Lions Park
A park raised on court safety and funding.
The timeline
- April 16, 2026Young Park pulled from the agenda; elections deferred for want of a board
The board amended its own agenda to strike the Young Park item before taking it up, then deferred board elections to May because too few members were present. Three of seven seats were filled; Districts 1 and 3 are vacant.
- April 20, 2023A fee schedule passes by acclamation with its language still to be written
The board approved the 2023-2024 Fees and Charges and Facility Use Policy "with language added regarding bathroom use and field rental process" — language that did not yet exist when the vote was taken. A motion to table the item to May died, and the reason given on the record was that the policy is already in the queue for City Council in May. Public Participation: "There was none."
- August 16, 2022The board kills the Veterans Park renaming on purpose — tabled indefinitely so no precedent attaches
The Veterans Advisory Board's vice-chair asked for one more delay, then said the group is not so much seeking a name change as a change in the park's usage. The board tabled the item indefinitely, with a member stating on the record that a vote would set a precedent against any future renaming. Staff separately disclosed that the Assistant City Manager had stopped permitting Veterans Memorial Park as of August 12.
- June 16, 2022The park where the playground is already scheduled to disappear
The Veterans Advisory Board asked this board to recommend that Veterans Memorial Park be designated a special use park and renamed "Veterans Memorial." Board members learned during the discussion that the adopted master plan already removes the playground, and tabled the item to July 21, asking to see the master plan and the LCPD vandalism reports first. Staff then presented a $28,040,752 FY23 budget.
- May 26, 2022"Next week he will file a discrimination thing with the City"
A former board member told the board that disabled veterans cannot use the Apodaca pickleball courts because there is no restroom and an 8.1% grade, that he would file a discrimination complaint the following week, and that the city wastes roughly a third of its GO Bond money by issuing RFPs instead of bidding work. The board then approved a $8,000 crosswalk-art project whose preparations had already begun and whose press release had already gone out.
- February 18, 2021GO Bond program at 26% on time, and the District 5 park gets a number: $675,000
Held via Zoom webinar. Public Works reported the GO Bond park program is 26% on time and 32% on cash, with Apodaca courts due in May and demolition started at Young Park. Staff said the new District 5 park has a funding source of approximately $675,000 from the Philippou settlement. Board members reported that three City Councilors each described the resolution as a one-off.
- November 19, 2020A resident asks where $2.2 million went, and the board gets the whole budget — an $18 million department with closed facilities
Meeting by Zoom with all Parks & Recreation facilities closed under the Public Health Order, the board heard a resident question the accounting on the Nevada Cool Corridor and got the Public Works director's answer on the record. Staff then walked the board through the entire FY21 budget — $11 million in general fund, a little over $18 million in total. The board approved two youth-painted murals and cancelled its own December meeting.
- October 15, 2020Trails routed onto surface streets, forwarded to Council over the cyclists' objection
The board voted unanimously to send the $2.7 million GO bond trails presentation to City Council, after cyclists, a pedestrian advocate, a Safe Routes to School coordinator and an adjacent property owner all objected to routing the Armijo Lateral trail onto McClure Road and other surface streets. The board then tabled all three discussion items to November 19 on a 4-1 vote.
- August 20, 2020Two dozen players write in against the 45-minute court rule — and the board takes no action
The board met on Zoom with no action items on its agenda while a court reservation policy taking effect four days later drew about two dozen emailed public comments, printed in full across pages 11 to 49 of this document. The Chair read the emails aloud; the board took no vote on the policy, and the Director committed to answering every writer individually within 48 hours.
- June 18, 2020Two GO Bond plans go forward on Zoom, and a resident asks who is paying for the entry road
Meeting by Zoom for the first regular session since February, the board accepted the East Mesa Recreation Complex master plan presentation to move to City Council and approved the Parks & Sports Courts improvements. Three emailed public comments were read verbatim, one of them alleging that entry road funding had been taken "directly from the Go Bond funding as feared" — which the Interim Public Works Director denied on the record. A power outage cost one member his vote.
- February 20, 2020"Just putting another band aid" — tennis and pickleball push back on the GO Bond court plan
The first presentation of the GO Bond sports court rehabilitation to the board drew sustained objection from tennis and pickleball players, who said earlier meetings had led them to expect full resurfacing and professional-grade courts rather than crack repair. The board tabled the action to a special meeting and asked for two revisions — one with as much professional grade as possible, one showing what the existing money buys. A parent also told the board a discrimination complaint he filed in December 2018 was still unresolved.