LAMORINDA WEEKLY | Wilder Playfields Delayed Until Late September


The new tot lot will not be open to the public until the playfields are ready Photo Tod Fierner

Michael O'Hara, project manager for Brooks Street, the master developer of Wilder, was in the hot seat at the May 17th City Council meeting. The Council was conducting its annual review of the City's development agreement with OGLLC, the Wilder property owners, for 245 single-family residences and a number of public and private amenities in the Gateway Valley. O'Hara was on hand to explain unpaid invoices and delays in the completion of two ball fields.

O'Hara apologized for the delay in reimbursing the City for its costs associated with the planning process which he attributed to a procedural issue with the City which has now been resolved. Over half of the outstanding invoices had recently been paid, and O'Hara assured the Council that the remaining balance would be paid by June 15th, and possibly within two weeks.

The majority of the Council's discussion with O'Hara focused on the completion of two of the five public playfields at Wilder. Originally slated for delivery in April then pushed to June, O'Hara said the fields will not be ready until late September. O'Hara pointed to the extensive rains in the past five months as a significant factor in the delay, coupled with the fact that the permit for the synthetic turf fields was not issued until December. The City had expected to get $35,000 in field rental fees over the summer.

"It's great to see progress and great to see so many people working," said Mayor Victoria Smith, who recently toured Wilder, but she added, "The not so great news is that we are dealing with the impact of when dates are not met, something that hasn't turned out and which has had an economic impact on the City."

O'Hara also reported that delivery of the City's maintenance facility at Wilder may slip a couple of months as well. Originally scheduled for completion by mid-September, O'Hara estimated the maintenance building will be complete by November 1st. A tot lot adjacent to the two ball fields in progress will be ready this month, said O'Hara, but will not be accessible to the public until work on the fields is finished. The Council will revisit the Wilder development agreement at its June 21st meeting.