighborhood park – Manzanita Ridge Park. They also approved a process to appoint members of the budget committee for the next fiscal year and discussed the system development charges waiver program set to expire this month. A video recording of the meeting is available.
Manzanita Ridge Park
The Manzanita Ridge Park is an undeveloped 3.5-acre neighborhood park site to serve the surrounding Shevlin West subdivision development. The park is adjacent to a district-owned natural area to the west with soft-surface trail connections from the park via the Manzanita Trail to adjacent neighborhoods and the Shevlin Park trail system. Following a competitive bid process, the board awarded a construction contract to the low bidder, Mountain Sky, Inc. The park is expected to open next fall.
Budget committee appointments
The district’s budget committee comprises five members appointed by the board of directors. Currently, there are two vacant seats on the committee, as Daryl Parrish and Abigail Schneider completed their terms at the conclusion of the fiscal year 2024-25 budget process. Staff recommended and the board agreed to reappoint Daryl Parrish and Abigail Schneider for another term as budget committee members. If either or both decline the reappointment, staff will initiate a public application process for the vacant seat(s) and present candidates for the board’s consideration at the January meeting.
System development charges (SDC) waivers
The district began providing System Development Charge (SDC) waivers to support affordable housing projects in 2019. These waivers are intended to help reduce costs for developers creating deed-restricted, affordable housing, which aligns with broader community goals to increase housing availability for lower-income residents. The district’s SDC waiver program is scheduled to expire on December 31, 2024. There is a request from the city that the district renew the SDC waiver program.
In four years, there have been 669 units waived for a total of $4.3 million in foregone fees. Staff provided information for discussion only. Should the board choose to renew the waiver program, the amount of reduced SDC revenue will ultimately depend upon the number, size and type of affordable housing or shelter developments that occur, the SDC rates in place at the time of those developments, and the overall duration of the program. The topic will be discussed in a follow-up meeting.
Sports fields
In work session, staff members from Recreation and Park Services provided the board with a summary of athletic field use over the past year, including key data and trends that are used to help inform future needs and priorities. Staff also shared information about the field maintenance program, which included the purchase of a robot field painter that saves resources, including paint and time to line fields.
There were almost 22,000 hours of athletic field use by 8,000 athletes from 47 organizations in 2024. Hours used for soccer are more than double the use of any other sports. Rugby and ultimate are growing sports of note. The Park Services sports field team maintains 76 acres of fields with 7 full-time and 5 seasonal employees. The team purchased a field painting robot this year that has resulted in reduced labor and materials cost, including 50% paint savings due to accuracy and efficiency that frees up employees to do other tasks while the robot completes lining fields.
The next board meeting is Dec. 17.
