City to hire consultant to help solve Guthrie Park parking problem

Longview New-Journal
By Yoleyne Romero yromero@news-journal.com
Nov 11, 2022

An ongoing issue regarding lack of parking at Guthrie Park in Longview could be solved in collaboration with a consulting firm.

The park at the intersection of Tupelo and Meadowbrook drives is more than 20 acres and has fewer than 10 sparking spots. A small parking also is near Rotary Park to the west.

The lack of available parking has been on the radar of city officials and District 6 Councilman Steve Pirtle for months.

Many residents utilize the park for its pickleball courts along with a basketball court and open fields for soccer. The park also offers a disc golf course.

Parks and Recreation Director Scott Caron said during Thursday’s City Council meeting that numerous temporary solutions have been considered, such as renovating the existing parking lots, adding a parking lot, on-street parking and short-term alternatives such as shared use agreements.

“Basically, what we have determined after looking at all of that is to hire somebody to help us out with a little bit of that,” Caron said.

He explained that the parks department uses the engineering and consulting firm Stantec for its master plan along with doing street/pavement evaluations. He said his department wants to work with the firm to develop a full plan to address the parking issue and determine how much it would cost.

District 1 Councilman Tem Carpenter asked about the time frame for developing the plan, and Caron said he should hear back within the next three months, after which he would bring information about what a parking project could look like to the council.

Pirtle said there are many entities that would need to be considered if a new parking lot is built, including nearby Bramlette Elementary School, the police department, pickleball players and residents who live in the adjacent neighborhood.

He asked Caron how a new parking lot would be paid for, and Caron said such a project isn’t budgeted, and the Parks and Recreation Department would ask the council for assistance.

Caron added that the cost of the consulting contract with Stantec is budgeted.

District 5 Councilwoman Michelle Gamboa asked what kind of temporary solutions would be implemented as pickleball tournaments continue, and Caron said participants have been allowed to park in the grass.

In other business Thursday, the City Council also approved a consultant contract to update the Comprehensive Plan.

In July, a request to hire a consultant to update the plan drew opposition from some council members, who voiced concern about the $94,000 cost and suggested city staff do the work instead. And in August, the council voted to table the request.

The Longview Comprehensive Plan, which is available on the city’s website, is a 254-page long-term planning document that covers everything from future land use, transportation and public facilities to neighborhood and community livability and economic development.

District 4 Councilwoman Kristen Ishihara, chair of the Comprehensive Planning Committee, said members of the committee met in October and discussed the need for updating the dated plan. She also provided a list of items that had been accomplished from the last plan update and how much revenue they had brought in the city.

The contract was approved without opposition.

The council on Thursday also OK’d the city’s contribution toward the purchase of a new command vehicle that will be used my multiple agencies.

This past month, Gregg County commissioners approved using $800,000 in federal relief funding to pay for a new $1.6 million mobile command vehicle in partnership with the city. As part of the agreement, the Longview council had to approve the remaining $800,000.

Gregg County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Craig Harrington previously said the current command vehicle is utilized by several entities, including the Longview police and fire departments, sheriff’s office and county emergency management. He added the vehicle serves many purposes other than law enforcement, including being used in wildfire situations and other emergencies.

The almost 20-year-old vehicle set to be replaced can still be used but is operating outside of its designed capabilities and has reached its end of life, he said previously.

At Thursday’s council meeting, Fire Chief J.P. Steelman explained the history, use and capabilities of the command vehicle and asked for council’s approval, which was given without discussion.