Children will have the opportunity to play in Cathedral City's Century Park once more without the harmful effects of vandalism, now that the city council is proceeding with a $300,000 renovation plan.
"It's a great thing that we're working on our parks. Our kids really need it," Cathedral City Mayor Ernesto Gutierrez said during the City Council Meeting. "I'm glad that we're able to fix this and to get it done and ready to go."
That was the mayor's reaction when the city's Public Works Department brought forth a proposal to upgrade and repair the heavily damaged park at the Aug. 24 council meeting, drawing support for the measure.
Vandalism that occurred this past spring left the "tot lot" slide ruined beyond repair and caused the city to take a fresh look at the 5-acre park in the northeastern portion of the city, marking it for a comprehensive upgrade. According to the council agenda, the renovation will extend to other equipment in need of repair or replacement, giving the park a fresh look with a total budget of approximately $300,000.
A large portion of the budget will go toward the expense of "critical maintenance" and "park upgrades." Included in critical maintenance is replacing the "tot lot" slide that was vandalized beyond repair and addressing other equipment in the lot that needs work. According to the Century Park Renovation Project, the Public Works Department has opted to replace all of the tot lot equipment decks, stairs, play components and the soft topcoat play surface. The swings and freestanding climb will be repainted, as well as the posts and footings, bringing the cost of this refurbishment and repair to $116,800. This falls under the $300,000 total for the Century Park upgrade.
Anti-vandalism measures will be built into a new shade structure the Public Works Department plans to install over the play equipment. The new shade structure will mirror the style of Ocotillo Park: multi-level and multi-panel. Should vandals strike, this design enables the damage to be fixed in individual sections, avoiding the cost of a whole new structure. Plans call for installing this new shade structure for approximately $110,800 and replacing existing shade structure roof systems for over $21,000.
Because all who play may work up an appetite, the renovation also will swap out old Century Park's grills, benches and picnic tables with new ones made from recycled materials, imitating success with this material at Panorama Park. All of these items came up lacking when the city evaluated Century Park and its needs.
In future upgrades, the Public Works Department will be going back to the city council, taking a swing at the tennis court and proposed repairs to the playing surface and fencing, along with enhanced park area lighting and a pilot pickleball court, according to Century Park Renovation Project.
Century Park first opened on July 4, 1990, and saw a major $103,000 refurbishment 14 years later with new tot lot play equipment and rubberized soft surfacing. The vandalism in the spring was a major setback, but one that the city is on its way to reversing with its park renovation plan.