Updates on the joint use park:
September 30, 2015
Colina del Sol Recreation Council Park and Recreation staff gave an informational update at the last Recreation Council meeting. Currently, Parks and Recreation staff are preparing bids to go out for the consultant and design team. Once bids are received and a contractor is chosen, the design and build contractor selected, will meet with the community for input. This process takes approximately six (6) months. Look for a scheduled public meeting in Spring of 2016, perhaps in April.
September 14, 2015
At the September 2015 RPCC meeting Mr. Jimmie Slack announced that a planning meeting regarding the joint use park will be held at Colina del Sol. The budget for planning the park is $380,000. Ms. Cole’s office will inform us of the date of the planning meeting so neighbors can attend and express opinions.
2014
The park appeared on the Mid-City Community Plan for 2014 with no funding and only turf and a sprinkler system mentioned. Given the drought in the State of California at this time, the RPCC Board questioned the wisdom of having turf and a sprinkler system installed on this site.
History of the Joint use Park:
At the January 2011 RPCC planning meeting, then Rolando Park Elementary School principal Kim Meng, suggested a dog park be established at Rolando Park Elementary School on a flat piece of land immediately west of the primary school grounds. Fully fenced, and overlooking Zena Canyon, the site was finished with some baseball backboards and decomposed granite. The park became an RPCC priority at this time.
A meeting was held with Marti Emerald, Kim Meng, RPCC President Betty White, Vice President Lee Rittiner and Member at Large Kim Burcham. After touring the site, Councilmember Emerald discouraged the use of the site as a dog park, stating that the City would consider it a frivolous request. Ms. Emerald suggested a passive park with a Portland Loo, including a drinking fountain, playground equipment for children and a baseball field.
After review by the membership and a vote on the suggested contents of the park, letters were sent to Councilmember Emerald and our school board representative at the time Sheila Jackson. As it became clear that Rolando Park was going to be moved from District 7 to District 4 a planned joint meeting with Councilmember Emerald and Councilmember Tony Young to tour the site and bring Mr. Young up to date on the project was repeatedly cancelled and never held. President Betty White did provide a copy of the request letter to Mr. Young’s office.
This is a copy of the body of that letter:
Where is the community park in the neighborhood of Rolando Park? It exists only in the hearts of the families who live there. At a meeting of the Rolando Park Community Council (RPCC), a not for profit all volunteer organization serving the residents and businesses of Rolando Park, the residents selected the establishment of a multi-use park as a neighborhood priority.
We are proposing a joint venture project between the City of San Diego and the San Diego Unified School District, with the support of the Rolando Park Community, to create a joint use park with existing underutilized land at Rolando Park Elementary. This large, flat, fenced field on an upper field behind the school currently consists of decomposed granite and four baseball backstops.
Here is the RPCC wish list for this wonderful space which would serve elementary students during school hours and be accessible to neighborhood families on weekends and after hours:
- Playing fields for use by youth sports teams and neighborhood families
- A fitness course
- A Portland Loo with exterior water spigot
- Landscaping and maintenance thereof
- A passive park area with tables and benches
- A Dog Park with waste disposal bag stations
The families of Rolando Park deserve a community park. We are very excited about this proposal. As our District Councilmember we are asking for your support. The land is there, waiting for happy families to make use of it.
Rolando Park ES Aerial This is a link to an aerial shot of the school grounds. The flat, square to the west of the immediate school grounds is the proposed location of the Joint Use Park.
