Commission agrees to form ad hoc to draft 2026 work plan; staff to coordinate membership and timeline

The commission agreed Sept. 10 to form an ad hoc committee to draft a 2026 work plan for Parks, Recreation and Open Space. Staff said a work plan would map commission activities to existing City Council goals and proposed timelines for tasks such as the urban forest management plan work, park capital projects and public outreach.

Parks Director Dave Jans offered to provide examples of work-plan formats used by other jurisdictions and to coordinate an initial meeting with interested commissioners. Commissioners indicated an interest in participating; staff said the ad hoc would be formally recognized and would meet publicly, with final recommendations returned to the full commission for adoption in December or January after City Council goal-setting.

Staff recommended waiting to finalize the work plan until the council's January goal review is complete, but also suggested commissioners could take ownership of specific items now (education materials, outreach, planting/maintenance guidance) and track those tasks through staff. The ad hoc will be limited to a subset of commissioners to avoid quorum issues and to permit focused drafting work; staff will publish meeting notices and circulate model work-plan templates.