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FINANCIAL STATEMENT There is no direct financial impact resulting from this agenda report. CIP No. 06716 has been established for the project. The City Council will determine the final design and budget for the project at a future meeting. BACKGROUND Design During Preparation of Master Plan The 1993 Community Trails Master Plan proposed that a regional trail be located in the Alameda County transportation corridor (the obsolete Southern Pacific Railroad corridor that runs along Sunol Boulevard and First Street), including a Class A trail (defined as an 8- to12-foot-wide multi-use path in the master plan) be installed through Lions Wayside and Delucchi Parks. In 2002, the Downtown Parks and Trails System Master Plan and Downtown Specific Plan recommended that Lions Wayside and Delucchi Parks be considered in conjunction with the Main Street Green (now Rotary Park), Fire Station No. 1 (now the Firehouse Arts Center), the Main Street Bridge, the regional trail corridor, and portions of the Arroyo del Valle to be designed to serve as one contiguous park area. The plans intended that the combined facility of Lions Wayside and Delucchi Parks serve the immediate neighborhood, as well as the city, and that the areas also serve as a regional trail corridor. In 2006, following the construction of the Firehouse Arts Center and the City's acquisition of the Alameda County transportation corridor property in the downtown area, the Lions Wayside and Delucchi Parks Master Plan project, CIP No 06716, began. The City Council approved a consultant agreement with the firm of Richard Larson & Associates to develop the master plan in December 2008. The firm's principal, Richard Larson, was the landscape architect for the Firehouse Arts Center project and was also the principal consultant for the Downtown Parks and Trails System Master Plan. In 2009, public hearings with the Parks and Recreation Commission and Civic Arts Commission were held to review two schematic designs prepared by Mr. Larson. The major difference between the two schemes was the disposition of the drainage channel (known as Kottinger Creek) that runs through the site and whether it should be piped and "undergrounded" or be enhanced and embraced as a park feature. Both Commissions overwhelmingly supported undergrounding the drainage channel, but shortly afterward the project was placed on hold due to economic uncertainties. Then, in March 2011, the Parks and Recreation Commission prioritized Lions Wayside and Delucchi Parks as one of the Commission's top three priorities for the City Council's priority-setting workshop for Fiscal Year 2011/12. On May 30, 2013, the updated Lions Wayside and Delucchi Parks schematic plans were presented to the Parks and Recreation Commission with changes based on the feedback received in 2009. The meeting was held as a public workshop to garner an open discussion with the community regarding the schematic plan options. The Commission again voted to recommend undergrounding the drainage channel. The Page 2 of 9