Council declines immediate new survey; suggests Recreation Commission reuse 2018 needs assessment

Pacific Grove — The City Council reviewed a Recreation Commission request to allocate up to 20 staff hours to update the city’s 2018 recreation needs assessment but did not approve a new, contractor-led survey. Councilmembers said the city’s limited staff capacity and current priority projects make a full resurvey premature and recommended alternative approaches.

Mayor Pro Tem Joe Emilio, who represented the Recreation Commission at the meeting, said the commission asked staff to revisit the 2018 instrument and to consider modest updates and re‑deployment. “I think what has to happen is the needs assessment needs to be brought to the Recreation Commission with someone from recreation staff to help … tweak and post back on the website,” Emilio said.

Several councilmembers said the 2018 survey yielded useful results that led to program changes and argued the city should not divert substantial staff time and budget now. Councilmembers suggested lower‑cost alternatives: the Recreation Commission could solicit public input at meetings and events, use existing QR‑code outreach used at parks events, and present specific, prioritized requests to the council rather than commissioning a new full survey.

Staff cautioned that a comprehensive re-survey and full analysis would likely require far more than 20 staff hours; councilmembers noted the original effort required significant staff time and recommended the commission and staff clarify scope before asking for additional resources.

No formal council motion to fund a new consultant or to allocate staff hours beyond current responsibilities passed at the meeting. Councilmembers asked staff to coordinate with the Recreation Commission to identify discrete items or limited updates that could be accomplished within existing resources and to report back if the commission identifies a narrowly defined scope that merits additional staff time or outside assistance.