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• R e n o v a t i o n A n a l y s i s

• N e e d s A n a l y s i s

• M a s t e r P l a n n i n g

• P r o g r a m m i n g

• A r c h i t e c t u r e

• E n g i n e e r i n g

• A q u a t i c D e s i g n

• C o n s t r u c t i o n A d m i n i s t r a t i o n including two with lighting. It has a QOS of 27, a Community Ranking of 26, a Child-Density Ranking of 27 and a Sports Use Agreement. Its “equity” score is 80.3—a high score signifying a lesser need for improvements even though it has a relatively high presence of youth. The scores for these fields are higher than average.

Meadowview Park is a neighborhood park in the South Area of Sacramento. It has one soccer field without lights. This field has a QOS of 13.6, a Community Ranking of 8, a Child-Density Ranking of 23.8 and no Sports Use Agreements. Its “equity” score is 45.3. While it serves fewer youth than the fields at Regency Community Park, it still has a greater need for improvements.

Based on these scores, the case can be made for funding and resources to be directed to Meadowview Park.

What We Learned

Creating the tool was valuable in many ways. Among other things, it led several realizations:

Maintenance Inequalities: Given budget constraints, maintenance staff have attempted to provide the same level of maintenance to sports fields citywide. As a result, Quality of Service scores for sports fields were all in the middle range (10 to 25). The exception was those fields that had volunteer use agreements, where sports groups provided a higher level of maintenance. This approach opens the door for disparities, where groups with stronger volunteerism, funding, and free time enjoy better quality fields. It also means that fewer under-resourced areas enjoyed excellent-quality, competition-caliber sports fields.

Sports Lighting Disparities: Given the need for positive, healthy activities for youth after dark, the dashboard distinguished between lighted fields and non-lighted fields. By doing so, YPCE discovered that lighted fields were not evenly distributed throughout the city. Older parts of town, including the Central City and established neighborhoods, had more lighted fields, while newer parts of town had fewer lighted fields. This might be attributed to different waves of park investment and changes in policies in lighting over time. However, the older parts of town—especially those that are under resourced or have higher concentrations of youth— are often the same places that could benefit from a greater investment.

All Ages and Inclusive Play: With budget cuts in the recession of 2008, and a Youth Campaign Plan developed in 2021, YPCE decided to prioritize youth activities and sports. However, all ages (including adults and seniors, particularly among different cultural groups) benefit from having quality sports fields. In time, the tool could be updated to factor in non-youth recreational groups with a high demand for field time, or potentially even ADA accessibility and universal, all-inclusive field access.

Dashboard Use

With continued testing and refinement, this tool will have broad applications for the equitable provision and delivery of other services, programs, and facilities. For now, YPCE staff will use the tool to:

Prioritize neighborhoods that have a low equity score and the most need for renovations to address deferred maintenance; and

Prioritize parks where funds can have the most impact by serving people with the greatest needs, including youth and under-resourced communities.

Long term, the dashboard can be expanded to include other park amenities, which may require the addition of new and different metrics over time. It also could also be incorporated into YPCE’s Park Project Programming Guide to prioritize and sequence projects in annual work plans. This ensures that the residents who need improved fields the most—in part because they need inclusive, accessible, and healthy recreation options within walking and biking distance – receive these benefits.

“The Sports Field Equity Dashboard allows maintenance staff to make better decisions when allocating limited funding resources,” noted Shawn C. Aylesworth, Park Maintenance Division Manager. “As improvements are made within targeted parks, their scores will increase. Tracking these score improvements over time translates into the increased accuracy of measurable results and overall accountability.”

Sources:

Cohen, Mychal, et al., 2022. The Health Benefits of Parks and their Economic Impacts. Urban Institute.

National Recreation and Park Association, n.d. Parks & Recreation in Underserved Areas: A Public Health Perspective.

Park Planning Design Build

Plan Checking

Budget Analysis

Consensus Building

Inclusive Playgrounds

Demonstration Gardens

Skateparks

Splash Pads

Feasibility Studies

Historical Site Design

Park & Recreation Master Plans

Athletic Field Planning

Hall of Honor Program Preserves the Past and Inspires the Future

By Sandi Kukkola and Debby Walker

Photos courtesy of Partnership for Quality Living

Former U.S. fencing champion, Olympian, businessman and philanthropist Peter Westbrook once insightfully noted that “So much of our future lies in preserving our past.” That concept is one of the foundational elements that defines the Partnership for Quality Living’s (PQL) “Hall of Honor” program. As recreation and leisure professionals, we have an obligation to ensure that our industry’s history is recorded and celebrated. We should strive to ensure that leadership connections, collaboratives and partnerships are built, and that quality of life is considered an important local and regional concern.

What is the Partnership for Quality Living Hall of Honor?

The PQL Hall of Honor began as a grass roots idea in 2004 as a handful of recreation and park professionals in the CPRS District 2 region observed that many of their agencies and organizations were discarding important planning and development reports, photographs and video, schematic drawings, and more - all important documents that interpreted their history and contributions in the community. This group formed a feasibility committee to document interest in the need to record our history; and thus began the PQL Hall of Honor program, which officially launched in 2006 in partnership with CPRS District 2.

The PQL Hall of Honor is centered around recognizing, documenting and promoting parks, recreation, wellness and leisure historical contributions in the Superior California region. Each year, the organization solicits nominations for recognition in several categories and provides awards to those people, facilities, and programs that exhibit the highest levels of exceptionalism and historical impact to quality of life.

Some notable examples of past PQL Hall of Honor recipients include the American River Parkway, Eppie’s Great Race, William Land, Bidwell Park, Folsom Zoo Sanctuary, Crocker Art Museum, and the Pacific Crest Trail, to name just a few. Background information on these and all our Hall of Honor inductees can be viewed on our website.

For local agencies and community members, the Hall of Honor program provides the opportunity to:

• Chronicle the events that have helped shape California’s local park systems, leisure programs and historical programs and facilities

• Recognize the outstanding contributions of practitioners in the field of recreation, parks, wellness and leisure services

• Recognize significant programs, areas or facilities and the sponsoring organization, collaborative, partnership, foundation and/or individuals

• Interpret the significance of recreation, parks and leisure services in improving the public’s health and wellness

How You Can Preserve Your Region’s Historical

Legacy?

Let’s work together to preserve your region’s historical legacy! The PQL Board of Directors are focused on outreach and assistance to other CPRS regions that are interested in starting a similar Hall of Honor program in their regions.

Let’s explore the first steps to initiate a Hall of Honor program in your District or Region!

1) Define that area to be included which may be a CPRS District or perhaps a Region.

2) Create your nomination outreach brochure, or other print media that can be distributed both physically and electronically with deadlines for the nominations, Letter of Intent, and if possible, award ceremony dates for the following year.

3) Determine who you want to reach with this outreach tool. In District 2, the PQL reaches out by email and print to all of the administrators’ section in District 2, by direct mail to all of the Chambers of Commerce offices withing D2 that can be identified, and to possible groups, project or collaboratives that might be considered as potential nominees.

4) Determine if you would like to receive a letter of intent from a possible nominee and then provide some advice or direction to that group in preparation of their submittal.

5) D2 has received hard copy nominations to date but is in the process of shifting to a digital submittal with several important required attachments. PQL feels strongly about receiving and preserving these additional materials or documents that could be lost or tossed over time, then preserving all materials digitally for future reference statewide and beyond. Some of the additional materials include: a. 6-8 high resolution photos with captions. b. Videos showcasing the nominee. c. Letters of support

A close-up view of each of the three Award Category Descriptions and Submittal Criteria:

Regional Treasure Category

Recognizes historically significant Programs, Areas or Facilities along with the sponsoring organizations, collaboratives, partnerships, individuals and/or foundations. Must have great historical significance and positive, long-lasting influence on generations.

Exceptional Leadership Category

Recognizes exceptional leaders who have inspired and Served as Excellent Role Models and made significant historic contributions in their communities and have Exhibited Sustained Commitment to advancing the quality of life for the Region. The contribution of the nominee shall have been exhibited in the areas of architecture/ engineering, arts & culture, education, environment, health, parks & recreation and tourism and may have been a result of service as a professional or as a paid or voluntary service by a person from a related or non-related field in the public, private, commercial, or non-profit sectors.

Regional Legacy Category

Recognizes current or Historically Significant Individuals who Created the Vision, Championed and Led important and significant improvements to the quality of life in the Region. The nominee is recognized as having led the way to the creation of significant and historic benchmark projects, events or programs. Their vision, leadership and/or management is unquestioned. The project/event/ program has had multi-generational significance in effecting leisure lifestyle and quality of life.

Application Preparation: During the preparation of Nominations, each person considering a nomination submittal is encouraged to view the CPRS District2 website for successful inductee applications. The PQL board is always willing to make helpful suggestions to applicants during the nomination preparation process. At times, submittals are made without the nominee’s awareness. It can be difficult to gather all pertinent information while keeping the nomination application “confidential,” but it has been done.

The Selection Process: A subcommittee initially reviews each submittal for completion. The full board then reviews each complete submittal along with its supplemental materials and then ranks each nomination numerically using a matrix evaluation form. Incomplete or lacking submittals are given an opportunity to resubmit the following year and are advised of gaps with history preservation and exceptionalism primary goals.

The Award: The Hall of Honor awards are presented annually as part of the CPRS D2 Awards and Installation Banquet. An emcee is selected for this portion of the Awards and facilitates the transition between awards if more than one is selected. In addition to presentations at the D2 Banquet, the PQL also makes an additional presentation to the Inductee on their home turf whether it be a City Council, County Board of Supervisors, Community Services or Special District Board, Non-profit Annual Meeting or other special occasion, or other type of organization. All inductees receive a commemorative plaque with a color laser engraved copy of the story board. Regional Treasure inductees receive a special honoree decal to display on a window or sign at their facility. Story boards are displayed at various CPRS and university functions to promote the Hall of Honor and its inductees. Individuals honored in the Exceptional Leadership and Regional Legacy Categories also receive a ring (like those winning a national professional sports competition), and if desired, ladies are awarded a beautiful pendant.

The PQL board has had strong leadership over the last 17 years including:

22 Previous CPRS District 2 Presidents

7 CPRS Statewide Presidents

8 2022-2023 current PQL board members have been D2 presidents

A Few of our Past Hall of Honor Inductees include:

William Land - Impetus for the purchase and development of today’s 165-acre William Land Park in Sacramento, California. A former Mayor of Sacramento, Land’s $250,000 bequest was innovative for the 20th Century and was to be “a pleasure ground for the poor.” Today it includes the Sacramento Zoo, Fairytale Town, golf course, amphitheater, sports fields and multiple garden and ponds.

Anderson River Park - Comprises over 300 acres of developed and natural park lands along the Sacramento River to the City of Anderson and Shasta County. This land was obtained through purchase, donation and partnerships and includes sporting leagues, concert series, docks, Veteran’s Memorial and miles of multi-use trails.

Tahoe Rim Trail - A world class 189-mile loop trail circling the ridge line of the Lake Tahoe Basin it shares with the Pacific Crest National Trail and is also collocated in areas with the Pony Express Trail, American Discovery Trail, California National Trail and Western States Trail. The Tahoe Rim Trail Association serves as the primary steward of the trail.

Crocker Art Museum – Founded in 1885 as the first art museum in the Western United States, it is one of the leading art institutions in California and home to one of the country’s premier collections of Californian art. Listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Co-Trustees: City of Sacramento, Crocker Art Museum Association Board of Directors and Members, Supporters, Donors.

By Gabriel Castorena Communications Supervisor City of Pico Rivera

Mini Pitch Soccer: An Alternative To Full-Size Grass Fields

The City of Pico Rivera is a modest, mid-sized suburban City. The City is approximately 13 miles southeast of Downtown Los Angeles and has a population over 64,000. Despite its size and population, Pico Rivera has a small town feel to it.

Formed through the merging of two historic communities, Pico and Rivera, the City was officially incorporated in January 1958 as the 61st city in Los Angeles County. Originally an agricultural area, the community evolved into a residential and industrial area following the end of World War II. Many of the original home owners of yesterday still own their homes today.

It is because of this original ownership that many residents know each other, know what’s going on in the City, and participate in many local events, that make Pico Rivera seem like a small town.

Another aspect to the small town feel is the City’s Parks and Recreation Department. The City boasts nine parks and playgrounds throughout the City, strategically located for ease of access for the enjoyment of their residents. Each park has its own uniqueness. From the park staff to the playgrounds, each of the City’s parks has its own personality that brings the local neighborhoods together. One such park in the City of Pico Rivera is located at the northern end of the City, Pico Park.

Pico Park was one several parks that the City absorbed from the County of Los Angeles when it was incorporated in 1958. All the way through the 1990’s, Pico Park had the typical amenities of any City park that included an abundance of green space, trees, a black-top/basketball court, and a small Community Center that was built in the 1950’s.

In late Spring of 1994, that would all change. Groundbreaking and construction began on a 23,000 square foot Community Center that would have new amenities such as a multipurpose auditorium with a kitchen, child care room, craft room, expansive lobby, and an indoor gymnasium. At that time, it was the most modern and state-of-the-art City facility.

The facility was completed and opened in Spring of 1996 to much fanfare. Because of its modern amenities, many City-Wide and Private Events were held at Pico Park that ranged from seasonal special events to annual basketball tournaments. This was the crown jewel of Pico Rivera. This again, was also 1996. Fast forward to now, a new generation of children are growing up and with that comes a generation of interests that many parks do not accommodate for, one of them being mini-pitch soccer.

Like many parks across the United States, Pico Park can easily accommodate a regulation soccer pitch. Many of the local parks in Pico Rivera are capable of doing so. As such, for many years, AYSO along with other smaller soccer organizations and groups have had a steady hold on Soccer in the City for both youth and adults. That steady hold and interest has only increased and with that, a new sport was offered by the City to capitalize on this interest, Futsal or Mini-Pitch Soccer.

Over the last few years, the City’s Parks and Recreation Department offered Mini-Pitch Soccer at both of

City’s indoor Gymnasiums. The interest was there. However, COVID-19 derailed all of the City’s programming for 2020. That meant the closure of all parks, and the cancellation of all programs including Futsal for the foreseeable future. While in person programming was cancelled, City Recreation Staff continued on, providing what programming they could virtually. For the most part, on the administrative end, City Staff continued to find ways to improve current park amenities, even in the shadows of world-wide pandemic.

As much of the nation and world continued to heal from the COVID-19 pandemic, locally in the City of Pico Rivera, it’s much like we had picked up where we had left off. Parks began to open up again, and once again, the sports fields started to get their wear and tear of competitive play. Sports was back, and so was soccer.

The interest in soccer overall never waned. It is one of the more popular sports to participate in here in the City. So much so, that it attracted the attention of local soccer stars Cesar, Cristian, and Alex Roldan. Cesar is the Head Athletic Trainer for the MLS Los Angeles Galaxy while Cristian and Alex Roldan play professionally for the MLS Seattle Sounders. All three of them grew up in the City of Pico Rivera, attended the local high school, and were members of the school’s soccer team. So it was only fitting that they wanted to bring something to their local community.

It all began with a discussion with the City’s Administration and the

Roldan brothers in early 2021. The Roldan brothers were excited to partner with the City to bring a 5 on 5 mini-pitch soccer field to the City. Since that initial meeting, the wheels were set in motion and City staff wasted no time in working with Cristian as well has his brothers Cesar, and Alex, to make this a reality.

There was a problem. In early discussions, the question was not when, or even how. It’s where. Again, the City boasts nine parks that are easily accessible. However, we have a population of over 62,000 residents. If you viewed Pico Rivera from a google map, you will see that we are a small City pitted between two riverbeds. We have only three major North and South arterials, and only four major East and West arterials. With the size of our City comes a real-estate problem. There is no spare real-estate. According to the County of Los Angeles, we are by their definition, park poor. Pico Rivera only has 1.3-acres of park land for every 1,000 residents, compared to the Los Angeles County average of approximately 3.3-acres per 1,000 residents. One may think that with the City our size, we wouldn’t need extra park space, but we do, and it’s an issue when trying to introduce new amenities to our City.

While our staff was trying to think outside of the box when coming up with this Mini-Pitch concept, we were also trying to think outside of the box on where to put it. But our staff actually ended up thinking inside of the box about where to put it, more specifically, inside an existing facility, Pico Park.

At Pico Park sat a dormant black top. In its hay day, the black top was used frequently for handball, and basketball. Once the Community Center with indoor gymnasium was built, the outdoor court was no longer needed. The once vibrant lines faded, the basketball hoops and poles were removed, and over the next few years, the black top sat unused, and underutilized.

During a City Council meeting in June of 2021, the City Council approved funding and the development of a mini-pitch soccer field at Pico Park. With a green light for development, the City’s Marketing Team began the design of the color scheme of the court. In October, the City Council approved the award of construction, the ground breaking then took place in November.

As City staff documented the construction, many eager and curious eyes were set on Pico Park as a once dormant black top area was coming to life. Many area residents were excited as news of the Mini-Pitch Soccer Field was released through the City’s monthly newsletter, and many had heard about or seen pictures of the ground breaking.

As March of 2022 began, so did the actual shape of the mini-pitch. The modular barricades were put into place and the court was now more of a reality than a concept. In mid- March, the paint crew came in to put the finishing touches on the outdoor court. Painting the City’s logo and Roldan Family moniker on the court, the mini-pitch soccer field is now ready for use and competitive play.

“Anytime you see a project from start to finish, you obviously get anxious, and this one was no different,” said City of Pico Rivera Parks and Recreation Director Pamela Yugar. “When I saw first-hand the finished site, I was excited, I was excited for the residents, I was excited for the City, I was excited that this project had such a beautiful outcome.”

The reception wouldn’t truly be known until the official opening. On April 5, 2022, the new Mini-Pitch Soccer Field officially opened to a large crowd of youth and adult soccer players waiting to try out the new field for the first time. The City’s Youth Futsal teams put on a few scrimmages and Cesar Roldan was on hand not only to sign autographs and give his blessing over the field, but gave out a few pointers and provided demonstrations as well. The opening proved to be the beginning of something special in the City of Pico Rivera, something that the entire Department and City can be proud of.

“Brining additional recreational opportunities to our residents is something that we as Recreaters have the absolute pleasure of doing,” said City of Pico Rivera Parks and Recreation Director Pamela Yugar. “Seeing the joy and smiles on everyone who attended the grand opening just brings a huge smile to my face and a very satisfying sense of accomplishment,” said Yugar.

The new amenity was a welcome addition to Pico Park as it will bring in a new generation of soccer players, all with the hopes of making it big like the Roldan Brothers. With the Mini-Pitch Soccer Field now in place at Pico Park, the City also reached an agreement with the Roldan Brothers, and their marketing firm XTratime. For the next 8 years, the field will be known as the Roldan Family Soccer Field in exchange for a sponsorship fee. The sponsorship fees collected will be used solely for the maintenance of the mini-pitch field. In addition, with the sponsorship and agreement, the Roldan Brothers will participate in and promote four soccer clinics per year at the field. So far, this agreement has not only benefited the City, but residents as well. With a couple of clinics already hosted, many young soccer players come out to test their skills against the Roldan brothers. Many leaving with professional pointers on how to up their game. As for the City, the Mini-Pitch is maintained and looking like new with the partnership funding through the Roldan Brothers and their marketing firm, XTratime.

“I think this is going to be a great opportunity for our younger soccer players who look up to the Roldan Brothers,” said Yugar. “We are just incredibly grateful to the entire Roldan Family here in Pico Rivera, their con- tributions to this community are far beyond anyone’s expectations.”

Far beyond and more! Since the court opened last spring, park staff has noted that the court get’s used on a daily basis from the time the park officially opens at dawn, till the time the park closes at night. Since it’s a dual use court, at any time during the day, you can have two to three people shooting hoops, or a group of five kicking a soccer ball. People of all ages use the court, so it’s in no way geared toward one age group. On a daily basis, for both basketball and futsal, the court sees about 50 to 75 users, with the evening time getting the heaviest use.

Since this park was revitalized in the late 90’s, it has only seen minor improvements to the green scape, and very few improvements elsewhere. The biggest improvement to the park before the Mini-Pitch was the expansion of the parking lot. While the park community center was maintained daily, and the park grounds kept clean by our

Public Works Department, it definitely was missing something. Now with the Mini-Pitch, the park has sprung to life once again. No longer is there an underused blacktop, there’s the sounds of basketballs bouncing, shoes screeching on the floor, the sounds of a hard kicked ball meeting the net, and the sounds of excitement after a goal or two-point shot. This once quiet corner is lively again, it’s a welcome addition to this neighborhood park.

By Grace Devine Content Marketing Specialist AssetWorks