Valerie StaggsVillage takes ownership but has to find the money for ambitious rebuild.
Tequesta is changing from mostly gray to families at play.
With the rise in younger residents comes demand for more community perks and a renewed focus on the rundown and outdated 41-acre Tequesta Park.
The three baseball fields are not in good enough condition for games and are used only for practice. The walking trails are dirt paths lined with scrub. The landscaping is tired. The tennis and pickleball courts and dog park are the only features that have seen improvements in years.
The park, north of County Line Road in Martin County, is part of Jonathan Dickinson State Park. Tequesta has run the site on behalf of the state since the 1970s, but on June 1 the state transferred ownership to the village.
For Tequesta’s younger residents, ownership of the park could mean more recreational options. New batting cages, lighted baseball fields, a concession stand, sand volleyball courts, a shaded playground, a multiuse field and a splash pad are included in the village’s wish list.
But it’s going to cost money. Tequesta is matching a state grant to raise $500,000 to plan improvements but doesn’t have the money for construction.
Cost estimates range from $8 million to $12 million, a big lift for a village of about 6,000 residents with an annual general fund budget of about $20 million.
One council member has doubts
In an April 13 special council meeting, a Village Council majority expressed support for the plan, but Council Member Rick Sartory voiced concerns about the tiny village’s ability to raise the millions needed for the work.
“If the state had wanted to invest the time and the resources, they would have done that,” Sartory said. “Now this is going to fall on us. I don’t see that money being available. I think we are developing a plan that we can’t execute and that concerns me.”
Mayor Molly Young focused on the need for the park.
“I hear from so many people from the community that they just can’t wait until these fields are improved,” she said. “People can’t find space to play volleyball for youth sports. …This will really help our businesses, too. People will be coming to the park a lot more and they will be more inclined to eat lunch in Tequesta.
“Yes, funding is going to be a challenge,” she said, “but I think we owe it to our community to focus on this and figure out how we get it done.”
Vice Mayor Patrick Painter concurred.
“I think we have such a unique opportunity,” Painter said. “We inherited a significant asset that we can now do something special with. We don’t have anything like this.”
Dedicating money to develop a plan before money is available to pay for that plan is not unusual in local government, Village Manager Jeremy Allen said. “Planning and funding are often intentionally staggered phases rather than a single ‘all-or-nothing’ decision,” Allen said. The goal, he said, is to raise the money from grants, state appropriations or find money in the general fund.
Tequesta is already receiving a state grant to pay for 47% of the $500,000 cost to design the park.
Fix baseball fields last?
As the state proposes slashing local property taxes, Palm Beach County is preparing to ask voters in November to pay $280 million to improve aging parks and build new ones. Even if some of that money went to city parks, it can’t help Tequesta since the park is in Martin County.
Reached by Stet News for comment, Sartory said he stands by his statements at the April 13 meeting.
“I agree with the improvements to the park, but I don’t see how we can find the funding necessary to execute the complete park plan,” he said.
On top of that, the state’s proposal to raise the homestead exemption to $250,000 could drain village resources, forcing the village to reconsider.
Sartory, a community affairs coordinator in the Homeland Security Division of the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office, advocates a scaled-back or phased plan.
“I think the priority should be the stuff at the south end of the park plan,” he said, referring to the proposed splash pad, shaded playground and multiuse field. “I believe there is a need based on residents’ input for these components. Moms’ groups, daycare groups and families can use these things all day long. Baseball fields are only used four or five hours a day.”
Village already spends up to $300,000 a year
How the vision will unfold is dictated by the village’s parks master plan. Initiated in October 2021, the plan is intended as a long-term strategic road map guiding improvements to the park system.
As such, any projects need to be consistent with the master plan. Likewise, any changes in the scope of the park plan would require changing the master plan, a long, involved process. There doesn’t appear to be much appetite for that, Sartory said.
The transfer of ownership will not come with any additional costs in the short term. The village already has been spending an average of $250,000 to $300,000 annually to maintain the park for the state. Improvements to the pickleball and tennis courts and the dog park have also been paid for by the village in the past few years.
While the park renovation is a priority for council members, the deadline for completion is an open-ended question. “There is no timeframe for the master plan to be executed,” Allen said.
But something has to be done, council members said.
“Sometimes you have to do something because nobody else is going to do it,” Council Member Laurie Brandon said. “It’s been decades that that park has been sitting there. At some point, someone is going to have to do something. Otherwise, it’s going to sit there for decades.”
