Parks board supports land transfer to Empire Elementary

The Carson City Parks and Recreation Commission on April 2 recommended to the Board of Supervisors the approval of a lot line adjustment that would transfer three acres of the Park Terrace Park and expand Empire Elementary School’s campus for recreational purposes.

The Carson City School District made the request to expand Empire’s property at 1260 Monte Rosa Drive with the space from Park Terrace, which is now approximately 5.4 acres. The district’s responsibility would be to fund all costs with the transfer, including fencing, irrigation and maintenance, Parks and Recreation Director Jennifer Budge said. The deal would provide more recreational opportunities for students.

“(Empire’s) a great school, and they have a regular outreach and have good programs that go to the park throughout the summer,” Budge said. “It’s quiet, and we’ve been working with the school district on a potential concept.”

CCSD Superintendent Andrew Feuling and Trustee Laurel Crossman described the district’s successful working relationship with Carson City and the benefits for the expansion. Feuling said offering a safe, green space for students and the public with the simplest options for cost would be the goal for the city and the district by providing a fence and taking responsibility for locking its gates during break times.

Feuling said Empire is the smallest school within the district by acreage at 6.5 acres.

“It’s 1988, and everyone was playing and eating apple pie,” he said. “In 1999, you start having school violence and incidents, then you have Columbine, Sandy Hook, Uvalde, and the idea of school safety has become of paramount importance. The district has spent millions of dollars upgrading school safety. School is a place to feel welcome and comfortable … and we’re worried about safety for kids.

“Empire is a remnant of a nicer time where the expectation was that older kids … could go and use the park, and they still are at this time,” Feuling said.

Board member Lea Case asked about paving over the field’s grass or building installation, and Feuling said there’s no demand for a parking lot or for additional buildings, saying the goal is to preserve the acreage as green space. He said the basketball court that exists now would need some repairs.

“That’s something else our kids would use,” he said. “It really is recreational.”

“I’m going to hold you to it,” Case said. “I want to see kids playing there all day.”

Board member and city Supervisor Lisa Schuette said she struggled with the transfer with public comment she’s received about the importance of keeping neighborhood parks, describing a recent experience watching families enjoying the park.

“There were quite a few folks there on a picnic blanket, with little dogs on a leash,” she said. “I’m struggling a little bit with the amount of space. If we move three acres over, we’re losing a considerable amount of space.”

Board Chair Kurt Meyer asked for signage on the fencing to make it clear animals aren’t meant to enter to help with maintenance and to explain safety for the park.

The item has yet to be scheduled to go to the board, according to Budge.