Greg, parks staff, outlined a proposal to develop consistent park design standards for benches, trash receptacles, signage and other park fixtures and suggested partnering with a career center drafting program to create designs that local shops could build.

Staff said current purchases vary park-to-park, producing inconsistent styles and colors. The city historically favored a “blue” color for city fixtures but examples such as a red bench at the skate park show variance. Greg proposed specifying consistent product styles while allowing limited color/placemaking variations by park.

The plan would include: a standard bench and trash-receptacle design, a sign-replacement program (possibly run as a community design competition), and templates for localized fabrication to reduce shipping and unit cost (staff cited roughly $800 for a basic street trash can from an out-of-area vendor). Staff pointed to the National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA) as a resource for best practices and suggested starting with Carroll Park and proceeding park-by-park.

No formal vote was taken; commissioners expressed support for developing standards and for working between meetings to draft options and identify potential pilot parks.