Mid-year budget adjustments add funding for Bonsall Community Park

Joe Naiman

Village News Reporter

The Dec. 7 San Diego County Board of Supervisors meeting included the approval of mid-year budget adjustments which will increase funding for Bonsall Community Park by $325,581.

The supervisors’ 5-0 vote approved the first-quarter adjustments to the fiscal year 2021-22 budget. The modifications also include transferring budgeted but unspent 2020-21 funding to the current fiscal year.

The future Bonsall Community Park will be part of the San Luis Rey River Park and will be located near the intersection of State Route 76 and Camino Del Rey. The county acquired the land which includes the future Bonsall Community Park in 2015. The park will total 63 acres including 55 acres to be developed.

The amenities will include soccer fields, baseball or softball fields, basketball courts, tennis courts, a skate park, a bicycle skills park, playgrounds, multi-use pathways, picnic areas, a dog park, and restrooms. If funding permits, the initial construction contract will include a photovoltaic energy system utilizing carport roofs.

The county supervisors approved the bid and award process for Bonsall Community Park. Construction is expected to begin in spring 2022 and be complete in summer 2023, Sept. 15.

The estimated total cost for the park improvements is $25,000,000 which includes some design and environmental analysis as well as construction. The one-time costs for vehicles, equipment, and tools are estimated at $155,000 while ongoing annual services and supplies costs along with adding four full-time equivalent positions are anticipated to be $552,000. The four full-time positions will consist of a supervising park ranger, a recreation program coordinator, and two park maintenance workers.

The appropriations approved Dec. 7 will allow for the construction of a sidewalk along the frontage of the park on Camino Del Rey and for a retaining wall.

In December 2020, the Board of Supervisors approved the bid and award process for a contract to construct seven sidewalk projects including Ammunition Road, Aviation Road, and West Alvarado Street. Construction on a countywide basis began in summer 2021 and is expected to be complete by fall 2022. The funding not used by June 30, 2021, had not been transferred into the 2021-22 budget and the Dec. 7 action transfers $1,899,959 into the current year budget.

On May 23, the county supervisors approved the bid and award process for a construction contract to install traffic signals at five intersections in unincorporated San Diego County including the intersection of Old Highway 395 and Rainbow Glen Road and the intersection of South Mission Road and Green Canyon Road. That allocation had not been transferred to the 2021-22 budget prior to the Dec. 7 action which moved $4,819,104 to the current budget. The signals are expected to be operational by spring 2023.

The 2020-21 budget also included a state Highway Safety Improvement Program grant to construct pedestrian safety improvements at four intersections in unincorporated San Diego county including the intersections of South Mission Road with Alvarado Street and Clemmens Lane, edgeline installations on two roads including West Lilac Road between Lilac Road and Camino Del Rey, and pedestrian crossing enhancements at 17 intersections. Construction is expected to be complete by summer 2025, and the $580,800 funding amount was transferred to the 2021-22 budget.