Glendale City Council debates how and where to spend park funds

A laundry list of how to spend a one-time pool of $16 million to build new parks and enhance existing ones in areas heavily impacted by upcoming downtown developments garnered support from most of the City Council Tuesday, but some members were reluctant to allot funds for Deukmejian Wilderness Park in La Crescenta.

The funding is coming from development-impact fees paid by the developers of the nearly two dozen residential and mixed-used projects either recently completed or under construction.

Council members previously agreed to put the money to use in south and central Glendale, parts of the city which officials have sometimes called “park poor.”

The list is divided into short-term projects such as $1 million on new playgrounds, $500,000 on new shade structures and another $500,000 on additional restrooms. It also has more long-term projects such as $5 million for acquiring land for park conversion.

However, the recommendation to spend $500,000 on completing a restoration project at Deukmejian Park’s Le Mesnager Barn, which is more than 10 miles from south Glendale, drew criticism from Mayor Ara Najarian.

“I’m very adamant about this. I feel very strongly [that] these funds have to be spend in this immediate area, where the impact is felt,” he said.

Councilwoman Paula Devine said, however, that children with an appreciation for nature could benefit from wilderness programs at the Deukmejian Park.

“Not all kids play soccer, not all kids play basketball … some of them are interested in plants and forestry and those sorts of cerebral activities,” she said. “So, I’m for finishing Deukmejian Park, so that those kids who are interested in learning about plants can have the opportunity.”

Community Services Director Jess Duran said his department would fine-tune the list of suggestions — based on community feedback gathered at three public meetings earlier this year — and that leaving out the allocation for Deukmejian Park could be an option, but there’s no other replacement funding source for the project.

Half a million dollars is only 3% of what’s to be spent and, based on what parks staffers told the council, it likely can’t be used for more than one or two projects.

Councilman Zareh Sinanyan said he wants a restroom structure constructed at Wilson Mini Park, which he considers to be one of the most heavily used mini parks in Glendale, despite the traditional practice of setting up such sites without bathrooms.

“Look at the density of usage the park gets,” he said. “It’s almost like a violation of human rights not have a bathroom there.”

A new park restroom building could cost upward of $300,000, Duran said.

City staff members also recommended $50,000 to install pickleball courts at parks in the future.

As for creating new park space, the first option will involve collaborating with Glendale Unified school officials to convert some of the district’s playgrounds.

Those talks could begin as early as next January, and the first school on the list is Columbus Elementary School, Duran said.

Councilman Vartan Gharpetian said John Marshall Elementary School could be another candidate for a new south Glendale park.

“If they’re a park-like setting, you’ll fill the gap 100% in south Glendale,” he said. “You will have Maple Park, you will have John Marshall, Columbus. We have so many parks, but there are voids in between. This will fill in those voids.”

Another long-term project would be to spend $5 million to convert unused property adjacent to the Glendale Sports Complex to additional soccer fields, but Gharpetian said the cost may end up being much more than expected because of obstacles such as grading the land.

Duran said other sites being explored for additional soccer fields include the baseball fields at Glendale Sports Complex.

Mayors Bicentennial Park, located north of the Ventura (134) Freeway, was also pitched as a candidate, but met with opposition from several council members including Councilwoman Laura Friedman.

“ As much as there is a need for soccer fields, I’d rather push the [Glendale Unified] partnership because that’s land that’s really underutilized rather than take a gorgeous, existing, fully programmed park complete with landscaping and mature oak trees — and one of our real gems — and destroy it to put in soccer fields,” she said.

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Arin Mikailian, arin.mikailian@latimes.com

Twitter: @ArinMikailian