Preliminary brief · October 13, 2026 · Protect30A
**Central question:** Who authorized closing every amenity west of Moll Drive, for how long, and what evidence supported that decision rather than phased access or earlier reopening? **Verified decisions:** Official April 28, 2026 minutes record a 5–0 vote to proceed with grass fields. Donna Johns moved; Danny Glidewell seconded. Brad Drake, Tony Anderson, Dan Curry, Danny Glidewell, and Donna Johns voted yes. Michelle Brown spoke. Official June 30 minutes include a separate $142,446 playground safety-surfacing award to Lanier Plans Inc. DBA KorKat within the approved consent agenda. **Reported award, awaiting primary verification:** August 25 reporting identifies Empire Builders Group and $7,455,792.85: base $6,577,032.16 plus restroom alternate $657,651.39 and field-underdrainage alternate $221,109.33. The signed award minutes and executed contract have not been obtained. The base bid is below the reported $6,866,209 base estimate; comparing the award with alternates against that base estimate does not establish an overrun. Lighting and county-supplied amenities require separate cost reconciliation. **Schedule question:** The photographed notice states October 19 and 12–15 months, without a year. The reproduced bid document allows 540 days to substantial completion plus 30 days for punch-list completion. These are different measures; the signed contract and amenity-specific reopening schedule must resolve the apparent mismatch. **Study and public input:** February records document Joel Duncan requesting a turf feasibility study and staff being directed to develop a comparative white paper. April agenda item 26-0498 identifies “White Paper - Turf Final.” Its complete contents have not been reviewed. Public input about fields is documented; public consideration of the prolonged closure remains unverified. Do not infer that no public input occurred. **Closure alternatives:** Reproduced bid section 3.11 calls for coordination to minimize disruption to adjacent park operations. This does not guarantee safe access to western amenities. Closure authority, safety justification, phased access, early reopening, and alternative capacity remain unresolved. **Legal status:** No statutory violation is established. Review procurement/publication, public-meeting notice and participation, authorization, funding restrictions, bonds, and permits against the actual records and applicable law. A long closure or an unavailable online study is not independently proof of illegality. **Recommended action:** Submit the staged records request below, log responses, reconcile evidence, and update this brief before public allegations or conclusions.