TO: NEIGHBORHOOD SERVICES
& EDUCATION COMMITTEE
FROM: Jon Cicirelli
SUBJECT: See Below DATE: February 24, 2025
Approved Date:
3/5/2025
SUBJECT: Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services Community Impact Annual Report
RECOMMENDATION
Accept the annual report on Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services Community Impact.
BACKGROUND
The Parks, Recreation, and Neighborhood Services Department (PRNS) continues to advance its mission and vision in alignment with the ActivateSJ Strategic Plan, which the City Council approved in December 2019. This people-first, service-driven strategy is grounded in five guiding principles: stewardship, nature, equity & access, identity, and public life.
Guided by these principles, PRNS strives to sustain a healthy and active San José. The Department is committed to creating vibrant communities through its parks, community centers, and neighborhood services, which are essential to the health and well-being of all residents.
In addition to celebrating accomplishments, the Annual Community Impact Report fulfills the Department’s obligation under Council Policy 1-21, Pricing and Revenue Policy, to issue a report each year about how it met the policy’s goal to establish a financially sustainable approach to delivering services.
NSE AGENDA: 03/13/2025
ITEM: (d)2
NEIGHBORHOOD SERVICES & EDUCATION COMMITTEE
February 24, 2025
Subject: Annual Community Impact Report 2024
ANALYSIS
Community Impact Report 2024
The Community Impact Report 2024, themed ‘Where You Belong,’ highlights the Department’s progress in creating healthy and active communities. The following achievements, categorized by the five ActivateSJ guiding principles, focus on equitable programming, and maintaining high-quality public spaces where people belong and thrive.
Stewardship
Nearly 70,000 volunteer hours beautifying parks and cleaning up neighborhoods. Hired 52 young people through the Resilience Corps, including 17 into full-time roles, since 2021.
Nature
Redesign of ranger-guided hikes, making them accessible for wheelchair users and people with walkers.
Planted over 1,000 new trees in parks and installed five new pollinator gardens.
Equity and Access
52 families from Project Hope neighborhoods enjoyed a free stay at Family Camp in Yosemite through a $1 million grant from California’s Outdoor Equity Program.
Added a third all-inclusive playground and will open a fourth later this year to provide accessible play spaces that support physical and mental well-being of all children, regardless of ability.
Identity
Welcomed more than 420,000 visitors to Happy Hollow Park & Zoo, home to over 110 animals.
Held two Neighborhoods Conferences and launched a new Neighborhood Engagement Model to build direct connections with approximately 190 neighborhood associations.
San José Youth Empowerment Alliance and Gang Intervention programs continue to drive down youth violence and crime.
Public Life
Hosted over 15,000 neighbors at over 100 Viva Parks events and attracted over 400,000 people to three Viva Calle events promoting active lifestyles and supporting local businesses.
Over 2,000 youth participated in PRNS Out-of-School programs, such as the R.O.C.K afterschool program.
Nearly 236,000 healthy meals served to youth and seniors.
NEIGHBORHOOD SERVICES & EDUCATION COMMITTEE
February 24, 2025
Subject: Annual Community Impact Report 2024
The report also showcases the innovative partnerships and resourceful approaches that have allowed PRNS to meet increasing community needs despite resource challenges.
To view the report, visit activatesj.org.
Fiscal Year 2023-2024 Financial Report
The Department remains committed to sustainable financial management while prioritizing equitable pricing for high-quality programs, facilities, and services.
PRNS regularly evaluates and adjusts its pricing to remain competitive within the local market. Simultaneously, as a public agency, PRNS prioritizes equitable access for the community’s most vulnerable populations through subsidies, scholarships, and pricing discounts. In 2023-2024, PRNS provided $2.8 million in scholarships —13,244 scholarships for 2,886 recipients.
In 2023-2024, PRNS generated $38.1 million in revenue through diverse streams, including inter-fund transfers, fee-based programs, and grants. Of this total, approximately 14% ($5.4 million) was grant funding provided for various programs and projects. Upon reviewing overall revenue to expenses, PRNS cost recovery was 27.6% compared to 23.4% in 2022-2023, indicating a slight improvement in revenue generation.
COORDINATION
This memorandum has been coordinated with the City Manager’s Budget Office and City Attorney’s Office.
/s/
JON CICIRELLI
Director of Parks, Recreation, and
Neighborhood Services
For questions, please contact Amanda Rodriguez, Public Information Manager, at [email protected] or 408-460-4468.
Attachment A: Community Impact Report 2024