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Supervisors authorize contract, funding for Don Dussault Park improvements

An Oct. 30 San Diego County Board of Supervisors action will result in new amenities to Don Dussault Park.

The 5-0 vote authorized the advertisement for bid and subsequent award of a construction contract for Phase II and Phase III of the Don Dussault Park improvements, appropriated $300,000 for the Phase III portion of the amenities, and found the improvements to be categorically exempt from California Environmental Quality Act review.

"This action will provide the final stage," Supervisor Jim Desmond said.

Don Dussault Park is a 3/4-acre recreational facility off Alturas Road near the intersection of Aviation Road. The planned improvements were divided into phases for funding reasons, and Phase I included the replacement of the children's playground structure with one meeting Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) standards, a new tot lot, a picnic shade pavilion, ADA-compliant parking stalls, ADA-accessible exercise stations placed intermittently along an ADA-accessible path, perimeter fencing, irrigation, picnic tables, a barbecue and a drinking fountain. Phase I was constructed in 2014.

Don Dussault Park is in what the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) defines as a Neighborhood Revitalization Area, making it eligible for Community Development Block Grant Funding provided by HUD. CDBG projects are intended to revitalize lower-income communities. The county is given an annual allocation of CDBG funding for the unincorporated area, and proposals are selected or relegated to the alternative list based on criteria which include benefit to lower-income residents, health and safety considerations, the ability to leverage block grant funds into additional revenue, and availability of alternate funding sources.

The county was given $1,188,037 of Fiscal Year 2018-19 CDBG funding for the unincorporated area, and in April 2018 the supervisors approved the county's annual funding plan including $302,945 for Phase II improvements at Don Dussault Park. Phase II will include an adult outdoor exercise area, picnic areas with tables, a looped walkway meeting ADA standards and security lighting at the south end of the park.

Because Federal funding is involved, projects must undergo National Environmental Policy Act review as well as California Environmental Quality Act review. NEPA review can include a Finding of No Significant Impact.

On Jan. 9 the Board of Supervisors voted 4-0, with Greg Cox in Washington for a National Association of Counties meeting, to appropriate $285,000 of CDBG revenue for the Phase II design and construction phases, which allowed for the completion of the design work, and found the design to be categorically exempt from California Environmental Quality Act review. The Jan. 9 approval noted that the county's Department of Parks and Recreation would return to the supervisors with a request to issue a construction contract after the design and environmental analysis were completed.

A 5-0 Board of Supervisors vote April 9 approved the Fiscal Year 2019-20 CDBG plan and authorized the acceptance of the funds expected to be awarded. The allocations included $303,120 for Phase III of Don Dussault Park. Phase III will include a playground structure for children between the ages of 5 and 12, perimeter fencing, additional paths meeting ADA standards, security lighting and landscaping.

The work on both Phase II and Phase III is expected to begin this winter and be completed in spring 2020.

"I look forward to the grand opening of the park," Desmond said.

Author Bio

Joe Naiman, Writer

Joe Naiman has been writing for the Village News since 2001

 

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