Parks & Recreation Commission Meeting

City of Blue Lake Staff Report Agenda Item #: Staff Report Meeting Date: 6/3/26 – Parks & Recreation Commission Meeting Prepared By: Emily Wood, Director of Parks & Recreation Subject: Staff Report – Supplemental Material BACKGROUND: This staff report is intended to inform the Commission and public of updates related to the City’s parks and recreation department. The City Clerk now serves as the direct liaison for all Commissions and coordinates logistics with each Commission’s designated chairperson. Due to these changes, the Director of Parks & Recreation will not be present at regular Parks & Recreation Commission meetings unless requested by the Commission to assist with items on the agenda. GENERAL UPDATES: A revised Parks & Recreation fee schedule was approved at the May 26th, 2026 City Council meeting with an effective date of 7/1/26. Finalized fee schedule included with report. SUMMER ACTIVITIES 2026: Our first Volunteer Cleanup event is scheduled for July 11th at Perigot Park from 10am-1pm. This Volunteer Day marks a soft launch of our ‘Friends of the Park’ program. The duration of this volunteer cleanup will be approximately 3 hours – (2 hour cleanup, 1 hour lunch). Flier included with report. Public Skate will continue through the summer – Skate calendar attached. Thursdays – Adult Night (6pm-9pm). Friday/Saturday – All Ages Skate (6pm-9pm) 3rd Sunday of every month – Sensory Friendly Skate (reduced lights/sound) – 12pm-2pm AD HOC COMMITTEE REPORT: FACILITIES WALK AROUND: Director Wood met with ad-hoc committee members, James Brown and Bettina Eipper, to evaluate the condition of City’s facilities and park spaces. A draft report was created for staff’s initial review and feedback was given by staff to the ad-hoc committee regarding areas in the report that can be refined. Although the ad-hoc originally intended to use this report as supplemental material for the fee schedule discussion, I’d like to utilize the final report generated from this ad-hoc to thoughtfully organize regular/seasonal maintenance tasks, track repairs/projects (ranked by urgency), and strategize creative ways we can harness the power of our community to promote shared ownership and pride of community spaces while staffing remains lean. Similar to the “adopt a highway” program; it would be interesting to explore this concept around town with our community spaces and incorporate this concept into our ‘Friends of the Park Program’. BIKE PARK UPDATE: Staff is working through the steps outlined in the approved Bike Park Corrective Action. At their May 26th meeting, City Council approved staff to proceed with coordinating volunteers to weed whack greenery at the site and pull tarps off. A community meeting will be held on- site to discuss community visioning of the bike park. The City received notice that we did not receive the LWCF Grant for the Bike Park. However, I plan to apply for upcoming Round 5 Funding under the State Parks Per Capita Grant with the City Council’s approval. REVENUE CAPTURE: I’ve received feedback regarding improvement of physical advertising – specifically highlighting places to eat, things to do, etc. in central spots around town. The addition of weather-proof bulletin boards/kiosks is one suggestion that could be budgeted into this coming fiscal year to add in various places. Regarding fundraising events, I’d like to work with the Commission to add an annual fundraising event into our calendar that commissioners assist with planning/executing. The City has access to an inflatable movie screen and other equipment that could be used for a variety of events. In the past, we’ve explored an art festival, movie nights, leisure sports tournaments, music events, etc. The Commission could also entertain having a booth at the Car Show/Annie & Mary Day to capture revenue and/or improve awareness of the City’s parks & recreation department. An annual sponsorship program could be another possibility to launch this coming year; offering sponsorship recognition (example: banner placement) on fence lines at Perigot Park or inside the roller rink. Agenda Item: Staff Report – Supplemental Material Page 1 of 1