CENTRAL PARK EXPANSION RECOMMENDED BY PANEL.

Byline: Heather MacDonald Staff Writer

SANTA CLARITA - The Parks and Recreation commission has recommended that the Santa Clarita City Council focus on expanding Central Park, completing Pamplico Park in Saugus and building the long-awaited Aquatics Center at the city's Sports Complex.

While the recommendations are not final and the commissioners plan to review them again at their Jan. 9 meeting, Chairman Duane Harte said he does not expect there to be many changes.

``The community has been asking for these projects for many years, and I hope we can get them either off the ground or complete this year,'' said Harte, who is running for the City Council in April's election.

Work on the second phase of Central Park, on Bouquet Canyon Road, has already started. Plans call for an additional 40 acres, four playing fields and a picnic area. The Saugus park's existing ball fields cover about 45 acres.

Central Park, which city officials often call the crown jewel of Santa Clarita's parks, will eventually cover 130 acres along Bouquet Canyon Road.

Future phases of the park include a tennis complex, an activities building with a gymnasium, pools, meeting rooms and outdoor basketball courts, records show.

Pamplico Park, next to Foster Elementary School, will feature two half-courts for basketball, a walking path, picnic tables and a tot lot.

City officials need to find an additional $4 million to complete the three-pool Aquatics Center, which has been high on the City Council's list of priorities for more than a year.

However, Councilwoman Laurene Weste said plans for the $13 million Aquatics Center could be scuttled if the recession deepens or unforeseen events drain the city's coffers.

Other priorities ranked high by the five-member commission included Bridgeport Park in Valencia, Oak Springs Park in Canyon Country and the construction of a new community center in Newhall.

The existing center is plagued by a leaky roof and rats.

The commission also wants staff to focus on lining up more grants and working out an agreement with county officials to allow the city full use of parks built before Santa Clarita was incorporated.

Over the last two years, the city's ambitious capital improvement plan, focused mainly on roads and parks, has drained the city's reserves, leaving the city little ability to take on major new projects, officials said.

The situation could worsen if city officials' fears of significant cutbacks in state funding are realized, said Steve Stark, the city's director of administrative services.

As the city builds parks, the costs of maintaining them and staffing programs has become a significant pressure on the budget, said City Manager George Caravalho.

The City Council is expected to use the finalized list of priorities to focus its actions over the next several months.

``The list of priorities will help the council direct the city's limited resources to the right places, where the community most needs it,'' Harte said. ``It's a heads-up to the council.''