Meeting Scheduled to Discuss Park

Plans for a 100-acre regional sports park on the east end of the city will be discussed Tuesday in a special workshop.

Although the city’s Planning Commission and Design Review Committee will not formally get involved with the project until later this year, city staff wants to keep the panels informed of the plan’s progress.

In addition to the sports park, city officials are considering using part of the land at Kimball and Telephone roads for a school or fire station.

Because the land falls under the city’s SOAR growth-control measure, the decision on what to build will be put to a public vote, probably in November.

Last week, the city Parks and Recreation Commission heard a report on how the park could fulfill the city’s needs for recreational space, then listened to comments from the public on what they would like to see in the park.

About 60 people attended the meeting. All of the public speakers said they did not want a school included in the park plans.

Early estimates of the park’s cost are between $30 million and $36 million, but that could vary depending on what the park includes.

Jim Walker, the city’s community services director, said he will present alternatives for the park at Tuesday’s workshop.

“This is an attempt to simply involve as many people in the preliminary planning process as possible,” Walker said.

He said the meeting will focus on designs for the park, traffic and access concerns, building density, noise, landscaping and other factors to be included in an environmental impact report, which should probably be completed by June.

The workshop, which is open to the public, is scheduled for 7 p.m. in Conference Room E in City Hall, 501 Poli St.