STRATEGIC PLAN
2024
Attachment II
Strategic Plan 2023 by Rauch Communication Consultants, Inc. 2 Board of Directors
Rick J. Hatcher, President
Paul W. Hodges Jr., Vice President
Peter Rosen, Secretary
Louis M. Andrade, Director
Sara Lamnin, Director
District Management Staff
James Wheeler, General Manager
Anne Maze, Administrative Services Director
Meghan Tiernan, Capital Planning and Development Director Adriane Lee Bird, Recreation, Arts and Community Services Director Chris Peterson, Parks and Facilities Maintenance Director Nicole Espinoza Roa, Assistant to the General Manager/Public Information Officer Natalie Wong, Human Resources Manager
Jose Gutierrez, Public Safety Manager
Thomas Omolo, Management Analyst
Consultant
Martin Rauch, Managing Consultant
Adopted 12/04/23
Strategic Plan 2023 by Rauch Communication Consultants, Inc. 3 Table of Contents
Introduction .................................................................................................................................... 4 District Overview ............................................................................................................................. 5 Strategic Framework ....................................................................................................................... 6 Mission ............................................................................................................................................ 7 Vision ............................................................................................................................................... 7 Values .............................................................................................................................................. 7 Goals and Objectives ....................................................................................................................... 8 Big Picture View of HARD’s Strategic Direction .............................................................................. 9 Monitoring and Oversight ............................................................................................................. 17 Single-Page View of the Core Elements of the Strategic Plan ...................................................... 18 Appendix 1: 2019 Parks Master Plan Summary of Goals.............................................................. 19 Adopted 12/04/23
Strategic Plan 2023 by Rauch Communication Consultants, Inc. 4 Introduction
Planning is strategic when it helps move an organization forward from its current situation to its desired future.
Purpose of the Plan
This three-year Strategic Plan is HARD’s highest-level planning document and represents the Board's and Staff's direction for the future. The Plan identifies the District’s mission, vision, and core values while providing a set of goals and objectives that serve as a framework for decision‐ making.
The Plan is also a practical working tool that provides clear direction to the Staff regarding the Board's goals and objectives. It includes a Work Plan developed by the Staff to meet those goals and objectives. The Board and Staff will regularly refer to it as a guide to the District’s actions during the period covered.
Plan Development
Background Research. The consultants began by holding discussions with the Board President and General Manager.
Confidential Interviews. This was followed by a series of confidential interviews carried out by the consultant. The goal was for the interviewees to candidly express their interests and perspectives on the District and its priorities. The interviewees included the Board of Directors and Leadership Team.
Strategic Planning Workshop. The interviewees also participated in a workshop. At the workshop, the group reviewed the results of the interviews, undertook exercises to examine the current state of the District, identified issues and opportunities expected to confront the District in the future, and discussed priorities.
Staff and Board Work. Drawing from the interviews, workshop, and other information, the consultant, General Manager, and Leadership Team developed a draft strategic plan.
Second Strategic Planning Workshop. The draft was distributed to the Board and leadership team, and at a second workshop, the participants reviewed, discussed, and refined the draft plan, including mission, vision, and values, and provided direction for additional changes.
Staff Work Plan. The Leadership Team and consultant developed a staff Work plan designed to meet the mission of the District and strategic goals and objectives.
Adopted 12/04/23
Strategic Plan 2023 by Rauch Communication Consultants, Inc. 5 District Overview
The Hayward Area Recreation and Park District, known locally as “H.A.R.D.," is an independent special district formed in 1944 to provide park and recreation services in Alameda County.
The District provides residents with beautiful facilities and parks, many of which have received national and state recognition for their design, innovation, and aesthetics. Hundreds of educational and recreational classes and programs are also available through the District.
The Largest Urban Park and Recreation District In the State Wide Variety of Programs
Serving Over 300,000
Residents
Serving Hayward, Ashland,
Castro Valley, Cherryland,
Fairview, Hayward Acres,
San Lorenzo
111 sites
Covering 1,774 Acres 47 Local Parks 12 Comunity Parks
8 School Recreation Sites 31 Special Use Facilities 6 Linear Parks, Greenways and Trails
Aquatics Art Camps
Golf Fitness Nature Centers
Health Equity Initiative Mobile Recreation Preschool
Senior / Active Adults Special Interest Special Needs
Sports Theater Arts Dance
Adopted 12/04/23
Strategic Plan 2023 by Rauch Communication Consultants, Inc. 6 Strategic Framework
Hayward Area Recreation and Park District built the Strategic Plan from a series of logical and integrated components, described below.
Mission. The mission statement explains why the organization exists. It articulates the organization's essential work in a brief sentence or two.
Vision. The vision articulates what the organization will become at a given time in the future. It is the strategic target that, when achieved, fulfills the organization's mission. As such, it is at the heart of the strategic planning process.
Values. Values provide guidance when an organization is faced with challenging decisions that require trade-offs, help govern attitudes and behaviors, and generally remain constant over time. The Board sets values.
Goals. Goals describe broad, primary areas of management, operations, and planning that must be addressed to accomplish the mission. Goals are not connected to timelines.
Objectives. Objectives are specific directions established by the Board, which expand upon and refine the goals. There may be multiple objectives for each goal. Objectives are related to goals but more specific, measurable, attainable, and have a time frame.
Implementation Plan. The Implementation Plan contains actions required to accomplish the mission, goals, and objectives. The actions in the plan are assigned to members of the Leadership Team and have timelines. There may be multiple tasks for each objective.
Measures. Staff developed measures to provide insights into progress in achieving the objectives. Progress will be tracked, analyzed, used to adjust the course where appropriate, and reported to the Board.
Monitoring/Oversight. Actions developed that will be taken by the Board, Leadership Team, and Staff to ensure that the plan is implemented and updated over time.
Mission
Vision
Values
Goals
Objectives
Implementation
Measures
Monitoring & Oversight
Adopted 12/04/23
Strategic Plan 2023 by Rauch Communication Consultants, Inc. 7 Mission
HARD’s mission is to enrich the quality of life for all community members by providing a wide range of recreational activities, parks, and facilities that meet the diverse needs and interests of the entire community and promote health, well-being, learning, and fun.
Vision
We deliver exceptional park and recreation services and facilities to all the people and communities we serve by:
Maintaining safe, clean, and green parks and facilities.
Providing extensive programs and facilities that meet the diverse needs and interests of all the people and communities in our service area.
Engaging, listening, and communicating effectively with all of our residents.
Collaborating with all of our partners for mutual benefit.
Providing a great place to work and supporting a talented and motivated staff.
Enhancing environmental sustainability, justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion.
Maintaining stable funding to meet our goals.
Values
Diversity: Programs and facilities in our district reflect the varied needs and interests of the residents we serve.
Serving. Provide prompt, high-quality, transparent service because every customer and community deserves to be well served.
Sustaining. Our decisions and actions support environmental and financial sustainability.
Collaborating. Enter into partnership relationships with people and organizations to benefit the involved parties and the community.
Listening. We listen to and respond to the diverse needs of the people we serve.
Staff. Recognizing their importance to accomplishing our mission, we invest in and support staff and provide an excellent workplace.
Adopted 12/04/23
Strategic Plan 2023 by Rauch Communication Consultants, Inc. 8 Goals and Objectives
The following pages contain goals and objectives for the next three years. Staff developed a work plan to fulfill these Board-level goals and objectives.
Key Areas of Change. This strategic plan focuses only on key areas where there is a change or a desire for additional clarity of direction. Numerous existing and ongoing initiatives, programs, and actions are not incorporated into this Plan.
The goals and objectives are presented on the following pages. They, along with the mission, vision, and values, represent the core strategic direction provided in this plan.
Note on Timing. Work plan elements marked ‘annually’ or ‘ongoing’ will be reported at least once each year in January when the General Manager provides a report on the progress of the strategic plan before the budget season. The first report will be after a full year in January 2025.
Relationship of the Master Plan to the Strategic Plan. The Master Plan was published in 2019, right before COVID-19 hit, which required the District to shut down most of its programs and cut staff. While many elements of the Master Plan have been utilized and completed, progress has not been formally tracked. In addition, some elements are no longer current. Once the Strategic Plan is in complete draft form, the remaining useful elements of the Master Plan will be incorporated into this plan and the attendant work plan and brought back to the Board for approval.
Adopted 12/04/23
Strategic Plan 2023 by Rauch Communication Consultants, Inc. 9 Big Picture View of HARD’s Strategic Direction
HARD’s strategy, highest priority, and new direction are summarized below.
Our Strategy
HARD is the largest urban park and recreation district in the state. Our experienced and trained staff effectively run hundreds of programs in over one hundred facilities. We know how to run an excellent park district. To achieve our ambitious goals of improving our services, efficiency, effectiveness and adapting to changing times, our key strategies are to enhance long-term planning, invest in facilities, and build out administrative systems, policies, procedures, and training.
Our Highest Priority
The District’s single highest priority is to secure adequate funding to cover our communities' park and recreation needs. This includes costs to purchase and develop new facilities, upgrade and maintain old facilities, and meet the wide-ranging and growing needs of all users of HARD’s parks and facilities.
New Areas of Strategic Focus
Increase Justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion (JEDI) at work and in the community by:
Incorporating JEDI into every aspect of our work and using it to inform our decision-making as the District moves forward.
Continue the District’s trajectory of growth in efficiency and effectiveness by:
Building out systems, policies, procedures, training, and more. Staff will also develop a long- term workforce plan, including succession planning and onboarding.
Increasing the use of long-term planning and standards to improve consistency and quality of the facilities at the lowest reasonable cost.
Adapt to changing times, build trust, and increase resiliency throughout the District in order to continue meeting community needs by:
Engaging with community partners and collaborators to effectively deliver programs that meet community needs.
Adopted 12/04/23
Strategic Plan 2023 by Rauch Communication Consultants, Inc. 10 GOAL 1: PROGRAMS. Excellent, Wide-Ranging Programs Meet the Diverse Needs of Our Community.
Strategic challenge. The District provides a wide range of well-run programs that meet varying needs throughout the service area. These programs include sports, nature centers, theaters, senior centers, aquatics, art, camps, and much more. But our community is changing, and programming must evolve with it. We expect a more diverse population and widening gaps in wealth and access. We also expect housing to become denser and the population to become older.
Strategic response. The District will audit and identify the evolving needs and interests within its service area to serve the diverse people and communities of the District and actively incorporate their input into our planning.
The objectives and work plan projects below must be consistently carried out to achieve the goal above.
OBJECTIVE 1.1: A comprehensive, board-approved program plan is developed and updated periodically with consideration of a wide range of criteria, including changing demographics, long-term costs, balancing individual and community benefits, and the District’s Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion policy.
OBJECTIVE 1.2: The District actively seeks out and incorporates the input of local communities in its program planning.
OBJECTIVE 1.3: The district will be agile in responding to urgent community needs.
Goal 2 of the Strategic Plan partially fulfills the 2019 Park Master Plan:
Goal 2 Align Park Programs and Design with Community Demand Goal 7 Improve Participation in and Visibility of HARD Services Adopted 12/04/23
Strategic Plan 2023 by Rauch Communication Consultants, Inc. 11 GOAL 2: FACILITIES. A Fully Funded, Long-Range Plan is Being Implemented to Upgrade and Maintain Facilities.
Strategic challenge. The District’s parks are generally well-maintained and have clear standards.
However, there are substantial facility-related challenges. The first challenge is size; the District operates 111 sites covering 1,774 acres. Many were built as long ago as the 1950s, and the newest building is four decades old. Many facilities require substantial maintenance, upgrades (electrical, roofing, boiler, plumbing, ADA, etc.) or replacement. Nearly one billion dollars in maintenance, upgrades, ADA, structural improvements, replacements, and new facilities have been identified.
Additionally, there is a concern that the District has accepted more facilities than it can adequately fund and manage in terms of maintenance and upgrades. What’s more, a bond fund has been used to the point that the District is down to making hard choices about how to use the remaining, limited funds. In addition, there is a shortfall in staffing, a growing number of people who are unhoused to be served, and illegal dumping to clean up. Meeting the needs of the community is made more challenging because historically, there wasn’t consolidated responsibility for ensuring an adequate ratio of population to parkland and recreation facilities.
The District must also be prepared to serve our communities by making our facilities available as cooling centers on excess heat days, shelter from air contamination caused by fire and smoke, and charging centers during brownouts.
Strategic response. The District will continue to increase its use of long-term planning, use of standards, and focused teams like the turf and irrigation team to improve consistency and quality of the facilities at the lowest reasonable cost. It will also incorporate consideration of the new JEDI policy in its planning.
The objectives and work plan projects below must be consistently carried out to achieve the goal above.
OBJECTIVE 2.1: The long-term facility master plan is updated on a planned schedule.
OBJECTIVE 2.2: The District periodically evaluates its properties for potential sale, donation, or conversion to other purposes.
OBJECTIVE 2.3: Before purchasing or accepting donations of properties, the District evaluates the opportunity, cost, benefits, and long-term capacities for acquisitions, staffing, maintenance, and programming.
OBJECTIVE 2.4: A well-coordinated plan with other agencies that work with people who are unhoused is being implemented and provides compassionate services that are helping keep our parks clean, safe, and enjoyable for all.
OBJECTIVE: 2.5: A clear plan is and being implemented between the County, City, School Districts, HARD, and any other appropriate parties to set and reach parkland, trails, and recreation to population standards.
OBJECTIVE 2.6: The park evaluations, ratings, and maintenance standards are updated periodically and implemented equitably for all parks and facilities so everyone can enjoy the same quality parks.
Adopted 12/04/23
Strategic Plan 2023 by Rauch Communication Consultants, Inc. 12 OBJECTIVE 2.7: Park maintenance, upgrades, and new development plans are updated and implemented based on a wide set of factors, including environmental sustainability and the District’s JEDI policy.
Goal 2 of the Strategic Plan partially fulfills the 2019 Park Master Plan:
Goal 1 Provide Safe and Attractive Parks and Facilities Goal 3 Focus on Equity in Access to Parks and Recreation Goal 5 Elevate Sustainable Practices
Goal 6 Connect with the Bay and Hillsides
Goal 8 Enhance Partnerships to Leverage Resources
Goal 9 Provide Effective Long-Term Management
Adopted 12/04/23
Strategic Plan 2023 by Rauch Communication Consultants, Inc. 13 GOAL 3: FINANCE. Stable and Secure Funding Is in Place That Meets All Long-Term Needs.
Strategic challenge. The District has built up its reserves and developed an overall strong financial position. Its financial controls, forecasting, and reporting are solid. However, the District faces substantial long-term expenses to obtain new facilities; update old facilities; keep up with growing costs to maintain, upgrade, and replace aging facilities; cover increased costs due to climate change; and fund the growing costs resulting from increasing numbers of unhoused people using parks.
Furthermore, funding is needed if the District is to play a role in responding to social issues, such as health and wellness, employment, clean spaces, inclusion, and belonging, while providing low or no-cost services for residents who need them. At the same time, the District’s funding is limited by Proposition 13 and the Educational Revenue Augmentation Fund (ERAF)— which shifted property tax revenues from cities, counties, and special districts to support schools.
Additionally, funding from the District’s 2016 Bond will soon be expended. One element that makes funding easier is that the community is growing, and incomes are rising in many parts of what was a historically underserved and undervalued part of the County. On the other hand, new housing to be developed according to the Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA) doesn’t always provide impact fees for the increased population.
Strategic response. The District will continue its long-term financial planning and continually improve its financial management, analysis, and reporting. It will also make sure its financial planning is in line with the District’s Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion policy.
The objectives and work plan projects below must be consistently carried out to achieve the goal above.
OBJECTIVE 3.1: The District’s financial decision-making and actions are guided by a long-term financial plan and a complete set of financial policies.
OBJECTIVE 3.2: Secure funding from diverse sources is in place to meet all planned needs.
OBJECTIVE 3.3: An approved financial policy is being implemented that clarifies criteria for setting, subsidizing, and waiving fees, in line with the District's Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion policy.
OBJECTIVE 3.4: The Board receives understandable, timely, and up-to-date financial reports on a Board-approved schedule.
Goal 3 of the Strategic Plan partially fulfills the 2019 Park Master Plan:
Goal 4 Provide Innovative Park Design and Programs.
Goal 9 Provide Effective Long-Term Management
Goal 10 Pursue Full Array of Funding Options.
Adopted 12/04/23
Strategic Plan 2023 by Rauch Communication Consultants, Inc. 14 GOAL 4: COMMUNICATION AND ENGAGEMENT. Productive Engagement is Maintained with Customers, Stakeholders, and Partners.
Strategic challenge. The District maintains an active public outreach program through an e- newsletter with a mail list of 70,000 contacts, a quarterly activity guide distributed to 104,0900 homes quarterly, posts regularly to social media, sends mailers, and more. Its bond measure in 2016 received a 78% affirmative vote.
In order to gain input on issues important to the community, the District reaches out to impacted people and communities. It maintains a citizens advisory committee and youth commission with a diverse membership from different areas, cultures, and backgrounds. The District also engages regularly with its partners.
Nonetheless, it is believed that many people don’t really know or understand that the District is an independent special district or its role and funding. Also, Institutionally, both staff and governing board members of partner agencies change regularly, requiring the constant rebuilding of relationships.
Finally, climate change will bring new challenges that call for developing new partnerships to share resources, expertise, and people power.
Strategic response. We believe that partnerships can only move at the speed of trust. We will continue to demonstrate our expertise and follow through, build lines of communication with leaders and agencies, be a reliable, collaborative partner, and expand our public outreach communication.
The objectives and work plan projects below must be consistently carried out to achieve the goal above.
OBJECTIVE 4.1: Trusting and mutually beneficial collaborative partnerships are actively developed and maintained with the city, schools, the county, non-profits, contractors and others.
OBJECTIVE 4.2: Partnerships are not dependent on individuals but are made resilient through written agreements and a web of formal relationships between HARD and other institutions.
OBJECTIVE 4.3: The District actively cultivates and obtains beneficial and timely input from local communities about projects and programs they care about.
OBJECTIVE 4.4: There is broad and growing understanding and support for the District and its activities among both the public and key stakeholders.
Goal 4 of the Strategic Plan partially fulfills the 2019 Park Master Plan:
Goal 2 Align Park Programs and Design with Community Demand Goal 4 Provide Innovative Park Design and Programs
Goal 7 Improve Participation in and Visibility of HARD Services Goal 8 Enhance Partnerships to Leverage Resources
Adopted 12/04/23
Strategic Plan 2023 by Rauch Communication Consultants, Inc. 15 GOAL 5: STAFF. A Motivated, High-Performing Staff with the Tools and Systems Needed to Be Effective.
Strategic challenge. The District has a positive staff culture that encourages teamwork and collaboration. The staff is skilled, with the right people in the right places. People enjoy coming to work and have a positive attitude. Major improvements have been made in the hiring process, policies, and procedures.
Despite the substantial hiring in recent years, there remains a need for more staff. Also, internal candidates are not being promoted at the expected rate due to a lack of training.
Systems for capturing and tracking data are fragmented. These systems also require manual processes and do not provide universal access. The financial system is archaic, cumbersome, and a bad fit for the business of the organization. Efficiencies, as well as transparency, could be gained by updating these systems, but it will require a significant investment of staff time.
Strategic response. To continue the District’s trajectory of growth in efficiency and effectiveness, staff will build out systems, policies, procedures, training, and more. Staff will also develop a long-term workforce plan, including succession planning, onboarding, and welcoming new people. Another priority will be to fully build out the staff. Finally, staff will invest the substantial time and effort needed to implement data systems, notably the Enterprise Resource Planning System (ERP).
The objectives and work plan projects below must be consistently carried out to achieve the goal above.
OBJECTIVE 5.1: A long-term workforce plan, including succession, welcoming and onboarding, and other appropriate features, is being implemented.
OBJECTIVE 5.2: Data systems, such as the ERP, are fully implemented and support improved efficiency, effectiveness, and staff.
OBJECTIVE 5.3: A complete set of practical and effective policies, procedures, and standard operating procedures guide staff.
OBJECTIVE 5.4: The District is fully staffed with experienced, well-trained, motivated people who embody and implement our JEDI policy.
Goal 5 of the Strategic Plan partially fulfills the 2019 Park Master Plan:
Goal 6 Connect with the Bay and Hillsides
Adopted 12/04/23
Strategic Plan 2023 by Rauch Communication Consultants, Inc. 16 GOAL 6: GOVERNANCE. Our Excellent Board Represents and Serves the Community Well.
Strategic challenge. The Board of Directors has a mix of long-serving and newer directors who work together well, are generally engaged in the community, are collegial and thoughtful, ask good questions, and make good decisions. The Board would benefit from additional training.
More board training and earning Special District Leadership Foundation (SDLF) certificates would benefit not only the board but, therefore, the staff and community as well. In addition, the new Director orientation is not as fully developed as it could be, which increases the time it takes for new directors to become fully engaged and effective.
Strategic response. The Board will encourage its members to become better trained by attending conferences and earning SDLF certification. The board orientation will also be reviewed, updated, and enhanced as appropriate, as will the Board policies and procedures.
The objectives and work plan projects below must be consistently carried out to achieve the goal above.
OBJECTIVE 6.1: The Board is appropriately trained.
OBJECTIVE 6.2: New directors are onboarded with a complete orientation that welcomes them to the District and prepares them to engage effectively as a director in the shortest reasonable time frame.
OBJECTIVE 6.3: A complete set of policies and procedures guide the Board effectively, are updated as needed, and referred to when Board issues arise.
OBJECTIVE 6.4: The Board will periodically evaluate its performance to ensure it sets clear and effective direction and guides the District.
Adopted 12/04/23
Strategic Plan 2023 by Rauch Communication Consultants, Inc. 17 Monitoring and Oversight
Below are the actions that will be taken by the Board, Leadership Team , and Staff to ensure that the plan is implemented and updated over time.
Communicate and Lead
The General Manager and Leadership Team meet with all employees to review the plan and make sure everyone understands the overall plan and the parts they are responsible for.
Report at least annually to the entire staff, board, and community, progress on strategic goals and objectives.
Publish the mission, vision, values, goals, and objectives on posters, handouts, website and visibly display them at District faciliites.
Incorporate the Mission, Vision, Values, Goals, and Objectives into the employee handbook and orientation and training materials for new employees, Board and Committee members.
Clarify Roles and Expectations
Identify the roles and expectations for each team member and know what initiatives and objectives they are responsible for driving forward or contributing to. (start with the leadership team)
Build accomplishment of strategic priorities into performance review format. • General Manager Leadership Team
Allocate Resources to Meet Strategic Objectives
• The budget reflects strategic goals and objectives
• Hiring reflects strategic goals and objectives
Board Oversight and Monitoring
Staff will reference Strategic Plan items on Board meeting agendas as appropriate.
The Board and Board committees will consider the strategic plan when deliberating.
Staff will provide a comprehensive report to the Board on the progress of the strategic plan annually early in the budget development process.
Evaluate Performance and Adapt
Identify who gathers what performance data and who analyzes and reports. Also, how do the results inform decision-making?
Update the Plan
Formal review and update of goals and objectives
Staff updates implementation plan as appropriate over time Adopted 12/04/23
Strategic Plan 2023 by Rauch Communication Consultants, Inc. 18 Single-Page View of the Core Elements of the Strategic Plan MISSION To enrich the quality of life for all community members by providing a wide range of recreational activities, parks, and facilities that meet the diverse needs and interests of the entire community and promote health, well-being, learning, and fun.
VISION We deliver exceptional park and recreation services and facilities to all the diverse people and communities we serve by [short version] VALUES Diversity Serving Sustaining Collaborating Listening Staff GOALS
1. Excellent, Wide-
Ranging Programs
Meet the Diverse
Needs of Our
Community
2. A Fully Funded, Long-Range Plan is Being
Implemented to Upgrade and Maintain Facilities
3. Stable and Secure
Funding Is in Place
That Meets All Long-
Term Needs
4. Productive
Engagement is
Maintained with
Customers, Stakeholders,
and Partners
5. A Motivated, High-
Performing Staff with
the Tools and
Systems Needed to
Be Effective
6. Our Excellent
Board Represents
and Serves the
Community Well
OBJECTIVES
1.1: A comprehensive,
board-approved
program plan is
developed and
updated periodically
with consideration of
a wide range of
criteria, including
changing
demographics, long-
term costs, balancing
individual and
community benefits,
and the District’s
Justice, Equity,
Diversity, and
Inclusion policy.
1.2: The District
actively seeks out and
incorporates the
input of local
communities in its
program planning.
1.3: The district will
be agile in responding
to urgent community
needs.
2.1: The long-term facility master plan is updated on
a planned schedule.
2.2: The District periodically evaluates its properties for potential sale, donation, or conversion to other
purposes.
2.3: Before purchasing or accepting donations of
properties, the District evaluates the opportunity,
cost, benefits, and long-term capacities for
acquisitions, staffing, maintenance, and
programming.
2.4: A well-coordinated plan with other agencies
that work with people who are unhoused is being
implemented and provides compassionate services
that are helping keep our parks clean, safe, and
enjoyable for all.
2.5: A clear plan is being implemented between the
County, City, School Districts, HARD, and any other
appropriate parties to set and reach parkland, trails,
and recreation to population standards.
2.6: The park evaluations, ratings, and maintenance
standards are updated periodically and
implemented equitably for all parks and facilities so
everyone can enjoy the same quality parks.
2.7: Park maintenance, upgrades, and new
development plans are updated and implemented
based on a wide set of factors, including
environmental sustainability and the District’s JEDI
policy.
3.1: The District’s
financial decision-
making and actions
are guided by a long-
term financial plan
and a complete set
of financial policies.
3.2: Secure funding
from diverse sources
is in place to meet
all planned needs.
3.3: An approved
financial policy is
being implemented
that clarifies criteria
for setting,
subsidizing, and
waiving fees, in line
with the District's
Justice, Equity,
Diversity, and
Inclusion policy.
3.4: The Board
receives
understandable,
timely, and up-to-
date financial
reports on a Board-
approved schedule.
4.1: Trusting and mutually
beneficial collaborative
partnerships are actively
developed and maintained
with the city, schools, the
county, non-profits,
contractors and others.
4.2: Partnerships are not
dependent on individuals
but are made resilient
through written agreements
and a web of formal
relationships between HARD
and other institutions.
4.3: The District actively
cultivates and obtains
beneficial and timely input
from local communities
about projects and
programs they care about.
4.4: There is broad and
growing understanding and
support for the District and
its activities among both the
public and key stakeholders.
5.1: A long-term
workforce plan,
including succession,
welcoming and
onboarding, and
other appropriate
features, is being
implemented.
5.2: Data systems,
such as the ERP, are
fully implemented
and support
improved efficiency,
effectiveness, and
staff.
5.3: A complete set
of practical and
effective policies,
procedures, and
standard operating
procedures guide
staff.
5.4: The District is
fully staffed with
experienced, well-
trained, motivated
people who embody
and implement our
JEDI policy.
6.1: The Board is
appropriately trained.
6.2: New directors are
onboarded with a
complete orientation
that welcomes them
to the District and
prepares them to
engage effectively as
a director in the
shortest reasonable
time frame.
6.3: A complete set of
policies and
procedures guide the
Board effectively, are
updated as needed,
and referred to when
Board issues arise.
6.4: The Board will
periodically evaluate
its performance to
ensure it sets clear
and effective
direction and guides
the District.
Adopted 12/04/23
Appendix 1: 2019 Parks Master Plan Summary of Goals
G1 Provide Safe and Attractive Parks and Facilities
HARD will continue to manage a diverse and growing suite of parks and recreation facilities that are safe, comfortable, attractive, and well-maintained.
G2 Align Park Programs and Design with Community Demand HARD will offer recreation facilities and programs that respond to changing community needs and preferences.
G3 Focus on Equity in Access to Parks and Recreation
HARD will strive to use its resources to increase equity. We will focus on areas where parks are scarce or needs are high as the highest priority for new facilities and access improvements.
G4 Provide Innovative Park Design and Programs
HARD will be innovative in its approach to park facilities and design, programming, and engagement to reflect the best in current practices.
G5 Elevate Sustainable Practices
HARD will manage its 1,300-plus acres of park land and its 16 community, recreation, arts and senior facilities in a way that reduces water and energy use and showcases sustainability.
G6 Connect with the Bay and Hillsides
HARD will create opportunities for community members to enjoy the District’s superb natural setting by enhancing the experience in HARD parks, developing the trail system, and partnering with other agencies.
G7 Improve Participation in and Visibility of HARD Services HARD will work to increase participation in programs, use of parks, and the community’s engagement and satisfaction with the District.
G8 Enhance Partnerships to Leverage Resources
HARD will continue to coordinate with other organizations and agencies to optimize recreation opportunities in the community.
G9 Provide Effective Long-Term Management
HARD will work to develop expertise and capacity of staff, take a systematic approach to maintenance and operations, and plan for and fund the full lifecycle costs of facilities.
G10 Pursue Full Array of Funding Options
HARD will actively and creatively pursue available funding sources and make decisions about capital and operational investment that provide the greatest value.
Adopted 12/04/23