As the Indian Trail Improvement District Board of Supervisors prepare to begin shaping their fiscal year 2026 budget, they’ve been told the area’s parks and related facilities need almost $5 million in renovations.
Many of the issues — such as rusty playground equipment, rickety stairways, and uneven surfaces on some basketball and tennis courts — are safety issues, Parks & Recreation Director Kenneth Lawrence told the board at a recent meeting.
“Everything has a life expectancy,” Lawrence said this week. “A lot of this equipment went in around the same time, so a lot of it is reaching its expiration around the same time.”
Grants and other types of assistance could cover approximately $1.2 million of the work, Lawrence said.
On Saturday, April 26, Lawrence took supervisors and others on a mobile workshop tour so they could get an up-close look at some of the problems he detailed in his March 12 report. They visited Coconut Park, Citrus Grove Park and Acreage Community Park, both north and south.
“When you put your hands on it, you see that it’s worse than people envision,” Lawrence said. “Some serious decisions need to be made.”
During the three-hour tour, several supervisors were skeptical of some proposed projects, especially a $604,500 renovation to the two-story bathroom, concessions, garage and “press box” facility situated between four baseball/softball fields at Acreage Community Park North.
The group also heard about:
- The needs at storm-damaged Coconut Park to replace the pier ($105,000), numerous trees ($354,000), the exercise equipment ($15,000) and “skimming” the surface of the entire park ($72,000) to remove dangerous debris embedded in the soil by the Oct. 9 tornado.
- A proposal to add a multi-purpose field ($120,000), irrigation ($25,000), replace the pavilion roof ($23,000) and the walking trail ($20,000) at Citrus Grove Park.
- The need at Acreage Community Park South for new fencing along the equestrian trail ($250,000), refinishing the wooden arches at the amphitheater, plus possible roof repairs ($25,000) and new landscaping ($25,000).
- A plan to add or replace seven baseball and football scoreboards ($105,000), baseball dugouts roofing and repairs ($40,000), improved field lighting ($25,000) and new clay on the baseball fields ($25,000).
The most expensive proposed project is $779,500 for the replacement of playground equipment, creation of a multi-purpose sports field and additional parking at Kidscape Park on 74th Street North.
Work at Kidscape Park “is not something that has to be done at the moment,” Lawrence said. “But it is something the board needs to have in the back of their mind for the future.”
ITID President Elizabeth Accomando said that the district needs to be mindful of its spending.
“We have to be fiscally responsible,” she said. “Our main function is to provide drainage. Drainage affects everyone. That has to be our main priority.”
ITID maintains 164 miles of canals across the 110-square-mile district.
Acreage Athletic League President Wendy Tirado said this week that renovating the existing “press box” at Acreage Community Park North is “crucial to our league,” even though AAL baseball moved to Palm Beach County’s Samuel Friedland Park on Hamlin Blvd. years ago.
AAL girls/women’s softball teams use the fields for practice and some games. The league also runs girls and co-ed flag football and tackle football on Acreage Community Park fields.
The “press box” was closed in late 2023 after a termite problem was discovered.
Daniel Duncan, the AAL’s director of coaching development, said Saturday that the organization would like to use the “press box” second floor for meetings, film study and as a study hall complete with computers for players or their siblings between games or practices.
“We have a lot of plans we can do with the press box,” Tirado said. “We want to make this program have a real family feel.”
The major expense in renovating the “press box” is bringing it into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) standards. That would include removing one staircase and installing an elevator ($175,000) and fixing the slope around the building ($250,000).
A $400,000 grant to “harden” the structure as an ITID command post for use during hurricanes or other emergencies may be available to defray the costs, Lawrence said.
Supervisor Betty Argue, a longtime AAL supporter, said the league likely would pitch in to help with renovations to the second floor, which was “something they planned to do before it was closed,” she said.
The cost of doing the renovations “is part of having parks,” Argue said. “Either we have parks, or we don’t.”
After more than three decades of holding a service provider agreement with the district, the AAL now operates under a “nonprofit athletic user agreement” that gives it first priority in the use of ITID’s athletic fields.
Tirado said that the AAL already has been discussing bringing some baseball back to Acreage Community Park North, and that renovations to the “press box” and playing surfaces would make doing so more attractive.
“We definitely would like to bring baseball back,” she said Tuesday. “This is our home field.”
