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Tiburon council asks staff, Parks & Rec commission to fast-track "low-hanging fruit" from parks master plan
Summary
Councilmembers and residents urged quick action on small, low-cost improvements in neighborhood parks and asked the Parks and Open Space Commission to hold noticed public meetings on larger or contentious items. Council agreed staff should compile and return with a prioritized list for action.
Tiburon Town Council members and residents on Jan. 15 pressed town staff and the Parks and Open Space Commission to move quickly on simple, low-cost projects identified in the recently completed Parks and Recreation Master Plan.
The discussion followed a public comment from Jenna, a member of the grassroots group Parents for Parks and Rec, who read a six-item list of near-term priorities including renovation of the Cypress Hill playground and lawn, minor improvements at Bel Air Park, a feasibility study for an inclusive playground at Zielinski Park, additional seating and shade at Lineal Park, conversion options for the sanitation pond site to a field or paved court (with seating), and a town map of public recreation sites.
Jenna said, "I am really excited to see that the town council is committed to implementing some of the ideas in the Parks and Rec master plan," and asked council to act on several items within the next six months.
Council members agreed on a two-track approach: ask staff to identify and return with a short, prioritized list of projects that require little or no additional budget (the "low-hanging fruit") and ask the Parks and Open Space Commission (POST) to hold noticed public meetings for items that need broader public vetting. Vice Mayor Wellner and other council members emphasized that some neighborhood-level fixes — mowing, benches, trash cans and safety repairs — could proceed rapidly without lengthy process changes.
Councilmember Jack (town manager) and staff noted constraints: the master plan identifies a staffing shortfall of roughly 1.5 full-time equivalents for park maintenance, and some improvements will carry ongoing maintenance costs. Staff said they would categorize proposed actions by cost and complexity so the council can decide which items to fund or direct to POST.
Councilmembers also discussed concerns from residents that ad hoc POST subcommittees had not consistently published meeting notices; members asked POST to post schedules and hold publicly noticed meetings so residents can participate. Several council members thanked public works and staff for recent rapid, small-scale improvements at Bel Air Park made after neighbor requests.
Council consensus was to bring an implementation item back at the next meeting with: (1) a short list of immediately actionable, low-cost projects staff can implement or fund quickly; and (2) a public schedule of POST subcommittee meetings for items that require broader outreach.
The council moved the parks item up on the agenda to allow families in the audience with young children to comment and voted later in the meeting to approve the Parks and Recreation Master Plan with a direction that specified references to particular storage facilities be removed from the final document.
