REPORT TO THE CITY COUNCIL
DATE: Regular Meeting of February 27, 2024
TO: Mayor and Members of the City Council
SUBMITTED BY: Dante Hall, City Manager
SUBJECT: Consideration of a Resolution Adopting the Hercules Parks & Recreation Facilities Master Plan RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Staff recommends that the City Council review, discuss, and consider approving a resolution adopting the Hercules Parks and Recreation Facilities Master Plan.
BACKGROUND:
The City of Hercules is growing and maturing. Like park agencies in many California cities, Hercules’ Parks & Recreation Department is faced with improvement and operational needs that outpace its financial and staff resources. As the city grows, enhancements and improvements to the park system are needed; as facilities age, maintenance and capital investments are needed; and as recreation trends shift, new facilities and designs are necessary to reflect the needs and desires of the community.
To serve the community, the City has developed its first-ever Parks and Recreation Facilities Master Plan (Master Plan). The community-driven Master Plan is the culmination of the significant collaborative effort among City staff, City Council, the project Steering Committee, community leaders, stakeholders, and residents to determine how best to invest in Hercules’ parks, facilities, and trails. This investment is guided by the community’s love and enthusiasm for places that support Hercules’ identity. The Master Plan provides a framework to guide the City in setting priorities and making decisions about the provision of parks, recreation facilities, trails, open space, and natural areas over the next 10+ years, with particular focus on projects to be addressed in a 5-year action plan.
ANALYSIS:
The Hercules community is invested in the future of the City and has a clear vision for parks and recreation. The projects identified in the Master Plan are based on the needs, desires, and ideas identified by the community over a year-long public engagement process. The process involved a variety of activities designed to stimulate participants’ thinking about needs, preferences, and new ideas. Throughout the planning process, a variety of public engagement activities were conducted to ensure diverse voices could contribute to the development of the Master Plan. Engagement activities were both online and in person, ranging from questionnaires to workshops to pop-up events. A project website provided updates and a repository of relevant documents. Additionally, advisory groups were regularly involved to provide guidance, direction, and local insight. In total, over 1,000 people weighed in to shape the Master Plan goals.
The Master Plan strives to meet the following goals for parks and recreation facilities:
The Parks and Recreation Facilities Master Plan is organized into six chapters, with support documentation in the appendices.
Chapter 1. Introduction provides an overview of the Master Plan, including its purpose, goals, timeline, development process, and relation to concurrent plans.
Chapter 2. Existing Parks, Facilities, and Trails describes the current park and recreation system in relation to location, counts, and condition assessment.
Chapter 3. The Hercules Community showcases the planning area, demographics of Hercules’ residents, and current and projected populations. Chapter 3 also covers the various community outreach and engagement activities conducted as part of this planning process, and the key themes that emerged from engagement.
Chapter 4. Park System Needs discusses systemwide needs based on community feedback, evolving trends, identified park-deficient neighborhoods, trail gaps, and insufficient programming and recreational services.
Chapter 5. Recommendations offers recommendations related to design, planning, management, and investment. Recommendations are grouped as systemwide, site-specific, and operations.
Chapter 6. Action Plan summarizes capital improvement projects, prioritization criteria, the 10-year action plan for implementation, and planning-level funding strategies for implementation.
Should the Council adopt the Master Plan, the next steps include the following:
Develop Funding Strategies: City staff, together with City Council, will consider options to increase impact fees, maximize existing funds, and add new funding sources. The City will continue to discuss projects with potential partners to determine where these invested stakeholders may be willing to support key projects.
Finalize and Sequence Projects: The City will begin to sequence projects in the 5-Year Action Plan to be completed each year.
Plan and Design Large Projects: Some larger sites, including Woodfield Park and Refugio Valley Park and Tennis Courts, will need additional design guidance before proceeding with development. Additional community feedback may be solicited Begin Construction: With this information, the City will be ready to improve parks to enhance recreation opportunities and the quality of life of residents across Hercules.
Joint Commission Meeting Comments
on February 20, 2024, members of the Planning Commission, the Community Library Services Commission, and the Master Plan Steering Committee met to provide input on the draft Parks and Recreation Facilities Master Plan. Comments from that meeting have been attached to this report (Attachment 5).
FISCAL IMPACT:
No additional funding is requested at this time. This Master Plan provides the information and tools to make strategic decisions about park investments moving forward. City staff will integrate this information into annual Capital Improvement Program work plans during the regular budget process as the first step toward implementation.
ATTACHMENTS:
Resolution
Draft Hercules Parks and Recreation Facilities Master Plan Draft Master Plan Appendices
City Council PowerPoint Presentation
Joint Commission Meeting Comments