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Approval of English Ridge Park Concept PlanCopyrighted February 19, 2024 City of Dubuque Action Items # 02. City Council Meeting ITEM TITLE: Approval of English Ridge Park Concept Plan SUMMARY: City Manager recommending City Council approval of the English Ridge Park concept plan. SUGGESTED Suggested Disposition: Receive and File; Approve DISPOSITION: ATTACHMENTS: Description MVM Memo Staff Memo Type City Manager Memo Staff Memo Concept Plan Supporting Documentation Boundary Map Supporting Documentation Step 2 Engagement selections Supporting Documentation Step 2 Engagement Survey English Ridge Supporting Documentation Step 1 Engagement Survey English Ridge Supporting Documentation THE CITY DUOF B TEE Masterpiece on the Mississippi TO: The Honorable Mayor and City Council Members FROM: Michael C. Van Milligen, City Manager SUBJECT: Approval of English Ridge Park Concept Plan DATE: February 14, 2024 Dubuque All -America City IN 2007.2012.2013 2017*2019 Leisure Services Director Marie Ware is recommending City Council approval of the English Ridge Park concept plan. The project budget for all consultant services, construction, and project costs for this park is $214,000 - ARPA. The ARPA funding source requires the funding to be committed by December 31, 2024. This means we need to have a construction contract fully in place and executed by that time. The Parks and Recreation Commission at their February 13, 2024, meeting reviewed the concept and unanimously recommended City Council approval. I concur with the recommendation and respectfully request Mayor and City Council approval. Mic ael C. Van Milligen MCVM:sv Attachment CC' Crenna Brumwell, City Attorney Cori Burbach, Assistant City Manager Marie Ware, Leisure Services Director Steve Fehsal, Park Division Manager Jared Charland, Project and Facilities Manager THE CITY OF DUB E Masterpiece on the Mississippi TO: Michael C. Van Milligen, City Manager FROM: Marie L. Ware, Leisure Services Director SUBJECT: Approval of English Ridge Park Concept Plan DATE: February 14, 2024 INTRODUCTION Dubuque MI -America City 2007*2012-2013 2017*2019 The purpose of this memo is to recommend approval of the English Ridge Park concept plan. DISCUSSION WHKS & Co. with subcontractors Lovely City Consulting and Ritland+Kuiper were engaged to prepare the design and conceptual plans through construction management services for three mini parks. The first step of the design process was community input. Neighborhood residents and the broader community were invited to participate in the planning process in three ways: Online — a reflection and image based online survey was provided from November 1-18, 2023. 207 neighborhood residents and 17 community members participated. By mail — Residents were provided with the option to request a paper survey by phone. One household chose this method of participation. In -person — An in -person event was held at each park site on two consecutive Saturdays in November with 48 attendees. Light refreshments, a site tour, and activities like those provided in the online survey were completed with attendees. Opportunities for community -wide engagement were offered and promoted through a press release and social media postings. Postcards were mailed to 372 addresses in the neighborhood 10-14 days prior to the in -person events. English Ridge neighborhood also shared the events on its Facebook page. A summary of this first engagement step is attached to this action item. The consultants along with assistance of Leisure Services staff then worked to put together a concept plan that addressed the common themes and highest selected choices of the neighborhood. Common in our parks planning is that not all wishes and desires of those that participated can be met, especially within the specific budgets available. Care was used to take the themes and highest selected choices and incorporate them into the design of the concept plans that could fit the budget. Not all the highest choices could be accommodated due to budget constraints. During the step 1 engagement, it was shared that the concept plans would be released for further engagement on the concept as well as selecting more specifics of the concept that would be used in putting together the bid documents. Those specifics were items like the play equipment option, colors of the play equipment, specific play panels, specific climbing options, and/or park shelter style and colors. The choices were relative to the specific park and concept design. During the step 2 community engagement the feedback for English Ridge Park's concept was not positive with a majority requested a concept more like Westbrook or Eagle Valley's concepts. A unique natural playscape concept was presented for English Ridge however this was not well received. A more traditional playscape with a natural look was preferred according to the combined step 1 and step 2 input received. Step 2 engagement also had the community vote that the park shelter would be hip end roof structure with the colors of either a sandstone roof with beige posts or patrician bronze roof with bronze posts as the vote by percentage is tied. The engagement choices are shown below. Rauf Color Fo st C 0 1w ,. ar�+rrrrrrerr{rralr� RoofBeildl Hike RaA Patrician 6ronzs Bronze � � � irasli Receptacle Ak!" Picnic lakale The consultants worked on a concept with a more traditional playscape, a natural look, and rubberized surfacing. Due the input of positive comments on the natural look at Westbook Parks concept, the same play structure style was used with a totally different design. You will see that the concept is reflective of the feedback. The following is the play structure designed to meet the feedback and the community will also get to select 3 play panels in addition to the above choices. The play panels shown below are two examples of what will be provided to vote on. In addition, because the park shelter top two park shelter color votes were tied, we will offer the two top to be voted on so a selection is made. This extra engagement is being conducted now and will end Monday, February 19 at noon. With council approval, the timeframe for the three parks is back on track with us achieving construction in 2024. After approval of these concept, the consultants will continue work on design and bid documents for the Westbrook and Eagle Valley Parks and begin on English Ridge using all three concepts approved. Engagement is important to both the city and the community. The extra time was important so that we could incorporate the overall feedback received into the park design. We value that input and the design is reflective of it. The voting of specifics above will be incorporated into the bid documents. The Parks and Recreation Commission at their February 13, 2024 meeting reviewed the concept and unanimously recommended City Council approval. BUDGETIMPACT The total project budget for all consultant services, construction, and project costs for the three parks is $705,730. $277,730 (Eagle Valley — Project # 3043000027) - ARPA $214,000 (Westbrook - Project # 3043000028) - ARPA $214,000 (English Ridge — Project # 3043000029) - APRA The ARPA funding source requires the funding to be committed by December 31, 2024. This means we need to have a construction contract fully in place and executed by that time. ACTION REQUESTED I respectfully request approval of the English Ridge Park concept plan. cc: Steve Fehsal, Park Division Manager Jared Charland, Project and Facilities Manager 3 s • f N w 10 Picnic Shelter with Tables (12' x 18') O2 Bench OBike Racks 40 Trash Receptacle 5O Bench Swing O6 Pour -in -Place Safety Surfacing O7 Play Equipment ® Mowed Lawn 9O Sidewalk 10 Shade Tree (Typical) 11 Ornamental Tree (Typical) 12 Low Maintenance No -Mow Area 13 Extension of Existing Sidewalk to Neighborhood (Not Shown) 14 Distance Measurement Markings on Sidewalk to Neighborhood (Not Shown) 15 Park Sign 16 Play Panels _-A 12 wl + •op do L 0 10 TDUB E English Ridge Park Conceptual Plan Masterpiece on the Mississippi Dubuque, Iowa + 10 15 whks engineers + planners + land surveyors IA • 13 RITLANDAUIPER QLovelyqjA 20 LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS c 0 N s uSCALE IN FEET tiA I mmm V�� " PLISH RIDGE PARK DEVELOPMENT NEW SIDEWALK VTION BASIN J :NGLISH RIDGE PARK BOUNDARY TDUB E English Ridge Park BoundaryMap Masterpiece on the Mississippi Dubuque, Iowa 1 4M whkS RITLANDAUIPER lLovelyCity engineers + planners +land surveyors LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS C 0 N 5 U L T i N G English Ridge Park Step 2 105 responses Publish analytics We need your input again! Accessible Sand Play Feature: L❑ Copy On the conceptual plans, item #2 is an ADA accessible sand play feature. Please select your preferred sand play equipment from the options below. 68 responses Option 1: Sand Desk Option 2: Sand Workstation Colorful Option 3: Sand Workstation Natural Park Shelter: L❑ Copy Please select the look of the park shelter you like from the three options below. The colors below are NOT the proposed colors. You will be given color options in the next question. 78 responses Gable Roof Structure (two sided roof) Hip End Roof Structure (four- sided roof) Monoslope Roof Structure (one side of roof is slightly higher than the other) Park Shelter Color Palette: L❑ Copy Please select the colors for the park shelter from the options below. 79 responses Palette A: Patrician Bronze Roof + Bronze Posts Palette B: Hartford Green Roof + Green Posts Palette C: Medium Bronze Roof + Dark Green Posts Palette D: Sandstone Roof + Beige Posts Input received noted the importance of park amenities. L❑ Copy Site Amenities Style: Please select the site amenities style from the options below. The colors below are NOT the proposed colors. 78 responses Option 1 Option 2 Traffic Concerns The concern of cars and speeds was shared during public input. We contacted both the Police and Engineering Departments. Both are looking into the issue. Lel What is the next step you ask? This park concept is presented to the Parks and Recreation Commission for their review and recommendation to the City Council. Then our consultant team will begin putting together bid specifications to be able to bid the construction. We are still on a schedule to build the park in 2024. Stay tuned!! Please provide to us any comments you would like to share about the English Ridge Park -Step 2 79 responses I'm not happy about the sand structure. We were hoping for an actual playground considering there are so many little kids in the neighborhood. Some type of safe play structure for 2-5 year olds and maybe another bigger structure for bigger kids would be much better than this "sand structure'. I don't think it targets enough of the kids in the neighborhood or will be used as much as an actual playground. I am very disappointed in what the city has come up with this far! Would have loved to see actually climbing structures, and a basketball hoop. With the elevation of the neighborhood that is very difficult for families to play out of sports on a flat surface. I don't see the shelter used that frequently. I'm not a fan of this design. I think sand will be a giant mess for families, and become a giant litter box for animals and nearby farm cats. I also think the "playground" is extremely disappointing. Our kids want slides, and swings, climbing equipment, etc. They dont want dead trees and stumps. Would love an actual structure for the kids to play on. Slides or swings, they could play with logs and sand in anyones backyard. Very underwhelming compared to other parks in the city. Honestly I'm not sure why the options aren't all ADA accessible. They should definitely consider adding #2 for that reason alone. Was really hoping that the sidewalk would go all the way around the Basin, that was one of the main selling points of having marked distances. Not sure people will want to just walk back and forth up and down a sidewalk on the street. Without the loop, it basically takes away any features that would appeal to adults and older kids. I was at the in -person meeting and it was the biggest request. Would there be anything for older kids at this park. Seems like it is only for small children. Love the concept thank you so much!! The location is horrible. Too far away from the subdivision and next to the busiest vehicle traffic location. Why not put it in behind where the mailboxes are, adjacent to the subdivision. Will sand be the only feature of the park? Concerns over stray cats using the park for litter box purposes. Would like slides or swings, something for all ages We requested playground equipment in the fall wondering if that's something that can be added rather than the large sand area. Are there going to be any actual climbing or play structures besides sand? Seems mostly like a sand park to me. Are dogs allowed? First and foremost, thank you for the opportunity to have a park in our community. Couple of items of a concern to note: 1. There is zero playground equipment involved in these plans which is a huge downfall. Can we please at least consider some swings and a slide? 2. If the intent is to leave the basin in, something I think is being overlooked is the amount of snakes that are present because of the habitat of the basin. Snakes lay eggs in sand. This might be something to consider with the basin or moving the sand pit. Last thing we want with a new city playground is a child being bitten by a snake. 3. Having a sand only playground will leave this playground useless many of the hours, days and weeks for weather essentially leaving it to use only on sunny days for the most part. Having actual playground equipment will extend the usage time during the days and also into the spring/fall months. I am not saying having a sand playground would be bad, but not having playground equipment just seems silly. If the intent is to have the park empty majority of the time leave as is, but if you are trying to keep active, please seriously consider some playground equipment. FYI, if it is about the money to get it done right... members of the neighborhood have historically been great about chipping in for great causes and I would bet we could raise money if needed. Personally, not just looking to have a park for the purpose of having a park, Lel would prefer it be utilized. Thank you for your time and consideration. -Family of 6.4 kids ranging from 1 year to 17 years old None of these will benefit my kids. Thanks for nothing Instead of a sand play scape and small pavilion.... make a playground equipment where kids can actually play. This concept is very underwhelming. Loved the idea of a park in our neighborhood. Hate the idea of sand being the only thing for my young kids to do. I'd be even happier with no sand at all. Was hoping to see some swings and a slide bare minimum It is so close to the road and the high way. The big semis that are coming in it's really not any where near neighborhood Houses. Most pocket parks are near the actual houses. Was Hoping that children would be able to go safely to the park on their scooters or bikes but of looks like we will have to drive them there. Forget the sand features please. We would much prefer some playground equipment, as the sand will get thrown around ans frankly, due to the location away from the actual houses, means the sand will end up a litter box for all the wild animals down that way. Would like actual playground equipment rather than sand. A slide and swings would be much better. Super bummed with the proposed park presented. We pay high property taxes in this subdivision and it feels unfair for the proposed park presented. The public school bus takes a full bus load of elementary kids out of this subdivision daily and then there is also a group of private school students - really feel as if this number of kids could really benefit from a large play structure or any type of courts the kids could play some sort of sport on. Like many in our subdivision, I'm underwhelmed. Some type of play structure or swings at least would be more useful than a sand structure. I don't ever recall sand structures being a topic when we met in the fall so I'm surprised to see this as part of the plan. I do like the shade and shelter area. Thank you for that! :) I feel like there aren't many options for older kids. A sand park structure limits the age range for usage of the park. PLEASE SAVE THE MONEY!!! If this is all the better we can get, I would MUCH rather have you save the money than put this in. It is very small, in an unsafe location as far as traffic, way too far away from the subdivision for parents to even want to let their smaller kids to go there on their own, and majority of the kids in the neighborhood are too old for a sandbox. And ALL of these concerns are being shared by the majority of the people in the subdivision. And no, not everyone was informed by mail or email or any other means Would much rather have play equipment instead of sand pits. I believe there needs to be playground equipment and not a sand play area. There is really no point to this park if there is no playground equipment ie a full playground setup with swings, slides, etc. lose the sand play area. I'd like to see different play equipment other than sand related Why sand - would you let ur kid go to an only sand park and let them come in your house? Come on. Please give us a normal park with slides and swings. This design is so far from a good idea that I can't help but be dumb founded. Do you have kids? Are you even from Iowa? What is going on. Scrap this plan. The kids need a play set with slides and swings. This is a trash plan and I would have expected better from you guys. Scrap the shelter. I know what that costs and it's clear the majority of the money is going to that. Then add the play equipment. Where does the tax money go that we pay. I feel and so do other neighbors with what we pay there should be plenty of money to build a quality play area. PLEASE do not make a sand pit. There is not a parent in this neighborhood who wants their kids to come home covered in sand, plus there is a decent amount of wildlife in the neighborhood who will use this as a giant litter box. Please do not put sand in our park. I think a giant sand pit is not what this community was looking for. It will create a huge mess and not be much fun for kids and adults. Please no sand or sand play features! Rubber mulch with playground equipment or exercise features for kids and adults. Any cameras for kids safety like we asked for at site input meeting ? 6644 S Dorchester Ln. thanks Lel If it's a "sand pit" and a "shelter" I think it would be a bad use of fund. Most kids are middle school + in sourrounding neighborhood. There would be no reason for anyone to go there compared to what residents would have in their backyard, which would be in higher quality. A walking trail or any actual playground would be better use of funds. Think of Bergfied Pond area as an example. Where is the play equipment? Is this just a portion of the park? Please add play equipment or replace the sand thing with equipment. We will not be going to the park to play in sand only. I am very concerned about the sand idea. It seems as though a majority of the children in our neighbor hood are in 3rd grade or higher. The majority of their activities around the neighborhood include playing basketball, football, and playing on neighbors playsets. To not have any courts or equipment for them to play on seems like a missed opportunity. Even my two little boys would enjoy slides, swings, and equipment more. The covered area and walking paths look very nice though! Very disappointed in this design, this is nothing that we talked about in our in person meeting. We voted on playground equipment and design. It was never brought up to just have a sand area. The priority was playground equipment for the kids not sand and stumps to climb on, also sand is a horrible idea with how much wildlife/stray animals that would use it as a litter box. Definitely missed the mark of what people said in the in person meeting in the fall, a park needs playground equipment for the kids that's the whole point of the park in our neighborhood. I am extremely disappointed with this design. The money is being spent on the wrong things, will get little use. Must have a climbing structure. Sand will be a dumping ground for wild animals that roam through there. This is a terrible design and concept. No one wants sand in the park; and there is no playground equipment. I would call this design a cheap alternative to satisfy our neighborhood with a'park'that is actually a sand box. Please come up with a design that includes playground equipment and no sand. Basically just a sand pit. I know I won't be going to that park and I live in the neighborhood! Kind of a boring "park" if you can even call it that. Should be called something else at least so people don't think it's an actual park. Pretty boring. Was hoping to take my kid there to play but now I won't. Especially since they'll be sandy all the time. Would rather go to a beach with all that sand. I'm truly confused why the residents of our neighborhood had their time wasted on a cold morning to have a meeting about what would be preferred in a park for our area. This dumb overpriced sandbox was never an option or even discussed. There were pictures of play sets with themes. This is what I think a majority are going to prefer and use. The sand is a stupid idea, especially considering this is in the middle of nowhere away from the houses. Considering it most likely won't get much use it's just going to be an oversized litter box for all the wild animals and cats/dogs wondering around our area. I'm assuming the sand idea is being pushed because of the horrible location of the site in a drainage area that is always going to be wet and sloppy. One of my other concerns with the park is the location. with the proximity to the the highway, i feel it would be very easy, and possible, for someone to grab a child and be on the highway in a matter of minutes. So, if this is the location, will there be cameras installed? On a much less serious note, I also do not like the sand, or the "climbing" features. Sand will be a huge mess, and the climbing features are hardly climbable. I'd love to see some sort of slides, jungle gym, and swings for kids to play on. Do not put this in our neighborhood. I am not excited for this solution, nor do I want it in our neighborhood. A sand play scape is not a park that our neighborhood needs. We need an actual park with playground equipment such as a slide and swings. We have a neighborhood of families with kids with no nearby park. A neighborhood park consisting of a slide and swings is really what we need. Please don't think that this sandscape design would satisfy our need for a park. We were promised a park in 2015, we have waited this long we do not want sand dumped in our neighborhood and called a park. Thank you. The neighbor hates the park plan and wants an actual park with equipment not a litter box!! A sand pit, while ADA accessible, provides no other park like structures for school aged kids. Sand boxes are most age appropriate for early childhood ages. The location of the sand pit makes it a potential litter box for wild animals, which is not at all what the neighborhood is looking for. Play equipment would be most ideal. I am disappointed with the rendering. I love the idea that we would finally have a park in our neighborhood but this seems like a box is being checked. I would rather have no park shelter and better playground equipment. I absolutely do not want sand. As a parent, this is going to D be a mess - both on my kids and the sand itself. When it rains and gets disgusting, it's a bad idea for a neighborhood full of kids. The stumps and rocks (I think is what is in the sand) is also not suitable for kids. I would take out the extra trees and again, put it towards usable, enjoyable items for kids. The location right up against the road is a big concern with regards to safety. It would be helpful to know the budget for this park, the cost of what is proposed in the rendering, and what is the cost gap of what so many in the neighborhood asked for originally when input was provided. How far off are we from having a park that kids can actually enjoy and want to visit? Maybe we could raise more funds. I HATE this design. It feels like very little of our requests and input were considered. It seems that a total of 5 minutes were put into creating this design. A sandbox this close to all the wildlife around here will turn into a giant litter box. There are no courts of any kind, no climbing structures, no walking path, nothing to maximize our useless space. The city would be better off using their money elsewhere than sticking it into this trash design. The inclusion of sand is not preferred as it is a parents nightmare. Plus it will attract critters and over time, without maintenanc, get littered with sticks and garbage. I don't see my family using this at all with the sand. Hello, I'm not sure how to express how disappointed I am in this park. The sand features is HORRIBLE and I have 5 kids ages 2-12 who agree. We live on the street closest to the park (Kingsley Ln) and were hoping to utilize this park regularly. With the current design, we will NEVER use it. There are 22 kids on our street alone and the general consensus is no one is happy and we don't feel like the designer listened to us at all. The sand may be nice to begin with but I have zero desire for my kids to routinely track sand into my home or to need to bathe every time they play at the park. I also think the sand will be absolutely disgusting after a few months, especially with the amount of wildlife and pets out here that will make it their litter box- NO THANK YOU. The sand would be a waste of money and looks extremely boring for the kids. I understand we don't have a big budget, a lot smaller that I initially realized (I moved into the neighborhood in 2011 and have been waiting for the park for a long time so assumed we had at least waited all these years until we had the budget to put something decent in). If the budget can't support a simple basketball court (or better yet, one that can double as basketball/pickleball/volleyball) and a climbing structure with slide, then it's not worth putting anything there. A pavilion would be nice but if there is no "park" to go with it, please scrap it. An empty, flat, mowed field is preferred to the sand attraction. Other neighborhood parks in town are a lot more attractive than this one. Honestly, we don't care about the colors or what shape the bike racks are, we just want a nice community space where kids want to gather and play together and this definitely isn't it. I do not like/hate the sand concept Shade is not a concern at any park in Dubuque. I don't know why that was a major issue addressed at the preliminary meeting I couldn't attend. At any neighborhood park there is very little shade and we live in a summer climate where it is not needed. Having a pavilion is not needed and no need to waste money and space. If heat is an issue the temperature of sand in the middle of summer will make this feature useless. Sand will reach upwards of 150 degrees and will not be touched and actually will be a liability to the city knowing that before construction. This park is not a beach with water relief also parents don't want the clean up of returning kids in sand or severe burns on hands and feet. When a park is envisioned there is a fort like structure with slides and climbing features. There are no other "sand playscapes" that I am aware of. If this is the plan then the money should be spent elsewhere. I would be interested to know the budget for comiskey park refurbishing compared to this budget that was on the docket since 2015. When I look at the English Ridge concept compared the the other two also being displayed, the other two concepts are leaps and bounds better than English Ridge. Please do not put a sandscape as the playground area for our kids in English Ridge. Please redo the concept so that it is more aligned with the other two you have done. Make the pavilion area smaller and use the money and space towards a better playground area. Please, please don't do a sandscape for English Ridge. Please consider installing the drinking fountain/dog bowl during initial construction. The neighborhood is full of dogs and many walk along Stone Valley Drive. I concur with the speeding vehicle concern as well and suggest the installation of illuminated/flashing (LED) warning signs for both directions. I would also strongly encourage at least one security camera to cover the overall park. Thank you for seeking input and bringing this park to our neighborhood! Love the sand and natural climbing and balance materials presented in this design. Please consider simple rustic trails with interactives for young children in the forested area of the park. It would be beneficial to have more than one bench near the park area on multiple sides. Allows parents/families space for more visability. Please make our park like the other 2 park plans with the playground equipment and safety surface. They totally missed the mark of what's important to our neighborhood at the meeting. The picnic shelter can be cut in half we do not need 20x40 so that extra funds can go to playground equipment as we requested and voted on type of equipment. Sand and climbing D logs would not be used by the majority of our kids that's a mess with animals using sand as their litter box and a mess. Please revise with safety surface and playground equipment thank you I believe we absolutely need play equipment for the children in this park. I noticed the other two parks that are planned to be built around the same time as this park have play equipment. Please reconsider changing the plans to our park to reflect more of the Westbrook park. I feel we can forgo the pavilion to add more funds for a nicer experience for the children. Please provide a new option. Making the entire park Sand is the worst idea! I understand some sort of play structure may be out of budget, but we do not want our kids coming home full of sand. The entire concept is dreadful. My suggestion would be scrap the whole thing and find a concept other than sand that fits the budget These plans are extremely disappointing, quite frankly I am not even sure where they even came from? There was absolutely no discussion of a sand play feature either in the initial survey or at the in person meeting. We fully discussed and were shown photos of actual playground equipment as desired. We walked the area in full discussion of a walking path AROUND the park which appears to be missing as well, and instead has a half loop sidewalk leading to the park in which I assume most people will cut through the grass with the intention of walking straight to the park. The entire point was to incorporate a trail to walk laps around. There were many discussions of green space to play and the possibility of a multipurpose (basketball/tennis/pickleball) court which also appear to be missing. You made the statement of completing the missing sidewalk between the homes and the park, has, Portzen Construction agreed to this? This looks like more of a big pavilion with a little spot to play than it does an actual park. Not having a nice park defeats the entire purpose of having a pavilion. This might be the worst Park design I have ever seen ... not a single piece of playground equipment. Please go back to the drawing board and provide something similar to the Park design you did for Westbrook. Pavilion is much less important than playground equipment that kids can utilize. I am extremely underwhelmed at the design for our park, especially when compared with the other 2 parks also in thr planning stages. A walking path and playground equipment should be at the top of the list. The sand feature is a huge mistake, and most parents I know are not a fan of sand - it gets thrown, it ends up outside the sand pit - and with the wildlife by the park area, it is likely to become a giant litter box for the deer, cats, geese, ducks, coyotes, etc that are often in that area. This is not my idea of a neighborhood park. Please make this family friendly with stuff for kids to do NOT SAND! Actual playground equipment for kids Would like playground equipment, no sand. Should have swings, slides, something for kids to play on. Sand is a mess and will be all over the sidewalks throughout the neighborhood. It needs playground equipment The sand playscape is a terrible idea. The wild animals and sand wasp would ruin it and there is ABSOLUTELY NOTHING for kids to play on. We can do without the structure and have play equipment instead. The structure would never get used we all have yards to have picnics in. The Westbrook park plans are much better and those of us in English Ridge would prefer plans similar to that park. These plans are terrible!! Thank you! Please give us something like Westbrook..... play equipment. Wondering what kind of surface will be under the play area Where is there amble place to park? Our family has been looking forward to a park for years! This plan seems like a huge let down. We were all hoping to see some actual playground equipment (slides, climbing, etc). I'm not sure why the sand playground is the plan, but we would much rather see actual playground equipment for the kids! No to the sandbox! Give us one of the other 2 park options with playground equipment. This isn't close to the input we gave of what we wanted to see in our neighborhood. Please, we need a play structure for the children in the neighborhood. Where are the swings? The playground equipment? Quit being cheap and put some stuff in there for the kids to play on. Could a small piece of play equipment or a non sand option be added? Le J I have one concern and that is the proximity of the detention basin. I live nearby and often see that with various quantities of water. I would hope that it would be fenced off from the park for safety reasons. Don't build this park and fix the other parks It's a terrible location. Way too far from the homes --too long of a walk for young children. Also, since it is away from the homes and fairly close to the highway, it's likely to be misused and abused; it probably will attract alcohol, tobacco, and drug users. I pick up litter/trash almost daily between English Mill and Boulder Brook Ct--many alcohol bottles, beer cans, fast food leftovers —a sign of the type of traffic that would be near that park. The current proposed location attracts a lot of wildlife, which will be a problem for the proposed "sand pit". I would NEVER want my kids to play in a sand pit that will be frequented by wildlife. The plan also lacks playground equipment --the residents were very vocal about playground equipment being a requirement. The other 2 neighborhood parks being developed have playground equipment. Why not ours? Please consider reaching out to Ron Klein ((563) 213-0473), who played an instrumental role in developing English Ridge. His company, English Ridge LLC still owns several vacant lots within the neighborhood. He may be willing to donate one of his lots, especially since his property taxes on each lot significantly increase in March 2024. It would be a nice gesture for the park to be named or dedicated to his young granddaughter, who lived in the neighborhood and died on Thanksgiving Day 2022. At this time, if the park cannot be located between English Mill and the mailboxes, I recommend the project be put on hold and the funds be placed in a holding account. Don't waste money building a park that no one will use and probably will become a nuisance to the neighborhood and the city. The neighborhood is worried about the sand. There are many cats, coyote, racoon, geese and other animals that we feel like the sand may become a dumping ground for these animals. A giant litter box would not make a good park. Also, the path to the park seems to be creative but kids will just run through the grass to the park. Can you make the path a full loop with one more direct path to the park? Maybe make it a specific distance for walkers so they can complete "laps". Where are the swings and slides? Kids want to play not stand on a log at the park. I like the idea of shade for connecting with everyone in the community. I am confused to the lack of equipment for children when climbing structures were a large priority for participants as we have a very large number of children in our neighborhood. This design hardly seems to meet the needs of a community so focused on children. Eliminate all mowed lawns, install buffalo grass that doesn't require watering, pesticides, fertilizers, herbicides, and mowing This content is neither created nor endorsed by Google. Report Abuse - Terms of Service - Privacy Policy Google Forms Lel English Ridge Neighborhood Engagement Summary At the in -person event, participants were encouraged to find and mark their house on the neighborhood map. In the online survey, participants noted which street they live on to help understand whether responses were coming from the neighborhood or the broader community. The majority of the survey results were from residents of the immediate neighborhood with all but two streets represented through the online survey or in -person event. -- � .. - } .... _ In -Person Event 'I 22 residents Online Survey 40 households, 95 reside 6 community responses Greatest Hopes for the Site Participants were asked to share their greatest hope for the site. The overarching themes were safety, connection, and access for everyone. safe place space to meet neighbors walking trails activities for all ages and abilities play equipment General Comments and Concerns The following comments were collected from neighbors in the free comment section of the survey and during the in -person workshop: • Access to the park is a concern as sidewalks are not complete and cars drive fast on Stone Valley Dr. • Bike racks, trash containers and a water fountain would be appreciated because the park isn't close to many houses. • Neighbors prefer any play structures be placed closer to the residential area and have fencing and cameras. • Walking/hiking/running path designed with an even increment (1/4 or 1/2 mile) or signage to help measure distance for runners and walkers. • General traffic concerns and need for traffic calming and/or stop signs at Kingsley Lane and Stone Valley Dr. Space Usage and Equipment Needs Residents were asked to imagine their ideal day at this new park. Would they have a picnic? Fly a kite? Toss a ball or frisbee? Climb on equipment? Play tag? Meet up with friends? once they had a clear picture of their ideal day's activities, they were asked to select up to three images that depicted what type of space or equipment they needed to achieve their ideal day at the park. The results are below. V Walking/Hiking Paths Climbing Structures Slides ,64 w�. Shade Structure Individual Swings There were 65 votes for walking/hiking paths. There were 63 and 62 votes for climbing structures and shade structures, respectively. Slides (55) and individual swings(47) were also popular activity options. Residents were also given the ability to type in an idea that was not listed. The most commonly entered ideas were related to basketball or pickelball courts, however these were not entered as frequently as the third tier activities, above. Equipment Style Preference Residents were asked how they would like the park equipment to look, whether that be playground equipment, seating or a covered area. A natural aesthetic received the most support at 39% followed closely by bright and traditional with 37%. Geometric was popular with 23% of participants and the fourth option of themed equipment received 1%. Natural Bright and Traditional Landscaping Preferences Residents were asked to select up to two preferred landscaping themes. k- 14k. i�� Geometric A sensory garden was the most popular landscaping theme followed by turf grass. 10% of participants did not have a landscaping preference. Sensory Garden Turf