CITRUS HEIGHTS, CA (MPG) - Three different project design alternatives were shared by Helix Environmental Planning of Folsom for the proposed Kathy Cook Amphitheater in Rusch Park at an in-person public open house on Saturday, August 19 and in a virtual meeting on August 24^th.

The proposed amphitheater is still in the early design and approval stage, said Wayne Edmundson, Interim District Administrator for the Sunrise Recreation and Park District in Citrus Heights.

When completed, the amphitheater would reside on the west end of Rusch Park near the historic Rusch home and garden.

Members of the public were invited to consider each design, and then vote for their first choice, said Meredith Branstad, PLA, principal landscape architect. Each of the three design options differ in the general orientation of the main stage.

Results of the votes from both open house meetings will be shared by Helix Environmental at an October scheduled meeting of the Sunrise Recreation and Park District.

The size of representative voting samples taken from both meetings may dictate whether the District’s Advisory Board will need to obtain further public comment before a vote can be taken by the District to then approve the project, Edmundson said.

Bill Cook, Citrus Heights Community Marching Band (CHCMB) executive director, and a retired construction superintendent who has over 50 years of experience in the residential and commercial construction industries, designed and will then build the massive outdoor stage at Rusch Park in Citrus Heights.

He was on hand to answer questions and provide additional information about the project which will be dedicated in the memory of his late wife, Kathy Cook, who was the founder of the Citrus Heights Community Marching Band.

Sunrise Recreation and Park District hired Helix Environmental to conduct an approximately $30K feasibility study for the project.

“This feasibility study is just one of the factors that the District’s Advisory Board will use to determine if it can move forward with adding an amphitheater to Rusch Park,” Edmundson said.

The CHCMB was created by Kathy Cook in 2005 to serve as entertainment for the Annual Citrus Heights Red, White and Blue Parade until its final parade in 2019. The community band grew into a year-round, all ages, all talents performing arts experience which performs 20 times a year in events such as parades, concerts, sports events and band competitions. She passed away on August. 25, 2021.

Project construction will also include resurfacing and restriping the existing parking lot on the west end of Rusch Park and raising the height of baseball field fencing for public safety, Edmundson said.

The new amphitheater, similar in purpose to the public band shell in Carmichael Park, will be approximately twice its size. It will be available for a wide variety of events, including live concerts, weddings, theater productions, rentals, and other public uses.

Cook, who said he preferred design option one, said the new Kathy Cook Amphitheater, when built, would help bring increased business and restaurant traffic to the city of Citrus Heights.

“It will be great for the city and people of the city,” he said.

“We will also be repaving the parking lot behind Rusch home off of Rusch Drive and Rosswood Drive, which will help with parking,” Cook said. “Also, with the increase of patrons using ride-sharing services, that will leave more parking spaces open for those who decide to drive there.”

CHCMB is accepting donations towards the overall cost of construction. To raise funds, the band is selling commemorative, personalized bricks that start at $100 each.

“There’s ample space for at least 200 bricks to be placed on either side of the front of the stage,” Bill Cook said. “We plan to create two walking paths which connect the existing sidewalks to each side of the amphitheater, and we will also be lining the front of the stage and inner walls with bricks.”

To learn more about the Citrus Heights Community Marching Band and its future events, or how you can purchase a commemorative brick, visit: www.chcmb.org/stage email CHCMB [email protected] or call (916) 879-6979.