Seacliff Village Park Groundbreaking

Event to take place Monday, August 3 at 10 a.m.

By Zach Friend

Public officials, including Supervisor Zach Friend, Parks Commissioner Kate Minott and members of the Seacliff Improvement Association, along with local residents, will help celebrate long awaited milestone.

After over a decade of work by neighbors, parks staff, Supervisor Pirie, and now my office the long-awaited Seacliff Village Park will finally break ground in early August. In June, the Board of Supervisors added the final funding to make construction a reality. Located at the corner Sea Ridge and McGregor, the new Seacliff Village Park is a 1.4-acre facility that will feature a number of great elements.

In the first phase a play area with five play structures including swings, a climbing net and lighthouse themed play area will be constructed. In addition, a small plaza area, multiple walkways, a picnic area with ADA picnic tables, drinking fountain, bike rack, benches, a sidewalk along McGregor and drought tolerant landscaping throughout the park will be added.

Site prep work has already begun and over the next few months, you will begin to see significant progress on the new park. It’s estimated that in late September the landscaping will begin to be placed and in October the play equipment will arrive. Completion of phase one is expected to be completed within 144 days of groundbreaking.

In addition, at a recent Board of Supervisors meeting we approved local artist Kathleen Crocetti’s public art proposal for Seacliff Village Park. The Santa Cruz County Arts Commission reviewed proposals for a public art component and recommended Ms. Crocetti’s proposal, which includes 38 stained concrete pylons with mosaic tops that feature local Seacliff imagery. The pylons will be cast in place along the park pathway and vary in height from 18-26”. Our office joined with Ms. Crocetti and the County Parks Department on organizing upcoming community meetings to select imagery for the mosaics. Ms. Crocetti also intends to work with local residents on the creation of the art on-site at the park. The meetings will be held July 23, 25, 30th and August 1st. More information about the community meetings will is on the County Parks website at www.scparks.com

•••
Seacliff Village Park: Community Meetings

Your input and participation is needed for the public art component!

The project will feature 38 colored-concrete pylons, varying in height (18-26”) and diameter (12-16”), each topped with a unique mosaic featuring imagery relevant to the Seacliff area. The pylons will be cast on site, along the park’s pathways.

You are invited to attend any/all of the scheduled community meetings listed below, and participate in the creation of the public artwork which is planned for Seacliff Village Park. Meetings will be held at the Youth Center at St. John’s Episcopal Church, 125 Canterbury Dr., Aptos

Come learn about the project and share your ideas for the mosaic images: Thursday, July 23 from 10-11:30 a.m. & 6-7:30 p.m. Saturday, July 25 from 10-11:30 a.m.

Follow-up meetings will give you a chance to vote on and approve drawings/images for the mosaics: Thursday, July 30 from 10-11:30 a.m. & 6-7:30 p.m. Saturday, August 1 from 10-11:30 a.m.

Community Builds (help create the mosaics!) will begin August 16 at Seacliff Village Park.

For more information contact Kathleen Crocetti, crocetti@rocketmail.com