Parks staff present Measure P 2023 annual report; commissioners press for clearer spending and senior/youth services plans

Chair Kimberly McCoy called the Parks, Recreation and Arts Commission meeting to order and the commission received a workshop presentation on the Measure P 2023 annual report from Shelby McNabb, assistant director of the Parks Department.

The presentation summarized the report’s scope, methods and highlights and noted a corrected error in earlier published materials. "Please note that the report and presentation published for this meeting had an error in the calculation for Spark program and overall reach, but the printed materials before you today are corrected and the clerk will ensure that the corrections are published on Granicus," McNabb said.

The report ties Measure P reporting to the parks master plan and the city’s highest-needs neighborhood methodology. Using that narrower definition of park types, staff reported that "33% of Fresnans live within a half mile walking distance of a park," McNabb said, and cautioned the figure is not directly comparable to 2022 because of the methodology change.

Why it matters: commissioners and members of the public pressed staff for clearer, more accessible public accounting of where Measure P funds are held and how they were used. Commissioners said the report’s fiscal numbers need clearer linking to projects and to on-the-ground outcomes in neighborhoods, and requested maps and audit links that make it easier to track completed work versus amounts simply held in accounts.

Key findings and program highlights presented

- Population and access: Staff used GIS analysis and a walk-access methodology tied to the parks master plan categories (neighborhood, community, pocket and regional parks). The department reported…