The Pioneer Park project moves one step closer towards completion after Gustine City Council approved a revised plan on Tuesday, instructing City Manager Soknirorn Than and his staff to file the paperwork to California State Parks.
In 2019, the city of Gustine received a $1.3 million grant through the California Statewide Park Development and Community Revitalization Park Program to transform Pioneer Park into a modern recreational area, which includes a full-court basketball court, playground, a splash pad, two picnics areas, a plaza/rest area, restrooms and site fencing.
Due to economic conditions such as inflation, the project’s estimated cost was $2.34 million, more than $1 million in exceeding costs. According to an April 1 staff report, efforts by city staff to receive additional funding ultimately fell through due to federal funding cuts through the presidential administration.
In an effort to continue the project, council members instructed city staff to make changes to work around its $1.3 million budget. To gather input from residents on the project, the city announced a public hearing session on May 20.
During the public hearing, some suggested changes among council members and attendees were reducing the amount of fencing surrounding the park, changing the full-court basketball court to half-court and the removal of the splash pads and the restrooms.
On Tuesday, a revised plan of the project was presented which revealed the estimated total cost to be $1.28 million, leaving the city less than $25,000 in grant funding. Some of the changes made in the new proposal were changing the removal of the splash pads and restrooms, reduced fencing, and the amount and size of playground equipment was reduced.
Gustine is estimated to save $374,175 in construction costs by eliminating the splash pads and restrooms.
Jami Westervelt, the city’s economic and community development director, said the playground set, initially for 2-year-olds, will now be for ages 2 to 12. The move will save the city by paying for more equipment and flexibility for children of multiple ages to use the playground, she said.
Mayor Patrick Nagy said it was urgent to get the project moving forward as the city doesn’t have time to find additional funding based on when the grant will expire. “There’s not enough room [and] time left on the grant to mess around any longer and to find funding,” he said. “If we take another six or eight months trying to find funding, the project won’t be done on the timeline to qualify for the grant, so we’d end up giving the money back.”
Proposition 68, which funded the grant program, authorized $4 billion in general obligation bonds towards park improvements, water infrastructure, flood and environmental protection across various state and local parks. Gustine was one of 52 recipients of funding from the program’s third round of grant disbursements of $254.9 million. The city must complete the renovations to Pioneer Park and open it to the public by March 2028.
Nagy said he believes that the neighborhood area near the park has been underserved with it being located southeast of Gustine. He recalls interacting with residents who grew in that neighborhood expressing their love for that park.
“We spend money on these other parks [but] we can’t just ignore one park and that’s a great area over there,” Nagy said. “They deserve to have a neighborhood park that’s enjoyable for their children.”
Navtej Hundal is a freelance journalist based in Stanislaus County
