Parks and recreation staff gave the commission an overview of maintenance, staffing and program activity, including a foundation grant to support tree preservation and multiple program expansions.

Jason Lacy, parks and landscape superintendent, told the commission the city was "recently notified" it received $1,000,000 from the Hellman Foundation to support development of an urban-forest management plan, a citywide tree inventory, tree-management software and updates to tree-protection code. The grant is intended to modernize the city’s tree-care program and provide tools to prioritize work.

Staff also reported two supervisor vacancies in the parks division and open recruitment for two tree-trimmer positions; one supervisor candidate had an offer and an anticipated start date. Jose Moreno described right-of-way and median cleanups, pruning of roughly 25 trees this past month and planned planting and maintenance work at Ferry Point pump station and on McDonough Avenue.

On recreation, Robbie Roller, the new aquatics supervisor, said the department has about 30 part-time lifeguards plus two permanent part-time senior lifeguards and a full-time aquatic specialist who manages training and recertification. Adaptive swim for children with special needs is under consideration but would require specialist hires because of high instructor-to-child ratios.

Stephanie Nye reported programmatic grant activity: Love Your Block mini-grants (up to $10,000) and in-kind support, the Richmond Tool Library expanded to two days a week following new permanent staff hires, and a grant-funded mobile tool library that serves North Richmond two days monthly with plans to expand citywide in spring 2026.

Staff outlined next steps for planning, including completing the parks assessment, compiling light-fixture inventories as part of the parks assessment, continuing recruitment for critical maintenance roles and seeking funding or grants for capital projects.