Council sets deadline for Pioneer Park proposals, receives public works assessment

Paso Robles residents now have a firm timeline for weighing in on the future of Pioneer Park. During its regular meeting Tuesday, Oct. 20, at Centennial Park's Norris Meeting Room, the City Council voted 3-2 to accept proposals for the city-owned property near 1910 Riverside Ave. through 5 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 19, 2027, capping a process that has stretched across more than a year of deliberations over the roughly 71,874-square-foot site.

The Paso Robles Daily News reported that the council also voted 4-1 to receive a Public Works Operational and Organizational Assessment recommending four new positions, approved a handful of consent-calendar items, and heard presentations on El Niño preparations and a plan for converting non-functional turf.

What the Pioneer Park decision means

Mayor John Hamon, Mayor Pro Tem Steve Gregory and Councilmember Chris Bausch voted to set the January deadline, with Councilmembers Kris Beal and Fred Strong opposed. Gregory made the motion, seconded by Bausch.

The vote formalizes a direction the council gave on Aug. 18, when members agreed to pause any sale of the property until the city's parks master plan is finished — a process expected to take 12 to 18 months once underway — and to invite proposals for projects of "cultural significance." No proposals had arrived as of last week's staff report, prompting staff to request a deadline so the window would not remain open indefinitely.

The property, which includes public restrooms, a small parking lot and a well-used skate park, was declared surplus land in November 2025. Under state surplus-land rules, three organizations responded: the Housing Authority of San Luis Obispo, the Pioneer Museum Foundation and the Paso Robles Event Center. Talks with the housing authority ran past the state's 90-day negotiating period without an agreement on price or terms. Any eventual sale carrying 10 or more homes must include an affordable housing requirement of at least 15% of units.

Under the criteria confirmed Tuesday, a qualifying project must preserve, interpret or celebrate the history, heritage, arts or cultural traditions of the Paso Robles community, and anyone may respond. Proposals must include plans for the skate park, restrooms and parking; a project description and basic site plan; organizational information; a proposed purchase price; a timeline; and a long-term operations and maintenance plan identifying who will separate utilities shared with the neighboring property.

One notable change: the council directed staff to remove the staff report's listed fair market value of $1,690,000 from the request for proposals, while still requiring each proposal to state a price. Gregory and Bausch argued the figure reflected housing use and could mislead organizations pitching cultural projects. Beal said she opposed soliciting proposals at all while the parks master plan is still in progress.

After the deadline, staff will return to the council in closed session to discuss price and terms, with any actual proposals to be considered in open session at a future meeting. If nothing comes in, the city keeps the property while the master plan is completed. Setting the deadline carries no direct cost to the city.

Public works assessment accepted, 4-1

In a separate 4-1 vote — with Bausch dissenting and Gregory making the motion, seconded by Beal — the council received the Public Works Operational and Organizational Assessment and allowed staff to begin implementing its recommendations under the city manager's existing authority and the approved budget. Anything requiring new funding, new positions or outright council approval will return for separate votes.

The city hired consulting firm Raftelis in December 2025 after reviewing 14 proposals. The assessment, which began in January, examined staffing and operations across administration, streets and stormwater, facilities, fleet, landscape and lighting, and the airport.

Its recommendations include a formal asset-management approach, a deputy director and a fiscal analyst, using pavement-condition data to schedule street maintenance, a specialist electrician to support the traffic signal master plan, and a tree maintenance specialist. The report also flagged that the city is responsible for an estimated 30,000 trees but has inventoried only about 12,000, and cited roughly $23.5 million in additional needs — figures that will shape budget conversations in the months ahead.

Other business: water plant, rail and El Niño

The consent calendar passed unanimously. It included a $224,873.25 contract with Carbon Supply Inc. for granular activated carbon replacement at the Surface Water Treatment Plant, final approval of a tract map for Vinedo Planning Area 2 within the Olsen–South Chandler Specific Plan, a request to remove a blue oak tree at 59 Ridgeview Drive, and a resolution supporting a pilot passenger rail service during the 2028 Olympics. Councilmember Fred Strong abstained from the rail resolution vote due to a conflict of interest.

The council also heard from Scott Jalbert, director of the San Luis Obispo County Office of Emergency Services, on El Niño preparedness, and from Maintenance Services Superintendent Dwayne Brown on the city's non-functional turf implementation plan.

What's next

For residents and local organizations — from history groups to arts advocates — the Jan. 19 deadline is the moment to act on Pioneer Park. For everyone else, the coming months will show whether the public works assessment's staffing recommendations translate into budget requests, and whether the long-awaited parks master plan finally begins to take shape.