NEVADA CITY, Calif. June 22, 2026 – In 2023, Nevada City and the Nevada City School District jointly applied for and were awarded a Prop. 64 state grant to build out the Seven Hills Field, a cannabis-free shared space for kids, with a refreshed field, restrooms, ADA access, and a snack shack, among other projects.
Then the city decided to build a skatepark instead.
On Wednesday night, the City Council is expected to reverse that decision, redirect the remaining grant money back to the Seven Hills project, and let the school district finally finish what both agencies set out to build three years ago. The staff report for Item 6 lays out the tortuous detour: a preferred skatepark site that fell through, a contractor who worked in good faith on a contract that was never fully executed, and a funding picture that turns out to have been incomplete when the council voted to approve it.
Superintendent John Baggett made the school district’s position clear at the June 11 council meeting. “I urge you to consider redirecting those funds back to the original intent,” he said. The school district completed Phase 1, the field and track, on its own. Phase 2, the part that requires additional funding, is priced and ready: ADA improvements at $30,000–$80,000, a prefabricated restroom at $250,000–$290,000 installed, and a snack shack at $375,000–$425,000. The school district has committed to covering utility hookups.
How it started, how it’s going
When the council awarded a $750,000 contract to skatepark design-build firm Spohn Ranch in August 2025, the project appeared funded. Then-City Manager Sean Grayson and Then-Assistant City Manager Lon Peterson had represented that the contract was composed of $653,940 from the Prop 64 grant and $96,060 in “miscellaneous” funding. A separate $250,000 was referenced in city documents for land clearing and site preparation. None of that additional funding was ever secured. Grayson parted ways with the city in September 2025, Peterson a few months later.
Interim City Manager Joan Phillipe’s staff report in February 2026 was clear: the $96,060 would need to come from the general fund or additional grants not yet secured. The $250,000 for land clearing, referenced repeatedly in project documents, was identified “miscellaneous grants that have not been secured.”
Included in Wednesday’s agenda the latest staff report, under current City Manager Carrie Wright, confirms Phillipe’s findings: “The $250,000 in matching funds that has been referenced in documents, was to be grant funds that have not been secured. No funds have been secured for environmental review, clearing the property or hooking up utilities. Neither have ongoing costs been identified for maintenance and staffing.”
The staff report continues: “There is currently a $750,000 contract that has been approved by Council for Spohn Ranch, but not yet fully executed – currently there are not enough grant funds to cover the contract. The contractor was led to believe that the project was imminent, therefore had secured necessary contract requirements and provided some limited consultation in good faith.”
The originally proposed location is no longer available, but options (and obstacles) remain
The original site, at the Bodhi Hive on Providence Mine Road, is no longer available, according to the latest staff report. Staff reviewed 18 possible locations and scored the top eight. The highest-ranked option, a 1.9-acre city-owned former industrial yard at 775 Zion Street, comes with its own complications: a Caltrans right-of-first-purchase agreement, an active warehouse lease generating $39,000 a year, and the same missing funds for environmental review and infrastructure.
Benchmarking against similar projects in Grass Valley and West Sacramento only sharpens the picture. Both skateparks exceeded $1 million. Nevada City has $664,000 in available grant funds, an April 2028 deadline to spend it, and no realistic path to closing the gap in time.
Decisions, decisions – again
Staff is presenting four options, but the agenda may narrow the field before the council debate begins. The budget adoption is Item 7, immediately following the skatepark. The council will need to settle where the Prop 64 funds land before voting to adopt the 2026/27 budget, which makes a deferral to the future strategic planning session unlikely.
The meeting begins at 6:30 p.m. at City Hall. It will be livestreamed on the city’s YouTube channel.