Weekly comments by Dale – Central Park playground, a public private partnership?

By Dale Martin
City Manager
Fernandina Beach
March 4, 2022

City Manager Dale Martin

Several weeks ago, a significant piece of playground equipment was removed from its Central Park location. This removal had been planned and was necessary due to the deteriorating condition of the equipment which presented safety concerns for the users (children) on the equipment.

City staff had anticipated the necessary removal for the last few years: funding for replacement equipment was included as a proposed capital expenditure. When the initial budget was proposed last year, $500,000 for equipment was allocated. Due to reductions in the proposed budget as directed by the City Commission, the funding was initially reduced to $250,000 and then subsequently eliminated to achieve the level of funding desired by the City Commission. The $250,000 allocation remains on the capital improvement schedule for the next fiscal year (October 1).

In the interim, staff installed playground equipment that had been originally purchased for use at the new Simmons Road Park, but had yet to be installed as part of that park has yet to be prepared for the equipment.

Following public concerns regarding the removal of the Central Park equipment, the Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee reviewed a variety of options on how to proceed. The official Parks and Recreation Master Plan, adopted in October 2015 after significant public engagement and unanimous support from the Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee and the City Commission, provides a concept for the re-development of Central Park. Unfortunately, the recommendations in the 2015 Master Plan has mostly been shunned, rendering the original effort somewhat meaningless. As envisioned in the 2015 Master Plan, the Central Park playground was to be redeveloped at a prime Atlantic Avenue location within the park.

The Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee contemplated a review and additional planning for the Central Park playground, but the sense of urgency to replace the equipment was key basis in the Committee’s ultimate recommendation to the City Commission to spend $100,000 to replace the equipment immediately.

Since the current budget did not include a specific appropriation for playground equipment, the City Commission considered the use of contingency funds. The original budget Contingency allocation was $400,000, but those funds had been nearly depleted by previous City Commission actions: conducting a facility assessment ($16,000), retaining a vendor to assist with short-term rental code enforcement ($15,000), hiring an engineering firm to examine the structure that house Brett’s Waterway Café ($59,000), and to fund dredging operations at the Marina ($187,000). With only about $125,000 remaining in the Contingency account, a divided City Commission opted not to proceed with the recommended $100,000 equipment purchase.

It is now possible to again review the 2015 Parks and Recreation Master Plan recommendations regarding Central Park, even if only limited to the playground component. One resident sees this as an opportunity to valuable to miss.

Following the City Commission’s decision to not purchase replacement equipment with contingency funds, Ms. Kimberly Gambone Rodriguez sent the following message to the City Commissioners and me: “On behalf of local Nassau Co. Girl Scout Troops, I am contacting you today to inform you that Fernandina Beach Girl Scout Troop 237 happily accepts the challenge of replacing the playground structure removed from Central Park, in such a way to offer safe recreation for children of a wide age group. This project is an outstanding opportunity for our Girl Scouts to serve their community and restore the playground they love.  Raising awareness and funds, coordinating among offices, and decision making to replace the structure will build confidence and character as these girls grow to become leaders of tomorrow.

City staff (accompanied by Ms. Cheryl Grant, Chair, Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee) met with Ms. Gambone Rodriguez and Ms. Amy Tracy of Girl Scout Troop 237 to discuss this exceptional opportunity to fund and develop a true community project. We discussed public and private funding, public engagement, and conceptual planning for the project. With the direction of Ms. Grant, the Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee will lend its support to the Girl Scout effort. City staff will also provide assistance as needed to ensure that the project has enthusiastic and complete City support.

If you want to be a part of this effort and provide additional support to the Girl Scouts, please consider attending next week’s Park and Recreation Advisory Committee meeting (March 8; 5:00 PM; City Hall) during which the initial efforts for this project will officially begin. On behalf of the City Commission, thank you to Ms. Gambone Rodriguez and the Girl Scouts for leading this effort at Central Park.

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DAVID LOTT
DAVID LOTT(@dave-l)
2 years ago

Kudos to the scouts and leaders of Girl Scout Troup 237 for their willingness to take on this community project and I wish them all the greatest success. Thumbs down to both City P&R staff and Commissioners for their failure in addressing this situation back a year or two ago. If it was known the existing equipment was not going to make it past 2022, the alarms should have been raised by staff to the Commission through the City Manager as to the consequences of deferring the funds. If such an alarm was raised, then shame of the commissioners on not realizing the consequences. For future budget preparation, there should be a clear communication on the impact if a recommended capital improvement expenditure is denied, deferred or cut.