Crosswalks will be added around Virginia Avenue Park
(Editor’s note: This is part of an ongoing series that tracks the city’s expenditures which appear on the upcoming Santa Monica City Council consent agenda. Consent agenda items are routinely passed by the City Council with little or no discussion from elected officials or the public. However, many of the items have been part of public discussion in the past.)
By Carolyn Sackariason
Daily Press Staff Writer
City officials are expected to approve an $11 million expenditure to overhaul a city park tonight.
While the expansion of Virginia Avenue Park was previously approved by the City Council and will be paid through City Hall’s capital improvement fund, operating the park will cost taxpayers an additional $1 million a year after it’s completely finished.
But where that money will come from is unclear. Because of City Hall’s multi-million dollar deficit for the next few years, officials are certain that the park’s new costs will contribute to future deficits unless additional revenue is raised or expenses are cut from somewhere else in the budget, according to city staff.
City Councilman Ken Genser said the park’s $1 million annual operating budget was discussed in June and elected leaders have agreed to put other projects on hold so City Hall can afford to adequately operate Virginia Avenue Park.
“It came up in our budget discussions,” Genser said. “ It will effect the timing of the capital improvement projects and some things are being delayed.”
The expansion of Virginia Avenue Park, located at Pico and Cloverfield boulevards, is expected to start in September and be done in early 2005. The construction of the park is estimated to cost $10.3 million while managing the job will cost an additional $1 million.
City Hall already has spent millions on the project — from more than $1 million in design, engineering and architectural plans to the purchases of additional land to expand the park.
The project has been in the works for more than a decade and its price tag has grown each time the plans have changed and the years have passed.
City Councilman Kevin McKeown said the project is an absolute priority for the council because it’s been promised to the community for years and millions of dollars already have been invested. The new park also will revitalize a blighted area of the city and a neighborhood that’s riddled with crime.
“We said we would not let the community down on this because of the budget issues,” he said, adding the park which is currently under utlized will attract more families to the area when it’s renovated. “That park will make it a safe place to be and will be staffed adequately... it will help the neighborhood.
McKeown also noted that City Hall’s deficit in upcoming years reflects the operational costs of Virginia Avenue Park.
“That’s why the deficit went up because we anticipated the costs,” he said.
Even though it will cost an additional $1 million annually to operate after its third year, officials did budget for the first two years of operation at the park.
City Hall’s 2004-2005 budget accounts for $96,000 in ongoing and $154,000 in one-time costs for the project in that fiscal year. Those expenditures are part of start-up costs that include grounds and facilities maintenance for additional landscaping, a parking lot, basketball courts, play areas, building facilities, outreach and registration activities, and the resumption of programs that will be relocated or suspended during construction, according to city staff.
In future years, operating costs will be budgeted for expanded park programming that include services provided by city staff, volunteers, non-profit organizations and other community groups.
A host of new amenities will be built on the 9.5-acre site, which includes the existing 5.8-acre park, a 2.9-acre vacant parking lot and a.8-acre parcel across from the park.
The new amenities include an open lawn area with a “meandering path,” two full size basketball courts, two playgrounds, an interactive “water feature,” and additional parking to accommodate the Saturday’s farmers market and the expanded park. The “water feature” is similiar to a wading pool with a sprayer that will be exclusively for children, McKeown said.
The existing buildings at the park will be renovated to accommodate community workshops, an older youth center, the Police Activities League fitness gym, park administration offices and a Santa Monica Police Department substation. The Thelma Terry Center, the park’s main community center, will be overhauled, and a new 1,300-square-foot building will have restrooms, park program space and mechanical equipment for the “water feature.”
The project also involves several crosswalk, signal and street improvements that will partially be paid by the state through MTA funds. One of the improvements will be at the intersection of Pico and Cloverfield boulevards. Currently motorists are able to make a free westbound right turn onto Pico from Cloverfield, requiring pedestrians to cross while cars are turning. The small island will be removed and replaced with a standard right turn lane, requiring vehicles to stop before turning at a red light. The corner of the park will be enlarged and the existing crosswalks will be realigned.
A crosswalk will be added at the corner of Pico Boulevard and 22nd Street, which will be the main entrance to the park. And an in-pavement flasher system will be installed, which are similar to five other crosswalks along Pico Boulevard.
And finally, the crosswalk at Cloverfield Boulevard and Kansas Avenue will be made safer with a landscaped pedestrian island on both sides to allow people to cross one direction of traffic at a time.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on August 26, 2003. Read the original PDF.