Submitted by Robin Hagemann
This Cays Park Project has become the subject of great misconceptions and strife in our community. COME ON CORONADO, YOU ARE SMARTER AND BETTER THAN THIS!
- The Cays Park is the largest park in Coronado.
- The Cays Park has had no significant improvement since 1970.
- The parking lot is in poor condition.
- The irrigation is faulty and causing drainage problems through-out the park.
- The bathroom is not ADA compliant and it does not function well. It needs to be replaced.
- The courts were put in incorrectly and need to be replaced.
- The sod no longer retains water and requires higher levels of water and maintenance. It needs to be replaced.
- Erosion is becoming a problem in the park. It needs to be re-graded.
- Storm drains and water lines need to be replaced and repaired.
- The playground is not ADA compliant, it is rusted and unsafe. It needs to be replaced.
- The lights in the park do not function correctly. They need to be replaced.
- The drainage issues are causing the walkways to erode, crack, and become uneven and dangerous. Most walkways are not accessible by wheelchairs and walkers. They need to be replaced.
- The park has little to no signage.
- There are not enough trashcans in the park.
- The curbs are faulty.
- The dog park has ineffective signs, no barrier, and not enough waste disposals.
The bottom line is the park needs significant maintenance. It will cost approximately $15 million to make it right. Side Note: the other smaller parks in Coronado have been improved. These improvements are actually saving the city on maintenance and water costs.
Our council members, mayor, and city staff have been working on this since 2018. They have had 66+ council meetings about this project, conducted two formal surveys, seven public out-reach meetings and read over 3,000 pages of data about the park.
They listened when we asked could we also have some more benches and shade. They listened when we said please keep soccer, basketball, and baseball. When dog park users expressed concerns about space, they gave them a larger space. When the dog users stressed the need for a fountain, they penciled that in too. They truly heard us when we said by the way make it all pretty please.
So the bill was tallied and approximately another $13 million was needed for the extras we asked for, some residents freaked out and said supporting all the things we asked for was a poor decision.
We need to thank and support our city leaders rather than give them grief for doing what we asked. It has taken 50 years just to put improvement plans on paper!
Robin Hagemann
