Title
Agenda Item:
Approval of Designation of the Artesian Court Site as a City Park
Body
Issue:
Should the Artesian Court portion of the artesian well site be designated as a city park? The proposed park area is 70.11 feet wide by 125.15 feet long, containing 8,774 square feet or .20 acre. The entire area is currently completely surfaced with asphalt paving.
Committee Recommendation:
At its meeting on June 27, 2013, the Land Use and Environment Committee recommended to Council that the Artesian Court portion of the site be officially designated as a City park.
City Manager's Recommendation:
Move to designate the .20-acre Artesian Court portion of the Artesian Well site as a City park and direct the Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee to begin the park naming process.
Staff Contact:
Dave Okerlund, Planning Program Supervisor, Parks, Arts and Recreation, 360.570.5855
Presenter(s):
Dave Okerlund
Background and Analysis:
At its meeting on April 11, 2013, the Park and Recreation Advisory Committee (PRAC) approved a Memorandum to City Council outlining four recommendations regarding the Artesian Court Draft Concept Plan. Recommendation #2 stated: PRAC recommends that the Artesian Court be designated as a city park, to be operated and maintained by the Olympia Parks, Arts and Recreation Department, pending sufficient additional operating funding in the 2014 operating budget.
At its meeting on June 11, 2013 Council approved the Concept Plan for the artesian site. At the conclusion of its discussion, Council referred to the Land Use and Environment Committee the question as to whether the Artesian Court portion of the site should be officially designated as a park. The area of the site under consideration for park designation is shown on the attached map.
The rationale/assumptions for designating this site as a park are:
- Olympia Parks, Arts and Recreation (OPARD) staff possesses the knowledge, skills and abilities to manage public spaces.
- There are marginal enforcement advantages if the site is designated a city park, including an established set of park regulations and existing regulatory signage.
- The additional $53,000 requested in the draft 2014-2019 CFP to augment the construction budget for the Artesian Court improvements are park Impact Fees that can only be spent on park projects.
- OPARD will oversee final design, preparation of construction documents and will serve as lead for permitting and construction.
- When construction is completed, OPARD will also serve as lead for the inter-departmental management of the facility per a Memorandum of Agreement.
Neighborhood/Community Interests (if known):
The City has received complaints about various activities in this space.
Options:
- Approve the designation.
- Do not approve the designation.
Financial Impact:
MInimal financial impact because of the designation, possibly for signage. Unknown at this time is whether additional staff time will be needed to monitor the site.
Council previously approved the site improvements.