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Council backs parks visioning and transit scoping as part of one‑time budget asks
Summary
Council discussed a $250,000 parks/recreation/trails visioning proposal that would fold in transit‑shuttle feasibility and public‑art planning; members agreed to include $25,000 to augment community engagement for transit scoping and to pilot recreation programming while staff refines scope and cost estimates.
Councilors discussed a proposed parks, recreation and trails visioning plan and related one‑time budget requests that would reshape city recreation priorities and fold in transit/shuttle feasibility work.
Parks and recreation staff and the new director (Dave) presented the proposal, which estimates $250,000 for a system‑level visioning process to create a prioritized capital and program plan, and includes funding for outreach, a recreation software pilot and a part‑time recreation coordinator for a phased approach to new programming. Staff emphasized partnering with community groups and leveraging economies of scale by doing community engagement once for multiple topics (parks, programming, and transit needs).
Council also discussed local shuttle options (EV vehicles preferred) and regional partnerships, noting that Sonoma currently lacks representation on the SMART board and that Measure B/SMART renewal and SCTA funds could be leveraged. Finance committee members recommended adding $25,000 to the visioning budget to specifically fund transit‑related engagement and scoping; council agreed that this should be folded into the project scope and refined during design.
Public comment earlier in the workshop urged greater public art funding and a bolder approach to the creative economy; staff said the parks visioning will explicitly include arts and cultural elements. Staff will return with a refined scope, cost breakdown and timeline and bring the visioning proposal to the budget hearing for final council direction and potential one‑time appropriation.
