I encourage San Carlos City Council to reverse its decision to refresh Harrington Park in downtown San Carlos. The “refresh” is an elimination — not a refresh — of the much-loved space. The trees, green space and charm of the park are eliminated in favor of concrete and a public bathroom. The council is adamant that a stand-alone public bathroom draws customers to San Carlos. The council’s insistence on the park’s elimination is eroding public trust in its concern for San Carlos as the City of Good Living. Public trust is being further eroded by the process of choosing a contractor for the park’s elimination.
The bid process opened Dec. 15, 2025, and closed Jan. 20, a time period when many potential vendors and the San Carlos government are on a reduced schedule. One bid was received and opened. The bid was for $6.2 million — much higher than the town engineer’s estimate for the job of $4 million to $5 million. The bid was from a company involved in the San Francisco Department of Public Works’ corruption scandal a few years ago. Yet City Council said a rebid was not possible because “rebidding will delay the project two to three months.” What’s the hurry? It is a park, not collapsing infrastructure. Nonetheless, the contract was awarded to the company with work to begin spring 2026.
Many have voiced opposition to the park’s elimination and the process of choosing an elimination contractor. These voices have been ignored. San Carlos City Council — leave Harrington Park alone.
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Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.