Council receives 2025 Leisure Needs and Public Art five‑year master plan
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Summary
A consultant presented the updated five‑year leisure needs and public art master plan, summarizing a year of outreach and priorities including youth programming, outdoor recreation, and public art expansion; staff recommended the council accept and file the report as a planning guide.
The Santa Maria City Council on Oct. 21 received and filed an updated five‑year Leisure Needs and Public Art Master Plan, the Recreation and Parks Department's blueprint for programming, capital priorities and public‑art investments.
Consultant Art Thatcher summarized a year‑long process that included demographic analysis, focus groups, leadership interviews, pop‑up engagement and an online platform (Social Pinpoint). Thatcher said the outreach yielded nearly 1,900 users and about 1,400 contributions; top priorities identified were youth sports and activities, adult fitness, active‑aging programs, outdoor recreation facilities, and stronger public‑art programming and display.
The plan recommends four broad goals: improve organizational efficiency, enhance programming and service delivery, invest in current and new amenities (including requests for additional indoor gym space and more pickleball courts), and strengthen financial sustainability through grants and partnerships. Thatcher also reported strong public support for expanded public art; survey responses favored additional locations for display and dedicating part of enterprise funds or developer negotiations toward art installations.
Staff said Recreation and Parks and consultants will use the plan as a guide. Recreation and Parks staff addressed council questions about grant sourcing and capacity: staff noted the department has pursued state grants and other funding, that Dennis Smitherman and his team wrote approximately $15 million in grants over the last five years, and that some grant work is done internally while partnerships with nonprofits have been used for private foundation applications.
Councilmembers asked for the separate public‑art master plan slides to be circulated to the council; staff said a separate document exists and will be provided. Councilmember Flores raised whether dog parks were included; staff replied that a dog park was being added in the city's south end through developer park fees on a remainder parcel and that other opportunities could be explored.
The Recreation and Parks Commission and staff will use the plan to guide projects and outreach and to prioritize grant and capital requests over the next five years.