Daniel Briseno, county parks and recreation manager, told a District 1 community meeting July 28 that county parks are using a $1,400,000 Clean California grant to rebuild the Diaz Lake recreation area, including playground replacement, shade trees, irrigation improvements, a dog park, a volleyball court, solar lighting and new restrooms with showers. "This is one of the coolest pictures that I have," Briseno said, referring to images from the Diaz Lake grant application. He added that the playground components selected are more durable than older plastic parts and that safety surfacing will be installed under play equipment to meet ADA access needs.

Briseno described broader maintenance and hazard‑mitigation work across county parks. Storm and flood damage tied to "Hurricane Hillary" in 2024 caused erosion at creek‑adjacent campsites; park crews have used a new 3.5‑ton mini excavator (a shared public‑works asset) to rebuild campsite pads and make sites accessible to trailers and RVs. The board of supervisors provided $35,000 this year for prioritized tree work at parks including Mendenhall and Lone Pine Park, Briseno said, and staff removed several large hazard trees and trimmed others.

Other recent work included replacement of horseshoe rings at Dadey Park, picnic table repair and repainting at Middlepond with lumber purchased from board funds, and sign‑maintenance using newly acquired routing jigs. Briseno noted the county charges $50 to reserve picnic tables and said table condition had been a priority. At Diaz Lake, staff installed new vault (pit) toilets and undertook sediment removal at Mill Pond to clear accumulated vegetation and trash; crews also cleared tule vegetation near the ADA fishing dock. Briseno said the department owns a $100,000 boat used to cut tules but that roots must be removed by other means.

Briseno said the Diaz Lake playground company is constructing equipment to withstand high winds in the area and that the overall Diaz Lake project is expected to be complete by summer 2026. The parks department also recently put the Mendenhall Park playground project out to bid and is reviewing results. He said staff are addressing theft and misuse — including picnic tables dragged into the lake — that create safety hazards and impede maintenance.

When asked how many parks the department manages, Briseno answered that the county manages seven parks. He thanked the board for funding and described cross‑department cooperation with public works and the landfill to move heavy equipment and supplies for sediment removal and camp improvements.

No formal votes or policy changes occurred at the meeting; Briseno asked residents to follow project updates and said parks will coordinate any future community events around project milestones and work with the county supervisor's office on public outreach.