At its January 27 meeting, the Park and Recreation Commission voted to prioritize the remaining $467,093 of Measure WW funding as follows: 

• $250,000 for Fairmont Park (Concentrating on the southern portion of the park identified in the Urban Greening Plan as the “Play/Gateway” area); 
• $70,000 for Huber Park (Contingency money for the construction project authorized by the City Council on January 19, 2016 and potential other projects); 
• $40,000 to fund a signage program in the Hillside Natural Area (A trails signage plan is currently under development with technical assistance from the National Park Service in collaboration with the El Cerrito Trail Trekkers. Formal City review would occur prior to sign final design, purchase, and installation); and
• $10,000 for possible acquisition of property adjacent to the Baxter Creek Gateway Park

At the recommendation of Public Works Director Yvetteh Ortiz, the balance of the remaining funds, $97,093, is recommended to remain in reserve should the actual costs of the projects exceed the amounts listed above.

In choosing these spending priorities, the Park and Recreation Commission relied heavily on the recently adopted Urban Greening Plan because it wanted to ensure that a thorough public input process was utilized on how to spend the remaining Measure WW funds. Except for Huber, all of the projects chosen by the Park and Recreation Commission have foundations in the Urban Greening Plan’s Focus Areas. Two of the projects, the Hillside Natural Area and Fairmont Park received additional attention in the Plan as Pilot Projects. On December 15, 2008, the City Council appointed the Public Works Director “as agent to conduct all negotiations, execute and submit all documents including, but not limited to, applications, agreements, amendments, payment requests and so on, which may be necessary for the completion of the Project(s).”

The deadline for proposing new projects for Measure WW funding to the East Bay Regional Park District is March 31, 2016. Staff will begin preparing the necessary documents and application. If you would like any additional information on these recommendations or would like this to appear on an upcoming City Council agenda prior to application submittal, please contact Recreation Director Chris Jones.