Supervisors authorize grant application for Live Oak Park amphitheater

The San Diego County Board of Supervisors authorized a grant application, along with the acceptance of the grant if awarded, for a Live Oak Park amphitheater and associated amenities.

The supervisors’ 5-0 vote October 20 authorizes an application to the California Department of Parks and Recreation for a $200,000 grant from the Land and Water Conservation Fund, which utilizes offshore oil drilling royalties for revenue. The action also appropriated $200,000 of Park Land Dedication Ordinance funds, paid by developers to fund park facilities in the development area, for the project while appropriating the $200,000 grant amount contingent upon the grant being awarded, and authorized the advertisement for bid and award of a construction contract if funding is received.

“We’re hopeful that that application is going to be very competitive,” said Brian Albright, the director of the county’s Department of Parks and Recreation.

Live Oak Park currently has an assembly area which includes a wooden gazebo, concrete tables, barbecues, serving pedestals, and a drinking fountain which are in need of repair. The Department of Parks and Recreation and the Live Oak Park Coalition have agreed to redevelop the assembly area into a multi-purpose area which would include an amphitheater with a 100-person capacity, a drinking fountain, and native landscaping. In January 2010 the county supervisors authorized the acceptance of a $50,000 donation from the Live Oak Park Coalition to help fund design costs for the amphitheater, and on May 18 the supervisors allocated an additional $21,000 from the District Five Neighborhood Reinvestment Program budget.

The Land and Water Conservation Fund provides competitive grants to acquire and develop public outdoor recreation areas and facilities. At this point the State of California is receiving partial funding from the program. “It has not been fully funded for a number of years,” Albright said.

The application deadline for the current cycle is November 1, and grant funds will be available in July 2011. If funding is received, the amphitheater project construction can begin as early as fall 2011.

The Land and Water Conservation Fund program requires an equal match, which would be provided by the Park Land Dedication Ordinance funding. The total estimated cost of the project, including $71,000 for design, is $471,000; the construction cost is estimated at $340,000 while project administration and inspections have an estimated $60,000 expense.

“It will be great for the community of Fallbrook if we can get that amphitheater in there,” Albright said.

Albright is also hopeful that the state will receive its full funding for the program. “If it happens we’ll be able to fund a lot more projects with this program,”

he said.

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