McClatchy and eight other Sacramento parks eyed for improvements

Ninety-five years ago, McClatchy Park was called Joyland, a popular amusement park that boasted a towering roller coaster.

Despite surviving a 1920 fire, Joyland eventually folded. The area become McClatchy Park in 1927.

Recently, the perception of the park, in the heart of Oak Park, is that it is unsafe – the reason some people say they stay away from it at certain times of the day.

Now, city officials have unveiled plans to redesign McClatchy Park, in hopes of making the 15-acre recreational oasis popular again.

"We're going to make this a signature facility in our park system," Jonathan Rewers, a program analyst for the city's Department of Parks and Recreation, said while at the park last week.

"We're looking to create something special to reactivate this park" so that throngs will return to it at all hours, like in the Joyland days, he said.

At 10 a.m. Aug. 9, the city will hear public comment on what the new McClatchy Park should look like. The two-hour session will be in McClatchy Park's concert area, near the intersection of 34th Street and Fifth Avenue. Free hot dogs and sodas will be served.

"We want to make sure the public is involved in the transformation of this park," said Hindolo Brima, a spokesman for the parks department.

The city doesn't have the funds for McClatchy's entire renovation at this time, but officials plan to make minor changes at the park and eight other city parks by this fall.

In April, the Sacramento City Council approved $1 million for Phase One improvements at the nine parks that, according to city officials, suffer from a growing perception that they are unsafe.

While insisting that the unsafe label may be uncalled for, park staff members persuaded the council to approve nearly $1 million in improvements at all nine parks.

The enhancements vary from park to park. McClatchy Park, for instance, will get, among other things, new fencing and an automatic locking gate in its parking lot, to prevent motorists from entering the lot after the park closes at sunset.

The council also committed itself to long-term Phase 2 modifications at the nine parks, with McClatchy first on the list.

Besides its history, McClatchy enjoys other advantages over the other parks, such as being in a redevelopment area. For that reason, the Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency set aside $100,000 to pay for the planning process that will lead to new blueprints for the park.

Some of those funds were used to hire RHAA Consultants of Mill Valley to assist with the landscape analysis at McClatchy Park, named for James McClatchy, The Bee's founder.

Information gathered during the planning process "will put us in a better position to apply for grants (from the state and other sources to help pay for) the improvements," Brima said.

No specific price tag has been placed on the full renovation of McClatchy Park, but the cost could run into the millions, Rewers said.

"Reconstruction of parks can be more expensive than building new ones," Rewers said.

To rebuild McClatchy Park, some of its existing facilities may fall victim to the wrecking ball. The now-closed Police Athletic League building, for instance, may be torn down if the public approves, Rewers said.

"We may also have to bulldoze the two tennis courts," one of which is so run-down it lacks a net, Rewers said.

One section that will remain is the park's pool complex, which includes a historic building along with three pools – one for swimming, one for diving, one for wading.

"That section won't be touched," Rewers said. "But it could be expanded" to accommodate new amenities such as water slides.

"Our hope is to have the new master plan for McClatchy Park ready by next Dec. 31," so the pursuit of reconstruction grants can begin, he said.

City Councilwomen Lauren Hammond, whose district includes Oak Park, said redevelopment of McClatchy Park is overdue.

Hammond maintains, however, that McClatchy Park has been safe since last December, when a Sacramento Superior Court judge issued an injunction barring 24 alleged drug dealers and users from returning to the park. The order had been sought by police and the City Attorney's Office.

Now, Hammond said, Oak Park residents are talking about installing a library or a farmers market at McClatchy Park.

For more information about the Aug. 9 meeting at McClatchy Park, call (916) 808-7590.

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