The Pleasanton City Council is set for a special meeting Tuesday to discuss options for several key public amenity projects, as well as how to prioritize them among all capital improvement projects in the city's work plan list.

Specific projects up for debate include the proposed all-abilities playground, improvements at Lions Wayside and Delucchi parks in downtown, a new cricket pitch in the city and pickleball courts at Muirwood Community Park.

The council will also have an overarching conversation about how to prioritize all of the capital projects included in the city's work plan in light of cost, staff time, community input and other factors. Additional key projects on the list include a new skate park at Ken Mercer Sports Park, library improvements, West Las Positas Boulevard rehabilitation and the Bernal Community Farm.

The approval of the draft All-Abilities Playground Master Plan at Ken Mercer Sports Park is first on the agenda. The council will take a decision whether to proceed with the design or pause until construction funding is identified.

In 2017, the proposal for the park was requested by families with special needs members and was adopted as a priority in the capital improvement program

City officials, along with the design firm RRM Design Group and City staff design team, held six stakeholder meetings, one community outreach meeting, conducted a survey to gather public feedback and created two conceptual designs.

The council will vote on finalizing a conceptual design for Lions Wayside and Delucchi parks. Also on the list is the approval of an amendment to the professional services agreement with Moore, Iacafano and Goltsman for a budget of $28,770 for landscape architectural services and public outreach.

The status report on the project with public input during the Parks and Recreation Master Plan identified the renovation of Lions Wayside and Delucchi parks as one of the most significant improvements that the city needed, in addition to undergrounding the Kottinger Creek.

The Parks and Recreation Commission supports the undergrounding of the creek as it would provide additional lawn space for concerts and events additionally it could address the accessibility and safety issues, according to city staff.

The approval for a cricket pitch to encourage youth sports was mentioned as one of the initiatives of the Parks and Recreation Commission meeting in 2021. A significant number of Pleasanton residents requested the construction of a cricket pitch/field at the City Council meeting.

In April 2020, based on public input, the council supported locating and constructing a cricket field in Pleasanton. The staff presented two alternatives: near-term and long-term options for the development of a cricket field.

After three community outreach meetings and considering public opinion, the staff recommend removing Muirwood Community Park as a near-term solution for a cricket field and conducting further research for other options for a cricket field, such as Bernal Community Park.

The sport of pickleball has been increasing in popularity among Pleasanton residents over the past decade, creating the need for dedicated pickleball courts.

After extensive research and discussions with other cities, the Parks and Recreation Commission recommended locating pickleball courts at Muirwood Community Park. It proposed the construction of six dedicated pickleball courts by replacing two of the four existing tennis courts at Muirwood.

In February, public outreach was conducted at two locations to obtain input from the community, pickleball players and the Muirwood neighborhood.

The council will vote on the conversion of two tennis courts to six pickleball courts at Muirwood Community Park.

The final topic for discussion are the projects on the City Council's priority list that exceeds the current available finances thereby giving rise to the need to categorize and prioritize the items based on financial feasibility.

The task of the meeting will be for the council to choose between two of their competing, high-priority projects and pick the one to move forward with.

Currently, $7.4 million is available in the CIP reserve fund for fiscal year 2021-22 and $2.17 million is budgeted to transfer in for 2022-23 for a total of approximately $9.57 million.

There are several competing demands on this amount including department budget requests and other CIP projects.

The council meeting is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. Tuesday (April 12) and is open to the public in the City Council Chamber at 200 Old Bernal Ave. or livestreamed via Zoom on YouTube or Tri-Valley Community Television. See the full agenda here.