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City presents GROW cohorts' capstone projects — Access Accesso outreach pilot and 'Paws in the Park' event
Summary
City staff and GROW cohort participants described two capstone projects: Access Accesso, a bilingual mobile ambassador outreach and tracking app, and Paws in the Park, an education and resource event for pet owners planned for late spring 2026; both projects were presented as pilots and thanked the city for the professional training program.
City staff on Oct. 21 presented capstone projects from the city's GROW professional certificate cohorts, describing two pilot initiatives aimed at improving outreach and community education.
Public Information Manager Mark Bandicamp summarized GROW Cohort 3 and said the cohort partnered with UC Santa Barbara Professional and Continuing Education on a 15‑week, state‑funded management training program. Cohort 3 produced a capstone called Access Accesso (Assist, Connect, Communicate, Engage, Support, Serve): a bilingual (English/Spanish) mobile ambassador program that pairs trained city staff and volunteer ambassadors with a tracking and reporting app to record in‑person interactions at neighborhood locations. Bandicamp said a test at two farmers markets (two days, two hours per day) yielded 92 interactions and 29 questions covering water, downtown plans, recreation registration, recycling, street repairs and code enforcement.
Neville Smeta, business manager for Recreation and Parks, presented Cohort 4's capstone, Paws in the Park, a proposed late May–early June 2026 event at Preska Park to promote responsible pet ownership and provide resources such as pet‑health vendors, training, information on local domestic‑animal ordinances and nonprofit partners. Smeta said the event would involve Allan Hancock College, local nonprofits and businesses, and would be timed before the Fourth of July to help pet owners prepare for fireworks season.
Both presenters thanked the council for GROW, a city partnership offering management training and mentoring; council took photographs with certificate recipients and did not take formal action on the presentations. Bandicamp and Smeta said the cohorts produced tools and outreach approaches staff will consider for broader use.
What was said about next steps: Bandicamp said Access Accesso uses bilingual ambassadors and an app to capture who was contacted, where and what information was requested; staff will evaluate pilot results for potential broader deployment. Smeta said cohort organizers will continue stakeholder engagement to plan logistics and partners for the Paws in the Park event.
