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SUBJECT :
USE OF A PORTION OF EXPOSITION PARK AS A WATER OFF-SE T
FOR INSTALLATION OF
AL L
TURF INFIELD AT STOCKTON FIEL D
Background
MEETING AGEND A
PAT
ro ITEM # G
On tonight's agenda, Council will be considering the acceptance of a donation from SLO Bab e
Ruth Baseball League to install an irrigated turf infield at Stockton Field in Sinsheimer Park . Per
the report, in considering the donation, staff also had to consider the Council's adoption of wate r
reductions in the parks maintenance program intended to help balance the budget (10% reductio n
adopted in irrigation citywide). As a means of off-setting the increased water usage created by th e
irrigated turf, staff looked into the possibility of removing selected park areas from irrigation tha t
are currently consuming an amount of water equal to that needed for the proposed infield . After
reviewing a number of options, staff recommended that an area of Exposition Park separate fro m
the rest of the park be converted from irrigated turf to wood chips or gravel . Because th e
conversion would have little impact on the actual use of the park, no public outreach other than a
public hearing at the Joint Use Committee was conducted .
Jay Walter, PW Directo r
Betsy Kiser, P&R Directo r
Input from the Neighbor s
Subsequent to the release of the Council agenda report regarding the donation, Council and staf f
received a considerable amount of input from the park neighbors opposing the removal o f
irrigation from a portion of Exposition Park and replacing it with wood chips or gravel . Th e
theme throughout the correspondence was for Council to consider other alternatives befor e
approving the Exposition Park location, which is greatly valued by the community for its beaut y
and tranquility . In response to this input, staff provides greater detail on a number of options
available for Council's consideration .
1 .Absorb the Added Landscape Costs .The estimated water consumption on a turf infiel d
at Stockton Field is 358 units or 267,748 gallons/year at a cost of $2,132 . The total
operating program budget for water in the parks program budget is about 72,000 units o r
53,700,000 gallons/year at a cost of $428,100 and for Meadow Park/Exposition Park th e
total cost of water in 2009 was $38,500 . To put this in perspective, the savings staff i s
trying to offset represents 0 .005% of the total park budget for water and only about 5 .5 %
of the Meadow Park watrE c ['is, and the neighborhood concerns we'v e
JAN 5 710
SLO CITY CLER K
TO :
City Counci l
Ken Hampian, City Manage rVIA:
heard, Council could consider Alternative 1 in the staff report to just absorb the adde d
landscape costs .
2.Work with the Neighbors on Suitable Landscaping .Changing the landscaping to a les s
water thirsty type will reduce water usage somewhat, but will have costs associated wit h
new landscape design, irrigation revisions and planting . Staff feels it would be less costl y
to pay for the additional water .
3.Find an Alternate Location .Staff could look to turning off irrigation in other areas o f
parks or landscaping. Council's recent direction on the South Street medians woul d
indicate removing plantings from medians is not acceptable . Large areas of turf ar e
generally watered with large turf irrigation and the irrigation system may have to be
reworked to allow areas to be excluded . This again will incur costs and it is likely les s
costly to fund the additional water for the infield . This was part of the reason staff looke d
to the small turf areas that were near to the size of the proposed infield .
4.Request funding from Babe Ruth .If the Council feels that this additional cost should no t
be borne by the City, then as mentioned in the alternatives in the staff report, Babe Rut h
could be approached to absorb this cost. The area will not be separately metered, so th e
City and Babe Ruth would need to agree on a methodology for estimating water costs t o
be paid . Representatives from Babe Ruth will be available at the Council meeting an d
have been apprised of this alternative .
From : Dodie Williams [mailto :bndwms@sbcglobal .net ]
Sent : Tue 1/5/2010 1 :19 P M
To: Council, SloCity
Subject : Consent Agenda 1/5/10 - Item #C4
Dear Mayor Romero and Council Members ,
I am requesting that you pull the above item from the Consent Agenda tonight for further discussion . There
are several reasons for this request, i .e., this project was approved without notification or input
from residents in the Woodbridge-Corrida-Meadow Park neighorhood ; there are alternative sites from whic h
water off-sets could be made ; the area is used on a daily basis by both walkers and school children ; and i t
is visible to the many residents who use Woodbridge every day .
Thank you for your consideration .
Dodie William s
RECEIV E
JAN 5 2010
SLO CITY CLERK