Photo by Joshua Choate from Pixabay

FAIR OAKS, CA (MPG) - Fair Oaks Recreation and Park District (FORPD) Board of Directors continued an ongoing discussion at its March 19 meeting about a $77,454 change order for panels to finish the Veteran’s Memorial Amphitheatre hanger doors. 

The directors had previously requested more details about whether this was a cost that the district should be responsible for or if the contractor made a mistake by not ordering the appropriate materials ahead of time. 

The custom doors, which will close off the stage to create the Black Box Theater, require panels with a depth of 1.5 inches. When the design was finalized, panels of the necessary size were identified from a particular manufacturer. However, it was later discovered that the company did not offer that size. So now the panels have been found through another manufacturer, which is the only one that can produce the necessary size.

After much clarification from the contractor and various consultants, Director Ralph Carhart said the explanation was “satisfactory” and he understood that the district would have paid this cost regardless, since only one company can make the size needed to complete the doors.  

The board voted unanimously to approve the panels’ change order. 

The board heard an update about the potential for relocating the disc golf course to Bannister Park, due to safety concerns at its current Miller Park location. 

Park and Facilities Manager Sean Ventura said a boundary survey of Bannister Park showed the district owns just under 10 acres of land. Much of the property east of the current multiuse field is steep, heavily wooded terrain. Due to a lack of boundary markers, adjacent neighbors have utilized some of this space, with a fence built onto district land and a pedestrian trail installed for passage to a nearby school. 

Ventura said that the site would need extensive maintenance to clean up the wooded area but then it would have the potential to be an interesting and interactive disc golf course.

Bannister Park is considered an under-utilized park within the district. With no playground on site, there could be fewer user conflicts and safety concerns at this location. The field is rented for soccer practices but Ventura said that use could be relocated to another park. The parking lot is frequently full but not for park use; instead, drivers park their cars and then walk down to nearby river access points. 

Potential next steps could be to create some informal course designs and hold community outreach meetings to gauge community interest in moving the course to Bannister Park. 

Five residents who live near Bannister Park spoke during Public Comment to oppose the idea of moving the disc golf course to that location. They expressed concerns that most of the site is too steep, making it dangerous to play and difficult to maintain. Others said that the wooded areas provide significant wildlife habitat, so an environmental impact report would need to be conducted. They also disagreed that the park was under-utilized, stating that neighbors regularly walk through the park and play games on the field. They said that Bannister Park is currently a multiuse park but moving the disc golf course to that site would make it a single use.  

Director Darren Mounts said it’s a tough decision because the board’s responsibility is to serve the entire community, not just a particular neighborhood. While open space is important for recreation and should be protected, Mounts said, the park “needs to be better utilized.” Mounts stated that the district has even considered the possibility of selling the park for development. With the popularity of disc golf, Mounts said that they need to find a dedicated space where those users can play safely. 

Director Carhart said he was hesitant to move forward after hearing objections from the neighbors. But he would like to come up with a site-specific plan for potential improvements for Bannister Park. 

Director Raymond James Irwin said it wouldn’t make sense to work on designs and hold public meetings if the site isn’t even viable for a disc golf course due to the steep terrain. 

The council consensus was to direct staff to get a preliminary site assessment from a qualified consultant. 

The board then considered a community request regarding the existing disc golf course at Miller Park. Seven baskets were removed from the course to ensure the safety of school children using the park to walk to and from the nearby elementary school. Some disc golfers had requested at a prior meeting that those baskets be re-installed on weekends and school breaks so they could play the full course when children were not in school. 

Due to staffing constraints, Ventura said, moving the baskets back and forth each weekend was not feasible. However, it would be possible to do it over the long school breaks, if directed by the board. 

During Public Comment, several residents said that the removal of those baskets has significantly improved safety and made the park much more enjoyable for families. Local parents frequently take their children to the park during school breaks, so they said that reinstalling the baskets during those times would just bring back the same conflicts and safety concerns that necessitated the basket removal in the first place. 

One resident said he didn’t have an opinion on whether the baskets should be put back but he wanted to acknowledge that the disc golf course had improved Miller Park by deterring drug activity and homeless encampments in the wooded areas near the creek. 

Director Carhart said that removing those seven baskets from the course had been a successful compromise: “I don’t want to disturb the peace.”

Instead, Carhart suggested continuing to look at other potential locations while leaving the existing course in its current state.  

Vice-Chair John O’Farrell suggested that summer was probably the busiest time in the park, so there could be an increase in user conflicts if the baskets were reinstalled. 

Director Irwin was disappointed that the disc golfers made this request and yet didn’t show up to speak at the meeting, so he was in favor of keeping those baskets out of the course. 

Chair Delinda Tamagni agreed that they should leave the course as it is and continue to look at other options. She added that disc golf is a great recreational opportunity for teens and young men, so she wants to ensure there is a place for this sport. 

Director Mounts said he was an initial proponent of installing the course, and as part of the disc golf community, he is sad that the behavior of some “bad actors” has spoiled it for everyone else. Mounts said he would like to see the full course re-opened during school breaks, but with so much community opposition, he will support keeping the modified course. 

The board consensus was to take no action and keep those baskets removed.  

The next Fair Oaks Recreation and Park District Board of Directors meeting is scheduled for April 16.