Parks staff report Hoya playground safety work, temporary fencing and follow-up on Village Park fire

Parks staff provided a wide-ranging operations update that focused on safety interventions at the Hoya play area, ongoing maintenance challenges, and insurance follow-up for a playground fire at Village Park.

Staff said Hoya has been busy since reopening and that recent changes — including removing one zipline and taking the second down for repairs — were driven by safety incidents and vendor repair timelines. Staff noted the zipline assembly is a unique structure with components arriving from overseas, requiring vendor attention and warranty work. "They've definitely been working on it," staff said, and the city will continue to press the vendor, Compan, for durable fixes and replacement springs.

To manage crowding and protect equipment, staff installed temporary fencing and are evaluating permanent fencing and security cameras; they also described a resident-priority policy that allows residents to skip longer nonresident lines. Staff reported monitoring visitor levels (peak days reached hundreds of nonresidents) and said recent adjustments have greatly reduced neighborhood parking impacts and emergency calls.

Regarding the Village Park playground fire, staff said they had heard back from the city's insurance carrier and will meet an adjuster to pursue settlement and replacement options. Staff described drainage issues at the fire site and said they may relocate or regrade the playground footprint as part of replacement.

Staff also updated the board on Mercer Park developer progress, Squire Park design and budget allocations, and tree removal and replanting plans along Rawhide Parkway, noting water-budget constraints and a focus on drought-tolerant varieties.