Date Set For Master Plan on Boca’s Rec Needs

By Marci Shatzman

Expect a recreational master plan within 90 days to coordinate those needs with the city of Boca Raton’s planned downtown government campus.

“It may take a little longer,” Briann Harms, executive director told commissioners of the Greater Boca Raton Beach & Park District at their Feb. 18 meeting.

The city partners with the B&P on some recreational fields and facilities, and just choose Terra & Frisbe Group to develop their new government campus downtown. https://myboca.us/1431/Government-Campus  At their own public meetings, city staff and council have talked about relocating the field at Meadows Park and other rec facilities on Crawford Boulevard, and the Boca Raton Tennis Center across from city hall, and has asked the B&P for an assessment of recreational needs.

“We’re deciding what’s going where, and may have to look at residents vs. non-residents,” said Erin Wright, commissioner chair. Non-residents pay a higher fee for use of Boca’s public recreational facilities, including sports fields. “That was my concern,” said Commissioner Bob Rollins, adding it now costs non-residents $65 per child per sport to play in Boca Raton. “It gets to the point where they may be forced out or priced out,” he said.

Commissioners also approved adding the cost for security cameras in the new inclusive playground in Patch Reef Park, one of the parks the Beach & Park District oversees. The city oversees the other parks in city limits.

“Broadcast Systems, the company responsible for security plans in our other parks and a trusted partner of the City of Boca Raton Police Department, has reviewed the playground plans and provided input on camera placement. They have marked up the site plan to ensure the installation meets our security needs,” according to the district’s agenda. “Installing the conduit now, before the playground is completed, will prevent the need for costly directional drilling and disruption to the site later. The total cost for this change order is $31,050, which includes conduit installation, pull strings, and contractor overhead and profit. This will be added to the existing contract with Shiff Construction & Development for the Patch Reef Park playground project.”

Here’s a link to the inclusive playground plans:  https://www.mybocaparks.org/inclusive-playground-patch-reef

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