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Record of Proceedings

Lake Havasu City Council Parks Master Plan Update - August 25, 2026

City Council & Planning and Zoning — Tuesday, August 25, 2026
BodyLake Havasu City, Arizona
SessionCity Council & Planning and Zoning
DateTuesday, August 25, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 49:59

Transcript — Verbatim
0:00

August 25th, 2026 at 4 30 p.m.

0:03

If you'd please join me in the Pledge of Allegiance.

0:10

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America.

0:17

One nation under God indivisible liberty and justice abroad.

0:26

Thank you.

0:27

Item three on the agenda is roll call.

0:29

Ms.

0:29

Williams, do we please call the role?

0:34

Council members, Nancy Campbell.

0:37

Jim Dolin.

0:41

Cameron Moses.

0:43

Michelle Lynn.

0:45

Here.

0:45

Jenny Koch.

0:46

Here.

0:47

Vice Mayor David Diaz.

0:48

Mayor Kal Sheehy.

0:50

Here.

0:50

Thank you.

0:50

Thank you.

0:52

Item four is our public hearing.

0:53

Item 4.1 is our Parks Master Plan update and progress report.

0:58

Mr.

0:58

Kozloski.

1:03

Good afternoon, Mayor and Council.

1:06

Today's presentation is an update on where we are at with the Parks Master Plan.

1:10

The team has been working really hard to compile all the necessary information as it pertains to the community engagement plan, park amenities inventory, and assessment of current facilities.

1:22

Throughout this process, it's necessary that we understand the importance of the master plan and identify both the current and future needs of the parks and recreation department and the needs of our community.

1:32

As we move through the presentation, just a couple housekeeping items as far as please provide as much feedback as possible as pertains to the community engagement plan as well as there will be a slide as part of the presentation for our comparable communities.

1:52

But please, if there's any other communities that you feel we should be taking a look at as part of this process, we'd love to have some consensus as far as what that looks like moving forward.

2:02

And uh with that, I'd be happy to introduce Teresa Jackson, uh, who is our project manager with the Barry Dunn uh side of things.

2:10

Uh and with that, uh, I will turn it over to her uh over to her for the presentation and staff and myself are available for questions.

2:16

Thank you.

2:17

Thank you.

2:21

Good afternoon and welcome, Ms.

2:22

Jackson.

2:24

Good afternoon, Mayor, Council.

2:26

It's a pleasure to be here with you this afternoon.

2:29

So my name is Teresa Jackson.

2:31

I'll be your project manager working with Anthony and the team throughout the effort.

2:35

My background is in parks and recreation.

2:38

I spent nearly 20 years in municipal parks and recreation before I started consulting about seven years ago.

2:43

I've had the opportunity to work on projects across the can across the country, but several here in Arizona.

2:49

One of my first projects was in Kingman, Arizona, just up the road.

2:53

I also worked in Mesa, Glendale, a number of communities, so really enjoy working in this this region and understand some of the challenges and some of the benefits that are specific to agencies here in Arizona.

3:07

So today I wanted to start out by just going over some of the project goals and the overall schedule.

3:13

It was quite some time ago when this body adopted or accepted the proposal and adopted the contract to move the project forward.

3:21

And so I thought it would be good to have a refresh on some of the project goals and that schedule, and then we'll get into that engagement strategy as well as talking about some of our benchmark communities that we've identified thus far.

3:33

So starting with the goals of the project.

3:36

So this is really that 10,000 foot view of the system and the development of a roadmap for the future.

3:42

So really taking a look at our current conditions to understand what some current needs are, but also projecting into the future and trying to understand what those needs are going to look like five and ten years down the road.

3:54

And so through conversations to date and our kickoff and also the RFP itself, we really like to highlight and document document some of the agency's goals.

4:05

That way when that final draft comes before you, you can take a look at it and compare it to those original goals and ensure that we met those goals for your agency.

4:14

So the goals that we've I've identified, first that foster a healthy and inclusive community.

4:20

What we are really looking at there is what are the program opportunities available to the community now and how can we continue to provide those opportunities to ensure the community is being active, staying engaged and connected.

4:34

The next goal is relative to our park system and really enhancing access there.

4:39

And so we'll be doing a very thorough inventory of your parks, your amenities, and also doing some level of service mapping so we can understand if there's any corners of the community where there's a gap in service.

4:51

Next, provide a safe community.

4:53

And really this is about providing safe parks and gathering places to your community members, and that's from three key perspectives.

5:01

It's the design, it's the maintenance and also how the park is operated.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Parks and Recreation█████████████████████████████████████████████65%
Community Engagement█████████████████25%
Procedural███5%
Youth Programs██3%
Active Transportation█2%
Summary of Proceedings

Lake Havasu City Council Work Session: Parks Master Plan Update Progress Report - August 25, 2026

On August 25, 2026, the Lake Havasu City Council held a work session from 4:30 p.m. to 5:20 p.m. to receive an update on the Parks Master Plan. Assistant City Manager Anthony Kozlowski and consultant Teresa Jackson (Berry Dunn) presented the project goals, schedule, engagement strategy, and benchmark communities. Councilmembers discussed priorities, community engagement, and user group inclusion. The public hearing included one comment. No formal action was taken, but the council expressed support for the presented approach and offered direction for further refinement.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Bonny Toy, citizen: Requested clarification on the RFP selection for the Parks Master Plan (Berry Dunn was selected via the RFP process). Recommended additional athletic events for engagement (e.g., trail runs, Havasu Half Marathon, suicide walk, Rotary walks). Expressed concern about the need for a multi-use sidewalk trail along the highway for e-bikes, bicycles, and pedestrians, and suggested it be included in the parks plan.

Discussion Items

  • Project Goals & Schedule: Teresa Jackson outlined a 10-year plan with five goals: foster a healthy and inclusive community, enhance access to parks and programming, provide a safe community, promote conservation and environmental stewardship, and stimulate economic activity and financial stewardship. The project roadmap includes phases from summer 2026 (data collection) through May-June 2027 (adoption).
  • Engagement Strategy: A mixed-method approach includes a statistically valid survey (3,000 mailers targeting under 5% margin of error), online engagement, community event outreach (six events: Relics & Rods, Concerts in the Park, London Bridge Parade, Fall Fun Fair, Balloon Festival, Winterfest), focus groups (sports field users, aquatic users, general park users), drop-in visits (pool, pickleball courts), and channel-specific engagement for Bridgewater Channel (business owners, user groups, staff). Engagement runs from October 2026 to February 2027.
  • Benchmark Communities: Six agencies were presented: Prescott (AZ), Oro Valley (AZ), Bullhead City (AZ), St. George (UT), Palm Springs (CA), and Ocala (FL). These were selected based on population, age demographics (percentage over 65, median age), and tourist destination status. Council discussed adding sports facility comparisons and funding sources.
  • Council Priorities: Councilmember Campbell emphasized including SARA Park and the equestrian community. Vice Mayor Diaz stressed full-time resident needs, athletic field capacity, use of prior field studies, and operational staffing efficiencies. Councilmember Lin asked about recreation program focus groups and second pool advocates. Councilmember Coke inquired about sports facility benchmarks and funding mechanisms. Councilmember Moses called for an audit of field/facility/trail usage and inclusion of city-owned undeveloped parcels. Mayor Sheehy highlighted resident-first focus and youth engagement (e.g., youth focus group, skate park users).
  • Staff Response: Kozlowski confirmed all prior documents (SARA Park Master Plan, field studies) will be integrated. Jackson noted that engagement will be tailored to include user groups identified by council, and that operational efficiency and usage audits are part of the analysis.

Key Outcomes

  • Council expressed unanimous support for the six benchmark communities, with a request to also compare sports facility data and funding sources (e.g., public-private partnerships or bonds).
  • Council directed staff to ensure the engagement strategy includes: SARA Park user groups (rodeo, equestrian, shooting range, etc.), equestrian community, youth focus groups (including student councils and youth advisory council), second pool advocates, and attendance at major athletic events (e.g., little league games) for broader outreach.
  • Staff agreed to incorporate all existing city plans (including funded projects) into the analysis and to conduct a usage audit of fields, facilities, and trails.
  • The project timeline remains on track for a final master plan adoption by May–June 2027.

Meeting Transcript

August 25th, 2026 at 4 30 p.m. If you'd please join me in the Pledge of Allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America. One nation under God indivisible liberty and justice abroad. Thank you. Item three on the agenda is roll call. Ms. Williams, do we please call the role? Council members, Nancy Campbell. Jim Dolin. Cameron Moses. Michelle Lynn. Here. Jenny Koch. Here. Vice Mayor David Diaz. Mayor Kal Sheehy. Here. Thank you. Thank you. Item four is our public hearing. Item 4.1 is our Parks Master Plan update and progress report. Mr. Kozloski. Good afternoon, Mayor and Council. Today's presentation is an update on where we are at with the Parks Master Plan. The team has been working really hard to compile all the necessary information as it pertains to the community engagement plan, park amenities inventory, and assessment of current facilities. Throughout this process, it's necessary that we understand the importance of the master plan and identify both the current and future needs of the parks and recreation department and the needs of our community. As we move through the presentation, just a couple housekeeping items as far as please provide as much feedback as possible as pertains to the community engagement plan as well as there will be a slide as part of the presentation for our comparable communities. But please, if there's any other communities that you feel we should be taking a look at as part of this process, we'd love to have some consensus as far as what that looks like moving forward. And uh with that, I'd be happy to introduce Teresa Jackson, uh, who is our project manager with the Barry Dunn uh side of things. Uh and with that, uh, I will turn it over to her uh over to her for the presentation and staff and myself are available for questions. Thank you. Thank you. Good afternoon and welcome, Ms. Jackson. Good afternoon, Mayor, Council. It's a pleasure to be here with you this afternoon. So my name is Teresa Jackson. I'll be your project manager working with Anthony and the team throughout the effort. My background is in parks and recreation. I spent nearly 20 years in municipal parks and recreation before I started consulting about seven years ago. I've had the opportunity to work on projects across the can across the country, but several here in Arizona. One of my first projects was in Kingman, Arizona, just up the road. I also worked in Mesa, Glendale, a number of communities, so really enjoy working in this this region and understand some of the challenges and some of the benefits that are specific to agencies here in Arizona. So today I wanted to start out by just going over some of the project goals and the overall schedule. It was quite some time ago when this body adopted or accepted the proposal and adopted the contract to move the project forward. And so I thought it would be good to have a refresh on some of the project goals and that schedule, and then we'll get into that engagement strategy as well as talking about some of our benchmark communities that we've identified thus far. So starting with the goals of the project. So this is really that 10,000 foot view of the system and the development of a roadmap for the future.

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