By SHARON O’MALLEY
PHOTO CREDIT Katelynn Winebrenner
The College Park City Council voted unanimously on Nov. 19 to spend $7,354,000 to renovate Duvall Field and hire a Waldorf contractor to start the work.
The vote came 19 years after councilmembers proposed the amenity-laden renovations in 2005, but the work was delayed because funds were not available. In the meantime, the project’s price tag has increased by $1.7 million since 2019, when the city estimated the upgrades would amount to $5.6 million.
“Making greatness in our city costs, and the longer we wait, the more it’s going to cost,” Councilmember Alan Hew (District 1) said as councilmembers engaged in a debate about adding and cutting amenities. “We really need to move forward on this. I encourage you to not prolong this any longer.”
Councilmember Llatetra Brown Esters (District 2) agreed.
“The longer we wait, it is going to cost that much more money, and what I would hate to see is for us to vote against this, and then it not happen,” Esters said.
The plan for the seven-acre park, created in the 1960s, is to add soccer and baseball fields, an event amphitheater with a band stage, a basketball and pickleball court, space for playing cornhole and bocce ball, a walking trail and a picnic pavilion, as well as lighting, landscaping and signs. In addition, the project requires stormwater management work.
The city added a concession stand, restrooms and a recreation plaza to the park, located at 9119 Rhode Island Avenue, in 2018. The space already includes three lighted ball fields and a playground and draws approximately 26,000 visitors a year, according to city documents.
Over the years, councilmembers have discussed adding amenities like a splash pad, storage around the stage and audio-visual equipment.
Councilmember Jacob Hernandez (District 1), who expressed concerns about the high cost of the project, asked if the group could again reconsider removing some of the amenities to reduce the price.
But City Manager Kenny Young said value-engineering the project—tweaking the design or amenities to lower the cost—would set the start date back by at least another year, during which time the price could continue to inflate and the city would have to put the contract out to bid again.
“We do incur costs in value-engineering the project,” contractor Rick Hoehn, who worked on the proposed design, agreed. “I recommend against it.”
Hoehn noted that the project team already made design changes in response to community input.
Councilmember Susan Whitney (District 2) reminded councilmembers that they suffered “a lot of stress” over the cost of building a new city hall, which opened in 2021, and compared the benefit of that structure with the potential good a renovated Duvall Field will do for the community.
She said councilmembers had agreed at that time that city hall would become a community-gathering place. “We have seen that happen,” she said. “I think the same thing will happen with Duvall Field.”
Renovations are expected to begin in 2025 and finish by spring or summer 2026.