City parks projects put on hold

Charlottesville resident Jackie Tyree says Forest Hills Park is a wonderful neighborhood asset. But she still thinks it could use some sprucing up.

“This park is long overdue,” said Tyree, who has lived in her Forest Hills Avenue home for 15 years.

But the park’s renovations, along with a few others in the city, may have to wait. Because of expected revenue shortfalls in city coffers, the Department of Parks and Recreation staff is shifting funds and putting projects on hold.

“It’s an omen for what we’re going to see in life, not just for the departments,” Councilor Holly Edwards said. She added, “You gotta do what you gotta do sometimes.”

Elected officials suspect that the ailing economy will prompt several cuts in the city’s Capital Improvement Program.

“We’re not interested in raising the tax rate this year so that means we’re going to have to cut back because revenues are flatlining,” Mayor Dave Norris said.

Parks and Recreation’s capital improvement funds, set in stone when the fiscal 2009 budget was approved in the spring, amount to $8.5 million in this year’s budget and will shrink to $5.8 million next year.

Though park project adjustments do not change the overall amounts approved in April, the department already has decided to hold off on improvements to Azalea and Rives parks, where work was set to begin in winter 2009.

Forest Hills Park improvements will also be delayed, and though $250,000 remains budgeted for fiscal 2009, the city decided to reallocate fiscal 2010’s $250,000.

“We’ll manage,” said Mike Svetz, the city’s parks and recreation director.

Tyree said though it may be prudent to set some projects aside, she hopes the city will be able to do something for Forest Hills this fiscal year.

Work was supposed to begin this winter and included replacing the pool, which Svetz said uses 1.3 million gallons of water per year. Converting the pool into a sprayground, already accounted for in the park’s plan, will decrease water consumption by 950,000 gallons.

“We have to do something with that one way or the other,” Svetz said.

The City Council approved the parks reallocations earlier this month. Though there will be some delays, Svetz said he did not think it was premature to do the park planning.

“It was an effort on our part to try and create a very efficient system,” Svetz said.

The money that will not be spent on some parks in this and next year’s budgets will instead be used to do potential design work for McIntire Park as a result of a planned 70,000-square-foot YMCA and to improve the new Smith Pool.

For fiscal 2010, $100,000 was bumped up so the city could relocate McIntire Park’s shelters and do design work for the rectangular field that will replace the park’s two softball fields.

Project changes made this summer will make it so Smith Pool will have two swimming areas, a geothermal well heating system and a viewing area above the pools.

Svetz said given the increase in energy costs — in August, city officials projected that they would spend $236,372 more during this fiscal year on energy — it was environmentally responsible to add the geothermal system, even though it has a greater upfront cost.

“It’s a facility that’ll last 50 years,” Svetz said. “You either spend the money now or pay it out later.”

The new system costs $500,000, but based on current energy costs and savings, it should be paid off within nine years, Svetz said.

Norris said that in terms of projects, it makes sense for the city to try to complete a few projects that have energy-saving measures.

“After this coming year we can take another look,” Norris said, adding, “We want to invest in those projects that are going to have some return on investments.”