The Town of Miami Lakes is preparing to spend an estimated $3.5 million for improvements to the dated Optimist Park.
The plans will modernize “critical infrastructure” while keeping existing layout of ball fields, according to a memo by Town Manager Edward Pidermann which the council discussed during the May 19 town meeting.
Work could begin as soon as this summer, after negotiations with the Miami-Dade County School Board happen and permits are obtained, Pidermann said.
In the early 1970s, the Sengra Corporation (later The Graham Companies, which developed the town), donated 42 acres along Northwest 67th Avenue south of the Palmetto Expressway to the Dade Public School System. It was South Florida’s first school-park partnership to serve everyone in a community, a model replicated in six other cities in the county, according to the school board. The town and school board have shared the land ever since. A joint use agreement is in place to continue doing so until 2062, with possible extentions.
Youth baseball, basketball and flag football programs, the Geezers men’s softball team, tennis and pickleball players and recreational users of the park will see improvements to lighting, walking paths and most hoped for by parents, a new bathroom and concession building in the center.
“I’m actually really happy that we’re at this point,” Mayor Josh Dieguez said. “This is something that myself, Councilwoman [Marilyn] Ruano when she was here and former Vice Mayor [Luis] Collazo were advocating for to improve in place at a much lower price tag than what previously came before."
Money will come from the Parks Improvement Impact Fee Revenue account and the Capital Miami Lakes Optimist Park fund, according to Pidermann’s memo. Dieguez called it a “fiscally responsible plan that does not involve new taxes and gets the park up to the proper posture, with a plan as well for the future that we will be addressing when we get there, a phased-in approach.”
The scope of the work includes:
--Field 1: Replacement of wooden light poles with metal ones and LED fixtures, and retrofitting remaining concrete poles with LED fixtures, $1,380,500.
--Fields 1 – 5: Backstops, dugouts, fencing, concrete pads, 10 sets of aluminum bleachers, concrete pads and bleacher shades, $615,310.
--Concrete Paths Walkways throughout the park that are compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act and accessible for those who use wheelchairs or are vision or hearing impaired, $200,000, and 10 exercise stations with signs, $150,000.
--Prefabricated Restroom Purchase and install a bathroom building with connections to utilities, with a concession, concrete slab and communal seating with shade, $800,000 for the restrooms, $50,000 for concessions.
--Water Fountains Four new water stations and hookups to utilities, $40,000.
--Regrading Five Fields Improve drainage and reconstruct irrigation to create five independent zones for fields, $145,000.
--Safety Bollards After approximately 20 crashes since 2022 near the northeast corner of Northwest 67th Avenue and Miami Lakeway North, install bollards to prevent vehicles from entering the park, $30,000.
Permitting costs for the entire project will be additional.
Dieguez said the plan will make safety improvements and accessibility to the park, with an ADA-compliant walkway and restroom.
In Nov. 2022, residents voted against raising $19.5 million in municipal bonds for park improvements.
David Oliver, a board member of the town’s Sports Hall of Fame who organizes and keeps records for the Geezers men’s softball club said, “Those are nice improvements.” He hoped the design will not include a fence around Field 2 next to the clubhouse where the men, some elderly, play.
“I’m concerned about fences on Field 2,” Oliver said. “That makes it unsafe for our older players. We don’t want our outfielders running into fences.”
Overall, he said the project was a positive improvement for the park and praised the groundskeepers.
“The staff keeps the infield in major league condition for our Monday and Wednesday games,” Oliver said. “It’s really a professionally graded job. It’s nice and smooth.”
Councilman Ray Garcia made a motion to not include the bathroom building in the project, which the council voted against.
The town currently spends $22,400 annually to rent two bathroom trailers. Some children don’t use those facilities and their parents don’t want them to run to the clubhouse restroom at the northeast corner of the park. Instead, children urinate on trees or elsewhere.