Corona parks staff report Lunar New Year turnout, new programs, cleanups and winter field renovations

Parks and recreation staff updated the Corona Parks and Recreation Commission on winter programming, volunteer placements, recent cleanups and field renovations during a monthly briefing.

Miss Finch, the city staff lead for parks and recreation projects, and recreation manager Jason Lass described a first-ever Lunar New Year micro‑event at the Circle City Center that "drew roughly 300" people over a three‑hour period and featured Tai Chi, line dancing, crafts and food vendors, according to Lass. He said the activity grew organically from the center’s regular patron base and that staff intend to use the micro‑event format to pilot future programs.

Lass also highlighted services at the senior center: AARP Tax‑Aide volunteers will be on site Tuesday through Thursday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. through April 15 to help low‑income and senior residents prepare simple tax filings, and a new “senior jam session,” led by Don Kindred of the Corona Symphony Orchestra, will meet the second and fourth Thursday of each month from 2 to 4 p.m. at no cost. He said Kids Night Out is available for school‑age children with registration through the city’s CivicRec portal and that the city’s co‑sponsorship application window is open for events taking place July–December, with an application deadline of Feb. 28.

On workforce and volunteer programs, Lass said the city has placed three Corona Norco Unified School District Workability classes into city assignments so qualified adult students can gain paid job experience; he showed a photo of a Corona High School group working at Houston Park.

Parks superintendent Moses Cortez summarized recent field and site work. He said the Corona Beautiful cleanup on a loop from River Road to Main Street yielded about seven cubic yards of litter and filled a city dump truck. "Every participant went home with a cleanup kit" and the event included gloves, vests and trash pickers through a partnership with WRCOG, Cortez said.

Cortez reported continued trail programming and improvements: guided hikes and a new trail alignment at Dominguez Ranch (a short but steep trail with switchbacks that connects to Cleveland National Forest), additional infill planting and a citywide tree‑planting campaign. He said vandalized street‑front trees on Bridal Line and Ridge Line were replaced with larger 36‑inch box trees and irrigation was adjusted to support establishment.

Cortez also reviewed winter field renovations: staff closed and worked fields around Thanksgiving, seeded immediately for proper germination, coordinated walkthroughs with leagues and completed punch‑list items before turning fields over for spring. He said the city recorded 81 field permits for the quarter (permit = one application/assignment) and plans post‑season inspections to refine the renovation process.

Cortez gave quick maintenance metrics: roughly 3,700 tree trims and about 42,000–43,000 square feet of graffiti removed for the quarter; he said the city issued approximately 362 parkway tickets. He announced two recently hired supervisors — Richard Aguilar, park ranger supervisor from Riverside County, and Thomas Braun (transcript: "Thomas bronzing") — who joined the parks crew in recent weeks.

Commissioners asked about logistics and program details (for example, whether the AARP tax‑aid is walk‑in, which Lass said it is), parking and trailhead access for Dominguez Ranch (staff said no formal parking exists there now and that users have been parking at nearby shopping center lots), and long‑term maintenance for planted trees (Cortez said irrigation and warranties are in place and the contractor West Coast Arborists helps with watering and warranty monitoring).

Commissioners praised the outreach and volunteer efforts and asked staff to continue sharing seasonal and year‑over‑year trends for registration and participation numbers.

Ending: Staff said they will continue to refine field renovation procedures, expand volunteer and workability placements, and share updated attendance and program trend data with the commission.