Builders of the new NTC Park say it promises to inject new life into the booming community of Liberty Station in Point Loma. Nearby residents, however, continue to raise concerns over safety and quality-of-life issues. The park is scheduled to open July 2.
District 2 Councilman Kevin Faulconer joined Director of Park and Recreation Stacey LoMedico at the McMillin event center on Thursday, June 14, to meet with residents in addressing the perceived issues and future plans.
The park would have opened in December, but $27,000 worth of grass seed that never took root ” partly because of the cold winter season ” prevented the opening, LoMedico said.
Future developments that could affect Liberty Station residents at the former Naval Training Center were also discussed.
In the interim, many in attendance voiced concerns over the multi-use basketball court area. The meeting also addressed issues over who will maintain legislative control over the park. Right now, residents can address concerns through the Point Loma Community Recreation Council at the Cabrillo Recreation Center quarterly meetings, LoMedico said.
“I want to see what issues are appropriately [addressed] before making a decision,” LoMedico said. “I’m saying let’s see what happens.”
Though fencing still surrounds the park, some residents said they are concerned about safety issues that could arise if the park remains open overnight as planned. Although LoMedico assured residents that signs prohibiting overnight parking would be posted, one resident said a park open around the clock could attract illicit activity.
Another resident said that open courts so close to the street and across from houses are a hazard should a child chase a ball rolling into the street.
Faulconer said these and other issues could be addressed at a community meeting tentatively scheduled for 60 to 90 days after the park opens.
He said the formation of a separate recreation council made up of residents and stakeholders would be helpful in addressing problems.
Many at the meeting expressed interest in creating such a council. As a council begins to form, it would have be sanctioned by the San Diego Park and Recreation board to become an official community recreation council as an advisory body to the board. LoMedico said the police department provides a service officer to help with the dialogue about crime in the area.
“The success of the park depends on the partnership between those who use Liberty Station and Point Loma,” LoMedico said.
But more than just immediate issues and concerns were addressed during the June 14 meeting. Participants also used the forum to discuss growth and quality-of-life issues on tap for the future.
The planned opening of the park marks the conclusion of phase one of the three-phase McMillin Companies’ deal with the San Diego Redevelopment Agency. Phase one cost about $7 million, LoMedico said.
Phase two, which will cost about $9 million in public funds and private donations, could bring the Point Loma Community Pool and Competitive Aquatic Center should organizers with Families for a Point Loma Swimming Pool have their way.
Phase three, according to improvement agreement signed in 2000, will add 179 single-family homes.
Julie Cramer, a longtime Point Loma resident and organizer with Families for a Point Loma Swimming Pool, has been working on the aquatics plans project, which was approved by the City Council as part of the NTC Park plan in 2003.
With Point Loma being so close to the ocean and beaches, Cramer said the 50-meter-deep pool, which cost $465,000 in its initial planning and design phase, could be a great place for children to learn how to swim.
“We have all this water around us but no place to learn to swim,” Cramer said, “Children don’t learn to swim in the ocean,” she added.
The aquatic complex would feature a community and family pool free and open to the public.
According to a flyer distributed by Families for a Point Loma Swimming Pool, the facility will have a concession stand and picnic areas, support facilities for team meets and a sand beach on the channel for kayaking and small boating sports.
The organization will be working with the City Park and Recreation Department and the redevelopment agency to bring the aquatic center to fruition.
Cramer added that the Hervey Family Fund is considering an endowment to cover operating costs.
Point Loma People for Progress organized the June 14 meeting and is a grass-roots organization made up of community members and neighbors who meet to discuss development issues regarding Liberty Station.
Cramer said that although the organization was originally established by McMillin Companies a couple years ago, the community organization has taken on a life of its own.
The work between groups such as P3, the Point Loma Park and Recreation Council and other grass-roots organizations speaks to the willingness of the people of Point Loma to take responsibility and ownership of their park and its future development, she said.