The construction on two of Santa Rosa’s last remaining park projects damaged by the devastating Tubbs Fire in the fall of 2017 is about to begin.
Part of the city’s Six Fire Damaged Parks Recovery Project, construction will begin on the parks this month and the associated Fire Damaged Roadway Landscaping Project will begin next month, according to a city spokesperson.
The parks recovery process encompasses the restoration of six Santa Rosa parks and open space parcels in the Fountaingrove neighborhood and removing fire-damaged roadway landscaping and replacing the irrigation system damaged in the Fountaingrove and Coffey Park burn scar areas, remnants of the wildfire that ravaged this section of the Bay Area’s fifth-largest city.
Debris removal and restoration will begin concurrently this month at all six parks and open space parcels, which includes Rincon Ridge Neighborhood Park, Rincon Ridge Open Space, Fir Ridge Neighborhood Park, Nagasawa Community Park, Francis Nielsen Neighborhood Park, and Parker Hill Trail. The project involves removing and replacing fire damaged vegetation, fencing, signage, picnic benches, irrigation systems, and the play equipment at Fir Ridge Park. Community input guided the design selection for the new play structures to be installed at Fir Ridge Park.
Construction costs to restore the six parks and open space parcels is estimated at $1.5 million. The funding was obtained through FEMA, Cal OES, and PG&E settlement funds. This project is expected to be completed in six months pending material availability.
In fall 2019, under a separate contract, the city completed the fire recovery rebuild on two pedestrian bridges along Parker Hill Trail and one pedestrian bridge in Francis Nielsen Park.
The Fire Damaged Roadway Landscaping project will remove and replace portions of roadway landscaping, including supporting electrical and irrigation infrastructure damaged in the Fountaingrove and Coffey Park burn scar areas. Fountaingrove area HOAs, CoffeyStrong from the Coffey Park neighborhood, and the Santa Rosa Fire Department have participated in design review for the new roadway landscaping.
Construction costs to restore the damaged roadway landscaping and infrastructure is estimated at $6 million. In 2019, Santa Rosa was awarded a California Office of Emergency Services Hazard Mitigation Grant to restore the steep slopes along the roadway, in the amount of $394,339.
FEMA reimbursement will be requested for the remaining amount, less the city’s 6.25 percent share amount.
The project will be completed in 2023.