New Livermore Park Trail Names: Blue Oak, Buttercup & Wild Oat

LIVERMORE, CA – New trail names for Holdener Park were approved at a Wednesday meeting of the Livermore Area Recreation and Park District board of directors.

The 55-acre open space, opened in 2008 with trails built over years with help from East Bay Trail Dogs volunteers, received such newly approved names as Blue Oak Trail, Buttercup Trail and Wild Oat Trail, as recommended by Chief Ranger Pat Sotelo and the facilities committee.

The trails reflect vegetation found in the park, with the Wild Oat Trail also approved for re-routing due to its proximity to a parking lot and water towers and to help prevent vandalism and increase scenic views for hikers, officials said.

Trail signs are expected to be installed in 2018.

Also during this week's meeting, the board approved a consulting agreement with RRM Design Group for the Bill Payne Park Master Plan for $139,000, officials said.

Bill Payne Sports Park opened in 2002 to create fields that were removed from Robert Livermore Park when the Community Center opened. In the first two phases of construction, the 14-acre park received two full-sized baseball fields, a field space used for soccer, off-street parking and the district's BMX dirt track.

A new housing development in proximity to the park created a need to complete the park's third phase in addition to providing a funding source for improvements from development fees, officials said. The master-plan process, expected to take about six months, will include public outreach, an environmental review and cost estimates.

Directors also approved a 60-day extension, through Feb. 15, of the temporary assignment of higher duties for Finance Manager Jeffrey Schneider, who is overseeing human resources since the position became vacant June 15. LARPD will perform a compensation study to review the salary for the HR manager position, which was unable to be filled following a recent recruitment and selection process.

The board also reappointed Jack Roach to the personnel commission for the January 2018 to January 2022 term. He has served on the Commission since 2011, with his current term expiring in January.

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