For the Sunset Empire Park and Recreation District, 2022 was a year of looking toward the future.

Skyler Archibald, the district’s executive director, delivered a request for a proposal to guide the district over the next 10 to 15 years. He said the district seeks an understanding of how the facilities — including the Sunset Pool, Bob Chisholm Community Center and the Sunset Recreation Center — can fit together to better serve the public and do it in an efficient and fiscally prudent manner.

The consultant will review levels of service and operations to prepare a capital improvement plan for the entire district and its funding strategy before presenting the plan to the board of directors in June for adoption.

The plan comes in addition to a Sunset Recreation Center facility plan, recently delivered by Sports Facilities Advisory and Scott Edwards Architects. The former Broadway Middle School was purchased for $2.15 million from the Seaside School District in 2021.

In November, the City Council approved a plan to add a new softball field to city-owned property at the northwest corner of Broadway Field.

The city added two conditions of approval to site the softball improvements at Broadway Field and to begin the design and construction phase. These include a task force with representatives from the school district, city and park district to guide the design and decisions related to the field.

The plan comes with concerns for members of the Sunset Empire Park and Recreation District board of directors.

As one of three entities in an intergovernmental agreement, board members want to know about parking details, allocation of expenses, field replacement and where community gardens will be relocated.

Youth services

The park district expanded its youth services in mid-October.

The new infant and toddler program, which started Oct. 17, is in its pilot year. The district plans to reassess the feasibility of the program next year and potentially expand it for the 2023-24 school year, according to Justin Smith, the director of programs.

During this first year, the district is able to serve four infants and five toddlers. This aligns with state-mandated staff-to-child ratios.

Prior to offering infant and toddler care, Sunset Empire was serving 3-year-olds to fifth graders through its preschool, after-school care and summer camp programs.

“It takes us that step further and allows us to really serve starting as early as six weeks old,” Youth Programs Manager Erin Reding said. “It’s kind of filling the gap as far as not only what’s here in the community, but what we were providing here. It expands our offerings.”

COVID-19 also impacted the district’s decision-making and timeline in terms of child care services. When the pandemic started, the district paused its regular programming and started offering infant care to help support frontline workers.

Smith and Reding are hopeful it will continue past the pilot year and that they can receive more grant funding to help offset costs. There’s an evident need in the community — the district already has a waitlist — and it allows Sunset Empire to cultivate continuity and feed into its services for older children.

Strategic plan

The Sunset Empire Park and Recreation District approved a proposal for a new district master plan. Scott Edwards Architecture will review the district’s facilities, programs and develop an overall master plan for the future of the district.

The plan comes in addition to a Sunset Recreation Center facility plan, recently delivered by Sports Facilities Advisory and Scott Edwards Architects. The former Broadway Middle School was purchased for $2.15 million from the Seaside School District in 2021.

In a design fee overview, Scott Edwards Architecture LLP presented a price of $79,400 for the project, with an additional $5,500 for travel and hourly rates for services.

Archibald called the plan essential to future park district decisions during the Nov. 22 board of directors meeting.

Consultants will work with Scott Edwards Architecture project manager Brandon Dole; Sports Facility Advisory, a Florida-based company; Portland-based landscape architects Lango Hansen; and DCW Cost Management, based in Seattle.

The Klosh Group will be retained as the park district’s owner representative.

The plan will be developed after a financial and facilities analysis, public outreach and an outdoor asset condition assessment. The consults will conduct meetings with the district every two weeks and attend the park district’s board meetings to provide project updates. They will present findings, recommendations and next steps to Sunset Empire Park and Recreation District board members, stakeholders and the public.

The final plan will be delivered in June.

Board member Celeste Bodner suggested expanding previous research to find ways to engage tourists. “We balloon from 6,000 to 60,000 on some weekends, and we don’t talk to any of those,” she said. “A lot of them don’t know we’re here.”