Strike a metal petal in Jarboe Park's new musical garden and you get one tone. Strike a tree branch and you get another. Each flower and branch has its own gong attached, so a child walking past the memorial bench can play a short tune just by tapping.
The garden went in this June. The new multipurpose field was finished the same month. Two other pieces are still on the way: a pump track for young riders and a third sand volleyball court. Of the three projects with a named funder, each one draws on a different source: a Kiwanis gift, City of Jacksonville money and Neptune Beach's own fund balance. Each source comes with its own process, which is why the pieces are arriving at such different speeds.
The Gift Showed Up First
The musical garden was the simplest project of the year. As the Beach Gazette reported in July, the Florida Kiwanis Foundation gave $10,000 for the equipment. The garden doubles as a sensory space, so people with disabilities can feel the vibrations as well as hear the tones.
The local push came from the Kiwanis Club of Jacksonville Beaches. Ish Brant founded the club in 1946. He was the former coach and principal of Fletcher High School and later led the Duval County School Board. Neptune Beach's garden is the second of its kind at the beaches. The club put a similar one in Jordan Park in Atlantic Beach in 2022, and it hopes to add one in Jacksonville Beach next. The club meets at noon on the second and fourth Thursday of each month at the Beaches Branch Library, 600 Third St., and guests are welcome.
Donated equipment with a fixed price doesn't need a city bid or a council debate over the budget. That's why the smallest project arrived first.
Who Is Paying for What
The rest of the park's 2026 work splits across bigger budgets. Here is where each piece stands as of mid-October 2026, based on the city's own documents and local reporting.
| Project | Who pays | Amount | Where it stands |
|---|---|---|---|
| Musical garden | Florida Kiwanis Foundation | $10,000 | Installed early June 2026 |
| Multipurpose field | Not stated in city summaries | Not stated | Finished early June 2026 |
| Pump track | City of Jacksonville | $385,000 | Contract listed as signed; construction was expected September or October |
| Third sand volleyball court | Neptune Beach fund balance | $144,374 proposed | Bids due Oct. 28, 2026 |
The pump track has the biggest budget and the most complicated paperwork. Neptune Beach isn't paying to build it, and that is exactly why it drew the closest look from council.
Jacksonville Pays to Build It, Neptune Beach Maintains It
The pump track is a small loop of gentle hills and berms where young children can learn and practice riding. California Skateparks designed it. That's the same firm that built the Riverside Arts Market skatepark. The Beach Gazette reported that the City of Jacksonville will pay for construction through a $385,000 cost disbursement and piggyback agreement with ACON Construction, with California Skateparks as subcontractor.
"That park is a tremendous success and I think the design they put together for us is absolutely excellent," project manager Blake West told council, speaking of the Riverside Arts Market skatepark, according to the Gazette.
The plan calls for about 2,610 square feet of track, 100 feet long and 10 feet wide. It sits on an unused corner of the park north of the community garden. The track was widened from six feet to ten so it could hold more features. About $302,000 of the budget covers the track itself. A separate $82,000 contract covers the amenities around it: seating, sidewalks, a shade structure, a water fountain and landscaping. If the track runs over budget, the difference comes out of the amenities money.
The project was first approved in May 2025. When it came back to council this summer, members voted unanimously to push the decision to the July 20 meeting. They raised questions about documentation, drainage and soil conditions, and how the track would fit into the rest of the park. Council Member Nia Livingston noted that even with Jacksonville paying for construction, Neptune Beach would be paying for maintenance for years to come. Council Member Josh Messinger asked to see a broader site plan first, as the Gazette reported:
"Nothing against the project, I just want all the ingredients on the table and the full recipe at this point."
The pump track was on the July 20 council agenda. Since then, the city's FY 2026–27 budget has listed the $385,000 project as a "Signed Contract." The city manager's July 29 report expected construction in September or October. No public update since then confirms that work has started, so the track is best treated as scheduled until fencing goes up north of the garden.
The amenities wait on another project too. West told council it made sense to hold off on seating and landscaping because "we have a building being built next to it." In 2025, News4JAX described that neighbor as a new office building in front of Jarboe Park. The shade and benches around the track will come once that building's footprint is clear.
Neptune Beach's Own Money Goes Through a Bid
The third volleyball court is the one piece Neptune Beach is paying for entirely itself. The FY 2026–27 budget proposes $144,374 from fund balance for "Jarboe Park Phase II (3rd Volleyball Court)." The city's invitation to bid calls for one sand court next to the multipurpose field and the two courts already there.
City money runs on a public bid calendar, so this is the one project with dates set in advance:
- Sept. 25, 2026: Bid issued
- Oct. 7, 2026: Pre-bid site visit at the park
- Oct. 14, 2026: Deadline for bidder questions
- Oct. 28, 2026: Bids due
- Early November 2026: Council award and notice of intended decision expected
- About 90 days after notice to proceed: Substantial completion, with final completion within 120 days
The bid document says these dates are estimates and can change by addendum. If the contract starts in early November, 90 days lands in early February 2027. That means the third court would most likely be ready for spring play, not for this fall.
What You Can Use Right Now
Between projects, most of the park is open as usual. Neptune House is the 2,000-square-foot community building finished in October 2018, and the freestanding pavilions are first-come, first-served. The city posts rules for the pickleball, tennis and volleyball courts on its Jarboe Park page. The new field and the two existing sand courts are ready to use, and the musical garden is there for anyone who walks by.
The city's events calendar doesn't yet list a 2026 holiday gathering at the park. The city's archive shows a Christmas in the Park there on Dec. 1, 2023, with Santa and Mrs. Claus, hayrides and hot cocoa. If you're planning around the season, a few blocks east, the Beaches Town Center calendar already has dates set:
- North Beaches Art Walk: Oct. 15, Nov. 19 and Dec. 17
- BTC Fall Festival: Oct. 28
- 9th Annual Beaches Tour of Homes: Saturday, Nov. 7
- Holiday Celebration and Christmas Tree Lighting: Saturday, Dec. 5
The next confirmed date for the park is Oct. 28, when the volleyball bids are due.
I love watching neighborhood parks like Jarboe come together piece by piece, and I'm always happy to share what's changing around Neptune Beach. That includes what new amenities nearby can mean for your own home's story when the time comes. When you're ready to talk it through over coffee, Meredith Rowe would love to hear from you. Schedule a Free Consultation.
