Board committee schedules follow-up after grand jury flags parks planning gaps; Rec and Park gives timelines for Tenderloin projects

The Government Audit & Oversight Committee on Oct. 3 reviewed the 2016–17 civil grand jury report "Planning to Make Our Parks Even Better," heard public comment from Tenderloin residents pressing for faster work on Macaulay Park and Turk & Hyde Mini Park, and scheduled a follow-up hearing to examine implementation and equity in project prioritization.

The grand jury foreperson, Kathy Lowry, and committee lead Charles Head said the jury found Rec and Park staff to be "bright, engaged, committed, and responsive" but recommended updating acquisition policies, emphasizing preventive maintenance, and holding at least annual board hearings to track strategic, operational and capital plans.

Dawn Kamala Navin, director of planning and capital management for the San Francisco Recreation and Park Department, told the committee the department tracks schedules for projects that have been formally funded and adopted. Navin said Turk & Hyde is expected to open to the public in July 2019 and Sergeant John McCauley (referred to in public testimony as Macaulay Playground) in August 2019. She outlined funding sources for the projects: roughly $1.925 million from the "Let's Play" GO bond for McCauley, about $500,000 in matching funds from Trust for Public Land, and about $1.7 million total for Turk & Hyde after leveraging initial bond funding.

Residents and neighborhood organizers urged clearer timelines and protections for community-desired amenities. One commenter said the public input process at Macaulay was handled by Trust for Public Land while Turk & Hyde followed a different process and that inconsistent engagement and shifting schedules were creating frustration in the Tenderloin.

Navin acknowledged community impatience, said the department could do a better job organizing publicly available schedule information, and explained why some amenities — especially freestanding restrooms — add substantial cost. "It's not oftentimes the bathroom itself that just costs a million dollars," she said, listing ADA-accessible pathways, potable water hookups and site redesign as drivers that can push a restroom into the $1–2 million range.

Chair Jane Kim moved to amend a resolution to indicate the board agrees with the grand jury's finding on oversight and transparency (finding F3), to note that recommendation R3.2 had been implemented, and to schedule the committee to review Rec and Park strategic, operational and capital plans on Oct. 18, 2017. The committee agreed to send the resolution to the full Board of Supervisors "without opposition," the chair said.

The committee took public comment, received the department's responses and committed to greater transparency about project stages and schedules. The Oct. 18 hearing will revisit how the city applies the equity lens established under Proposition B when prioritizing playground and park projects and will seek clearer, publishable timelines for projects funded by prior bonds.

Next steps: the committee will hold the Oct. 18 hearing to review the department's strategic and capital plans and schedule, and the resolution on the grand jury recommendations will go to the full Board of Supervisors with the committee's recommendation.