Big Ticket Public Works Projects Will Dominate Week’s Recreation and Parks Commission Meet

Pasadena’s Recreation and Parks Commission will be meeting on Tuesday, March 7, to discuss recommended funding for the City’s 2018 to 2022 Capital Improvement Program.

The City’s Department of Public Works is scheduled to present before the Commission details of the Parks and Landscaping and Arroyo Projects section of the CIP for 2018-2022 that were earlier reviewed by the Recreation and Parks CIP Subcommittee on February 16. The Pasadena CIP has a total of 14 sections.

After discussions on the CIP, the Commission will hear reports about recommended fees for the City’s golf courses, a project to install plaques containing the names of donors for the Pasadena Armenian Genocide Memorial, and the Human Services and Recreation Department monthly update.

For the 2018 CIP, the City’s Department of Public Works anticipates expenditures of up to $10,485,631 covering 18 park projects in the City, $223,200 for landscaping which involves mainly tree replacement and tree planting projects, and $3,058,915 for projects in the Arroyo Seco.

Public Works staff will be at the meeting to explain each project and answer questions from members of the Commission.

Brenda Harvey-Williams, Finance and Management Administrator at Public Works, said two CIP projects will be completed by June 30: the H2O on the Go Pilot Program and the School Park Site Improvements project. She said the Gamble House Landscaping Improvement project is no longer needed and will be removed from the CIP.

H2O On the Go is a project to install innovative water fountains and public bicycle repair stations at Pasadena Unified School District (PUSD) schools, public parks and recreation facilities in the City of Pasadena, with the combined goal of promoting greater consumption of water and the use of healthy, sustainable forms of active transportation.

The School Site Improvement project provides park amenities in schools in neighborhoods that are located far from existing parks in the City. Eleven PUSD schools were earlier earmarked for installation of these amenities including play equipment, playground surfacing, landscaping, turf renovation, irrigation, fencing, gates, basketball courts and other improvements.

Meanwhile, the Public Works Department will recommend to the Commission on Tuesday that it approve a proposal from the Pasadena Armenian Genocide Memorial Committee to install memorial and donor plaques at the Armenian Genocide Memorial at Memorial Park.

The committee is proposing to install one large plaque measuring 15 by 30 inches at the Memorial’s entrance and 19 smaller plaques around the perimeter and along the southern end of the Memorial.

Public Works said it finds the proposal to be consistent with the Public Monument Policy of the City and is recommending approval. All costs for the manufacturing and installation of the plaques will be shouldered by the Pasadena Armenian Genocide Memorial Committee.

The Recreation and Parks Commission meeting will start at 6 p.m. at City Yards Second Floor, at 233 West Mountain Street in Pasadena.