Merced Recreation & Parks Commission Reviews PROS Master Plan – August 24, 2026
Merced Recreation & Parks Commission Meeting – August 24, 2026
The Recreation & Parks Commission of Merced, California, met on Monday, August 24, 2026, at 5:39 PM (called to order at 5:30 PM per agenda) in the City Council Chamber. The sole action item was a detailed review of the Parks, Recreation, and Open Space (PROS) Master Plan, a five-to-ten-year framework for capital improvements, programming, and standards. After staff presented each of the plan’s four pillars (Infrastructure & Maintenance, Community Connection, Safety & Inclusivity, Resources & Stewardship) and the revisions made following a previous four-hour meeting on August 20, 2026, the commission unanimously approved the plan and recommended City Council adoption. No members of the public submitted comments.
Discussion Items
- Staff Presentation of the PROS Master Plan – Director Jensen walked through each pillar and its objectives, highlighting adjustments made at the previous commission meeting. Key points included:
- Infrastructure & Maintenance: Enhanced trail maintenance, off-road bike/walkable trails, dog park in South Merced (south of State Route 99), feasibility of an indoor multi-generational recreation facility at the Merced Regional Sports Complex, and positioning the sports complex as a revenue-generating regional asset.
- Community Connection: QR codes at parks with multilingual information (a commissioner requested adding language accessibility to the QR code feature), public-private partnerships for indoor recreation, evaluation of partner agreements, expansion of youth center programming, adoption of a “Friends of the Park” program, and adding a new objective (2.11) to leverage partnerships for free community events to increase belonging.
- Safety & Inclusivity: Sustainable design for safety and accessibility; improved security (blue-light cameras); strengthened partnership (word change from “coordination”) with Merced County to address impacts of unhoused individuals and behavioral health; reducing cultural/language barriers (e.g., Hmong language panels, braille boards at playgrounds).
- Resources & Stewardship: Biannual financial sustainability updates (instead of annual, to avoid one-year anomalies); annual cost-of-service analysis; long-term options for Applegate Park Zoo (pseudo-enterprise operation); updating developer impact fees; establishing clear parkland dedication standards; professional development plans; and enhanced recreation management software (Rec Track).
- Commissioner Clarifications – Commissioner John R. Carlos asked whether in-kind maintenance from partners would conflict with Public Works responsibilities. Staff clarified that service agreements do not allow tenants to perform maintenance; lease agreements (five-year minimum) allow improvements with approval. Commissioner April P. Halloway suggested ensuring QR code services are provided in multiple languages; staff noted existing website translation options and agreed to include that under objective 3.4.
Other Business
- Request to Add Items to Future Agenda (F.1) – Commissioners expressed interest in touring the Merced College facility at Stephen Leonard Youth Center. Staff indicated a grand opening event for the college facility and a ribbon cutting for General Vang Pao Park are both expected on September 26, 2026. The chair cautioned against discussing any evaluation of the facility to avoid a Brown Act violation; future tours could be arranged.
- Commission Comments (F.2) – Chair asked about the timing of the plan’s presentation to City Council. Director Jensen stated a study session with council would occur in mid-September, with formal adoption likely at the first council meeting in October 2026. A commissioner noted he would be out of the country September 6–13.
Key Outcomes
- Unanimous Vote (5-0) – The commission adopted a motion to approve the PROS Master Plan as presented and to recommend City Council consideration of adoption. All present commissioners (Dina Gonzalez, John R. Carlos, Marcus S. Ariano, April P. Halloway) voted in favor. Commissioner at Large Marissa K. Lewis was absent.
- Next Steps – Staff will present the plan to City Council in a study session mid-September 2026, with formal adoption anticipated at the October 5, 2026 council meeting.
- Future Agenda Items – The commission agreed to consider adding site visits or tours of recently renovated facilities to a future agenda.
- Adjournment – The meeting adjourned after a motion and unanimous vote; no specific time was recorded.
Meeting Transcript
Okay, we'll call us reading a little recreation park commission to order five thirty nine sound good. Here commissioner from District Two, Dina Gonzalez. Here commissioner from District Three, John R. Carlos. Here. Commissioner from District 4, Marcus S. Ariano. Here. Commissioner from District 5. April P. Halloway. Here. Commissioner at large. Marissa K. Lewis. Absent. Ex officio second alt fusion. Absent. Ex officio Sarah Boyle. Absent. Ex officio first alt. Saren S. DuPont. Absent. Okay, uh, I don't see anybody here from the public, so I don't think we have any public comment. I want to thank the city staff and commissioners for everything you guys did Thursday night. It was a rather long evening, but very, very productive. Thank you for all your all your input on that. I think we have a good document coming up. Okay, moving right along into action items. E one uh the the result of all our hard work. Uh the master plan. Thank you, Commissioner. Um, just to kind of recalibrate everybody's process um for the group and the public. The City of Merced undertook an initiative about a year and a half ago to update our parks, recreation, and open space master plan or our pros. This effort is a five to ten year plan that um outlays what type of capital improvements, programming practices, and standards of practice the city desires to take on over the next five to ten years. Um, this includes not only our own operation, but also the operation of our counterparts in public works, such as parks and facility maintenance, our community-based partners that utilize our youth centers, um, and our youth sports act um leagues that utilize our fields. So I want to thank this commission for their ongoing support of this this initiative. Um as uh Commissioner John reflected last Thursday was the longest commission meeting I've been a part of in the city of Merced. Um we uh competed with rather lengthy council meetings last week. Um, but you guys, in all seriousness, did a fantastic job of looking through a lot of material all at once. I think the recommendations that you made uh were um were from the heart and also very smart recommendations, putting our staff and our community in a better position. And so um instead of going through just the recommendations that were made and the revisions that were done, I want to just revisit each pillar and the final objectives in each of those areas for our review this evening and make sure that the changes that were made are reflective of this group's will. So uh once again, our parks recreation open space master plan was a culminating plan that highlights four key areas which we call pillars or priorities. They include infrastructure and maintenance, community connection, safety inclusivity, and resources and stewardship. In each of those four priority or pillars are a series of objectives that are intended to meet certain community outcomes that our residents and visitors shared as values or qualities of life that they wanted to see achieved. We have conducting a comprehensive park asset inventory report, once again for everybody's recollection that includes what types of materials, uh services or supplies are offered at different parks. 1.2 is to enhance the existing aging park amenities with modern amenities. Um aging park inventory with modern amenities. 1.3 was to develop a comprehensive maintenance management plan.
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