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Pleasanton residents will soon begin to see construction take place at the Lions Wayside park later this month after the City Council unanimously approved the final design plans and awarded a construction contract to create a new lawn area and new bandstand at the park.
The council pulled the item from its consent calendar at the Sept. 3 meeting to further discuss the specifics of the new bandstand as well as some other details regarding trees. However, the overall sentiment from the council was that they are excited to see the renovation project come to fruition next year.
“I can’t wait to be there in 2025 when it’s complete,” Mayor Karla Brown said in the council chambers.
Renovating Lions Wayside and Delucchi parks has been something that the city of Pleasanton has been discussing since the ’90s and 2000s. Matt Gruber, a landscape architect with the city, told the council that at that time, the city had identified parks for renovation, which included the adjacent parks on First Street.
Then in 2014, the city adopted the Lions Wayside and Delucchi Parks Master Plan, which outlined several goals including connecting the two parks and the rest of downtown and relocating Kottinger Creek.
But that plan was not approved by regulatory agencies at the time. Gruber said staff got preliminary regulatory agency approval in 2021 and began doing community outreach for an updated master plan in 2022.
However, staff soon estimated that any future efforts to pursue the full master plan redevelopment would cost the city between $10 million to $12 million, which is why the council majority on Feb. 7, 2023 directed staff to use the $1.9 million in the project’s budget to focus on improvements rather than a full redevelopment plan.
“I feel pretty good that we made a really good decision there given that things have only gotten fiscally more tight since that decision was made,” Vice Mayor Julie Testa said during the meeting.
Since then, staff came up with a concept plan for the Lions Wayside Park and the bandstand that have been approved by the council. The city plans on moving the Chan Henderson Bicentennial Bandstand to be on the other side of the park — on the end nearer to the Firehouse Arts Center — and reorienting the bandstand to face toward a large open space of Lions Wayside.
The council also previously heard from musicians who offered input on the bandstand design so that it better serves bands — the council took those recommendations and approved a revised bandstand concept this past March.
The construction drawings for these and other amenity improvements at Lions Wayside were recently completed in June, leading to the council awarding a $1,265,000 construction contract on Sept. 3 to Integra Construction Services, Inc. — which would include a 10% contingency.
Staff did not recommend that the city move forward with pathway and landscape improvements at Delucchi Park due to the high costs.
While Testa said that she had thought the plan was to look at more of a gazebo-style for the bandstand, one of the members of the The CoolTones Big Band, a Tri-Valley-based music group, told the council that a gazebo is the worst structure to play music in and that if the city is going to go through with this project, it needs to be done right so that it serves its purpose.
Testa said she still wants to see the evolution of the bandstand design so that the city can make sure it matches the aesthetic of the surrounding homes.
The council discussed how the new bandstand would have electricity throughout the structure so bands can put up lights or speakers, but the city is not planning on putting lights except for low lights in the back for security purposes.
Brown said while the bandstand will be closer to the homes across the street from the park, because the stage will be facing the park the noise won’t be as bad — even with speakers.
Councilmember Jack Balch also asked Gruber about the trees at the park and clarified how even though the plan is to cut down a mature Mulberry tree, the city is also planning on planting several new trees.
Councilmember Valerie Arkin made it a point at the end of the meeting that the public should know the funds for this project are not coming out of the general fund. According to Gruber, all of the money for the project is being funded by park development impact fees, which are dedicated to the renovation of the two parks.
Gruber said now that the council awarded the construction contract, work should start in late September and is scheduled to end in May 2025. He said there will be a maintenance period where the new lawns will be closed from next May to July because it takes time for the new grass roots to establish.
He said the city will have to work with the Pleasanton Downtown Association to accommodate next year’s summer Concerts in the Park series, which take place during the time the lawn would be closed. He said the city would either begin the series earlier or have it extended and start late.
As for any future plans to do something with the ice box on the downtown side of Lions Wayside or possibly adding more speakers, staff said those would be things that the city looks at in the future as more funding becomes available.
Editor’s note: This article has been updated to clarify the proposed relocation site for the redesigned bandstand.
At a July City Council meeting, we were told that city would be facing $13 million annual deficits for the next eight years. The City Council told us that they have cut everything they could cut from the budget for next year which amounted to a little over $2 million. Then, at that meeting, they voted to put a $100 million Pleasanton sales tax increase on the November ballot.
As Pleasanton voters are considering whether to increase our taxes this fall, as we drive by Lions Wayside Park on First Street and see a massive city construction project starting, let’s remember the priorities of this city council.
In the November election we have the opportunity to replace the mayor and one city council member with candidtates who will put our priorities first.