Modesto City Council moves forward on senior playground

The Modesto City Council has approved hiring a company to develop a master plan for converting the roughly one-third-acre park in front of the Ralston Tower senior complex into a senior playground, which would have space for classes such as tai chi, low-impact exercise equipment and tables for chess and other games, as well as other amenities.

The city is hiring Modesto-based O’Dell Engineering at a cost not to exceed $60,005. The work will include all the steps necessary for the city to put the project out to bid for construction and will include meetings for community members to give their input. The $60,005 will come from funding the city receives through the federal Community Development Block Grant program.

The project received a positive response when the city unveiled it in December 2014, but Ralston Tower residents also raised concerns about homeless people who use the park. They said the homeless can get loud and rowdy, ask for food and spare change and leave behind trash. City officials said then and reiterated this week that providing positive uses for parks and recreation facilities tends to drive out less desirable uses.

In other action from Tuesday’s meeting, the council approved:

▪ Entering into an agreement with the Southern California-based nonprofit Shane’s Inspiration to have it provide design and other services at no cost for what is called an inclusive playground at Beyer Community Park. These playgrounds can be used by children of all abilities. A group of residents approached the city about the playground and will raise money for the project.

▪ Spending $404,209 for mobile data computers for the Police Department’s patrol vehicles. The city will buy the computers from Dell Marketing. A city report states the current computers are using Microsoft’s Windows XP operating system, which Microsoft stopped supporting in April 2014. The report states the warranty for the current computers is close to ending. The money for the new computers would come from the fleet replacement fund ($387,777) and the general fund ($16,432).

▪  Hiring Walnut Creek-based Carollo Engineers for final design services for the river trunk realignment project at as much as $4.7 million. The city hired Carollo for preliminary design services in April 2014 for $1 million, according to a city report. The river trunk is a pipeline that transports sewage from Beard Industrial Park to the city’s Sutter Avenue wastewater treatment plant. The project includes other components and improvements.

This story was originally published March 24, 2016 at 1:57 PM with the headline "Modesto City Council moves forward on senior playground."